AREA–The Air conditioning and Refrigeration European Association have released a guide for operators and contractors on the impending changes to F-Gas regulations.
The AREA F-Gas Guide: A practical guide on the application of the new F-Gas Regulation to refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump contractors details new, as well as updated, F-Gas rules and regulations which will come into effect from January 1st 2015.
According to the Guide, it’s purpose is “to explain the main changes and obligations arising from the revision [of Regulation (EU) No 517/2014] and to identify the consequences for European Refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump contractors.” It complements the European Commission’s guidelines on refrigeration.
The Guide provides information on prevention of emissions, leakage prevention & treatment, record keeping, recovery, training & certification, bans, delivery of F-Gases, sale of pre-charged equipment, labelling of recycled/reclaimed refrigerant, service ban, pre-charging of equipment, phase down of F-Gases and relevant key dates.
Some of the new rules and regulations, as well as obligations on operators and contractors from next year onwards include repairing a detected leakage without undue delay and having both operatives and companies taking precautionary measures to prevent leakages.
The Guide also details what leak checks are required for specific refrigerants and a detailed flow chart for contractors on the process they should go through when conducting leak checks.
The Guide also provides information on new obligations with record keeping. These obligations include recording whether the quantities of installed fluorinated greenhouse gases have been recycled or reclaimed and if the equipment is decommissioned and what measures have been taken to recover and dispose of the refrigerant. Contractors will be obligated to keep copies of their records for five years.
The Guide also provides information on road vehicle obligations and relevant technologies to replace or reduce the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases and their safe handling.