F Gas & Reports

F Gas Compliance

Historically, the main environmental problem with Air Conditioning was that the refrigerant gases within systems were ozone depleting – in older systems, these refrigerants often leaked, or were discharged to the environment as the damage they caused was not known. 

 

Refrigerant gases that deplete the ozone have been phased out, and a new generation of efficient refrigerants are now in use. However, the environmental concern has now shifted to climate change which results from a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. A property of the new refrigerants is that they contain a high concentration greenhouse gases – this is referred to as the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of a refrigerant.

 

Consequently, the focus has turned to ensuring that the volume of refrigerants which is released to atmosphere is kept to an absolute minimum. Legislation has been introduced which aims to ensure that the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry follows best codes of practice to ensure that all personnel who handle refrigerants, and install systems which will contain refrigerants are properly trained and certified to do so.

 

The regulations also cover the obligations of system owners or operators. These include;

 

• Ensuring that regular leak checks are carried out according to the Regulation. For the most common refrigerant in the comfort cooling market at present, R410A, this requires an annual check for all systems containing over 2.4kg refrigerant.
   

• Ensuring that only certified personnel carry out leakage checks or service, maintenance and installation work on your equipment.
   

• Arranging for proper refrigerant recovery by certified personnel during servicing.
   

• Taking necessary action to prevent leakage. 
   

• Maintaining records of refrigerant use, servicing and leak checks carried out (for presentation to the competent authority on request).
   

Regular servicing of your equipment by Subcooling Services Ltd will ensure that you are compliant with the above requirements. 
 

Additional obligations of the equipment owner/operator;
 

• To arrange for the repair of any leaks as soon as possible and arrange for a further check on the site of the repair to ensure that it has been effective
   

• To arrange for proper refrigerant recovery by certified personnel during disposal. Subcooling Services Ltd can ensure that you are compliant with these obligations if you use our services in the above circumstances.
   

TM44 Reports (Formerly EPBD Reports)

Commercial premises fitted with Cooling equipment above a set threshold are required by law to carry out and hold on record one of these reports. The driving force for this is to ensure that Air Conditioning systems are operating as efficiently as they possibly can to reduce the volume of electricity used to power them. The report covers various different aspects including:

 

• Assessment of the design – is the installed equipment suitably sized for the area it serves?
   

• Method of Temperature control in the served area
   

• Method of control of the plant operating times
   

• Consideration of the condition of Equipment
   

• Assessment of the planned maintenance regime

 

The report will conclude by giving an overview of the systems and offer suggestions of improvements which could be made to increase efficiency and ultimately reduce electricity consumption.

 

Subcooling Services Ltd can make provision to undertake a TM44 report on your behalf, and by employing our services to carry out your planned maintenance, you will be taking a large step to ensure that the equipment is already in the best possible condition.