| F-GAS | F GAS Regulations & Legislation, News, Articles & Information
| F-GAS | F GAS Regulations & Legislation, News, Articles & Information
| F-GAS | F GAS Regulations & Legislation, News, Articles & Information

COUNTDOWN TO THE F GAS REGULATIONS

What needs to be done and when?

The European Union's F-gas Regulation No 842/2006 became law on 4 July 2006 and many of the requirements came into force on 4th July 2007 however, some of these requirements are still awaiting clarification from the Commission. The table below helps to outline what you need to do now.

F-gases include all HFC refrigerants, such as R134a, and blends containing F Gases such as R407C, R410A, R404A. If you are handling, recovering, supplying, installing, manufacturing or own equipment containing HFC refrigerants in stationary equipment you now have new legal obligations under the F Gas Regulations.

UK RAC industry prepares for mandatory assessment of workforce skills

The European Commission has now finalised its detailed requirements for the training and certification of engineers working on stationary refrigeration and air conditioning equipment under the European Fluorinated Gases Regulation – known as the F Gas

Whilst most UK engineers have been assessed in refrigerant handling to the City and Guilds 2078 or CITB standard over the past 15 years, the new F Gas standard will be a much more thorough and wide ranging examination. It will include a range of observed practical assessments and a multiple choice examination which will test the knowledge of underpinning principles.  
 
 John Ellis, Past President of the IOR and Past Chairman of ACRIB who has reviewed the specification in detail comments “This is the first time that an assessment specification has been written into a Regulation on refrigerant handling. There is no doubt it will be tough to comply with but it would have been a lot worse without the work of ACRIB and DEFRA negotiating at a European level.”
 
Since the Commission finalised the requirements in December 2007, industry representatives through ACRIB have been working with existing awarding bodies (City and Guilds and CITB) to come up with a top-up qualification for those who already have refrigerant handling or S/NVQ qualifications. The new F Gas qualification is still under development and consultation, and will be presented to UK Government at the end of January.
 
Given that the whole of the existing workforce of up to 40,000 engineers will need to take all or part of the new assessment, one of the key briefs was for this to be as efficient as possible in terms of the time taken. It is expected that it will take approximately 4 hours for each candidate to be assessed by a qualified assessor. The level of training needed to get technicians up to the standard necessary to pass the assessments will depend on the prior qualifications, experience and knowledge of the individual. It is likely that this could be up to four days however, because much of the assessment is theoretical and covers principles of refrigeration required to assess performance of systems and their energy efficiency.
 
Jane Gartshore President of the IOR welcomed the work ACRIB is doing and said “We should not forget that whilst there will be a cost to industry, the F Gas training will also improve standards of competence throughout the workforce”
 
Training providers and colleges should be able to register to deliver the new qualifications early in the Spring with the first assessments going ahead in early July, when the requirements for F Gas Personnel Certification were due to come in. However with the current limited provision of training and the significant changes and challenges that the new F Gas qualifications will present, it is expected that it will take some years to get the whole of the UK workforce re-certified. Only those who have taken the new F Gas assessment will be recognised as competent throughout the whole of Europe, so in order to work with F Gas refrigerants, the sooner the new certificate is obtained the better.
 
The Commission requires that all technicians should have obtained this new qualification by January 2009. However the  UK Government will be consulting in the early summer on whether to allow a further three years (up to July 2011) for existing personnel to obtain the new qualification. ACRIB is pressing to ensure that the UK is granted an extension of the full three years to complete certifications. In the mean time , of course,  the existing certificates C&G 2078 or CITB equivalent  continue to be the existing national legal requirement for both F Gas and ODS refrigerant handling. The ACRIB voluntary register provides proof of competence through a register and card scheme. 
 
These requirements will be enforced by a Statutory Instrument expected to be published early this year which will lay down penalties for infringement. A programme of enforcement is currently being prepared by Government based on an awareness campaign targeting the key business sectors responsible for emissions of F Gases and gaining high level commitment to meeting the requirements of the Regulation from these businesses.
 
The Commission also recently agreed the principles for a Company registration scheme. Companies employing certified personnel will need to be registered, but again the deadline may be extended until July 2011. If so, companies will need an interim certificate by July 2009. The Government will be consulting on possible arrangements for the issuing of these interim company certificates and the length of the transitional period.
 
Guidance on the education and training requirements and all other aspects of the Regulation including the full text of the Regulations are available from ACRIB and its member organisations in the dedicated section of this website.
| F-GAS | F GAS Regulations & Legislation, News, Articles & Information
"We can provide a full site survey for total peace of mind."

Worried about FGAS in your workplace?

If you own an air-conditioning system it's your responsibility to make sure you are abiding by the new FGAS regulations.  All air-conditioning systems are affected, and there's stiff penalties for those who do not comply.

Denmanair Limited will happily attend your premises and assess your current situation.  We charge a simple day rate and provide you with an in-depth report in both paper and electronic formats.  You are under no obligation to take on any required recommendations with us - our report can be passed on to any third party air-conditioning specialists.

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1 working day would normally cover 10 split systems or up to 2 VRV/VRF systems.

All systems will be checked against FGAS regulations and recommendations will follow to ensure compliance.

For free and helpful advice, fill out the following form or call us free on 0800 4798011

Commission guidance and interpretation paper on certain issues arising from Regulation (EC) 842/2006 on certain f-gases


Commission's guidance and interpretation pa...

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New obligations from 4th July - 3/7/2007

 EC Regulation No842/2006 on certain fluorinated greenhouse gases
 
The principal objective of the EC Regulation is to prevent and thereby reduce emissions of F Gases covered

Obligations coming into force on 4 July will have direct effect on those affected without any f...

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NEWS UPDATE MARCH 2007

The Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Industry Board has added two new guidance notes to its website.

F Gas Regulation update

The first provides information for End Users (ow...

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Consultation on Proposals for offences and penalties and enforcement in relation to EC Regulation 842/2006 on Certain Fluorinate

 

  1. I am writi...

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| F-GAS | F GAS Regulations & Legislation, News, Articles & Information
"As part of the European Union’s obligations under the Kyoto protocol, the community has taken action to regulate fluorinated gases."

F-GAS REGULATIONS

After a long process through the European Parliament the F-Gas regulations became law when they were published in the EU Official Journal in June 2006. They entered


Updated 01/02/08 16:02

EC Regulation No 842/2006 on Certain Greenhouse Gases

The principal objective is to contain, prevent and thereby reduce emissions of F gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol.

Air-conditioning Engineers Required ASAP!

We urgently require service engineers, please visit www.denmanair.com for more information.

| F-GAS | F GAS Regulations & Legislation, News, Articles & Information
"This guide will help you choose an alternative"

Drop-In Replacements

The term "retrofit" refers to replacing the refrigerant in a system for a more environmentally-friendly fluid.

Click HERE to join FGAS.org for FREE.

Drop-in replacements do not require an oil change, and may require little or no replacement of el...

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The objectives of the F-GAS Regulation


The principal objective is to contain, prevent and thereby reduce emissions of f-gases covered by the Kyoto Protocol. This Regulation will make a significant contribution towards the European Community's Kyoto Protocol target by introducing cost-effective mitigation measures and to prevent distortion of the internal market. The main focus is on containment and recovery of f-gases, together with harmonised restrictions on the marketing and use of f-gases in applications where containment of f-gases is difficult to achieve or the use of f-gases is considered inappropriate and suitable alternatives exist.