INOLA, Okla — Homeowners could potentially face a huge increase in their A/C prices this summer.
People in the A/C industry reached out to 2 News about some refrigerant supply shortages they’re facing, and how it could impact your wallet.
Operations Manager for Cool Enterprises Inc, Brandon Hill explained the importance of refrigerants in running an A/C unit.
“Without that chemical inside your air conditioner system, your air conditioner is not going to cool your house," he said. "It's not going to heat your house in the wintertime.”
Hill said the refrigerant types that have been federally-approved to use in the U.S., starting January 1 2025, are 454B and R32.
He said the 454 refrigerant has been extremely hard to find, forcing his company to pay much more than usual for any they can find.
“Now the brakes have been put on and we can't get we can still get some 32 here and there, but the 454, stuff is pretty much it's gold," he said. "If you get it, you're going to pay dearly for it.”
Hill said this shortage will affect everyone in the long run, which is something he and many others in the A/C industry are worried about.
“If they raise the prices for us, obviously we have to funnel that down to the customers," he said. "If it was a small jump, yes, our company would eat those prices to help the customer maintain those prices so they're not paying more," he said. "However, we're talking a four and five times jump, and we're talking hundreds of dollars to now thousands of dollars per pound of refrigerant. And it's going to continue to get worse.”
While he knows the industry is facing some obstacles, Hill said he wants to make sure customers stay safe from potential financial risks.
“Part of the warranties deals to discuss is, if you have somebody come out and you set this new system having problems with it, make sure to check your check your HVAC guys when they're out there working on it," he said. "Make sure they're putting in the right refrigerants."
Hill said refrigerants aren’t considered “parts” of a unit, which means they aren’t covered under a warranty.
Because of this, if the wrong refrigerant is used for an A/C system, it could cause more issues.
“They test this and go, 'Hey, this was a 410 in a 454 unit, there's a possibility they could say we're not warranty-ing that'" he said. "Now, you have to buy a two or $3,000 compressor on top of all the other mess, and it's just going to create chaos as the summer goes and this stuff gets more scarce and more scarce.”
Ultimately, Hill and others in the A/C industry hope that this supply problem is resolved so everyone can enjoy their summer.
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