Air Control’s Guide to the F Gas Regulation
Does your business use air conditioning, heat pumps or refrigeration?
The European Union’s F-Gas Regulation No 842/2006 became law in 2006. The law imposes regulations on to the ‘operators’ of this equipment that still remain relatively unknown. F- Gases include HFC’s which are the most common refrigerants in use in today’s market. The regulation aims to minimise emissions of these gasses which affect climate change. Sustainability is important in many businesses today with teams of people employed to maintain best practice. The efficient use of air conditioning is important in contributing to the best practice approaches.
User Responsibilities:
‘Operators’ are defined as the people or organisations that have actual power of the technical functioning of the equipment. The legal responsibility for compliance lies with the operator.
For stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump units over 3kg charge (6kg if hermetic) operators must :
- Prevent leakage, and repair any leaks as soon as possible
- Arrange proper refrigerant recovery by certified personnel during servicing and disposal
- Carry out leak checks to the schedule shown below
- ensure that only certified competent personnel carry out leak checks
- Maintain records of refrigerants and servicing
Leak checking schedule:
| System | Schedule | Comments |
| 3kg + | Annually | Unless equipment is hermatically sealed in which case allowance is 4kg |
| 30kg + | 6 monthly | |
| 300kg+ | 3 monthly | Leakage detection systems must be installed with applications this large, in which case checking schedule is halved. |
If a leak is detected and repaired, a further check must be carried out within one month.
Maintenance and Servicing Records:
Operators of all systems containing 3kg or more of F-Gases must maintain records including:-
- Quantity and type of F-Gases installed, added or recovered
- Identification of the company or technician carrying out the servicing
- Dates and results of leakage checks, specifically identifying separate pieces of equipment containing 30kgs or more of refrigerant.
It is the operators responsibility to ensure that the relevant servicing personnel have obtained the necessary certification. Contact Us to get a free no obligation assessment.
