Perhaps We Don’t Know Everything There is to Know About Refrigerant

source: http://sustainabledesignupdate.com/?p=22 I have said it in this blog and on the webpage like 20+ times, there are two main types of refrigerant used in air conditioners and cooling systems. The older one is R-22 and is going to be phased out soon. The other 410A or Puron is more environmentally sound. In Europe and some other parts of the world, they are using R718 or simple water vapor. The idea is to use water, and pressurize it, using it to cool instead of refrigerant. There are many advantages – the lack of pollution, relative low cost, but there are also some disadvantages – one being technology isn’t quite prepared to produces these units in a cost-effective way. However, all in all, great idea and worth looking into. Maybe in the future, you’ll be able to “top-off” your own refrigerant. Until then, it’s a very good idea to get your unit checked each year or so (depending). For more information: http://st-div.web.cern.ch/st-div/wor...ogy/JacekK.pdf http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/636/70/