Glossary
Fluide frigorigène: the refrigerant in your heat pump or AC system
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What is a fluide frigorigène?
The fluide frigorigène (refrigerant) is the fluid sealed inside a heat pump or air conditioner. It carries heat from one side of the system to the other by turning from liquid to gas and back. Every quote names it. For you it matters in two ways: whether the system can still be refilled and repaired years from now, and who is allowed to work on it.
Which refrigerants appear on French heat pump and AC quotes?
Quotes give the refrigerant as an R-number. The ones you're likely to see:
- R32: the usual choice today in new split air conditioners and air-to-air heat pumps. It's mildly flammable, which trained installers handle as routine.
- R290 (propane): a natural refrigerant with very little climate impact. It's common in monobloc air-to-water heat pumps, where the whole refrigerant circuit stays in the outdoor unit. Because it's flammable, it isn't normally used where refrigerant pipes run inside the house.
- R410A: the standard in home AC and heat pumps through the 2010s. EU rules have pushed it out of new home equipment, so if a quote for a new system names it, ask why.
- R454B and a few others: newer lower-impact gases, still uncommon in homes.
Can an older R410A system still be serviced?
Refrigerant that leaks out adds to global warming, some types far more than the same weight of CO2. A sealed system that works properly releases nothing, so the risk comes from leaks, poor installation and scrapped units. That's why the EU keeps narrowing the gases new equipment may use, and cuts the total amount of the older gases on sale every year.
Servicing an existing R410A system isn't banned. But supply keeps shrinking, so refills will get harder to find and more expensive. If your AC or heat pump runs on R410A and develops a leak or a major fault, weigh the repair against replacing it with a current model.
Who is allowed to handle refrigerant in France?
Anyone who opens the refrigerant circuit, to install, refill or remove the gas, has to be certified. The firm needs an attestation de capacité from an approved body. Each technician who handles the gas needs a personal attestation d'aptitude. The rule covers every refrigerant, the newer low-impact ones included.
A qualified frigoriste (refrigeration and air conditioning technician) will hold both as a matter of course. Ask for the firm's attestation de capacité before work starts.
What does it mean when an AC unit needs regassing?
The refrigerant circuit is sealed, so it shouldn't need topping up. A system that needs refilling again and again has a leak, and the leak should be found and repaired. A refill on its own only postpones the problem while the unit runs less efficiently and wears its compressor. Ask for a leak check at each service, especially once a system is more than five years old.
What refrigerant details should an AC or heat pump devis give?
Ask for the refrigerant to be named on the devis (written quote). R32 on a split unit, or R290 on an air-to-water monobloc, is normal today. If it names R410A for a new system, question it. For a repair on an older system, ask which refrigerant it holds, whether it can still be refilled, and roughly what a refill would cost.
More on air conditioning, heat pumps and quotes
Sources
Official sources for refrigerant handling rules in France
- Ministère de la Transition écologique: substances à impact climatique, fluides frigorigènes The firm needs an attestation de capacité and each technician an attestation d'aptitude to handle refrigerant.
- Légifrance: Code de l'environnement, articles R543-75 to R543-123 The legal basis for both certificates, which covers air conditioning and heat pumps.
- European Commission: EU rules on fluorinated greenhouse gases Why the supply of older refrigerants keeps shrinking and new equipment keeps moving to lower-impact gases.
Rules checked against these sources in September 2026.