Commission publishes F-gas guide

EUROPE: Adding to the growing mountain of advice available, the European Commission has produced its own guide to the F-gas regulations.

The 28-page document – Information for technicians and users of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases – was prepared by German environmental consultancy Öko-Recherche.

In addition to general information on F-gases, the document provides a complete run-down of the new regulation and the types of equipment affected, the phase-down and equipment bans. It provides an overview of the obligations of operators and service personnel in terms of emission prevention, leak checking, leak detection, recovery and reclamation, record keeping and labelling for both stationary and mobile systems.

A method for calculating the total GWP of a mixture is also explained along with a guide to charge size limits for common refrigerants and blends corresponding to CO2 equivalents.

Finally the document provides references to a list of implementing Acts as well as sources of further information.

The document can be viewed and downloaded here.