Legislation

Air Conditioning Energy Efficiency Inspections

The responsibility for arranging Energy Efficiency Inspections lies with the owner or operator of the system. Andrews Air Conditioning Services is able to advise on the need for an inspection and arrange for it to be conducted by a member of our national network of independently accredited inspection partners.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive makes it a legal requirement that an accredited inspector undertakes a mandatory inspection, at least once every 5 years, on any air conditioning installation over 12kW total capacity. These inspections are designed to ensure the system is suitable for the intended purpose and is operating correctly and efficiently.

F-Gas Regulation Compliance

F-Gas is a term used to describe any of a range of fluorinated gases such as CFCs, HFCs and HCFCs which are, or have been in the past, widely used in refrigeration-related applications such as air conditioning. Some F-gases are ozone-depleting whilst others are known to contribute to the greenhouse effect and global warming. The F-Gas Regulations are EU legislation designed to strictly limit the release of F-gases into the atmosphere. By law, all air conditioning systems containing over 3kg of F-Gas refrigerant must be checked for damage and leaks at least once per year by an F-Gas certified contractor.

The Regulations place a number of general obligations on the owners of all equipment containing HFCs to :

• Use all measures, that are technically feasible and do not entail disproportionate cost, to prevent leakage of refrigerants
• Repair any detected leak as soon as possible
• Recover refrigerant
• Use appropriately trained and qualified contractors to service, maintain and dispose of equipment and refrigerant

In addition, for owners of systems containing more than 3kg of refrigerant (a system is defined as an individual refrigerant circuit such as a single split system, multi-split, or VRF installation), additional obligations apply :

• To conduct regular testing by certified personnel to identify refrigerant leaks (usually annually, but 6 monthly or quarterly for larger systems with over 30kg of refrigerant)
• Maintain records for each system detailing :
  • The quantity & type of refrigerant
  • Quantities of refrigerant added, recovered and disposed of
  • Identification of technician and company who performed any servicing or maintenance
  • The dates and results of leak checks

NOTES: Most smaller, single split systems contain less than 3kg of F-Gas but, even then, the general obligations still apply. Systems with R22 refrigerant (an HCFC) fall outside the scope of the F-Gas legislation, however under the ODS (Ozone Depleting Substances) Legislation, the tests are still required, although there is no legal requirement to record results.

Andrews Air Conditioning Services holds full F-Gas certification accredited by REFCOM and approved by DEFRA and your annual F-Gas checks and certification can be incorporated into one of our Planned Maintenance Contracts.

View Certificate [pdf, 820kb]