What is Freon?

The term Freon is a product name commonly used to refer to a cooling system’s refrigerant. A refrigerant is a chemical compound used in a cooling unit’s compressor circuit that facilitates the heat transfer process from to heating to cooling. Until recently, the refrigerant designated as R-22 was the refrigerant of choice by U.S. manufactures for residential and small commercial cooling equipment, including heat pumps. Due to its contribution to the Earth’s ozone layer depletion, U.S. manufactures have been aggressively switching over to R-410A, a non-ozone depleting refrigerant blend. The use of R-22 will begin to be phased out of production beginning 2010.

"Freon" is a trade name for CFC and HCFC refrigerants sold by DuPont. Other trade names include AlliedSignal's "Genetron" and ICI's "Arcton". Various companies sell the same CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, and other products under different names. The most common ozone-depleting refrigerants are R-22, R-11, and R-123. Return to the questions list. • How do I know what I'm allowed to use? Lists of acceptable and unacceptable substitutes are found on the web site and are published regularly in the Federal Register. Return to the questions list. • What alternative refrigerants are currently available? Several new alternatives are already on the market. The SNAP web site contains the latest list of acceptable substitues by end-use. Another table lists the compositions of many blends, what they are intended to replace, their ASHRAE designations, and the generic names, if any, used when describing them in the Federal Register. Return to the questions list. • Whom do I contact for information about ...  more

Refrigerant (Freon) is a chemical, colorless, odorless, noncorrosive and nonflammable gas or liquid with lower boiling points and have the ability to absorb heat without drastic expansion in volume.  more

Dichlorodifluoromethane (R-12), usually sold under the brand name Freon-12, is a chlorofluorocarbon halomethane used as a refrigerant and aerosol spray propellant until its manufacture was discontinued in 1995, due to concerns about damage to the ozone layer. The ozone depletion potential of R-12 is 0.82, which is relatively high. The use of chlorofluorocarbons as an aerosol in medicine, for example: USP-approved Albuterol, has been phased out by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The use of a different propellant known as hydrofluoroalkane, or HFA, which does not harm the environment has been chosen as the replacement. "Freon" is not exact a chemical. "Freon" is actually a trade name that describes a whole class of chemicals used in refrigeration. Most of the chemicals included under the trade name of "Freon" are known as "chlorofluorocarbons." This means that their chemical structure is made up of the main chemical building blocks of carbon and hydrogen, but they also include ...  more

(A) "Freon" is a trade name for CFC and HCFC refrigerants sold by DuPont. Other trade names include AlliedSignal's "Genetron" and ICI's "Arcton". Various companies sell the same CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, and other products under different names. (Q) What refrigerants are used now? (A) The most common ozone-depleting refrigerants are CFC-12, R-502, and HCFC-22. R-502 is a blend of 48.8% HCFC-22 and 51.2% CFC-115. (Q) What does CFC stand for (A) Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC): a compound consisting of chlorine, fluorine, and carbon. (Q) How do CFC's effect the ozone (A) CFCs are very stable in the troposphere. They are broken down by strong ultraviolet light in the stratosphere and release chlorine atoms that then deplete the ozone layer. CFCs are commonly used as refrigerants, solvents, and foam blowing agents. (Q) What CFC's are used the most? (A) The most common CFCs are CFC-11, CFC-12, CFC-113, CFC-114, and CFC-115.  more