F-Gas Regulations

The legal legislation concerning the F-Gas laws was passed on July 4^th 2006, with the laws coming into effect from the same date the following year. Since then the laws were amended on 4^th February 2009.

The F-Gas legal regulation is a government driven measure which aims to contain and prevent the emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gasses. By containing and preventing these emissions the regulation aims for both long term and short term reduction, as covered within the Kyoto protocol.

The comprehensive legislation addresses an intricate web of aspects including: containment, use, recover, destruction, reporting, labelling, training and certification on the market prohibitions for the fluorinated gases.

The aspects of the legislation which affect premises utilising refrigeration and air conditioning, can be found below.

Containment

Under the F-Gas legislation, the operators of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment are required to utilise measures which are technologically feasible and which do not entail a disproportionate cost for the operator, in order to reduce the leakage of HTCs into the environment. Operators are also legally required to repair any detected leakage as quickly as possible.

The legislation defines an operator as he natural or legal person exercising actual power over the technical functioning of the systems covered by this regulation. A member state may in specific situations designate the owner as being responsible for the operator’s obligations.

Operators are legally required by the legislation to ensure that their systems are routinely checked for leaked by certified personnel, as is specified in the training and certification requirement.

Leakage Inspection

The legislation demands several parameters are observed by operators regarding leakage inspection, these are as follows:

• Systems shall be checked for leakage dependant on refrigerant charge.
• 3kg charge – check at least every 12 months.
• 30kg charge – check at least every 6 months.
• 300kg charge – check at least every 3 months.
• The application shall be checked for leakage within 1 month after a leak has been repaired to ensure the repair was effective.
• Operators of equipment containing 300kg or more shall install leakage detection systems – these must be checked every 12 months.
• “Checked for leakage” means that the system is examined for leakage using direct and indirect methods.

Record Keeping

Operators of systems over 3kg are required under the legislation to keep and maintain records on both the quality and the type of the HFC which is installed. Records are required to be kept for any quantities which are either added or recovered during maintenance, servicing and disposal. In addition, further records are required to be taken for leak checks and any subsequent action which is taken. Operators are legally obliged to make these records available to legal authorities on request.

Recovery

The F-Gas legislation requires that operators of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump systems and equipment are responsible for ensuring that the correct measures are put in place to ensure that the proper recovery procedures are adhered to by certified personnel who comply with the training and certification requirements outlined in the legislation.

Additional Information

Useful web based sources for further information:

• http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/261/pdfs/uksi_20090261_en.pdf

Any questions you may have relating to the compliance of your refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump systems to the F-Gas Regulations can be directed to a member of Braywhite & Co Ltd.’s dedicated technical team on: 0121 551 6001. Alternatively, you can email your queries or concerns to us atinfo@braywhite.co.uk.