The new F-Gas Regulations will reduce F-Gas emissions by two-thirds of today's levels by 2030 and ban the use of F-Gases in some new equipment where viable climate-friendly alternatives are readily available. The main novelty and driver for moving towards climate-friendly technologies is the introduction of a phase-down measure which from 2015 will limit the total amount of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) – the most significant group of F-Gases - sold in the EU and reduce their quantities in steps to one-fifth of today's sales by 2030. This measure is accompanied by a number of new restrictions on the use and sale of F-Gases in equipment. These ambitious measures will build on and benefit from the successful phase-out of ozone-depleting substances which was achieved in the EU 10 years ahead of the internationally agreed schedule. Common HFCs affected by the service and maintenance ban are: TYPE GWPs R404A 3922 R422A 3143 R422D 2729 R507 3985 Key Dates: Ban on new equipment placed on the Market 01/01/2015 - HFCs with GWPs of150 or more -Applies to domestic refrigerators and freezers 01/01/2020 - HFCs with GWPs of 2500 and over - Applies to hermetically sealed commercial refrigerators and freezers 01/01/2020 - HFCs with GWPs of 2500 or more - Applies to stationary refrigeration equipment or it’s associated remote plant. Equipment operating below -50 deg C is exempt 01/01/2020 - HFCs with GWPs of 150 or more - Appliesto portable air-conditioning appliances i.e. hermetically sealed equipment which is movable between rooms 01/01/2022 - HFCs with GWPs of 150 and over - Applies to hermetically sealed commercial refrigerators and freezers 01/01/2022 - HFCs with a GWP of 150 and over - Applies to commercial refrigeration central plant with a capacity of 40 kW or more that contain or are dependent upon for their operation, HFCs with GWPs of 150 or more - except where used in the primary refrigerant circuit of cascade systems,where HFCs with a GWP of less than 1500 may be used 01/01/2025 - Applies to single split air-conditioning with less than 3kg charge of HFCs with GWPs of 750 or more Service and maintenance bans 01/01/2020 - HFCs with GWPs of 2500 or more - Applies to equipment with a charge of 40 tonnes CO2 or above (equivalent to 10.4kg of R404A), although equipment operating at below -50 deg C or military applications are exempt 01/01/2030 - Reclaimed HFCs with GWPs of 2500 or more - Used for the maintenance or servicing of existing refrigeration equipment – provided they are labelled appropriately 01/01/2030 -Recycled HFCs with GWPs of 2500 or more - Used inthe maintenance or servicing of existing refrigeration equipment - provided they have been recovered from such the equipment. Can only be used by the firm that recovered it or by the firm whose installation it was recovered from.  [ΠΗΓΗ:http://www.fridgehub.com/] |