People across the US are turning up their air conditioners to beat the summer heat. But the hydrofluorocarbon refrigerants in these products and other cooling devices are potent greenhouse gases and major drivers of climate change, experts have said.
“Just installing an air conditioner or throwing one away is a huge driver of global warming,” said Adam Slavney from Harvard University. “The refrigerants used in these systems are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide and can accidentally leak out of systems when they are being handled or disposed of.”
Traditional cooling systems such as air conditioners (A/Cs) work by causing a refrigerant to cycle between being a gas or a liquid. When the liquid becomes a gas, it expands and absorbs heat, cooling a room or the interior of a refrigerator.
A compressor that works at about 70-150lb per square inch (psi) turns the gas back into a liquid, releasing heat. Air conditioners direct this heat outside...