I always figured the 410a would be less efficient, just based on the fact that the pressures are higher, which would require the compressor to work harder, but I don’t really understand all the technical details. Unless one type of refrigerant is supposed to magically absorb more heat from the air than some other type? It seems like they are fairly equal up to 95 degrees or so, which is what all air conditioning units are rated for.
I’m not an engineer, so I can’t enlighten you much on the details....it is complicated.
The physical attributes of the refrigerant play a very important role i.e. specific gravity, boiling point, etc.
In fact, R410a is a zeotropic blend of refrigerants to give an acceptable performance, whereas R22 is a compound.
I base my claim of the lower efficiency based on discussions with engineers at a couple of the large HVAC mfgs other than Carrier when the R410a units were in design.