Point of no return

From next July, the UK air conditioning and refrigeration industry will change irrevocably. After years of wrangling, the most significant piece of legislation to hit our sector will come into force.

The trouble is that a large part of the industry refuses to take any notice – despite clear warnings – and their end user customers are carrying on in blissful ignorance of the regulatory express train hurtling towards them.

Under the terms of the F (‘fluorinated’) – Gas Regulation, owners and operators of equipment using the greenhouse gases HFC, PFC or SF6 will become subject to strict and punitive restrictions. HFC is now widely used as a refrigerant, which means that many building services operators will have a legal obligation to closely monitor equipment on their premises that uses more than 3 kg of the gas from 4 July 2007.

In practice, this means ensuring all refrigeration and air conditioning plant is properly monitored and maintained by qualified contractors, who keep comprehensive records showing the type and quantity of refrigerant in use and how much has been leaked, recovered and recycled.

If the equipment is not using HFCs, chances are it is charged with an HCFC. You won’t be able to recharge with ‘virgin’ HCFCs from 2010 either, so very few building operators will be unaffected by these changes.

They will have to adhere to minimum standards for inspection of systems and recovery of refrigerant gases; will be subject to stronger monitoring and reporting of F-Gas emissions, and all equipment must be properly labelled so they can make informed choices about the environmental impact and running costs.

Are consulting engineers advising their clients about this – or is this news to them?

Accreditation

A large part of the industry is taking no notice, leaving customers in blissful ignorance of the regulatory express train hurtling towards them

The regulation also directs the industry to impose minimum standards for training and certification of personnel through a mandatory registration scheme for all individuals and companies who handle refrigerant gas.

The HVCA has been running a voluntary scheme – REFCOM – for over 10 years and it will become the basis for the mandatory scheme. Only properly trained and accredited operatives holding certification that meets detailed criteria laid down by the EU will be able to carry out the regular leakage checks and service work imposed by the Regulation.

In some cases, the EU has recognised that it is simply not possible to contain these gases, so they are banned. At the moment, this only applies to things like vehicle tyres, non-refillable containers, windows, footwear, self-chilling drinking cans, novelty aerosols, new fire protection systems and fire extinguishers, but this will be reviewed in 2008 when fixed and mobile air conditioning systems will come under increased scrutiny.

The European Commission plans to publish a report in 2011 on the Regulation’s impact and its success (or otherwise) in reducing F-Gas leakage. If there is no discernible improvement then our sector faces the nightmare scenario of a total ban on HFC refrigerants.

If suppliers and end users think this legislation is disruptive, they will be in for the most cataclysmic shock if a ban is imposed – an HFC ban would mean a complete replacement programme costing the industry and its customers millions of pounds and years of disruption.

The only way we will be allowed to continue using potentially global warming, but highly energy efficient, HFCs is if we put in place all the requirements of the Regulation to ensure they do not leak. If we fail then woe betide us and the end user who has the legal liability. You can be sure the authorities will be looking to make an example of someone very quickly after the new rules come into force. The defence of ignorance is never one that goes down too well with prosecuting judges.

The message to the industry is to get out there, tell your customers what they are facing and start putting your house in order now. A panic-stricken scramble on 3 July next year will not be an edifying sight and will, in any case, be far too late.