Cost Benefits of Using HFO-1234yf

Cost benefits of HFO-1234yf reflect the fact that HFO-1234yf is a near drop-in replacement for R-134a. Adopting HFO-1234yf would require automakers to make minor system modifications compared to R-134a, but they would continue to use a similar air conditioning system design. In contrast, adopting CO2 would require a totally different system design, and this would involve significant additional costs that would likely be passed along to consumers.

While auto repair shops would need to invest in new equipment to service cars with HFO-1234yf, we expect that the service industry will gradually implement these changes. The new equipment and servicing itself will be quite similar to what service shops currently use with HFC-134a.  However, service shops are not presently prepared to service CO2 systems, and infrastructure would need to be developed for handling/servicing CO2 systems.  Most importantly, CO2 operates at a much higher pressure, so safety and use standards would need to be well communicated to service shop owners.