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F-Gas Regulations

The European commission F-gas Regulation No 842/2006 became law on 4 July 2006 and many of the requirements came into force on 4th July 2007.

F-gases include all HFC refrigerants, such as R134a, and blends containing F Gases such as R407C, R410A, R404A. Operators handling, recovering, supplying, installing, manufacturing or own equipment containing HFC refrigerants in stationary equipment now have a legal obligation under the F-Gas Regulations to carry out an assessment.

The requirements
Equipment small enough to be portable 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 servcing 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

For non-stationary equipment (e.g. mobile units on trucks) and any other products containing F-gases, operators must ensure that appropriately qualified personnel are used to recover gases, as long as this is feasible and not excessively expensive.

Leak checking schedule

The checking procedure varies depending on the amount of refrigerant in the system, as follows:

  • At least annually for applications with 3kg or more of F-gases (unless the equipment is hermetically sealed, in which case this goes up to 6kg)
  • At least once every six months for applications with 30kg or more of F-gases
  • At least once every three months for applications with 300kg or more of F-gases
  • Leakage detection systems must be installed on applications with 300 kg or more of F-gases, and when these are in place, checking requirements are halved
  • If a leak is detected and repaired, a further check must be carried out within one month to ensure that the repair has been effective

Opus Environmental are best placed to assess your current business stock.  We charge a simple day rate and provide you with an in-depth report in both paper and electronic formats.  You are under no obligation to take on any required recommendations with us.