Clearing the Air on Reclaimed Refrigerant

This executive summary by RMI evaluates the performance of reclaimed R-410A refrigerant compared to virgin refrigerant in HVAC systems. The report argues that scaling the recovery and reclamation of refrigerants from retired equipment is essential to bridge the supply-demand gap created by the U.S. HFC phasedown under the AIM Act, demonstrating that reclaimed refrigerants meeting AHRI 700 standards provide performance parity with virgin supply.

• Laboratory testing of a three-ton residential split system and a five-ton packaged rooftop unit showed no statistically significant differences in heating capacity, cooling capacity, or energy efficiency between reclaimed and virgin R-410A refrigerants.
• The United States is phasing down HFC production via the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act, with production cuts expected to reach 70% from baseline levels by 2029, which may lead to a supply-demand gap for legacy refrigerants like R-410A.
• Reclaimed refrigerant is significantly underutilized in the U.S., accounting for only 3% to 10% of total HFC consumption as of 2022, compared to recovery rates of approximately 40% in Japan.
• A substantial volume of refrigerant is recoverable from retired equipment; a national contractor survey indicated that over 50% of retiring residential systems retain at least 75% of their original refrigerant charge.
• Reclaimed refrigerant must meet AHRI 700 purity standards to be considered chemically equivalent to virgin refrigerant, allowing it to serve as a reliable secondary supply stream.
• The transition to reclaimed refrigerants is supported by emerging policy initiatives, such as California's REFRESH pilot program launched in late 2025 with up to $5 million in funding, and similar management policies in New York and Washington.
• Industry projections suggest that reclaimed HFCs in the United States could generate approximately $800 million in sales and support nearly 4,000 jobs under the HFC phasedown.

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} }