Environmental effect of R22 vs R410A

[coolguy4]

I was always very skeptical that R410A is any better for the environment than R22. In no particular order, here’s a few reasons why:

1. R410A has a significantly higher global warming potential than R22 does. It’s about 15% higher, not accounting for reason number 2.

2. Higher pressures mean more leaks. R410A operates at much higher pressures than R22, which means more chance of leaks.

3. More material required per unit. Since R410A runs at a higher pressure, AC units must be built with heavier duty components, which use more material to build. This may sound insignificant, but a couple extra pounds of copper per AC unit adds up.

4. Lower efficiency. I found a few studies showing that R410A often has worse performance than R22, especially in very high ambient temperatures. More energy consumption means more global warming.

5. Fractionation. R410A has the potential to fractionate, which would mean that the fractionated refrigerant would need to be destroyed rather than recycled.



So which refrigerant do you think is better for the environment and why? Do you think I have a valid argument here?

[RANGER1]

I was always very skeptical that R410A is any better for the environment than R22. In no particular order, here’s a few reasons why:

1. R410A has a significantly higher global warming potential than R22 does. It’s about 15% higher, not accounting for reason number 2.

2. Higher pressures mean more leaks. R410A operates at much higher pressures than R22, which means more chance of leaks.

3. More material required per unit. Since R410A runs at a higher pressure, AC units must be built with heavier duty components, which use more material to build. This may sound insignificant, but a couple extra pounds of copper per AC unit adds up.

4. Lower efficiency. I found a few studies showing that R410A often has worse performance than R22, especially in very high ambient temperatures. More energy consumption means more global warming.

5. Fractionation. R410A has the potential to fractionate, which would mean that the fractionated refrigerant would need to be destroyed rather than recycled.



So which refrigerant do you think is better for the environment and why? Do you think I have a valid argument here?

I’m no expert on 410a, but I see similar GWP compared to R22.
But R410a has no chlorine to effect ozone layer, which was the initial reason for brining it in.
Banning R12 & 502 was first because it had higher ozone depleting effect.
In the meantime we found out about global warming, so then started reacting to that.
Basically we have no clue what we are doing most of the time & that’s an ongoing trend since beginning of time.

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www.engineeringtoolbox.com/amp/refrigerants-properties-d_145.html

https://www.airah.org.au/Content_Files/EcoLibrium/2018/08-18-Eco-003.pdf

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/RefrigerantUpdates.pdf