Air Conditioners and the Environment

There are three main ways that an air conditioning system can impact the natural environment and it is up to you to minimize that impact. The first cause of environmental impact is leakage of refrigerants into the environment. Prior to 1993, air conditioning systems used R-12 a CFC containing "greenhouse" gas, which is a key suspect in the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer. If your pre-1993 air conditioner is in need of service or repair, conversion to a non R-12 system is often the best choice. With the rising price of R-12, which is no longer produced, air conditioning system conversions are becoming an economically as well as environmentally good choice. We recommend that people stay away from any conversion other than to R-134a, which is the mainstream choice of new refrigerants. All cars produced since 1993 equipped with air conditioning use R-134a. There are many low-cost R-12 replacement products on the market that are flat-out dangerous. Some are flammable and others are considered hazardous waste once introduced into your system. These substandard substitutes can damage A/C recovery and recycling equipment at the cost of thousands of dollars for which you could be held responsible. The bottom line: once an A/C system has been charged with anything other than R-12 or R-134a you will regret it in the long run. A well-equipped shop will test an A/C system for contamination before it attempts any service or repair. If a foreign chemical is found in your car's air conditioning system, chances are your shop will refuse to service that system and bill you for the test.

The second cause of environmental impact by air conditioning systems is fuel economy. Air conditioners draw power from your engine and running your air conditioner all the time will have a noticeable impact at the gas pump. Running your air conditioner constantly may also shorten the life of your system. Sometimes 2-60 air is still the best system (that's two windows down at 60 miles-per-hour). Those with power windows may want to experiment with lowering four windows halfway to reduce the blast.

The final cause of impact is at the landfill. A dead A/C system is as good as scrap. Remember, use it or lose it. Now that air conditioners are using R134a, the myth that running them will hurt the ozone layer is especially moot. Avoiding the use of your car's air conditioning system will eventually allow it to atrophy and need to be repaired or replaced, just like any biological or mechanical system. While a properly-equipped technician will minimize CFC leakage during the repair of an atrophied system, such repairs can often be avoided with simply the regular use and an occasional evacuation and recharge of the system.