Additional costs are incurred because conventional refrigerator lubricants will not dissolve in HFCs. HFC-134a, for example, needs ester oil. Synthetic ester oil is patented, and its price is several dollars per litre more expensive than commonly used mineral oils.
The present costs of HFCs would increase steeply if they were to become subject to a 'global warming tax' which was equivalent to the carbon/energy tax proposed by the European Commission.
HFC production results in toxic waste: The manufacture of HFCs is directly linked to the production of organochlorines, a class of chemicals that are persistent and toxic, and have been targeted for phase out. Throughout the manufacturing process, toxic intermediary and by-products are released into the environment . Approximately 10% of the total HFC-134a production weight is toxic waste, which pollutes our air, soil and water.
HFCs leak more: Virtually all cooling systems leak. However, because of their smaller molecular structure HFCs are more prone to leak than CFCs. This represents thousands of tonnes of emissions, considering for example, that the annual rate of CFC leakage in the UK refrigeration and air conditioning industry is about 20% of the total charge.
Furthermore, in car air conditioning the leakage rate is even greater. Approximately "65% of the cooling agent in mobile air conditioning leaks away unavoidably."** Refrigerant loss in a typical car air-conditioning unit occurs within two to five years, and on average, when a car is brought in to a garage for A/C service, only about 40% of the original 2kg charge is left.*** Up to 50% of the global HFC-134a production is for automobile air-conditioning.
HFCs require stringent quality controls: HFC-134a is an unstable substance which can cause problems if it is contact with small quantities of water or other impurities. It requires stringent manufacturing and servicing controls which are especially difficult to achieve in very humid climates and poses a further problem for many developing countries. HFC-134a is entirely unsuitable as a drop-in replacement for CFCs.
* Kroeze, C. "Potential Effect of HFC Policy on Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2035" [Return]