reclaimed-refrigerant-appendix-final_amended-21-may-2026-ae7dfbdd1b644335.pdf

The document describes testing conducted between August and December 2025 on a 3-ton residential split-system and a 5-ton packaged rooftop unit (RTU) to compare the effects of different R-410A refrigerant qualities. Results indicate that reclaimed refrigerant meeting AHRI 700 purity standards causes no measurable short-term performance penalty in capacity, efficiency, or power consumption compared to virgin refrigerant. Testing with recovered refrigerant and near-empty tanks showed similar stability, although recovered refrigerant quality is noted as inherently variable. Additionally, the RTU showed performance resilience down to 85% of nominal charge, likely due to the use of thermostatic expansion valves (TXVs).

• There is no statistically significant difference in capacity, efficiency (COP/EER), discharge pressure, or power consumption between virgin and reclaimed refrigerant when using standard charging procedures from the liquid port.
• Recovered refrigerant, which does not meet AHRI 700 standards, performed similarly to virgin and reclaimed samples in short-term tests, though its quality is inherently variable and may contain long-term reliability risks like acids and moisture.
• Charging a system from a nearly empty tank to maximize non-condensable gas (NCG) intake resulted in a slight increase in discharge pressure (0.7%–2%) for the RTU, but this had no measurable impact on capacity or COP.
• The 5-ton RTU maintained stable performance down to approximately 85% of its nominal refrigerant charge, with capacity decreasing by about 4% and efficiency changing by ±2%; however, degradation became more pronounced below this threshold.
• The use of thermostatic expansion valves (TXVs) in the tested systems likely provided a buffer that reduced the immediate impact of low refrigerant charges on performance.

APA

RMI (n.d.). reclaimed-refrigerant-appendix-final_amended-21-may-2026-ae7dfbdd1b644335.pdf. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/05/Reclaimed-Refrigerant-Appendix-FINAL_Amended-21-May-2026.pdf

Chicago

RMI. reclaimed-refrigerant-appendix-final_amended-21-may-2026-ae7dfbdd1b644335.pdf. n.d. https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/05/Reclaimed-Refrigerant-Appendix-FINAL_Amended-21-May-2026.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=reclaimed-refrigerant-appendix-final_amended-21-may-2026-ae7dfbdd1b644335.pdf |url=https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/05/Reclaimed-Refrigerant-Appendix-FINAL_Amended-21-May-2026.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmindreclaimedrefrigerantappendixfinalamended21may2026ae7dfbdd1b644335pdf, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{reclaimed-refrigerant-appendix-final\_amended-21-may-2026-ae7dfbdd1b644335.pdf}}, institution = {RMI}, url = {https://rmi.org/app/uploads/2026/05/Reclaimed-Refrigerant-Appendix-FINAL_Amended-21-May-2026.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }