With a little over 4 months left togo until refrigeration and air conditioning equipment operating on R22 can no longer maintained, it is imperative that businesses if not already done so take action to ensure that after January 2015 there systems are compliant.

If your retail business unit or offices have air conditioning that was installed 9-years ago or more, you most likely could be affected by the ban. if you've not already done so you should be thinking seriously about the best replacement plan foryour air conditioning system.

What is R22: R22 is an HCFC, or hydrochlorofluorocarbon, commonly used in air conditioning, process cooling and industrial refrigeration. It has been banned for use in new equipment in the UK since 2004.

HCFCs are ozone-depleting substances,which means that when they are released into the atmosphere they react with and damage the ozone layer. This results in greater UV radiation reaching the earth’s surface, causing wide-ranging environmental effects. These include rises in skin cancer, cataracts and sunburn, smaller and lower quality cropyields and destructive changes to ecosystems.

In accordance with the Montreal Protocol and due to their detrimental impact on the environment, HCFC R22 and other ozone-depleting substances are being phased out globally. Modern refrigerants,such as the industry standard R-410A, which do not damage the ozone layer, arenow being used in their place.

Protecting your business: The production of new R22 has been banned for some time now and yourservice provider will have until now been using recycled R22 to top up your system, however as this is to be banned from 1st January 2015 and your Air Conditioning breaks down it will no longer be able to be maintained. Which ifyou have air conditioning systems in critical areas like server rooms and IT suites where a system failure will have a huge impact on your operations it isvery important to protect your business from these potential risks by replacingor retrofitting your system before the ban takes effect.

Options for replacing Air Conditioning Systems operating on HCFC R22 systems:

The options for operators equipment fallinto 2 groups:

a) Replace the existing system with anew plant using a non-HCFC refrigerant.

b) Modify the existing plant so that itcan operate with a non-HCFC refrigerant.

What arethe alternatives for HCFC R22:

What now: There are a number of advantages to investing in new equipment 

Advantages to investing in new systems:

• The full value of any installation can currently be offset against your corporation tax in the first year under the Government’s Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme (ECA)
• New equipment will be more energy efficient because of advances in technology, and realistically you can expect to save up to 40% on your annual energy costs
• Manufacturers are providing longer warranty periods so your new units will be fully protected against product fault
• Replacement of your R22 units will improve the carbon footprint of your business

One thing you mustn't do is "do nothing". as this could significantly add to your costs and could also leave your business at risk should a breakdown occur after the 31st December2014.

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