REFRIGERANTS
How leak detection will support the F-Gas phase down
By Georgie Hillier, sales and marketing coordinator at Climalife. T
he current F-Gas Legislation with its phase down steps is on target to cut CO2
e) for HFCs placed on the market by at least 79% by 2030. The overall aim is to reduce and contain refrigerant emissions by taking every step to adopt responsible refrigeration. It has already led to less leaks from systems, better maintenance regimes, better trained engineers, better reclamation of refrigerant and the use of lower GWP refrigerants. More needs to be done to keep up with the phase down steps and refrigerant leak detection has an important part to play in meeting this target.
(tCO2
Refrigerant leaks – what impact do they have? A leaking system costs money and will go on costing money until the leak is fixed. Not only do fixed leak detectors ensure a leak is identified quickly it also helps the equipment owner remain legally compliant with F-Gas legislation.
Leak detection and prompt action following a leak
being detected, can help to maintain the optimum efficiency of a system; avoiding an increase in energy consumption, reducing the amount of refrigerant lost to the environment and the amount needed for topping up a system to the correct level. The impact of refrigerant leaks are:
Q The environmental impact Q The cost of replacing lost refrigerant Q Safety compliance Q The cost of product or service loss Q Increased energy consumption.
Refrigerant leaks – what does the F-Gas legislation state?
One of the biggest F-Gas objectives was about reducing F-Gas usage and preventing leaks. This continues to be an essential part of the process and there are some good tools available to help identify leaks before they become a costly problem.
22 December 2021 •
www.acr-news.com equivalents
The requirement for leak detection, inspection and leak check frequency depends on the total CO2
(tCO2 equivalent
e) charge of the equipment. It is mandatory under the F-Gas regulation (EU517/2014), for systems with a refrigerant charge of 500 tCO2
eq or more to be equipped
with fixed leak detectors. F-Gas compliance also requires regular refrigerant leak checks and immediate repairs should any leaks be found. In addition to industry specific legislation, the UK
Government is looking for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and managing refrigerant usage and minimising leaks is a key aspect to the industry playing their part to achieve this target. Owners and operators of the system have the overall
responsibility for the legislation and therefore they are responsible for: Q Preventing refrigerant leakage Q Ensuring that leak checks are carried out Q Repairing any leaks as soon as possible Q Arranging proper refrigerant recovery Q Maintaining records of any refrigerant losses, additions and servicing.
Detect leaks early to reduce refrigerant loss When it comes to F-Gas compliance, being able to detect a refrigerant leak early, means that the leak can be fixed as swiftly as possible. This also means that the leak is unable to grow into a large-scale leak event and the equipment can continue operating with little to no downtime. From a financial perspective, the cost to replace the lost refrigerant is greatly reduced by early leak detection, this also minimises any potential damage to the environment. With many systems holding thousands of pounds of refrigerant, it is easy to see why an early warning leak detection system is such a good idea as it can detect a leak much more quickly allowing early rectification of the problem and ultimately save money.
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