What
is F Gas?
"F Gases" are chemicals that contain "Fluorine" within their chemical
composition. The Fluorine within the gas acts as a powerful green house
agent and as such can prove harmful to the environment. Refrigeration
sources (Chillers) are one example of equipment that may
contain such gases.
The legislation and regulations stated by DCLG
(Department Communities Local Government) are as
follows:
All air-conditioning systems with an effective rated
output of more than 12kw rating must be regularly inspected by an Energy Assessor
(Refer to Compliance, and
the Directory to find an
assessor). The inspections must be a maximum of five years apart.
F Gas Inspection
Identification
and Hazards
Fluorinated greenhouse gases are among the Kyoto Protocol groups of gases for which the EU has committed itself to reduce emissions. EC Regulation 842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases (the F gas Regulation) is the legal instrument by which emissions reductions are to be delivered. The Regulation requires leakage checks to be carried out, repairs to be completed, gases to be recovered so that they do not escape to the atmosphere, certified personnel and companies to be used, labels to be used on some equipment, information to be reported to the Commission, and bans some F gas products.
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Further European Community regulations have fleshed out many of these requirements. Article 3 of the F gas Regulation introduces a requirement for operators to use all available measures which are technically feasible and that do not entail disproportionate cost in order to prevent leakage of F gases and to repair any detected leakage (as soon as possible) from the following list of stationary applications: refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment, including their circuits, and fire protection systems. |
For the purposes of this requirement “checked for leakage” means that the equipment or system is examined primarily for leakage using direct or indirect measuring methods, focusing on those parts of the equipment most likely to leak.
Timetable
for F Gas Inspection
The Regulation also provides a timetable for the checking of leakage of these stationary
(fixed) applications. The operators of these applications have to ensure that they are checked for leakage in line with the timetable set out in the
Regulation (see below). The checking for leakage timetable is graduated in line with the amount of F gas contained in the application as
detailed below.
Schedule for Inspection
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at least once every twelve months for applications containing 3kg or more of F gases (this shall not apply to equipment with hermetically sealed systems, which are labelled as such and contain less than 6kg of F gases)
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at least once every six months for applications containing 30kg or more of F gases
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at least once every 3 months for applications containing 300kg or more of F gases
Note:
These applications must also be checked for leakage within one month after a leak has been repaired to ensure that the repair has been effective.
As F Gas products are harmful to the environment strict controls are required to ensure that
fluorinated greenhouse gases do not leak from equipment into the atmosphere. Such equipment
should be regularly checked for leaks and records maintained. Suitably qualified personnel install, service & repair the equipment in use.
An example of the certificate is shown below.
Authorised companies have certification for
maintaining F Gas equipment in accordance with F gas regulations.
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F Gas Certification is required by
contractors servicing equipment.
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Penalties
& Fines
Commercial, industrial and public sector organisations may have obligations under the EC F gas Regulation. Example, if your company or business uses, maintains or installs refrigeration and/or air-conditioning equipment you are likely to be affected. Refrigeration and air-conditioning users may also be affected by the EC Ozone Regulation which is phasing out certain ozone depleting substances known as (ODS).
If you are in doubt about any of the above points
regarding F Gas or ODS Regulations Tel: 0161 874 3663.
Where
can I find an approved Inspector?
Remember
small scale systems can be inspected by a commercial
energy assessor as part of an energy assessment for
business premises for sale or lease, a directory of
commercial property assessors can be found in the links
section of this website. Large scale systems will
require a dedicated air conditioning energy assessor.
See also our Directory for
approved assessors for your local area.
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Did You Know? - Climate Control Systems could make
your Heating and Ventilating system run more
efficiently. |
Refer
also to Air
Conditioning for further details regarding Refrigeration, cooling, design, engineers, service, installation, maintenance, repairs, inspection, installers, Variable Refrigerant Volume/Flow Systems VRV VRF, Heat Recovery, Ducted Systems, Climate Control Systems, upgrades of New and Existing Air Conditioning HVAC Heating Ventilation plant (AHU) Air Handling Units and controls.
If you have a company which is a specialist for fluorinated
gas removal and control you can submit you site in our directory
of engineers, consultants for refrigeration, chiller
units and the are certified for checking and maintaining
F Gas systems.
