The demise of HCFC-22 as a refrigerant in new air conditioning equipment and the rise of HFC-410A as a long-term alternative have been talked about for years now. But in general, contractors are still slow to make the switch according to many in the industry.

Part of their challenge is to convince their potential customers to invest in R-410A equipment even though units using R-22 are still available and will be so for at least a few more years.

To help in that effort, manufacturers - who will no longer be able to make new R-22 units beginning in 2010 - are starting to gear up marketing campaigns that contractors can use with customers to convince them to opt for R-410A units.

One such campaign just being launched has created a creature called Refrigesaurus.

As developed by a marketing team for Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems, Refrigesaurus is “an old dinosaur that depletes the ozone layer with his outdated refrigerant, R-22. Refrigesaurus represents R-22 in a manner that shows it’s nearly extinct.”

The dinosaur-like creature battles Bryantman, the superhero dealer who defends comfort and fights the evils of out-of-date heating and cooling technology.

The campaign encourages contractors and their customers to use air conditioning products that contain R-410A as the refrigerant.

In 1996, Bryant introduced a full line of products with R-410A (marketed by the company as Puron®), and now has over 1 million units in operation across the United States and Canada, the company said.

Publication date: 12/03/2007