What refrigerant leak rate should I assume for reefer trucks with no service records?
IPCC 2006 gives 15% to 50% of the charge a year for transport refrigeration, the leakiest category in its table, with charges of 3 to 8 kg and lifetimes of 6 to 9 years. Developing countries sit nearer the top. Multiply the charge by the rate and the gas's GWP.
IPCC defaults for transport refrigeration
- Charge: 3 kg to 8 kg per unit.
- Lifetime: 6 to 9 years.
- Installation loss: 0.2% to 1% of the charge.
- Operating leakage: 15% to 50% of the charge a year.
- End of life: recovery of 0% to 70%, with up to 50% of the charge left.
Whose scope
Leaks from reefer units on trucks you own or lease and run are your Scope 1. If you hire a carrier's reefer trucks, the leaks are the carrier's, and sit in your Scope 3 through the transport you buy.
Move to measured figures
Ask your service vendor to print the gas and kilograms charged on each invoice. A year of top-ups per truck replaces the default and usually narrows a very wide range.
Worked example: 20 trucks on R-404A
- Charge: 20 trucks x 6 kg = 120 kg (illustrative)
- At 50%: 60 kg x 4,728 (AR6) = 284 t CO2e a year
- At 15%: 18 kg x 4,728 = 85 t CO2e a year
What Senseible does here
Senseible reads diesel slips for the trucks and their refrigeration units, and refrigerant service invoices, into Scope 1 lines, so a fleet's fuel and gas sit in one dated record.
Sources: IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 3, Chapter 7, Table 7.9: charge, lifetime and emission factors for refrigeration and air conditioning, IPCC AR6 Working Group I, global warming potentials
Last reviewed 2026-10-25.