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Bayonet Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning Blog

Refrigerant Prices DOUBLE This Week! Thanks, D.C.!

Consumers: brace yourselves. So many people have put off replacing those older R-22 or Freon-based systems because R22 has always been readily available.

Thanks to more ineffective legislation out of our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., we have been hit with an overnight increase that DOUBLES OUR COST of refrigerant. It’s no secret that the phase out has been coming, but almost no one expected the price to skyrocket at a time when it will hit the most strapped consumers so hard.

It’s important to note that companies have no choice but to pass the price of the refrigerant onto consumers. It’s hard to believe that the EPA is enforcing the refrigerant phase out at a time when things are already very tight for so many.

So. next time you call an HVAC company expecting to “top off” your leaky system, or if you’d happen to need a coil or compressor change, take a deep breath an prepare for a huge shock when you get the price estimate! You will be in for a surprise!

Here’s an excerpt from the HVAC NEWS:

On Jan. 1, 2010, a mandated reduction in the manufacturing of virgin R-22 went from 65 percent of the 1999 baseline year to 25 percent. A gradual yearly phase down was expected to continue until the spigot was totally shut off in 2030.

That ruling allocated 90 million pounds of R-22 for 2012. In this latest proposed rule, the EPA may reduce the quantity available for production and import in 2012 to as low as 55 million pounds.

The EPA is accepting comments on the proposal until Feb. 3, but may not issue a final ruling until summer.

Even when production and importation resumes, manufacturers may be more cautious in how much HCFC comes into the distribution channels while awaiting final numbers from EPA.

Publication date: 01/23/2012,  The News

Comment: That ruling allocated 90 million pounds of R-22 for 2012. In this latest proposed rule, the EPA may reduce the quantity available for production and import in 2012 to as low as 55 million pounds.

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