STATE OF THE INDUSTRY
refrigerants with energy and performance issues. There also need to be grants and support for end-users who adopt energy efficient heat reclaim and energy reduction methods.” “We’ve already established the phase out of R404a, and R410a will pose our biggest challenge over the next two to three years at least,” says Mr Piper. “Of course, we will need the resources to continue our service level, therefore recruiting and training will play a vital part in our success during this time. We employ a great team, but we need to build on this to satisfy demand.
Luke Marriott. Adam Bowey.
“In the past we have had tremendous success with apprenticeship schemes. These allow us to train and enforce a good work ethic in young recruits. It is not just important to Synecore that we train and recruit well; it is also important to the construction industry as a whole. We’ve been called to site on many occasions to finish, or rectify shoddy workmanship by other contractors. It is a shame that contractors can get away with this, so we consider it our obligation to instil a sense of pride across the industry.” “Brexit does give us an opportunity in the UK to make F-Gas work as it was intended to work,” says Mr Fox. “One of the biggest issues we have faced since the introduction of F-Gas originally came from our reticence to ‘gold plate’ regulations. While I have always been behind that principle of not over-regulating industry as it hinders investment and progress, the F-Gas Regulation as an EU-wide regulation had certain assumptions in it that cannot be simply transposed into UK laws.
“Things that work by default across most of the EU market because of the basis for their legal systems just don’t work here without additional primary legislation. The authorities here, however, have shied away from imposing certain measures necessary to making the regulation work as intended.
Alan Selby.
“We would like to see additional resources made available to the enforcing bodies to properly investigate breaches of the rules. Legislation is going through Parliament at the moment to give them increased domestic penalty powers, but they also need to be given the resources to carry out the visits to identify the problem companies and spot fine them accordingly.
“We also need an operative register so that end-users can check the person attending their site is legally allowed to work on their system and wholesalers can check the person buying the split system or bottle of gas is entitled to do so. These are simple measures that may require primary legislation but which will yield huge benefits in terms of how we work within the sector and how we ensure standards are raised and maintained.”
The economic situation also an upside in the long-term, as Mr Driscoll explains: “A weaker pound is encouraging international investors who are willing to take a longer-term view to invest. Certain sectors continue to grow, in particular student accommodation, distribution centres and data centres, and there is some upturn in residential new builds. These are generating opportunities in the market in addition to the larger-scale public sector lead infrastructure projects. There will be increased activity coming out of new technology
44 January 2018
associated infrastructure – the move to electric vehicles and the associated infrastructure, increase in demand for connectivity and data storage, as well as the general energy transition – which will mean plenty of new infrastructure projects.”
“It’s exciting,” says Mr Manning. “Once we regain our independence from the EU and all the opportunities that will bring with expanding markets elsewhere in the world, I do predict growth in the economy.”
Customers and F-Gas
One of the bug bears of recent times has been the communication of F-Gas and its consequences to customers and end-users. “Some are better prepared than others,” says Mr Beattie. “BRA has been working hard to alert all end-users and we need to extend this beyond the traditional interlocutors such as supermarkets; it is the likes of individual convenience stores and catering outlets that we could help.” “A common theme over the last year has been confusion about labelling requirements,” adds Mr Fox. “People’s attention was focussed on the labels after the review came into force on 01 January 2017, mainly because the label
requirements changed to include a figure giving the CO2 tonnes equivalent of the charge in the system. But that applies under the ‘placing on the market’ rules and so only applies to new installations.
“A number of our clients’ clients have been getting various ISO audits carried out and the inspectors have been giving them non-conformances because they haven’t got labels on all systems installed. This causes our members unnecessary concerns and an administrative burden while they contact us, we have to write back on the legal correction and they pass that on to their clients. All unnecessary – if only the inspectors understood that old systems installed prior to 01 January this year don’t need that information on them. It may be good practice to have this information, but it is wrong to give a contractor a non-conformance for something that isn’t mandatory.”
“The market is ever-changing,” says Mr Piper, “we face a real challenge over the next 5 years. F-Gas is still not in the minds of enough end-users. They need to be further educated on their legal obligations. Unfortunately, until local authorities start to implement stricter controls, such as issuing fines for non-compliance, then I don’t see this changing. That being said, the high cost of refrigerant and the importance of preventing leaks through leak checking may well kick start an awareness among end-users.” Customers are learning “with greater pace as they see refrigerant costs rise,” says Mr Marriott. “Banking existing stocks as gas is taken out is the most common approach seen so far.”
Skills
Given that labour and skills are increasingly in shortage, what can be done to rectify the situation?
“Engineering continues to struggle to attract young people, especially females,” observes Mr Beattie. “Without getting into politics, there may be some additional pressures as
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