Refcom bulletin covers forthcoming bans

UK: The F-gas certification body Refcom has published a new technical bulletin covering the service ban and product prohibitions entering into force from January 1. 

The UK body insists that whether or not the UK leaves the EU with a deal, the European F-gas regulations, including phase down steps, service and product bans, will continue as planned.

Refcom stresses that the product (placing on the market) and servicing bans will have major implications for the sector.

The immediate concern is the January 1 ban on virgin refrigerants with a GWP greater than 2500 being used to service or refill refrigeration or freezer systems of 40 tonnes CO2e or more.

This equates to around 10.2kg of a high GWP refrigerant like R404A, a common refrigerant in medium sized systems. The ban will also include R507 and the R22 replacement gas R422D, both of which have GWPs in excess of 2500. This rule also applies to companies who may have stockpiled these refrigerants before that date. Reclaimed or recycled refrigerant will still be able to be used until 2030.

The new Refcom Technical Bulletin (TB046) can be downloaded here.