Refrigerant Leak Reduction Savings Calculator

Posted on

Cost of Refrigerant

Refrigerant Leaks are Expensive

As anyone in the refrigeration industry is already well aware, the refrigerant prices have skyrocketed over the last year. In many cases, the cost of replacing refrigerant now outweighs the cost of a technician’s time to locate and repair any refrigerant leaks. (This doesn’t take into consideration any costs associated with lost inventory, increased utility consumption, damaged / overworked equipment or potential fines from environmental regulators.)

High GWP Refrigerants Not Alone in Sharp Price Increase

While the majority of price increases can be tracked back to changes in environmental regulations, some lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants have also seen sharp price hikes.

  • R-404A – GWP of 3,922 tCO2e, the price of this high GWP refrigerant has increased by 700% since the start of 2017.
  • R-410A – GWP of 2,088 tCO2e, the price of this refrigerant has increased by 450% since the start of 2017.
  • R-407C – GWP of 1,774 tCO2e, the price of this refrigerant has increased by 350% since the start of 2017.
  • R-134a – GWP of 1,430 tCO2e, the price of this refrigerant has increased by 275% since the start of 2017.
table illustrating increases in refrigerant prices
Information based on refrigerant prices in the European Union from 2014 to 2017.

Find Small Leaks Before They Cause Big Problems

Bacharach refrigerant leak detectors are capable of identifying the presence of refrigerant leaks with a minimum detection level (MDL) of 1 ppm. This means that your staff will be alerted to small leaks (leaks which would have gone undetected indefinitely by competing refrigerant leak detectors) before they cost you money. ∎