Refrigerant and repair
It does not make your system illegal, and it does not make it unfixable. It changes how a repair gets sourced, what a leak costs you in decisions, and what a replacement has to match.
Updated August 23, 2026
01
EPA phased out new United States production and import of most HCFCs, including R-22, as of 2020. EPA also records that R-22 is the most common HCFC still in use today, in existing air conditioners and refrigeration equipment. Servicing an existing system draws on supply that already exists rather than on new production. Your system didn't become illegal.
02
Refrigerant isn't consumed the way fuel is. If the level is low, it went somewhere. Adding more without finding the leak sends the same refrigerant back out and puts you in the same place next season. Where the leak is, and what it would take to reach it, matters far more than the label on the cylinder.
03
Under the AIM Act, EPA restricts the manufacture, distribution, sale, installation, import and export of products containing restricted HFCs from 1 January 2025. For residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pump systems, including mini splits and unitary systems, the limit is a global warming potential of 700. The EPA sector table records no installation compliance date for systems where all specified components were manufactured or imported before that date.
04
Indoor and outdoor equipment is designed around a specific refrigerant. Replace one half and the other half has to be compatible, or the pair will not perform the way either piece was rated. That is a scope question for the written quote, not a preference.
05
The fault, the condition of the rest of the equipment, whether a leak was found and where, and whether the refrigerant can still be sourced for that model. A discontinued refrigerant is one input. It isn't the verdict, and it is not a reason to skip the diagnosis.
06
You should be able to repeat the answer back in plain words.
Side-by-side
| The rule | What it applies to | What it does not mean |
|---|---|---|
| Ozone phaseout of R-22 and most other HCFCs | New United States production and import, ended as of 2020 | That equipment already installed has to stop running |
| HFC restrictions from 1 January 2025 | Manufacture, distribution, sale, installation, import and export of new products above the sector limit | An order to remove systems already in service |
| Residential and light commercial air conditioning and heat pumps | A global warming potential limit of 700 for new systems | A limit on servicing a system installed before the compliance date |
| Systems whose components predate 1 January 2025 | No installation compliance date recorded by EPA for that case | Permission to skip matching the indoor and outdoor components |
Common questions
No. EPA ended new United States production and import of most HCFCs, including R-22, as of 2020. That phaseout does not order you to remove equipment already installed in your property. Separate EPA rules govern which refrigerants new products and systems may use.
Often, yes. It depends on the fault, whether the refrigerant can still be sourced for that model and whether there is a leak. A discontinued refrigerant can make sourcing harder. It does not decide the repair by itself.
No. Those restrictions apply to new products and newly installed systems above the sector limit. EPA records no installation compliance date for systems whose specified components were all made or imported before 1 January 2025.
Primary sources
