Air conditioners these days are way more environment-friendly than they were in their initial days. So many changes have been made to air-conditioning systems over the last 2-3 decades in order to make them safer for our environment. Even finding a reliable AC repair Pembroke Pines agency is very easy nowadays. This is because the experts of AC repair Pembroke Pines are just a call away from you. But do you know the history of air-conditioning systems and the refrigerant used in them?
If talking about 3 decades ago, then R-22, also known as Freon, was the first and certainly the best choice to be used as a refrigerant in air-conditioning systems. But now, it is banned in most countries of the world because of some strong reasons. Now the question is, why the production of Freon has been prohibited (limited) today. Since when it was discovered in 1985 that R-22 is responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer, it was decided to control (limit) the production as well as import/export of R-22.
Hence, the depletion of the ozone layer is main reason why Freon is discontinued as a refrigerant in air-conditioning systems. So, you know the reason why a ban was initiated on the production of Freon. Now, the point is if the ozone layer is really that important to us. Definitely yes, because it is the ozone layer that protects us from the harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays coming from the sun. In simple terms, three oxygen atoms combined in order to form one ozone particle, which prevents the UV rays of the sun from crossing the stratosphere and entering our environment. It is unarguably very important because UV rays can be responsible for skin cancers and can be harmful to marine life as well.
Thus, it was the need of the hour to initiate a ban over R-22 when it was discovered that Freon is responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer. However, a complete ban could have financially hurt many companies and therefore, it was decided to ban R-22 in an appropriate way. Initially, the production of R-22 based air conditioners was stopped and thereafter, several guidelines were introduced to control the production of Freon. However, it is still being used in many air-conditioning systems and also available for the servicing of old air conditioners. But mainly, recycled R-22 is used for the servicing of old AC units because the production of R-22 is very limited.
