Within the Air Conditioning industry there is growing concern about the amount of awareness for consumer’s around their responsibilities in regards to F-Gas legislation. Here at B-DACS we feel it is our duty of care to inform customers of their responsibilities under the legislation and assist them in ensuring that they are compliant.
That is why with every maintenance quotation we provide customers with a full information guide around the legislation as well as a customer summary document which highlights the responsibilities customers have in regards to the type and size of system.
With all legislation it can be daunting to customers however we are here on hand to answer any queries and guide customers around what their responsibilities are.
Below are some frequently asked questions which may answer any questions you may have.
What is the F-Gas regulation?
This regulation aims to reduce emissions of the HFCs, PFCs and SF6. Many organisations use HFCs for refrigeration and air-conditioning systems. The key obligation in this Regulation applied from July 2007.
What types of equipment are covered by this regulation?
The regulation covers three different types of stationary systems:
- Refrigeration systems: Equipment to cool products or storage spaces below ambient temperature, e.g. retail refrigerated displays, cold stores etc.
- Air-conditioning systems: Equipment to cool buildings to a comfortable ambient temperature, ranging from small units to cool a single room to large chillers that cool a whole building.
- Heat Pumps: Heating devices that use a refrigeration machine to extract energy from a waste heat source and deliver useful heat.
Who is responsible for compliance?
In the UK, the person having control of the equipment containing the F gas refrigerant (the “operator”), typically a company, is likely to have a responsibility.
What responsibility do Air-Conditioning companies have?
Any company employing a person involved in working on equipment that contains or is designed to contain F gases must ensure that they have the appropriate qualifications and Company Certification.
What are my responsibilities in regards to F-GAS:
All operators of systems that use refrigerants containing F gases, must comply with the obligations in the EU F gas Regulation. Obligations depend on the amount of refrigerant in each separate system which are detailed in the table below:
What changes will be made now that the UK has voted to leave the EU?:
The cooling industry will not see any change to F-Gas regulations following the Brexit vote, experts say. As the F-Gas laws were transposed directly into UK law, it is now part of the British legal system and it would require Westminster to repeal one of its own laws for the measures to be changed. As a result, there will be no impact of the foreseeable future on companies operating in the UK market and no change to the mandatory requirements for certification with industry registration schemes such as Refcom
If you feel that you need assistance to your system contact us on 0141 773 3355 or email webenquiries@bdacs.com