Can Car Refrigerant Be Used in Home Air Conditioners?
2 Answers
Car refrigerant cannot be used in home air conditioners, and here are the reasons: 1. Home air conditioners use R22 refrigerant, while inverter air conditioners use R410 refrigerant, and car air conditioners use R12 refrigerant. These are different from each other, and mixing them will render the system unusable. 2. Additional Information: Refrigerant, also known as cooling agent, is colloquially called "snow seed" in some southern regions. It is the working substance that continuously circulates within the refrigeration system and achieves cooling through changes in its own state. The refrigerant absorbs heat from the cooled medium (such as water or air) in the evaporator and vaporizes, then releases heat to the surrounding air or water in the condenser and condenses.
The refrigerant used in car air conditioners is quite different from that in household air conditioners. When my house was being renovated, I asked a car mechanic the same question, and he immediately shook his head, saying it wouldn’t work. Car air conditioners typically use R134a, while household air conditioners now use R410a or R32. These two types of refrigerants have completely different compositions, and mixing them can damage the compressor seals, making repairs far more expensive than simply recharging the refrigerant. Moreover, the specialized tools aren’t interchangeable either—household air conditioners require a vacuum pump for evacuation, and the pressure gauge specifications are different too. Once, my neighbor didn’t believe it and tried using a car refrigerant canister on his home AC, only to end up with refrigerant leaking everywhere. He had to call someone to refill it, costing him a lot more in the end.
