The Montreal Protocol started the whole process of refrigerant phase outs and ulitmate bans of R22 Freon in 2020. That was primarily for combatting the ODP or ozone depletion potential of the refrigerant in question due to chlorine being part of the chemical that made up R22 Freon. The legislation to eventually phase down and ban R22 was signed by then President Ronald Reagan. Today (2023 and beyond) the problem is centered around GWP or Global Warming Potential as it relates to CO2 or carbon dioxide. All this GWP talk started during President Barrak Obama's presidency. He signed a new agreement known as the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol.
Donald J Trump was elected President in 2016, just shortly after Obama had signed the Kigali Amendment. The problem with the Kigali Amendment was that the Montreal Protocol was not intended to be a global warming treaty and numerous conservatives within the Republican party urged at that time President Trump to rescind the Kigali Amendment. However, essentially all President Trump did was ignore it as well as exit the Paris Climate Accord. The pandemic hit and well as you know there were more important things to deal with then. However with the green new deal and all these other climate policy agendas and Trumps 2020 Re-election defeat by Joe Biden everything Donald Trump did to ignore it, Joe Biden undid it and rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and other states like California have taken a grand stance on their own of incorporating paths forward for the HVAC air conditioning market. This first video below describes in full detail. While I am more on the conservative side on this issue... you'll see and understand why when we get to where we are today in 2023. History is to tell you the whole story, not just bits and pieces of it because of the side of the aisle you are on.
Once Joe Biden became President in 2020 and shortly after rejoined the Paris Climate Accord this set in motion a number of things, but still dealing with the pandemic that widely left the HVAC shelves bare as soon an HVAC equipment shortage took hold. Running HVAC service was considered an essential business but with parts and equipment hard to come by it's been quite an interesting couple of years to say the least. With people cooped up at their house the HVAC for places like Texas were getting a work out. Those units broke in short order, the need for replacement equipment grew and with factory workers largely forced to stay home if sick and in some cases factories for HVAC equipment eventually were stagnated due to the lack of materials to make the equipment anyway even if they could keep their crews healthy.
R410a Puron, the refrigerant that largely saved us from more gaping holes in the ozone layer due to the CFC and HCFC refrigerants of the past become problem causer instead of problem solver. Depending on what criteria or chart you look at R410a typically ranks over 2000 GWP compared to CO2 (carbon dioxide) which is primarily being blamed for global warming or climate change which ever you prefer.
Information starts to trickle out and we get some names of possible contenders R454b and R32. Neither are perfect. This next video starts to lay this out probably better than I can simply explain it in the written word. (Europe by this time has been using R32 for some time with over 100 million units in operation, but as you'll see the GWP numbers for R32 are higher than R454b not to mention other problems. Watch the video is your best bet to get a clear understanding. I broke this down into 3 parts and coined the title: "FREON WARS" (Parts are labeled 2a, 2b & 2c)
Part 2a above.
Part 2b above.
Part 2c above.
The first video of this series was produced in 2021 and was largely comprised of information that transpired over a 5-6 year time frame. The reason I mention that is that HVAC type things can take time to take shape. If you watched all the videos up to this point you are now ready for my 2023 Freon Wars Update video. I believe I've uncovered a potential bomb shell that could unwind the US HVAC market in a profound way. This next video is marginally longer but this 2023 update I believe will hold for at least next year.
Freon Wars 2023 Update posted above. Potentially a disrupter considering most manufacturers in USA are choosing R454b. If you watched all the videos to this point I thank you personally. It's alot of information to take in all at once. This is extremely important information for all home owners going forward. Help me get the word out and share this information with your friends and family.