HVAC
TAKING THE HEAT OUT OF NEW ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION
New rules to protect the environment could represent a very real business threat to companies who are unprepared. David Needham of Clugston FM explains how to get ready for change.
Laws to protect against depletion of the ozone layer, global warming and waste of the earth’s natural resources are important to us all. These include the complete phasing out of ozone-depleting refrigerants, which are found in air conditioning and refrigeration equipment; and the monitoring and assessment of energy consumption in large organisations. Both require organisations to act now to ensure compliance.
Governments around the world are eradicating harmful CFCs and HCFC refrigerants, to meet their obligations under the Montreal Protocol. This historic international treaty, designed to protect the ozone layer, was negotiated and signed by 24 countries and by the EEC as long ago as September 1987 and will have a far-reaching impact on an inestimable number of organisations and businesses across the globe.
Since 1st January this year EU rules forbid the use of any HCFCs to service refrigeration and air conditioning equipment – whether virgin or recycled. This ban represents a real business risk to any company that is unprepared and uses substances like R22, one of the most commonly used refrigerants in the UK, or R408A, in their processes or systems.
IS YOUR BUSINESS
AT RISK? Sectors that will be hardest hit include the food and drink industry, petro-chemicals, pharmaceuticals, health, retail, hospitality, finance and data-processing. Typical applications
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can vary widely, but examples include refrigeration systems in supermarkets, blast chillers, cold stores and process coolers as well as many types of air-conditioning in buildings and transport refrigeration. Many of these applications are absolutely critical to the continued operation of the business.
“HIGH EFFICIENCY EC FANS AND
INTELLIGENT CONTROL
INCREASE AIR VOLUME AND THROW TO
IMPROVE CHILLER PERFORMANCE.”
Organisations have two options to consider. Many types of air conditioning system, which are in good order, will be suitable for a conversion solution. This could range from a relatively simple retrofit operation using one of the drop-in HFC refrigerants that are compatible with the system’s existing mineral oil - to a more comprehensive modification. Altering a system to accommodate a standard HFC refrigerant would require a new type of oil at least, and possibly an additional compressor and/or heat exchanger capacity.
Although a conversion may be a practical option, it could be less efficient than the original system
and may have less cooling capacity. Also, the conversion must be carried out by expert contractors to ensure that refrigerant leakage does not get worse after the conversion.
The second option is to install a completely new system that uses a non-ozone depleting substance. This would provide a number of benefits - most importantly the opportunity to significantly improve energy efficiency. It may also be possible to reduce the charge of refrigerant, either by using new critical charge systems or by employing secondary coolants. Replacement is likely to initially cost around ten times that of a conversion but it’s an obvious choice for businesses with old systems which are in poor condition, inefficient or not meeting their current or forecast cooling load.
UPGRADED LEAK CHECKS New rules on the standard and
frequency of refrigerant leak checks also came into force in January, which means that some units that used to be outside the remit of the regulations now require a check. There are additional requirements in relation to record keeping and more detailed logging of information.
Calculations are no longer based on weight but on tonnes of CO2
cross
referenced with the refrigerant’s Global Warming Potential (GWP). Checks are stepped up with set
points at 5, 50 and 500 tonnes of CO2 and the 500 tonnes limit specifically has a requirement for automatic leak detection. The bonus for adding a
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