Convert R-410A to CO₂e
The value above comes from a published dataset (DEFRA, EPA, IPCC) that's revised about yearly. Get one email when this number changes: old → new, and what it means. No marketing.
R-410A — the refrigerant in most modern air conditioners and heat pumps — is converted to carbon-dioxide-equivalent by multiplying its mass by its global warming potential (GWP). Under the IPCC’s latest assessment (AR6), one kilogram is worth 2,256 kg CO₂e over 100 years; under the earlier AR5 basis it is 1,923. R-410A is not a single molecule but a 50/50 blend of R-32 and R-125, so its GWP is the weighted average of the two. The converter reads these values live from the GreenCalculus MasterBrain and lets you switch the assessment basis.
To convert R-410A to CO₂e, multiply the mass by its global warming potential: 2,256 on the IPCC AR6 100-year basis (1,923 under AR5). So 1 kg R-410A = 2,256 kg CO₂e. Divide by the same GWP to reverse it.
kg CO₂e = kg R-410A × GWP. With the AR6 100-year value: kg CO₂e = kg R-410A × 2,256. Reverse: kg R-410A = kg CO₂e ÷ 2,256. Because R-410A is a blend, its GWP is the mass-weighted average of its components (half R-32, half R-125) — a single figure you apply to the whole charge.
| R-410A | × GWP (AR6, 100-yr) | CO₂-equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kg | × 2,256 | 2,256 kg CO₂e |
| 10 kg | × 2,256 | 22,560 kg CO₂e |
| 100 kg | × 2,256 | 225,600 kg CO₂e |
| 1,000 kg (1 t) | × 2,256 | 2,256,000 kg CO₂e (2,256 t) |
The R-410A-to-CO₂e formula (× 2,256)
Carbon-dioxide-equivalent restates a greenhouse gas as the mass of CO₂ that would cause the same warming, using its global warming potential as the exchange rate. R-410A’s GWP is over two thousand because both of its component hydrofluorocarbons absorb infrared radiation strongly and persist in the atmosphere.
R-410A is a blend, not a single gas
R-410A (also written HFC-410A) is a near-azeotropic mixture of 50% R-32 (HFC-32, GWP ~771) and 50% R-125 (HFC-125, GWP ~3,740) by mass. Its blend GWP is the weighted average of the two — about 2,256 on the AR6 basis — which the MasterBrain stores as a single value so you can convert the whole refrigerant charge in one step, without splitting it into components. Because it is a blend, it has no chemical name, only the R-410A / HFC-410A designation.
AR6 (2,256) vs AR5 (1,923)
The IPCC revises the component GWPs with each assessment, which shifts the blend value. The AR6 100-year GWP for R-410A is 2,256; the older AR5 value, still used by DEFRA and for pre-2021 historical comparison, is 1,923. (An even older AR4-based figure of about 2,088 appears in some F-gas regulations.) State which assessment your inventory uses and hold it constant; the converter’s vintage selector switches between the AR6 and AR5 values the MasterBrain carries.
R-410A / HFC-410A: 2,256 (AR6) · 1,923 (AR5). A typical home air conditioner holds 2–4 kg of R-410A, so a full loss is roughly 4.5–9 tonnes of CO₂e — the reason a leaking system matters far more than its size suggests.
kg R-410A to kg CO₂e conversion table
The table reads both ways, using the AR6 100-year GWP of 2,256. The left half converts R-410A mass to CO₂e (× 2,256); the right half converts a CO₂e figure back to the refrigerant mass behind it (÷ 2,256).
| kg R-410A | → kg CO₂e (× 2,256) | kg CO₂e | → kg R-410A (÷ 2,256) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,256 | 1,000 | 0.4433 |
| 5 | 11,280 | 5,000 | 2.216 |
| 10 | 22,560 | 10,000 | 4.433 |
| 50 | 112,800 | 50,000 | 22.16 |
| 100 | 225,600 | 100,000 | 44.33 |
What R-410A’s CO₂e means in practice
R-410A’s high GWP and its regulatory phase-down are what a bare number leaves out — and both are why this conversion matters.
The same refrigerant is quoted with two different global warming potentials; only one is the current basis for a greenhouse-gas inventory:
| GWP-100 | Basis | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| 2,256 | IPCC AR6 (current) | Greenhouse-gas inventories — this converter |
| 2,088 | AR4 basis · nameplate / EU F-gas | Only where a rule specifically requires it |
The AR4-era blend GWP printed on equipment and used in EU F-gas quota accounting. Not the current AR6 figure.
