Disposal of products is one of the main causes of pollution and resource depletion. Therefore, handling products at the end of their lifecycle is a matter of great importance since it aims to encourage different End-of-Life (EoL) strategies as recycling, remanufacturing and reuse. This research attempts to propose a methodology that integrates real EoL scenarios throughout the design process, focusing on the Design for Disassembly approach. The methodology consists of two major steps: first, an evaluation of assemblies and disassemblies is made; and second, three different recovery rates are established. It allows designers to explore different assembly alternatives in order to find the one that leads the highest percentage of components that can have a closed-loop lifecycle. A case study was carried out with a leading manufacturer of air conditioning systems to illustrate the proposed methodology.