CHARLOTTE — Lenore Satterwaite described what happened inside her North Carolina home last year as an explosion.
“I just saw the refrigerator doors on the floor, holes in the wall,” Satterwaite said. “The whole wall was blocked in. The other side, too.”
Fire investigators weren’t able to confirm the cause of the explosion. But they did determine it came from inside the fridge. It was a modern model that contained a refrigerant called R600a. Most fridges have it. Many different manufacturers use it.
Mike Maninno has worked in the appliance repair industry for more than 45 years. So he’s seen the evolution of refrigeration.
In his early years, it was R12, a chlorofluorocarbon that was banned in the ‘90s for damaging the ozone. Then, R134a. But the EPA is phasing that out because of concerns it’s bad for global warming.
Now, the refrigerant of choice: R600a. It’s considered efficient and …