F-Gas Regulations
The F - GAS regulation, an F word or.
The European Union's F Gas regulation became law on 4 th July
2007. If you operate air conditioning, heat pumps and refrigeration there are
some things that you need to know about:
Operators" are defined as the people or organisations that have actual power over the technical functioning of the equipment. The legal responsibility for compliance with the Regulation lies with the operator. Any equipment small enough to plug in rather than have to be permanently wired is likely to be excluded from the requirements, other than an overall requirement to prevent leakage and to repair any leaks as soon as possible.
For stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump units over 3kg charge (6 kg if hermetic), operators must
- Prevent leakage, and repair any leaks as soon as possible
- Arrange proper refrigerant recovery by certified personnel during servicing and disposal
- Carry out leak checks to the schedule shown below
- Ensure that only certified competent personnel carry out leakage checks
- Maintain records of refrigerants and of servicing
An F gas refrigerants include HFCs, these are the most common refrigerants in use today - R134a, R407c and R410a
CBS already has systems in place to help you meet and exceed these requirements.
Operators of all stationary systems containing 3kg or more of F-gases must maintain records including
- Quantity and type of F-gases installed, added or recovered
- Identification of the company or technician carrying out servicing
- Dates and results of leakage checks, specifically identifying separate pieces of equipment containing 30kgs or more of refrigerant
It is the operator's responsibility to ensure that the relevant servicing personnel have obtained the necessary certification, which shows that they understand the regulations and are competent.
As a contracted customer your system will be leak checked in line with refrigerant capacity requirements. We aim to respond to any breakdown call within 24hrs of the call being logged on our system. Following a scheduled service visit you will be given the Service Record Report - this provides you with the evidence you need for you records - of leak checks, engineer ID, individual units with associated serial numbers - regardless of refrigerant capacity and company accreditation.
Our engineers are clearly identifiable, carry ID cards and are fully qualified to carry out refrigerant transfer activities. All have been assessed by SKILS and are members of the HVCA.
F Gas movements are logged on our Refrigerant Tracking Report - again you will receive a copy following any refrigerant movements. |
