IMPORTANT NEW LEGISLATION WHICH EFFECTS EXISTING CUSTOMERS AND NEW CLIENTS REGARDING AIR CONDITIONING REFRIGERANT GAS

“F” Gas Regulations

 As part of the F-Gas regulations, which come into force in July 2007, we are required to track and record any refrigerant gas used on any of our client’s sites.

 This includes: -

 1 Type and quantity of refrigerant used on new and existing installations.

2 Any refrigerant added to new or existing systems.

3 Any refrigerant removed from redundant systems.

 We will also be responsible for the safe disposal of any waste substances, in particular those with ozone depletion potential and will have to provide certification for this process.

 We have been preparing for this regulation for some time and can confirm that we are registered with the Environment Agency as a registered carrier of waste and that we are also members of REFCOM (Register of Companies Competent to Handle Refrigerant).

 We have installed a new refrigerant tracking software package, which will allow us to keep comprehensive records of movement of refrigerant on any of our client’s sites and will also produce the required certificates.

 Any information stored on this system will of course be available to you, the client, at any time.

 Your Responsibility

As with any, or most, pieces of legislation, the weight of responsibility for the F-Gas Regulation will fall on the end user. They will have the legal liability to ensure that refrigerant does not leak and is recovered properly during servicing of, or replacement of air conditioning systems.

The end user will also have a clear duty of care, to closely monitor all equipment on their premises or sites that use more than 3kg of refrigerant.

 In practice, this will mean ensuring that all refrigeration and air conditioning plant is properly monitored and maintained by fully qualified contractors.

We now have in place a refrigerant tracking database, designed specifically to conform to the new regulations. All of our current data is imported into this system and we can therefore ensure that we are fully compliant with the EU requirement.

We have been preparing for the regulation for some considerable time and have been advising clients of the need to consider the replacement of older systems that have R22 refrigerant installed. Because R22 will be a banned substance from 2010, expensive repairs on such systems, may not be economically viable. We will in all cases make the end user aware of such instances and endeavour to provide best possible advise.