This SAE Standard covers the Mini-Shed testing methodology to measure the rate of refrigerant loss from an automotive air conditioning (A/C) system. This SAE procedure encompasses both front and rear air conditioning systems utilizing refrigerants operating under sub-critical conditions.

The purpose of the SAE Mini-Shed Test Refrigerant Emission procedure is to provide a means of measuring refrigerant emissions from properly assembled vehicle air conditioning systems under specific A/C usage conditions (i.e., typical use conditions) and to convert the results to an estimated annual refrigerant emission rate (g/yr). Such conversion from laboratory test results to estimated vehicle emission applies to properly assembled systems and does not account for normal production assembly variations.