If your business runs air conditioning installed before roughly 2020, there is a reasonable chance it is charged with R410A. Until recently that was an unremarkable fact. In 2026 it became a budget line.
In May, Beijer Ref UK — the country’s largest refrigeration and air conditioning wholesaler — announced a 60% price increase on R410A, alongside a 60% rise on R407C, 35% on R134a and 30% on R32. Other suppliers have followed. With the next F-Gas quota step landing on 1 January 2027, this is the right month to work out what your existing plant is going to cost you before next year’s budget is signed off.
What is actually happening — and what is not
The confusion in the market is worth clearing up first, because a lot of businesses are being told their systems are illegal when they are not.
R410A is not banned. Great Britain still operates under the retained EU F-Gas Regulation 517/2014, not the stricter 2024 EU revision. Under the GB regime:
- Virgin and reclaimed R410A remain legal for servicing and maintaining existing systems.
- New single-split systems using refrigerant of GWP 750 or above are restricted — which is why almost every new split you are quoted now comes on R32.
- Larger VRV/VRF systems and chillers carry no equivalent equipment ban. You can still buy and run them.
So this is not a compliance cliff edge. It is a supply-and-price problem, and for most businesses that is the more expensive of the two.
The quota mechanism in one paragraph
The phase-down works by capping the total tonnes of CO2 equivalent that can be placed on the GB market each year. Because the cap is measured in CO2e rather than kilograms, high-GWP gases consume quota fastest. R410A has a GWP of 2,088 — every kilogram eats more than three times the quota of a kilogram of R32 (GWP 675). As the cap tightens, suppliers ration the gases that burn quota hardest. R410A is first in line.
The 2027 step is still coming
In May 2026, DEFRA confirmed it would not legislate this year to change the phase-down steps from 1 January 2027, following 137 responses to its consultation. Some businesses read that as a reprieve. It is not.
The existing schedule remains in force, which means the GB market still faces a 22.6% cut in quota on 1 January 2027, with a further 12.5% reduction in 2030. DEFRA has said it remains committed to more ambitious reform and will set out next steps. In other words: the near-term squeeze is confirmed, and the long-term trajectory is more restrictive, not less.
Where the commercial risk actually sits
The risk is not a fine. It is the unplanned recharge.
A single office split might hold 2–3kg of refrigerant. A commercial VRF system serving a retail unit or an office floor can hold 30kg or more across the pipework. If that system develops a significant leak, you are buying refrigerant at post-increase prices, at short notice, on whatever availability your contractor can secure that week.
| Refrigerant | GWP | Typical use | 2026 exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| R410A | 2,088 | Splits and VRF installed c.2004–2020 | High — 60% increase applied May 2026 |
| R407C | 1,774 | Older retrofit systems | High — 60% increase applied May 2026 |
| R32 | 675 | Current splits and light commercial | Moderate — 30% increase applied May 2026 |
| R454B | 466 | Newer large commercial VRF | Lower — the direction of travel |
Three things follow from that table, and none of them are hypothetical:
- A 60% increase on gas is a 60% increase on one component, not on the job. On a large recharge, refrigerant can be the dominant cost. On a small service visit, it barely registers. Treat the two cases differently.
- Lead times matter more than headline price. A shop or restaurant losing cooling for four days because a cylinder is not available costs more than the cylinder ever will.
- Reclaimed gas is not a cheap escape route. As virgin supply tightens, demand for reclaimed R410A rises with it, and so does the price.
What to do before your 2027 budget is set
The honest advice is not “replace everything now”. Panic-replacing serviceable plant destroys more capital than the phase-down will. What it does justify is knowing exactly what you own.
- Build a refrigerant asset register. Every system, its refrigerant type, its charge weight in kg, and its CO2e. If your contractor cannot give you this, that is itself informative.
- Rank by charge size, not by age. Your exposure is concentrated in the largest R410A charges, not the oldest units.
- Look at leak history. A system that has been topped up twice in three years is not a maintenance issue any more. It is a financial one, and it will get worse.
- Time replacement to the asset, not the headline. Where an R410A system is already near end of life, bringing replacement forward into the 2027 budget is usually cheaper than funding an emergency recharge plus an eventual replacement anyway.
- Check your F-Gas obligations are being met. Mandatory leak checking is triggered by CO2e, and R410A’s high GWP pulls smaller systems into scope than owners expect — roughly 2.4kg of R410A is enough to require annual checks. More detail on our compliance page.
Maintenance is now the cost control, not just the compliance box
For twenty years, the argument for a planned maintenance contract was uptime and warranty. The phase-down adds a harder financial one: refrigerant you do not lose is refrigerant you do not have to buy at 2027 prices.
Proper leak detection, pressure testing, joint inspection and accurate charge records are what stand between a slow leak and a five-figure recharge. That is core to an AKS planned maintenance contract, and it is the single highest-return thing most businesses can do about R410A this year.
Find out what your exposure is
AKS Air Conditioning has 34+ years of experience installing and maintaining commercial systems, covering around 300 sites across the North West and nationally for clients including Deichmann, Footasylum, B&M, AO and Fitness First. As Daikin and Mitsubishi partners, we work with both legacy R410A plant and current R32 and R454B equipment every week.
We will survey your systems, record the refrigerant type and charge weight for each, and give you a straight answer on which units are worth maintaining and which belong in next year’s capital budget — without pushing you into a replacement you do not need.
Call AKS Air Conditioning on 01704 833 755 or get in touch here to arrange a refrigerant exposure review before your 2027 budget closes.
