F-Gas Regulations Overview

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Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6) are all types of F-Gas. HFCs are the most common type of F-Gas and are mainly used as the refrigerant in air conditioning and commercial refrigeration systems. Therefore, all users of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment have responsibilities for the F-Gas they have in their mechanical heat pump or cooling systems.

The European Union’s Original F-gas Regulation No 842/2006 became law on 4 July 2006. This imposed obligations on operators of this equipment from 4 July 2007 that you should know about. F-gases include HFCs, which are the commonest refrigerants in use today. The Regulation aims to minimise emissions of these gases, which affect global warming if they escape into the atmosphere.

Following a detailed review, the Regulation was revised in 2014 (EU) 517/2014. The revised Regulation establishes the following:

Cap and phase-down for the placing on the market of HFCs
Bans or restrictions based on GWP of the use of F-Gases in some new equipment, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, insulating foams and technical aerosols
Conditions (for example, reporting on quantities of HFCs contained and the need for HFC import quotas) on the placing on the market of products and equipment containing or relying upon F-Gases
Future restrictions on servicing/maintenance of equipment using HFCs
Rules regarding containment, use, recovery and destruction of HFCs

The Regulation will apply from 1st January 2015

F-Gas Operator Responsibilities

Operators are defined as the people or organisations that have actual power over the technical functioning of the equipment. The legal responsibility for compliance with the Regulation lies with the operator. For further details of the definition of the operator see the DEFRA Guidance for Users. Any equipment small enough to plug in 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 with an equivalent charge over 5 tonnes CO2, operators must:

Prevent leakage, and repair any leaks as soon as possible
Arrange proper refrigerant recovery by certified personnel during servicing 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

F-Gas Leak Checking Schedule

The leak checks must be carried out according to the procedure laid down by the Commission in October 2007. The schedule for leak checks varies depending on the amount of refrigerant in the system, as follows:

At least annually for applications with a refrigerant charge equivalent between 5 and 50 tonnes CO2
At least once every six months for applications with a refrigerant charge equivalent between 50 and 500 tonnes CO2
Fixed leakage detection systems must be installed on applications with a refrigerant charge equivalent above 500 tonnes CO2
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

F-Gas Maintenance & Servicing Records

Operators of all stationary systems containing a refrigerant charge equivalent above 5 tonnes CO2 or more of F-gases must maintain records including:

Quantity and type of F-gases installed, added or recovered
Identification of the company or technician carrying out servicing and details of the Operator
Dates and results of leakage checks
It is the operator’s responsibility to ensure that the relevant servicing personnel have obtained the necessary certification, which shows that they understand the regulations and are competent.