Review of the F-gas Regulation

A review carried out by the Commission as required under Article 10 Regulation of the F-gas Regulation (842 of 2006) concluded that there was potential to deliver significant emission reductions if the F gas regulation was further improved and fully applied. Furthermore EU policy aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and F gases can play an important role. The new regulation aims to achieve these objectives by further reducing emissions through extended containment provisions and encouaging the use of low GWP alternatives through placing on the market bans and the phase down of HFCs. A guiding principle of the new provisions is to faciliate the use of equipment for its useful life and to recognise that alternatives are not yet available for all applications.

The new Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on fluorinated greenhouse gases repeals the existing Regulation (842 of 2006) and shall apply from the 1^st January, 2015. The new regulation builds upon the existing regulation and contains some key provisions as follows:

Extended containment provisions to include refrigerated units of trucks and trailers, switchgear with some derogations, organic rankine cycles. Furthermore the thresholds for leak checks will be expressed in CO2 equivalents to better reflect the environmental impact to be reduced
Service and maintenance ban using high GWP refrigerants but the use of recycled and reclaimed gases will be allowed until 2030
Pre-charged equipment can only be placed on the market if it is accounted for in the quota system
Placing on the market bans on HFCs of certain products and equipment
Phase down of HFCs

The new regulation covers the following areas:

Containment – Article 3 – 10
Placing on the market and control of use - Articles 11 - 14
Reduction of the Quantity of Hydrofluorocarbons ( HFCs) placed on the Market – Articles 15 - 18
Reporting – Articles 19 - 20

The contaiment measures based on regular leak checking have been extended and now cover stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning, heat pumps, fire protection systems, refrigerated trucks and trailers, organic Rankine cycles and electrical switchgear with SF₆. To reinforce the climate impact the frequency of leak checks will be based on global warming potential in CO₂ equivalents rather than tonnes of F gas. This will potentially bring more equipment into the leak checking regime which is designed to encourage a switch to lower GWP alternatives. There are exceptions for switchgear with a tested leakage rate of less than 0.1%, as set out in the technical specification of the manufacturer and is labelled accordingly or if equipped with a pressure or density monitoring device or it contains less than 6kg of F-gases. The placing on the market prohibitions have been extended and are outlined in Annex III of the Regulation.

Information Seminar

An information seminar was hosted by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government on Friday 13th June 2014, with speakers from the Department, the EPA and industry representatives.

The presentations contain useful information and are available to download.

Overview of the new F-gas Regulation, presented by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and the EPA

Irish Perspective on the Industry Impact of the new F-gas Regulation, presented by the Institute of Refrigeration Ireland (IRI)

European Perspective on the Industry Impact of the new F-gas Regulation, presented by the European Partnership for Energy and the Environment (EPEE)

Enforcement of the ODS and F-gas Regulations in Ireland, presented by the EPA