LEAK DETECTION
Saving
refrigerant with leak detection
Dave Richards, head of UK sales at Climalife, looks at the importance of leak detection and gives the low-down on Climalife’s newest system.
L
eak detection has been the key word for the F-Gas Regulation since it came into force back in 2006. It has been the driver to help contain greenhouse gases in refrigeration and air conditioning systems since day one.
With hindsight, if it had been possible and affordable to make sure all installed systems were leak-free, then today’s F-Gas quota reductions and demand for refrigerant could be a very different story. In the meantime, however, systems do leak and the demand for refrigerant continues. Accordingly, their prices have seen unprecedented rises in recent times, largely due to the F-Gas quota reductions.
Changes to leak detection rules Leak detection rules also changed in 2015 for systems that require
leak checking, from the number of kgs in a system to the CO2 equivalent tonnes (T CO2
Eq) it held, which effectively means
that there are different levels for each refrigerant, making more stringent requirements for those refrigerants with a higher GWP. The table to the left illustrates the leak check frequencies, as per current legislation.
Given that a system with approximately 100kg of refrigerant will cost a few thousand pounds to replace, it makes good sense to consider static leak detection for both large and smaller systems, for example 128kg of R404A = 500 T CO2
Eq. Leak detection devices
Most people will be aware of the range of leak detection equipment available on the market today, from cost-effective semi-conductor systems which can do the job and satisfy the regulations, through to infra-red and zoned systems which can offer state-of-the-art point detection. Where you have installations with a liquid receiver static leak detection system, many of such systems will purely monitor the
24 October 2018
www.acr-news.com
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