AIR CONDITIONERS LEAVE DRIVERS IN FREON LIMBO.Byline: Terry Box The Dallas Morning News On a recent sizzling siz·zle intr.v. siz·zled, siz·zling, siz·zles 1. To make the hissing sound characteristic of frying fat. 2. To seethe with anger or indignation. 3. afternoon, cars and trucks - their hoods up in distress - filled the bays at Cool Air in North Richland Hills, Texas North Richland Hills is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States. The population was 55,635 at the 2000 census. In 2006, North Richland Hills was selected as the one of the "Top 100 Best Places to live in America" according to Money magazine. , near Fort Worth. These are frenetic times at most air-conditioning repair shops, and the buzz doesn't stop when the repairs are completed. While several days of triple-digit temperatures have toasted some compressors and other air-conditioning components, it is the so-called ``Freon situation'' that is really generating some heat. Since January, the price of the refrigerant re·frig·er·ant adj. 1. Cooling or freezing; refrigerating. 2. Reducing fever. n. 1. A substance, such as air, ammonia, water, or carbon dioxide, used to provide cooling either as the working substance of - used in the air-conditioning systems of virtually all 1992-model and older vehicles - has doubled as its supply has dwindled. Now at $25 to $35 a pound at many shops, a simple Freon ``recharge'' of an air-conditioning system, where some or all of a typical system's 2-1/2 to three pounds of refrigerant is replaced, can easily cost $80 or more. A few years ago, a recharge rarely cost more than about $25. A decade ago, Freon sold for $1 a pound. The low supply of Freon and high prices have been expected for some time. Production of the refrigerant - a chlorofluorocarbon chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Any of several organic compounds containing carbon, fluorine, and chlorine. A number of different CFCs have been made and sold under the trade name Freon. known generically as R-12 - was stopped Dec. 31, 1995, because the U.S. government said it was harmful to the ozone layer ozone layer or ozonosphere, region of the stratosphere containing relatively high concentrations of ozone, located at altitudes of 12–30 mi (19–48 km) above the earth's surface. of the upper atmosphere. Newer cars use an environmentally friendly refrigerant called R-134a. What has come as a surprise, for consumers and mechanics alike, is the lack of any proven alternative to R-12. And that complication comes at a time when many local shops are reporting a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in business. Although dozens of manufacturers are rushing to develop Freon substitutes, only five of the alternative refrigerants Chemical refrigerants are assigned an R number(sometimes the label replaces it with the word Freon) which is determined systematically according to molecular structure. The following is a list of refrigerants with their R numbers, IUPAC chemical name, molecular formula, and CAS number. have been deemed acceptable so far by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and . Some mechanics say they are reluctant to use the alternatives until they know more about them. Likewise, there are ways to convert an older R-12 air-conditioning system to use the newer R-134a refrigerant. R-134a costs about one-fifth what Freon does. |
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