Is Your A/C System Using Counterfeit R-22?

If you own an older A/C system that uses R-22 coolant, take great caution when an HVAC contractor recharges your refrigerant. R-22, commonly known as “Freon,” is being phased out over the next several years, rendering R-22 more expensive and difficult to come by.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, some contractors are using off-brand, unapproved refrigerants that pose a risk of damaging your air conditioning system irreparably or causing a fire.

Luke Hall-Jordan, acting chief of the EPA’s stratospheric program implementation branch, says R-22 air conditioners weren’t necessarily built to handle the level of pressure or flammability these coolants pose. In particular, he warns against an alternative known as R-22a, which uses propane and creates a fire hazard.

“We’ve seen individuals with serious burns, HVAC systems that have caught on fire, and siding on homes that is charred, melted or blown off,” he says. “In particular, technicians who are working on a system that was incorrectly recharged are at particular risk. We aren’t seeing it used in really large quantities yet, but we’ve seen a fair amount of the product that’s been sold in recent years, so we want homeowners to understand that these products aren’t safe.”

In the U.S., residential R-22 systems ceased production in 2010 in favor of upgraded R-410a systems, but millions of R-22 systems remain installed in homes. R-22 manufacturing has greatly decreased as part of a gradual phaseout, so the price of the refrigerant has gone up in recent years, leading homeowners and HVAC companies to seek out alternative refrigerant sources.

Hall-Jordan says the EPA has investigated numerous cases of improper refrigerant sale and use in the last few years and carried out numerous enforcement actions. Authorities arrested a Louisiana man in March for selling R-22a to A/C technicians and equipment owners. In 2015 and 2016, two separate companies — Northcutt in Wichita, Kansas, and Enviro-Safe Refrigerants in Pekin, Illinois — paid fines and agreed to discontinue selling flammable hydrocarbon refrigerants known as HC-12a, HC-22a, HC-501, ES 22a and ES 502a without EPA approval.

Hall-Jordan asks anyone with suspicions about companies or individuals selling or using unapproved coolants to report their suspicions to investigators.

Approved alternatives do exist. Hall-Jordan names R-407c and R-407a as safe blends to use in an R-22 system, although he cautions they’re not as effective. “The most efficient refrigerant in an R-22 system is R-22, so if you can get it, you should use it,” he says. “The approved alternatives do have some drop-off in capacity and energy efficiency.”

The most important thing you can do to protect yourself and your HVAC system, he says, is to look closely at the labeling of the refrigerant your technician is using. Product names such as R-22a, 12a and 290 should not be used in a residential HVAC system. Check the EPA for a full and current list of acceptable and prohibited alternatives to R-22.

He also strongly recommends any homeowner with an R-22 system to verify that their HVAC technician carries Section 608 certification. Under federal law, anyone working on an R-22 system must personally hold Section 608 certification from the EPA. Any certified contractor will have no problem showing their proof of certification. If your HVAC contractor won’t do so, find another one.