After 31st December 2009 the use of virgin HCFCs for the maintenance and servicing of air conditioning and refrigeration equipment will become illegal. This legislation will affect any business operating air conditioning systems using R22.

HCFC refrigerants are known to have ozone depleting potential and legislation is now in place to phase out the use of all HCFCs by 2015. R22 is a widely used HCFC for air conditioning activities. Here are some key facts relating to R22:

• The use and sale of virgin HCFC is banned from 31st December 2009.
• The use and sale of recycled HCFC is banned from 31st December 2014.
• Production is R22 is now illegal.

R22 is used in over 700,000 air conditioning systems in the UK. All businesses operating air conditioning systems using R22 are affected by the ban and are responsible for ensuring that they comply with the legislation.

Responsibilities Of Companies Using R22 In Air Conditioning

Companies operating air conditioning systems using R22 must:-

Use appropriately trained personnel to carry out installation, servicing and maintenance and leak checking of the equipment.

Recover Ozone Depleting Substances such as R22 during servicing and maintenance and at the end of life of the system.

Carry out annual checks for refrigerant leakage if the system has more than 3kg of refrigerant.

Consequences Of The R22 Phase Out In Air Conditioning

R22 is no longer in production. As R22 stocks are depleted, the price is anticipated to rise significantly until the ban on sale and use comes into force. This will make maintenance of ageing systems increasingly expensive in comparison to modern systems which do not use such refrigerants.

Several ‘drop in’ refrigerants are being promoted in the air conditioning industry. These represent only a partial solution. They could also compromise system performance and render equipment warranties invalid.

Radical advances in the technology of modern air conditioning equipment make a strong case for the replacement of older systems by new, safe, highly efficient and eco friendly systems.

Call TK Air Conditioning For Best Advice

There is a vast amount of literature on the issue of R22 Phase Out and response to it.
Each individual company should have an assessment of their air conditioning requirements made by accredited, experienced professionals. TK Air Conditioning work with the world’s major system providers and are ideally placed to recommend a strategy for dealing with the R22 phase out. Call now on 0191 438 7410 to arrange a site visit and assessment.

R22 Phase Out Regulations, HCFC Legislation, R22 Use Ban. Ozone Depleting Substances. Maintenance, Servicing & Leakage Checks By Accredited Contractors.