F Gas Regulations for Refrigerants
FGAS Requirements
Is Your Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Equipment Compliant?
The new F-Gas regulations became law on 4th July 2006 with the majority of measures taking effect from 4th July 2007. The main objective of this regulation is to contain, prevent and thereby reduce emissions of the fluorinated greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto protocol. The regulation addresses containment, use, recovery, destruction, reporting, labelling, training and certification on the market prohibitions for the fluorinated gases. The regulation enforces mandatory Inspections for all air conditioning and refrigeration systems containing refrigerant with 3kg and above, the minimum frequencies are set out below.
The relevant parts affecting refrigeration and air conditioning are detailed below:
Leakage Inspection
Systems shall be checked for leakage dependant on refrigerant charge
- 3kg charge - check at least every 12 months
- 30kg charge - check at least every 6 months
- 300kg charge - check at least every 3 months
- The application shall be checked for leakage within 1 month after a leak has been repaired to ensure the repair was effective
- Operators of equipment containing 300kg or more shall install leakage detection systems - these must be checked every 12 months
- "Checked for leakage" means that the system is examined for leakage using direct and indirect methods.
Refrigerant Record Keeping
Operators of equipment with more than 3kg will need to maintain records on the quantity and type of HFC contained within equipment installed on their site. Any quantities added or recovered during maintenance, servicing and disposal will need to be recorded along with leak checks and any actions taken. These records need to be made available upon request by the authority. The records are also inspected by external auditors, Insurance companies and environmental assessors.
Refrigerant Recovery
Operators of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment are responsible for putting in place arrangements for the proper recovery by certified personnel who comply with the training and certification requirements. Again a fully comprehensive record must be available for Inspection by the authority.
Climaserve will manage all your FGAS responsibilities including all documentation within a maintenance contract with no addional cost.
For more information contact us: -
Tel - 0845 6521904
