R454B Refrigerant - whats all the fuss?

Here's an AC condensing unit I installed last week. Nothing new from the outside, right?

That upside-down bottle is R454B — in this photo I'm charging a new system at start-up.

Look close and you'll see the red tags on the ports for my gauges. They're telling you R454B is flammable. That's true, but there are levels of flammability, and R454B's is very low. It's not going to catch fire and create a blowtorch flame if it escapes and hits a spark. It actually won't do anything unless there's first a hot flame, then a leak — and even then it's just a fluttering flame less than a half inch long that goes out very easily.

I've opened a bottle of the stuff and used an actual torch to try to make it burn. It's almost impossible.

But flammable is flammable, so every new R454B system includes safety devices. The most common — used on this system — is an automatic monitor that shuts everything down if a leak is detected at the indoor coil.

Why the switch to "flammable" refrigerants? Because the last one, R410A, had a much higher impact on the environment, and it's being phased out for new systems.

Want to know more about the advantages of newer systems and refrigerants? Call and ask for John at 814-240-2455. I'm always glad to help.