Is R-22 better at cooling than R-410A?

Whether R-22 is better at cooling than R-410A depends on how you measure cooling performance, but generally R-410A is considered to have slightly better cooling capacity and efficiency in modern equipment designed for it, though R-22 has good thermodynamic properties. R-22 has excellent heat transfer and low pressure drop, and in older systems it performed very well. R-410A was designed to replace R-22 and operates at higher pressures, allowing smaller compressors and coils to deliver similar or greater cooling capacity, with many manufacturers reporting about 5 to 10 percent higher efficiency in R-410A systems due to better heat exchange and use of polyolester oil. In terms of temperature glide and dehumidification, R-22 is a single component with no glide, while R-410A is a near-azeotropic blend with very low glide, both perform similarly. However, you cannot directly compare cooling ability by putting both refrigerants in the same system because systems are designed for specific refrigerant properties. Modern R-410A equipment with variable speed and enhanced coils outperforms older R-22 equipment in SEER efficiency. So R-22 is not inherently better at cooling, modern R-410A systems are generally more efficient and provide better cooling performance when properly designed.