Why refrigerant leaks matter so much
Refrigerant is emitted by leaking — through seals and joints, during servicing, and at end-of-life if it is not recovered — rather than by being consumed. Because a kilogram of R-410A equals about 2.3 tonnes of CO₂e, the few kilograms in a single air-conditioning system represent several tonnes of potential emissions. Facility inventories therefore estimate refrigerant emissions from charge and leak rate — see the refrigerant leakage calculator and its mass-balance methodology.
The phase-down: Kigali and the F-gas Regulation
R-410A is being phased down for its climate impact. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol commits countries to cutting hydrofluorocarbon consumption, and the EU F-gas Regulation restricts high-GWP refrigerants. New air-conditioning equipment is moving to lower-GWP options — R-32 (GWP ~771, roughly a third of R-410A), R-454B and other mildly flammable “A2L” refrigerants. Converting legacy R-410A figures to CO₂e is central to quantifying that transition.
R-410A is not CO₂
Like the other non-CO₂ gases, R-410A produces a genuinely different quantity when converted: a CO₂-equivalent mass over 2,000× the refrigerant mass. Its CO₂e is not 1:1 with its mass, which is why a GWP is needed. The same treatment converts R-134a, methane and the other greenhouse gases — see the GWP unit conversion methodology.
Where the R-410A-to-CO₂e conversion is used
R-410A dominates modern cooling, so the conversion appears across building and equipment inventories.
- Air conditioning and heat pumps. Residential and commercial split systems, chillers and heat pumps — leaks are estimated with the refrigerant leakage calculator.
- Fluorinated-gas inventories. A facility aggregating all its F-gases onto one CO₂e basis — the F-gas inventory aggregator (method: the F-gas inventory methodology).
- The general GWP step. Any inventory line in R-410A is converted to CO₂e by this multiplication; the method is the GWP unit conversion methodology.
Record the basis with the number: assessment report (AR6/AR5) and horizon (100-year). “3 kg R-410A = 6,768 kg CO₂e (AR6, GWP-100)” is auditable; “6,768 kg CO₂e” alone leaves a reviewer unable to tell whether you used 2,256, 1,923 or the older 2,088. R-410A and HFC-410A are the same blend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Multiply the mass by R-410A’s global warming potential: kg CO₂e = kg R-410A × GWP. Using the IPCC AR6 100-year value of 2,256, 1 kg R-410A = 2,256 kg CO₂e. To reverse it, divide the CO₂e figure by the same GWP.
The IPCC AR6 100-year GWP is 2,256; the earlier AR5 value is 1,923, and an older AR4-based figure of about 2,088 appears in some F-gas regulations. R-410A is a high-GWP blend, which is why it is being phased down.
Yes. R-410A (HFC-410A) is a near-azeotropic 50/50 blend by mass of R-32 (GWP ~771) and R-125 (GWP ~3,740). Its GWP of 2,256 is the mass-weighted average of the two components, stored as a single value so you can convert the whole charge at once.
Use 2,256 if you report on the IPCC AR6 basis (the current standard), or 1,923 if you follow AR5 (still used by DEFRA and for historical comparison). Some F-gas regulations use an older AR4-based 2,088. State which basis you use and keep it consistent; the converter’s vintage selector switches between AR6 and AR5.
Yes, it is being phased down. The Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol and the EU F-gas Regulation restrict high-GWP refrigerants, and new air-conditioning equipment is switching to lower-GWP options such as R-32 (GWP ~771) and R-454B. Existing R-410A systems remain in service and still need CO₂e accounting.
Because R-410A’s GWP is about 2,256, a single leaked kilogram equals roughly 2.3 tonnes of CO₂e. A home air conditioner holds 2–4 kg, so a full loss is several tonnes. Refrigerant escapes through seals, servicing and end-of-life disposal, so it is tracked closely by charge and leak rate.
New air-conditioning and heat-pump equipment is moving to lower-GWP refrigerants — chiefly R-32 (GWP ~771, about a third of R-410A) and blends such as R-454B, which are mildly flammable “A2L” refrigerants. Converting R-410A data to CO₂e helps quantify the reduction from switching.
Divide the CO₂e figure by R-410A’s GWP. On the AR6 100-year basis, 10,000 kg CO₂e ÷ 2,256 = 4.433 kg R-410A. Switch the converter’s direction and it does this for you — use the same GWP the CO₂e figure was built with.