Air Conditioning News

The F-gas legislation was brought in to help meet the EU's Kyoto Protocol obligations by working to minimise the emissions of fluorinated gases and so reduce their environmental impact. This is a breakdown of how the legislation affects users of refrigerant-based equipment.

F-gases or Fluorinated gases, which include HFCs - are the most commonly used refrigerants, which have a high global warming potential.

Historically, air conditioning systems, water chillers and refrigeration plant have leaked refrigerant. Users and owners of the systems, as well as service and maintenance companies, now have a serious role to play in reducing F-gas emissions in line with this legislation.

Do you comply with the European Union's F-gas Regulation?

The legislation applies to all static refrigeration and air conditioning equipment and imposes legal obligations on 'operators' of this equipment, with 'operators' defined as the people or organisations that have actual power over the technical functioning of the equipment.

Engineers and operators alike need to be aware of their duty of care and understand the procedures that must be implemented to prevent F-gas leaks. Much of the responsibility for complying with the F-gas regulation is placed on the 'operator' of the refrigeration equipment. However, a reputable service and maintenance contractor such as Aria will carry out the majority of the work required to comply with the legislation.
The key aspects of F-gas are

Secure refrigerant containment

It is important to work closely with the 'Operator' to ensure your air conditioning and water chillers are 'Refrigerant Leak free' - as these leaks are a real problem, its is estimated that 70% of new refrigerant is sold to repair leaks!!

Secure refrigerant containment is core to the regulation so it is necessary to both prevent leaks and repair any leakage as soon as possible. Leak prevention and detection is aided through monitoring according to a mandatory leak-checking schedule.

Leak Inspection Regimes

The leak testing regime set out in the F-gas legislation calls for any air conditioning systems with a refrigerant charge of 3kg but under 30kg to be leak tested annually (though for hermetically sealed systems - annual leakage checks are carried out 6kg up to 30kg), All air conditioning equipment containing refrigerant charges of 30kg up to 300kg the systems should be inspected and certificated every six months; systems containing over 300kg should be inspected and certificated every three months.

Additionally, those of 300kg and greater must be fitted with an automatic leak detection device.

If you are uncertain about the quantity of refrigerant in a system you should refer to the system's label; however, if it does not have one there is a calculator on the DEFRA website which assists in estimating the charge.

According to the regulation, if a refrigerant leak is found and repaired during service and maintenance, or as a result of an automatic detection, a suitably qualified engineer must recheck the system with the appropriate leak detection equipment within one month of repair to ensure there are no further refrigerant leaks.

Those adequately trained in safe refrigerant handling and leak testing techniques must only carry out Service and maintenance. Furthermore, any refrigerants that are recovered must be safely disposed of.

Record Keeping & Audible refrigerant recovery

In addition to leak testing regimes, to comply with F-gas each air conditioning system containing a refrigerant charge in excess of 3kg, must have an accompanying logbook, kept available for inspection.

The log book will detail the date of any repairs, identify the company or service engineer undertaking the servicing or testing, as well as the exact nature of any work carried out, refrigerants used and refrigerants recovered and taken away.

It is the part of the operator's duty of care to ensure that the service and maintenance contractor employed to maintain refrigeration and air conditioning systems hold the necessary certification, showing that they understand the F-gas regulation and are competent to do the job.

Skills training and the appropriate safe refrigerant handling certification of the service and maintenance of the company and its employees.

When appointing or reviewing a service contractor, for work on your air conditioning systems, currently you should ensure that the contractors have obtained the City and Guilds Certificate in Handling Refrigerants Scheme 2078 or 2079 or the CITB Safe Handling of Refrigerants Reference 206710.

Further Information.

The DEFRA website has a wealth of information which can help to inform your decisions taken on complying with the F-gas Regulation. These include General Guidance, Frequently Asked Questions, Refrigeration Charge Calculator and Supplementary Guidance for the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector.