How Not to Destroy our Ozone Layer
Today, I got a call from an architect who I’ve given my services for free. I don’t call him a customer because he’s never paid me and I've never charged him. I suspect he’s done his homework on me and he knows that I am a decent, honest, professional. Since I last saw or spoke to him he married and moved into his new wife’s house not very far from my own. He called to say that the A/C wasn’t cooling the house, though the condensing unit outside was running and the indoor blower was running. He also told me that his new wife said the A/C system has a leak in the refrigerant system, so it “just needs to be topped-off.”
Okay, people, here’s the straight dope on A/C systems "needing to be topped-off.” First, air conditioning refrigerant systems are a closed loop comprised of threaded, flared, soldered or brazed and gasketed connections. The reason that refrigerant systems ‘need to be topped-off is the refrigerant, most likely R-22 (a refrigerant type that is being “phased out” due to its destructive properties for the Earth’s ozone layer) leaks out of the refrigerant system into the troposphere all around us, then rises to the upper stratosphere where it mixes with ozone.
So what’s the problem with ozone-depleting refrigerants? The chlorine atom removed from Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s) and Hydroclorofluorocarbons (HCFC’s) reacts with ozone molecules (O3) and converts them into oxygen molecules (O2). Yeah, we may have more oxygen in the stratosphere, but we end up with less O3, which protects us from ultraviolet rays from the sun, and without sufficient O3 in the stratosphere, where all as good as dead.
So, what do you think is more important to consumers of air conditioning? The answer is simple, of course, “I need A/C now!” ‘Who cares about the ozone layer, I won’t even live to see the day it dies!’
Sorry, people, this is not responsible. Just like I told my acquaintance this morning, “If you’re A/C system has a leak, I’m going to fix it, not just top it off and destroy the Earth’s ozone layer.” His response was, “Can I have 30 days to pay for your service call?” I said no, that I only give credit to a handful of dependable customers. I told him that with me he gets a master HVAC technician who is honest, and won’t sell him anything he doesn’t need and will fix his problem right, and within 4 hours. At $85/hour (my service rate), which equals $340, my acquaintance decided to go elsewhere to hire someone who will “top-off” his system. That translates into, ‘I really could care less about the ozone layer, and, yes, I know that CFCs and HCFCs can remain in the upper atmosphere for 100 years, all the while converting O3 into O2, but I am willing to keep dumping O3 into the atmosphere for as long as someone is willing to “top-off” my A/C! This is about money!’
I can’t make the buying public not destroy our world with their purchasing decisions, but I can decline on their invitation to take part in that destruction.
Buying-public, please think twice about topping-off you’re A/C and refrigerant systems and fix the leaks. Yeah, it may cost a couple hundred more, but at least you will then be able to complain about British Petroleum’s disaster to the Gulf of Mexico, and all its inhabitants and species, with a clear conscience!