3 reasons why refrigerant leak detection is important

1)To comply with the law

Fluorinated greenhouse gases, also known as F-gases, have replaced ozone-depleting substances, but as potent greenhouse gases, they contribute significantly to global warming. The most common types of F-gases are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), whose phase-down was introduced in 2016 by the Kigali Amendment. The EU and UK meet their Kigali obligations through the EU F-Gas Regulation 517/2014, which sets guidelines and obligations to minimise the risk of emissions. Some examples? Regular maintenance, leak checking and repair requirements for air conditioning and refrigeration systems containing F-gases.

More precisely, the EU F-Gas Regulations demands that AC/R systems and heat pumps containing F-gases in quantities of 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more must be checked.

More specifically, leakage checks should be carried out as often as follows:

• • At least once every 12 months, if the system contains F-gases in quantities of 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more but less than 50 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
• • At least once every 6 months, if the system contains F-gases in quantities of 50 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more but less than 500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

• • At least once every 3 months, if the system contains F-gases in quantities of 500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent or more.

As stated by the official website of the government of the United Kingdom, after the end of the EU exit transition period, the F-gas Regulation and its supplemental legislation will be retained in domestic law as it applies to Great Britain, with Northern Ireland remaining within, and subject to, the EU’s F-gas system and legislation.

2)To reduce energy consumption and save money on bills

When refrigerant gas leaks occur, the air conditioning or refrigeration system loses efficiency and takes more time and energy to cool, which inevitably results in more expensive bills.

In an article called “Hidden costs of an inefficient refrigeration system”, the Cooling Post reports a study conducted for the Institute of Refrigeration by a Scottish company on the effect that refrigerant leakage can have on system running costs. Three leakage rates that could be realistic were assumed, reducing the refrigerant charge within the system by increments of 2%, 6.5% and 11%.

The result showed:

– an average operating cost of £0.13/kWh

– that R404A was the refrigerant that returned the highest average operating cost (with a figure between £1500 and £1600) whereas R407A remained below £800 in all three scenarios.

In any case, it was found that refrigerant gas leaks of any kind have a substantial impact on the total operating costs of AC/R systems.

3)To protect the environment

As reported by Errecom’s R&D manager at the 19th European Conference on the future of refrigeration, the environmental impact of a refrigeration or air conditioning system is the sum of its direct and indirect emissions.

By “direct emissions”, we mean the loss of refrigerant gas from the system into the atmosphere, while the term “indirect emissions” refers to the energy consumption required by the system to operate.

If we consider that only 20% of the environmental impact of an AC/R system depends on direct emissions and the remaining 80% on indirect emissions, we understand that, although it is essential to choose low-GWP refrigerants, this cannot be the only solution to adopt to guarantee an eco-friendlier operation of the systems.

In fact, it is also extremely important to keep their energy consumption to a minimum, ensuring them to constantly work efficiently. Wonder how? Through maintenance, of course!

To learn more about this topic, we recommend reading the article on the detection of refrigerant gas leaks in AC/R systems and the interview with our R&D Manager, who explains the main causes and consequences of refrigerant gas leaks, focusing on the most effective ways to solve the problem.