Outdated Air Conditioners Could Cost Thousands To Repair

JACKSON, Miss. - WAPT.com

Consumers may not know it yet, but the air conditioner in the back yard could end up costing thousands in repair costs.

Right now, all around the country, air conditioning retailers are still selling a soon-to-be outdated air system known as the R-22. The R-22 system has been used to cool homes for more than four decades, but in a move to improve the environment, on Jan. 1, 2010, manufacturers will no longer be allowed to produce those systems, with only a few exceptions. That means some air conditioning parts, which are now easily available, will become harder to find because they won't be made any more.

“A repair today typically can run between $300 and $700 on a standard system, but as the refrigerant changes take place, if you have a catastrophic failure in the system and you have to replace the entire system, you are looking upwards of $5,000,” John Overby of Long Electric Company said.

WAPT Anchor Brad McMullan asked Overby why companies are still producing the soon to be outdated systems and why stores are still selling them. Overby, who is a man with more than 20 years of air conditioning experience, said it’s all about money.

Overby said the older R-22 air systems typically cost about 10 percent less than the newer, more environmentally friendly R-410A systems. The R-410A systems hit the market more than eight years ago to replace the R-22 systems.

Kelli Croyle lives in a new upscale neighborhood in Madison and was surprised to find out her air conditioning unit is not one of the newer models -- and she is not alone. Nearly every air conditioning unit in her 2-year-old subdivision has the older air system despite the fact that the newer cooling systems have been available for several years.

The thought of having to pay thousands to repair her air conditioner in the next few years, doesn't sit well with Croyle.

"That's a huge amount of money that you don't plan for each month and that could really do some harm especially in these hard economic times right now,” Croyle said.

"There are still a lot of manufacturers that (produce) the R-22 systems and from all the information I have, they are still manufacturing them day and night now, working up until the night of January 1, 2010," Overby said.

Overby said his company stopped selling the R-22 systems years ago because he knew in 2010, the system would be phased out.

"I would really hate to have to be the contractor to have to answer that consumer that five years ago I put a system in and had a catastrophic failure and now I have to replace that whole system because that part is no longer available," Overby said.

Consumers can check their air conditioning units to see if they have the old or new versions by looking at the back of the unit. If there is a pink sticker, it is one of the new systems. Manufacturers will continue producing refrigerant for the outdated R-22 systems for another 10 years but the parts will one day become harder to find, Overby said.

Overby said most homeowners can still avoid major repairs by keeping their systems maintained, which includes changing the air filter every month and cleaning the outside unit with a hose.

The Jan. 1, 2010 deadline does not impact window air conditioner units.

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