The Air Conditioning and Refrigeration European Association (AREA) is finalising its guidance on the application ofthe new F-gas Regulation to refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump contractors. In the meantime some important messages need to be communicated as thre are some substantial novelties of the new Regulation that will apply from 1st January 2015, and Contractors and operators need to start preparing now.

1- Leakage checking –the new CO2-eq thresholds may affect requirements of currently installed equipment depending on the GWP of the refrigerant used

• Equipment with more than 3kg but less than5 tonnes CO2-eq of refrigerant will no longer have to be leak checked from 1st January 2015.

• Equipment with less than 3kg but more than 5 tonnes CO2-eq of refrigerant will not have to be leak checked until 1st January 2017 (when the grace period comes to an end).

• Equipment with at least 50 or 500 tonnesCO2-eq of refrigerant may have the frequency of leak checks changed from 1st January 2015 (for instance, 20kg of R404A in a system without leakage detection system currently has to be checked every 12 months; under the new system, it falls in the category above 50t CO2-eq and must therefore be leak checked every 6 months).

What should contractors do?

• Already now, contractors should inform operators about potential new leak check obligations due to new weight limits applying from 1st January 2015 onwards to systems with at least 50 and 500 tonnes CO2-eq.

• Until 31st December 2016, contractors should inform operators about potential new leak check obligations due to new weight limits applying from 1st January 2017 onwards to systems with at least 5 tonnes CO2-eq.

2- Leakage detection systems - the new CO2-eq thresholds may affect requirements of currently installed equipment depending on the GWP of the refrigerant used

• Equipment with less than 300kg but more than 500 tonnes CO2-eq of refrigerant will have to be equipped with a leakage detection system from 1st January 2015. There is no grace period that applies. For instance, from 1st January 2015, systems with at least 127.49kg of R404A must comply with this obligation.

What should contractors do?

• Article 5 applies to all equipment, notonly to equipment installed after 1st January 2015. Contractors should contact affected operators to inform them that their equipment has to be retrofitted before the 1st January 2015

3- Delivery of fluorinated greenhouse gases to certified undertakings only 

• From 1st January 2015, for the purpose of installation, servicing, maintenance or repair stationary air conditioning,refrigeration and heat pump equipment, as well as refrigeration units of refrigerated trucks and trailers, fluorinated greenhouse gases can only be sold to and purchased by certified undertakings (companies or self-employed individuals, including the operator and manufacturer of equipment).

What should distributors do?

• Distributors should prepare to establishand maintain records of relevant information on the purchaser (certification number of the purchaser and quantities of refrigerant purchased).

Further information about these and other aspects of the new Regulation will be provided in the AREA Guidance due to bereleased at Chillventa.

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