Car owners pay higher price for auto air conditioning coolant.LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 25, 1996--Freon Freon (frē`ŏn) [trade name], any one of a special class of chemical compounds that are used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and solvents. These compounds are haloalkanes, i.e., halogen derivatives of saturated hydrocarbons (see alkane)., the refrigerant used in more than 75% of automobile air conditioners in Southern California is no longer manufactured. Supplies of Freon are available to service auto air conditioners, but substantial price increases of more than 100% are expected as this supply dwindles, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California. Due to the federally mandated phaseout which prohibited production of Freon after Dec. 31, 1995, decreasing supplies have driven prices up although Freon will be available through 2000. "Expect to spend approximately $90 to recharge an air conditioner with Freon compared to about $30 a year ago," said Steve Mazor, Auto Club automotive engineer. Freon, technically known as R-12, will last almost indefinitely and occasionally as long as the air conditioner itself. It does not evaporate or break down chemically. "A car's air conditioning heat pump is a reversible device that does mechanical work to extract heat from a cooler place and deliver heat to a warmer place. The heat delivered to the warmer place is, approximately, the sum of the original heat and the work done. Greater temperature differences between the warm and cold regions require greater amounts of work. In warm weather the heat pump acts like a traditional air conditioner, removing heat from the indoors and delivering heat to the outdoors. system only needs to be converted to use the new approved coolant, R-134a, when the existing air conditioner needs major work, like replacing the compressor or if those components are damaged as the result of the car being in a collision," explained Mazor. The cost of a conversion will range from about $200-$1,000 -- all depending on the car's make and model. Air conditioning systems which use Freon should continue to use the product until it is no longer available or the price reaches a point that it is more cost effective to convert the air conditioning system to use R-134a. Freon is no longer manufactured, because it is a chlorofluorocarbon, a substance that is harmful to the environment and has been linked to the depletion of the Earth's ozone. Automakers responded to the phaseout of Freon by producing air conditioning systems that use the new ozone-friendly refrigerant R-134a. By the end of 1994, virtually all new cars, trucks and vans were equipped with R-134a air conditioning systems. The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the American Automobile Association, has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's 4.3 million members benefit by the organization's emergency road service, public safety programs, travel planning, highway and transportation safety programs, automotive testing and analysis, automobile and homeowners insurance and legislative advocacy. CONTACT: Automobile Club of Southern California Jeffrey Spring, 213/741-4412 Madeleine Drake, 213/741-4857 |
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