How Much Does a Freon Recharge Cost?
While many call it “freon,” this is just a brand name, similar to that of a “Kleenex” when referring to a tissue.
Known as a refrigerant, air conditioners, your car and refrigerator all use this substance to move the heat from inside of the object to the outside in order to work properly.
How much does a freon recharge cost?
Companies will often quote you by the pound if it’s for a home air conditioner, and the prices, depending on the refrigerant, can cost anywhere from as little as $75 to more than $150 per pound when professional labor in involved. In order to receive an exact quote for how many pounds you need, a technician will really need to hook up their gauges to see how low you really are. From there, they will be able to make the best guess as to how much you need, but as a rule of thumb, you will need about two to four pounds per one ton of your unit. The average homeowner who needs a freon recharge will find themselves paying $150 to $400 for a home air conditioner recharge.
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For example, on Angie’s List, they had talked with a handful of companies, and their prices, depending on who they talked to, ranged anywhere from $35 to more than $175 per pound for R-22 refrigerant; however, the $35 quote did not include the cost of the service charge. Since R-22 is being phased out, as ordered by the EPA, the prices for R-22, if needed, will continue to rise. In fact, by 2020, it won’t be produced at all, according to the article.
Thomson AC, located in California, charges $104 for the first pound of R-22 refrigerant and $72 per pound for each subsequent pound.
With a car, a refrigerant, either R-12 in an older car or R-134a in a newer car, can cost anywhere from $170 to $240, depending on where you go. Most of the time, this fee will be fairly straightforward regardless of the car you drive.
Another common household item such as the refrigerator can have its freon recharged as well. With a professional service call and the parts, the total, depending on your geographical location, can cost about $125 to $175.
YouRepair.com says you should be prepared to pay a $50 to $100 labor charge for the hour and another $20 for the part if your refrigerator were to need more freon. The average job to inspect and refill your refrigerator shouldn’t take longer than 20 minutes.
What are the extra costs?
For air conditioning systems that use an R-22 refrigerant, it usually won’t evaporate nor will it dissipate outside of your system unless there’s a leak. If your air conditioner were showing signs of a leak, then the leak will have to be fixed before they add the refrigerant and find it gone later in the future. Even without fixing the leak, it could take awhile to even detect the leak. Since there are so many variables and repairs, the costs can range anywhere from as little as $250 to more than $1,200.
Tips to know:
R-22, as mandated by the EPA, will be 100 percent phased out in 2020 due to the effects it had on the ozone layer. As part of this agreement, R-22 refrigerant production had dropped by 90 percent, creating a very limited demand. Today, R-410A took the R-22s place.
Because R-22 will be harder to come by, the prices will continue to rise. If you don’t believe the contractor, check Amazon to see what a cylinder of R-22 can cost wholesale. Even though it may be tempting to purchase it, you do have to be 608 certified with the Environmental Protection Agency to buy it. Remember, the prices you see will be wholesale and a contractor will increase the price to produce a profit.
The most common reason freon needs to be recharged will be due to a broken solder weld at the copper bend connection, but there are other factors as well. This may include a punctured outdoor condenser, a leaking coil, poor service valve or leaking tubing.
How can I save money?
In some cases, it may be more cost efficient to replace the unit entirely rather than worry about fixing a leak and refilling it with an expensive R-22 refrigerant. If your unit is older than 15 years old, then it may be time to invest in a modern unit.
For a car, there are a/c recharge kits online for as little as $25.
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