HFC Phase Out

The HFC Phase Out is new legislation which will come in to force on the 1st January 2020. Refrigerant with a global warming potential in excess of 2500 will no longer be used to refill a refrigeration or freezer system.

Operators who do not comply with this service ban will be breaking the law, and will be liable for civil penalties of up to £200,000 in the UK & Ireland.

The steps that can be taken to switch to an ‘alternative refrigeration system’ are as follows:

– Use reclaimed HFC refrigerants which are exempt from the servicing ban until 2030.
– Use recycled HFC Refrigerants that have been recycled from personal equipment or by the company servicing equipment- these are exempt from the ban until 2030.
– Switch to low GWP refrigerants that are not covered by the 2020 service ban. This is likely to involve replacing or retrofitting your existing systems.

Who the guidance is for, as engineers using the below equipment will be affected by the new regulation:

– Engineers operating on small hermetically sealed systems such as ice-cream freezers, bottle coolers and stand-alone retail displays typically containing between 0.1KG and 0.5KG of refrigerant.

– Engineers operating on condensing units including commercial cabinet displays, clast chillers and freezers used in small shops, convenience stores and food service. These are medium sized systems with up to two refrigerated display units. These are cooled by a condensing unit containing between 2KG to 10KG or refrigerant.

– Engineers using central pack systems- these are used in super markets and other large stores. They typically contain more than 100KG or refrigerant.

Changes to refrigerant gases that can be used

F-gas Regulation business guidance – 2020 service ban Q&A