There are three refrigerant names you’re likely to find on a home air conditioner in Australia: R32, R410A and, on very old units, R22. The one your system uses is printed on the compliance plate on the outdoor unit and in the manual. It sets limits on what a technician can put back in, and it matters when you’re deciding whether to repair an old unit.
You’ll never see the refrigerant itself. It’s the working fluid sealed inside the copper pipes between the indoor and outdoor units. If you want the full loop explained, our guide to how an air conditioner moves heat walks through the four main parts. This post is about the label, and what it means when you buy, service or replace.
The three names you’ll see on the plate
Here’s how the two current gases compare, using the figures the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC) publishes for technicians on its R32 properties page:
| R32 | R410A | |
|---|---|---|
| Global warming potential (GWP) | 675 | 2088 |
| Flammability rating | A2L, lower flammability | A1, no flame propagation |
GWP is a comparison with carbon dioxide. A kilogram of R410A released into the air traps about as much heat as 2,088 kilograms of CO2. R32 comes in at 675. The ARC also notes that R32 systems tend to need a smaller charge, and it puts the effective reduction in GWP at about 75 per cent.
R22 is the third name. It’s an HCFC, an older class of gas that damages the ozone layer. According to the federal environment department (DCCEEW), importing or manufacturing most HCFC air conditioning equipment has been banned since 2010. If your unit’s plate says R22, it’s been on the wall a long while.
Does the refrigerant matter when you’re buying?
Not as much as the sizing and the install. The manufacturer sets the design refrigerant, and it’s usually printed on the compliance plate and in the manual.
“A2L” is the lowest of the flammable classes in the AS/NZS ISO 817 safety groups. The ARC says R32 must only be used in systems specifically designed for it.
Why you can’t top it up yourself
Handling refrigerant in Australia is licensed work. DCCEEW’s consumer guidance says only licensed technicians can handle refrigerants, and that it’s an offence for anyone else to handle fluorocarbon refrigerants. Releasing regulated refrigerants into the air is illegal too. The licence is issued by the ARC under the ARCtick scheme.
That rules out the “regas kit” idea for a split system. It also changes how you should read a unit that’s gone weak. A sealed system that’s short of gas has a leak somewhere, and the leak should be found before anyone recharges it. Our not-cooling troubleshooting guide covers the checks you can safely do yourself first.
If you’re booking someone, you can confirm their licence on the ARC’s Look for the Tick site. Our list of questions to ask an installer puts that check first.
What it means for an older system
- No swapping to a higher-GWP gas: since 1 January 2020 it has been an offence to charge equipment with a refrigerant that has a higher GWP than the one it was designed for. DCCEEW’s charging rules give the example directly: a system designed for R32 can’t be charged with R410A. The design refrigerant is the one on the compliance plate. The page lists exceptions too, including charging HCFC equipment such as an R22 unit with an HFC.
- No converting R410A to R32: the ARC says plainly that R32 is not a drop-in replacement for R410A. R410A units aren’t designed to run on a flammable refrigerant, and whoever modifies one takes on the manufacturer’s compliance responsibilities.
So you can’t turn an R410A system into an R32 one. Servicing it is normal work, and a leak can be found, repaired and recharged with the right gas.
R22 systems are the harder case. DCCEEW’s HCFC fact sheet says replacement parts can be imported under licence, but that excludes a complete or substantially complete indoor or outdoor unit of a split system. When an R22 unit develops a serious leak or a failed compressor, ask the technician for a repair quote and a replacement quote side by side. Then weigh them up with the unit’s age in mind.
The short version
- Find the plate: the refrigerant is printed on the outdoor unit’s compliance plate and in the manual.
- R32: about a third of R410A’s GWP, rated A2L, only for systems designed for it.
- R410A: still serviceable with R410A, but it can’t be converted to R32.
- R22: an old ozone-depleting gas; get repair and replace quotes before spending on a major fault.
- Any gas work: a licensed technician only, and you can check the licence yourself.
