One of the first questions Jennifer Byrne, owner and technician of Comfy Heating and Cooling, asks is whether the house has recently undergone renovations when she receives a call to come and fix a relatively new air conditioning system.
Byrne has discovered subpar restorations in West Philadelphia where workers omit processes like pressure testing following installation. This may cause ice to accumulate and refrigerant leaks, which are chemicals used to chill things.
“This issue comes up a lot around here. Byrne remarked, referring to the ice buildup, “Usually people tell you they bought a house that was flipped and all kinds of things are wrong like the AC is freezing.
As she removed equipment from her van, she said, “Trying to get it done as cheaply as possible.”
It’s not a trivial issue. The delicate atmosphere of the Earth is severely harmed when refrigerants seep out in this way. According to a research paper, they are “the most potent greenhouse gases known to modern science,” and they are expanding quickly.
One of the most prevalent, R-410A is 2,088 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide, which is produced by burning coal and gasoline. Thus, causing the world to become hotter and more unstable is a crucial means through which humans maintain their calm.
The Clean Air Act forbids the intentional emission of the majority of refrigerants because of this. The Environmental Protection Agency must phase out one chemical family at 85% by 2036; thus, efforts are being made to create and disseminate cleaner alternatives.
Tools, canisters, hoses, and unique sealed cylinders are all packed onto Byrne’s vehicle, along with one that is industry-pink and contains the deadly R-410A. She pours the leftover refrigerant from a leaking AC unit into one of the cylinders and stores it there while she disassembles the appliance.
But the refrigerants that leak from household air conditioners are just one of the ways they enter the environment, substantially rising levels and causing more intense weather.
Eckhard Groll, a refrigeration expert and the head of mechanical engineering at Purdue University, claims that automobiles are another source of these superpollutants. Gas-powered car AC systems are “prone to leaking,” and every year, on average, 25% of the refrigerant from all cars leaks out. Groll estimated that the 200 million gasoline-powered vehicles in the United States alone result in an annual leak into the environment of about 100 million pounds of refrigerant.
Supermarkets are the second-largest source of leaks due to their size and extensive piping that transports refrigerant to each cold display case. According to an advocacy group’s executive director, Danielle Wright, the average supermarket leaks about 25% of its refrigerant annually, which is in line with a 2011 report from the Environmental Protection Agency.
It’s cheaper to leak the refrigerant than to create a leak-proof system, Wright said, though he wouldn’t claim that stores are necessarily cutting corners.
Reuse and reclamation businesses have risen as a result of the need to reduce refrigerant leaks. One business is A-Gas Rapid Recovery, which operates facilities, among others, in Punta Gorda, Florida, Dallas, Texas, and Toledo, Ohio.
In the upcoming years, Armstrong predicted that this industry would grow by a factor of four to five.
CONSCIOUS REPLACEMENTS
The chemical sector is exploring alternatives at the same time. Some are currently significantly better for the climate, but they may also have drawbacks like being combustible, and it is unknown how they will affect the environment in the long run.
Many scientists are investigating carbon dioxide as a refrigerant on its own. But according to Groll, it must be done under a lot of strain, which calls for alternative systems.
Professor of environmental engineering at the University of California, Davis, Christopher Cappa claimed that removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would be excellent. But if we were simply making it for refrigerants, it wouldn’t necessarily be as good.
The removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would be our main source of carbon dioxide in the future, according to Cappa, as we transition to a largely fossil-free economy.
Today, it is available to business buyers searching for cleaner refrigeration. The technology is well-known and market-ready, so this is sort of the low-hanging fruit, according to Wright.
But when it comes to air conditioning, things are different. The development of safer refrigerants for air conditioners in the United States, according to Wright has been stymied by lobbying attempts from chemical and HVAC equipment makers as well as by some laws and standards.
However, one significant producer, Trane Technologies, claimed it has been hard at work on cleaner substitutes, has chosen one that is 78% less harmful than the present one, and will gradually introduce it into its units starting in 2024.
In order to create a refrigerant that is actually a solid rather than a vapor, Jarad Mason, an assistant professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Harvard University, is working with other researchers. Perovskite is a mineral that effectively absorbs heat under low pressure, which enables it to chill its surroundings.
Although research on solid refrigerants is still in its infancy, Mason expressed optimism about its potential because it might be utilized in refrigerators, office buildings, and houses.
The need for heating and cooling is undoubtedly going to grow, so finding affordable and sustainable ways to meet everyone’s needs is essential, he said.
