APPENDIX D—REFRIGERANT NUMBERING SYSTEM

Instead of their complex chemical names, an easier way to refer to refrigerants is by number. The DuPont
Company has created an easy method of naming refrigerants, depending upon their chemical composition.
1. The first digit from the right is the number of fluorine atoms.
2. The second digit from the right is the number of hydrogen atoms plus 1.
3. The third digit from the right is the number of carbon atoms minus 1. If this number is zero, omit it.

Example #1
HCFC–123 CHCl2CF3 Dichlorotrifluoroethane

Number of fluorine atoms =3

Number of hydrogen atoms +1 =2
Number of carbon atoms –1 =1

Thus HCFC-123
The number of chlorine atoms is found by subtracting the sum of fluorine, bromine, and hydrogen atoms
from the total number of atoms that can be connected to the carbon atom(s).

Example #2
CFC–12 CCL2F2 Dichlorodifluoromethane

Number of fluorine atoms =2

Number of hydrogen atoms +1 =1

Number of carbon atoms –1 = 0 (omit)

Thus CFC-12
The small letters “a,b,c,d,...” at the end of the numbering system represent how symmetrical the molec-
ular arrangement is. An example is R-134a and R-134. These are completely different refrigerants with
completely different properties. Both have the same number of atoms of the same elements but differ in
how they are arranged. These molecules are said to be isomers of one another. In the following diagram,
notice that the R-134 molecule has perfect symmetry. As isomers of this molecule start to get less and less
symmetrical, the small letters a,b,c,d,... are assigned to their ends.

ISOMERS

MOST SYMMETRICAL NEXT SYMMETRICAL

F F F F

R-134 F C C F F C C H R-134a

H H F H
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