Don’t wait – act now!

Sekcia: Právne a technické normy, predsedajú Andrea Preisingerová, Jozef Löffler

Stav prijatia: Príspevok prijatý

Autori

Abstrakt

Don’t wait – act now!
Per Jonasson, President of AREA.

The new F-gas regulation No 517/2014 is a good decision. Good for the end user, good for the contractor, but mostly good for the environment.

The new regulation will however have a great influence on the whole RACHP industry for years. Actually even bigger impact than when phasing out the CFCs in the 80s and 90s. All from large industries and offices to small restaurant and supermarket owners will be affected and well known best practices will be challenged and needed to change or develop.

In the regulation several dates are specified for bans entering into force. So far these dates have created a false safety feeling for many that nothing will happen before 2020. Unfortunately nothing can be more wrong.

The steep phase down schedule on refrigerant consumption will force the industry to transform its business towards low or zero GWP refrigerants much faster than the ban dates stipulate. When adding the supplier quotas to the phase down schedule it’s obvious that a shift in use of refrigerants have to happen sooner than later.

Will undertakings comply with this harsh schedule?

According to information given by the European Commission (EC) 79 undertakings have been registered for a total volume of 182 Mton CO2(eq) of which they will receive 89%. Out of these 79 companies do 5 of them represent 80% of the total volume. For the remaining 11% have 334 new undertakings have been registered giving them an average quota of only 60 kton CO2(eq). This means that the EC only have to keep control of the “big five” in order to control the whole sector.
So yes, undertakings will comply too the quotas.

Some expected consequences will probably be:
- Rapid shift in production strategy from high to low GWP refrigerants.
- Price increase and shortage in supply on high GWP refrigerants.
- Risk for “running out” of GWP for undertakings by the end of the year.
- HFO and naturals more common calling for new designs, skills and competences.

Where to find information and guidance?

AREA have presented several position papers at its website www.area-eur.be.
Most comprehensive and informative is the “AREA F-gas GUIDE”.

The new F-gas regulation will influence the whole RACHP industry for years to come. Time is short, and action is needed. These are our messages to contractors and end users.
- The new F-gas regulation is a good decision.
- Make sure existing systems are tight and well maintained.
No leakages – no problems.
- Make no new installations with high-GWP refrigerants. It is not illegal to do, but still a very bad decision.
- Investigate if systems need to be leak checked or if the interval have changed.
- End users with high-GWP refrigerant systems should already now plan for replacement or conversion.
- Knowledge is key – skill always pay off.
- Don’t wait – act now. 2018 was yesterday – 2020 is already here!

Kľúčové slová

F-gas regulation good a decision
Don't wait - act now
Phase out Schedule
HFO
Natural refrigerants