Over the years there have been dozens of different refrigerants used in air conditioners and they’ve been replaced for a variety or different reasons as well. Of course, some of the problem has been that in the beginning, only a few refrigerators were even in use, so there wasn’t a problem with mass production, or massive leakage, there just weren’t that many to worry about. But as time has progressed, millions upon millions of air conditions, refrigerators, and freezers have been produced so now caution must be used when choosing just the right refrigerant to charge all of these units. Here is a brief history of the process.
The Job Of The Refrigerant Since Days Of Old
Even ancient civilizations had basic cooling systems, like the elite’s homes in Rome had cool water from the local rivers piped through them, thus making water one of the earliest refrigerants.
The basic duty of any type of coolant is to absorb heat and remove it to another place, like the water did in the original home cooling systems in Rome. In that case, new fresh water was constantly needed to replace the heated water as it left and was returned to the river. However, in modern systems, the coolants are always reused in a closed system, so the heat must be extracted, recycled, and then returned over and over again as a coolant.
This led to an ongoing search for refrigerants that could absorb the heat the best, and give it up quickly, in order to be pumped back into the system for reuse.
Each Of The New Chemicals Used Had Disadvantages
Ammonia was one of the first refrigerants used in mass production of cooling systems. It was excellent at absorbing heat and the noxious fumes made finding leaks easy. However, any large leak would necessitate the evacuation of the building since it was toxic. Plus, since it was highly reactive with water, and water made the ammonia corrosive to metals, it could eat through many parts in a compressor, radiator, or transfer tubes very quickly.
Sulfur Dioxide was also used for several decades, since it was very toxic, it was hard to work with and could possibly kill or injure people during a leak. It was soon replaced with Methyl Chloride which was an excellent refrigerant, but after several fatal accidents, it too was doomed to be replaced due to flammability and corrosive action.
Chlorofluorocarbons Were A New Generation Of Coolants
This time scientist were after a coolant that would be non-toxic, non-flammable, stable under normal conditions, inexpensive, and with a high density for excellent heat absorbent properties. So CFCs were born and they had many fantastic properties. They could be used in spray cans as a propellent since they didn’t combine with other chemicals. Used in fire extinguishers since they didn’t break down under high heat and were non-flammable. Or used as a solvent to carry away debris safely in many industrial processes. The were perfect in many ways.
Unfortunately, it was eventually discovered that CFCs were actually breaking down in the upper atmosphere due to a reaction with the UV rays from the sun. Then, the resulting chemicals were consuming the ozone layer from around the earth at an alarming rate. This ozone layer is part of what protects all life on earth from dangerous radiation emitted from the sun. Without it, higher cancer rates and even extinction of animals could result. That began a search for a replacement that could do the job without the side-effects.
Then Hydrofluorocarbons Were Brought In To Replace CFC’s
These refrigerants seemed like the perfect chemicals to replace the CFC’s and not cause any more problems with the ozone layer. They were phased in by the richer nations and the poorer countries were given years to comply. The ozone layer began re-growing and everything looked good, for awhile.
As it turns out, the new chemicals, name HFC’s, were highly potent global warming agents. They were far more damaging than CO2 and were deemed a major contributor. The only thing that saved them was that, for the most part, they are contained in closed systems.
That means that they aren’t commonly released into the air except in accidents, leaks, or other occurrences. This helped to limit their exposure to the upper atmosphere. Regulations were put in place to make technicians capture the gas when working on systems rather than releasing it into the air. But a search was on for a new refrigerant, once again
Enter Bluon TdX 20 as the Refrigerant Of The Future
Now that even R22, once considered the final, best refrigerant, is going to be phased out, all refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners will have to be recharged with something that is compatible and safe to use.
One of the great environmental advantages of Bluon TdX 20 is that the equipment that runs on it will use approximately 20% less energy, day in and day out. This will add up to thousands of saved Kilowatt hours of energy over decades of use. The units will draw less current, so the need for heavy-duty wiring is also reduced as well.
Due to the efficiency of the new refrigerant, units using it will automatically have an increased capacity for cooling. This saves wear and tear on the equipment, it may actually run 20 to 90 minutes less per day making the mechanical components last that much longer over time. This will save consumers and businesses millions of dollars in replacement costs down the road.
The change-over is also easier with Bluon TdX 20 since the original compressor oils can be used and not replaced. All of the metering devices can also be reused, saving hundreds of dollars on the change-over. When the other new refrigerant, R-410a is used, due to the higher pressures involved the compressor needs to be replaced as well as most of the tubing and some of the radiators as well. Not so with TdX 20, it can be used on all R-22 based systems.
Right now there is a strong need for a new refrigerant and it looks like tdx 20 refrigerant – Bluon Energy is going to be the perfect replacement. Research is ongoing to make sure and careful attention must be made to environmental concerns like the ozone layer, and global warming, but this revolutionary refrigerant seems to be the answer.
