F-Gas Regulations

AIR CONDITIONING

Fully Certified

SWAT Engineering are fully certified to carried out testing, reporting within South West, South East and Greater London Areas.
The new F-Gas regulations became a law on the 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, recover, destruction, reporting, labelling, training and certification on the market prohibits fluorinated gases.

Containment

Operators of stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps equipment use all measures which are technically feasible and do not entail disproportionate cost to prevent leakage of HFCs and repair any detected leakage.
An operator is defined as the natural or legal person exercising actual power in which the technical functioning of the systems are covered by this regulation. A member may state in specific situations and designate the owner as being responsible for the operator’s obligations.

These operators shall ensure systems are checked for leakage by certified personnel, as defined by the training and certification requirement.

F-Gas Leakage Inspection

Systems shall be checked for leakage dependent on refrigerant charge;
3 kg charge or above – check at least every 12 months;
30 kg charge or above – check at least every 6 months;
300 kg charge or above – check at least every 3 months;
A system shall be checked for leakage within 1 month after a leak has been repaired to ensure the repair was effective.
Operators of equipment containing 300 kg or more shall install automatic leakage detection systems – these must be checked every 12 months;
“Checked for leakage” means that the system is examined for leakage directly and indirectly.

Record Keeping

Operators of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment with more than 3 kg will need to maintain records on the quantity and type of HFC installed. 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.

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.

REFCOM

From the 4 July 2011 it became a legal requirement for all businesses that install, maintain or service stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment containing or designed to contain F-Gas refrigerants to obtain a Full F-Gas Certificate). It is now criminal offence to carry out the above activities without a Company Certificate.

Also form the 4 July 2011 it became a legal requirement that all engineers that install, maintain or service stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pump equipment containing or designed to contain F-Gas refrigerants require to have completed the F-Gas Handling assessment and hold a City and Guilds 2079 or CITB equivalent qualification.

Further Information

Useful website for any further information