After January 1, 2010, R-22 can no longer be manufactured for use in new equipment.  Only previously used and recovered refrigerant may be use in newly manufactured systems, and as a result manufactures have ceased production of R-22 equipment and switched to the use of R-410A for residential cooling systems.  This can affect your pocketbook as a home buyer or home owner and is an important consideration when you are considering the purchase of a home having older HVAC equipment.  When an older system requires repair, there may no longer be new R-22 equipment to complete significant repair and depending upon what needs to be replaced, this may result in a need to replace the entire cooling system.  Replacement may be necessary because R-410A systems operate at much higher refrigerant pressures.  This means that if your compressor fails or your condensing coils deteriorate and leak requiring replacement, your old evaporator coil will also require replacement to insure it can perform at the higher operating pressure of the new R-410A condensing unit.  Fortunately many new evaporator coils are dual rated for R-22 or R-410A allowing you to replace the evaporator coil of an R-22 system with a newer coil which is dual rated and use it with your existing R-22 condensing unit, but should you?  The answer to that question will depend upon the overall age and remaining life expectancy of the system.  Your installer should be able to help you asses this concern based upon the age and condition of your system and the overall costs for repair.  As we move closer to 2015, it will be more cost effective to replace the system with failure of any component.

If you have an R-22 system which is not very old then you may still have some maintenance considerations which could raise the price of maintaining your system.  If your system should develop leaks or require repairs that will result in a need to add or replace refrigerant, you will likely have to pay higher prices for R-22.  With systems frequently lasting 12-18 years, equipment purchased in 2009 may still be in use when R-22 is completely phased out.  The EPA is requiring that R-22 production be heavily reduced in 2015 and ceased in 2020.  It is expected that as we approach 2015 that R-22 prices may significantly increase as demand exceeds available production and recovery.

For more information on the phase out schedule and its expected effects visit the EPA web site.