Energy efficiency
www.heatingandventilating.net
Stop leaks, cut energy bills
Refrigerants can pose a significant threat to the environment and an even greater hazard to the health and safety of workers if a leak occurs. Shaun Evers, managing director of Stonegate Instruments, discusses how, faced with these potential risks in addition to increasingly stringent legislation, companies across a broad range of sectors are seeking out the latest high-tech gas detection systems
gases. While such serious scenarios are thankfully rare, employees working with cold stores, air conditioning units and refrigerated systems can be at risk of these and other symptoms including eye, throat and skin irritation if refrigerant gases escape. The key to limiting exposure to F-Gas and therefore risk of injury lies in the early detection of any gas release. The latest generation of sophisticated,
F
compact gas leak detectors can pinpoint a range of popular refrigerants including HFCs, CFCs and HCFCs. This ensures not only a company’s
workforce remains safe but also the environment. In order to tackle climate change, the EU has drawn up a list of targets to meet, including reducing F-Gas emissions by two-thirds by 2030 compared with 2014 levels, and by up to 95% of 1990 levels by 2050. Comprehensive new legislation came into
force in 2015 governing the use of F-Gas in refrigeration, air conditioning and fire prevention systems, while in April this year, a raft of fresh changes was introduced. Currently, the Environment Agency has the power to impose civil penalties of up to £200,000 for breaches of various elements of the existing 2015 F-Gas regulations, including failure to comply with provisions in the EU regulations or permitting another person to breach those provisions. The most recent changes cover the
breach of 80 different regulations, encompassing the intentional release of F- Gas, reporting and record keeping and dealing with leaks. However, fines need not be imposed if it is deemed that giving advice would be more beneficial.
September 2018
rostbite, chemical burns and even brain damage – all can be attributed to prolonged exposure to refrigerant
Thresholds at which operators must perform checks for gas leaks are clearly set out, from every three months in some cases to annually in others. These intervals can be doubled in cases where a gas leak detection system has been fitted – for example, checks only need to be made on products containing an F-Gas equivalent of five tonnes of CO2 every two years if a leak detector is fitted.
Prevention better than cure
Given the fact that 60% of gas escapes before an employee notices, relying on staff to spot potentially harmful leaks is woefully insufficient, particularly when the Carbon Trust has recorded an average annual leak rate of up to 20% in UK refrigeration systems. A leak can occur for a number of reasons,
from mechanical damage to equipment failure or poor maintenance work. A gas detection system will help ensure that leaks are quickly identified and repaired at the first opportunity. This minimises the risk to the health and safety of employees, complies with the requirements of the EU F-Gas Regulations and can save businesses money. Refrigerant gas leaks are the foremost
contributor to energy loss in modern HVAC stores. When a leak occurs, a HVAC system or cold store needs to work harder to maintain the equipment’s cooling or heating capacity, using more energy than normal, leading to a potentially large rise in electricity bills. A small but continuous leak, left
unrepaired for three months, could use an extra 10kW in electricity – equivalent to £1,400 in energy bills – once the leak becomes critical. With this in mind, some of the leading detection systems on the
Shaun Evers, managing director of Stonegate Instruments
market have a return-on-investment period of just two years, and that is without taking into consideration the cost of repairs to a system that has been leaking for a prolonged period of time. Compact yet sophisticated detection
A refrigerant gas alarm from Stonegate Instruments
systems such as Stonegate’s DL1024, for example, can accommodate up to 24 remote refrigerant sensors, arranged in three zones of eight channels with four relay outputs for signalling an alarm, one for each zone. LED lights indicate the presence and status of each sensor while any sensed leak sends an audio/visual alarm to alert staff immediately. Capable of identifying a range of both
toxic and non-toxic gases, including HFCs, these devices also include a battery back- up system in the case of power failure. HVAC systems remain one of the largest
energy consumers in many commercial facilities, making them prime targets for improving energy efficiency and reducing operating costs. Even though systems can vary, by concentrating on the most common HVAC energy wasters such as refrigerant gas leaks, temperature control and equipment management, operators can maximise energy savings and ensure energy efficiency.
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