HEATING
A crisis waiting to happen?
Graeme Fox, head of REFCOM takes a look at the matter of refrigerant gas handling within the context of heat pumps.
T
he heat pump market has been steadily rising across Europe for a decade or more now and there are estimated to be in the region of 10 million (air or water) source to water heat pumps installed across the EU. Figures from the Heat Pump Association estimate a split of roughly 94% of that to be air source for the UK market.
There are two types of air source heat pump, used in both the commercial and the domestic sectors, and the choice of type can have significant ramifications on future servicing because of a looming skills and competency crisis the sector faces when considering the new refrigerants that will need to be used. The two types of heat pump in use are the split type and the monoblock type. Monoblocks are predominantly used in the domestic market and installed by plumbers, due to the refrigerant circuit being completed and tested at the factory and the only site installation being the requirement to connect
46 October 2018
flow and return water piping to the monoblock unit and then set the controls.
Splits are used where you have an indoor unit and an outdoor unit. The indoor units can be standard air conditioning unit style (normal for the air to air type) or styled like a traditional gas heating boiler (for the air to water type), to make them more acceptable to the domestic sector.
With split systems, the process of installation, repairs, service and maintenance are covered by the F-Gas Regulation, because the interconnecting pipes are completing the refrigerant circuit, so it is relatively straightforward to ensure that only suitably qualified and competent people carry out the works.
With monoblocks, however, there is no straightforward method of checking compliance like this, and this is where the impending skills crisis is most likely to be an issue. The physical installation is perfectly
acceptable to be carried out by plumbers and traditional heating engineers – but the problems occur when there is a service issue requiring knowledge of the refrigeration circuits and safe refrigerant handling, particularly if the design of these systems is to start using alternative refrigerants to the current medium global warming potential (GWP) HFC gases.
Improper handling
At the moment, the vast majority of domestic heat pumps use R410A or R407C, medium GWP HFC gases that are non-flammable, non-toxic, and, in the small quantities used, not a major safety concern but which, none the less, legally require appropriately qualified technicians to carry out service or repair work on the refrigerant circuit.
Anecdotal evidence is plentiful where refrigerant circuits have been cut open by plumbers who see the copper piping and
www.acr-news.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104
