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A comment on New tech can make air-conditioning less harmful to the planet. Parent comment

Re:New tech can make air-conditioning less harmful to the pl... by ovi256 on Monday September 16, 2024 @11:44AM (#41557243)
I think the claim that all working fluid put into an AC ends up in the atmosphere is correct for now. Most AC decommissions I heard about involved venting the gas to the atmosphere. Given the high cost of labour everywhere, the zero labour option is the one we must expect.

There's no country AFAIK that sanctions AC equipment owners or anyone else for not disposing properly of all their working fluid at the end of the equipment's lifetime.

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Re:New tech can make air-conditioning less harmful to the pl... by mech975 on Monday September 16, 2024 @11:53AM (#41557347)
In the USA the EPA will fine you for intentionally venting refrigerants to the atmosphere instead of using a refrigerant recovery system for recovery/reuse/disposal.

Pretty good reddit thread about the realities of enforcement: https://www.reddit.com/r/HVAC/comments/ugg89h/people_who_hav...

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Re:New tech can make air-conditioning less harmful to the pl... by quonn on Monday September 16, 2024 @11:56AM (#41557385)
AC equipment is replaced at the end of its lifetime and picked up by professionals. That's a fact.

And as I pointed out, even if it wouldn't be picked up and leak _completely_, then it would still be 50x less than the average car owner emits in the same timeframe.

Even a single season of heating a house with natural gas already emits more than a complete leak. And who is loosing sleep about that? Maybe those who install an AC for a 20x emission reduction. Not those baselessly claiming that AC are environmentally problematic.

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