Clearing the Air on Reclaimed Refrigerant

RMI and OTS R&D conducted laboratory tests on residential split systems and packaged rooftop units to determine if reclaimed R-410A refrigerant, processed to AHRI 700 standards, performs differently than virgin refrigerant. The results showed no statistically significant differences in heating capacity, cooling capacity, or energy efficiency across all tested operating conditions. The report argues that scaling refrigerant recovery and reclamation is essential to bridge the structural gap between declining HFC production under the AIM Act and the ongoing servicing demand for existing equipment, particularly for R-410A, which served approximately 85% of US residential and 92% of light commercial cooling systems in 2022.

• Laboratory testing of a three-ton residential split system and a five-ton packaged rooftop unit using R-410A showed no statistically significant differences in performance between reclaimed and virgin refrigerants across all operating conditions.
• Reclaimed refrigerant that meets AHRI 700 purity standards is chemically equivalent to virgin refrigerant and provides equivalent thermodynamic performance in HVAC systems.
• The United States faces a structural supply gap for legacy refrigerants, specifically R-410A, as HFC production is phased down under the AIM Act while existing equipment continues to require servicing.
• A significant volume of refrigerant remains recoverable in retired equipment; a national contractor survey indicated that over 50% of retiring residential systems still contain at least 75% of their original refrigerant charge.
• Reclaimed refrigerant is currently underutilized in the US, accounting for only 3% to 10% of total HFC consumption as of 2022, significantly lower than recovery rates in countries like Japan, which are around 40%.
• Scaling reclamation and implementing buyback programs can transform refrigerant management from a compliance cost into a revenue-generating activity, with industry studies predicting reclaimed HFCs in the US could generate approximately $800 million in sales and support nearly 4,000 jobs.

APA

RMI (2026). Clearing the Air on Reclaimed Refrigerant. https://rmi.org/resources/clearing-the-air-on-reclaimed-refrigerant/

Chicago

RMI. Clearing the Air on Reclaimed Refrigerant. 2026. https://rmi.org/resources/clearing-the-air-on-reclaimed-refrigerant/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Clearing the Air on Reclaimed Refrigerant |date=21 April 2026 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/clearing-the-air-on-reclaimed-refrigerant/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2026clearing, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Clearing the Air on Reclaimed Refrigerant}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/clearing-the-air-on-reclaimed-refrigerant/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }