An Overview
The F Gas regulations became UK law in July 2007 - the aim being to reduce environmental damage caused by the leakage of fluorinated gases used in air conditioning and refrigeration systems.
F gases are a family of refrigerants that contain fluorine, a powerful greenhouse gas which contributes to global warming if emitted to the atmosphere. They include all HFC refrigerants including R134a and blends such as R404A (two refrigerants currently used by Williams Refrigeration).
The regulations are based upon containment, minimising leakages and proving that all steps have been duly taken to ensure compliance. End users are ultimately responsible for maintaining equipment, identifying refrigerant leaks and their subsequent repairs, or otherwise be prepared to face the consequence of tough penalties for non-compliance of the regulations.
Some companies however, including Williams Refrigeration, have been actively containing F gases as a natural part of their manufacturing process for some time, recognising that a leaking refrigeration system runs inefficiently, leading to poor performance and increased energy consumption ( a 10% loss of refrigerant can increase energy consumption by up to 20%). As such Williams products are designed with containment in mind from the outset - from design, through manufacture to installation, commissioning, service and maintenance.
Although F Gases have a high Global Warming Potential (GWP), HFCs are the most energy efficient gases in today’s market.
The Detail
The F-gas regulations can affect anyone who operates, uses or installs equipment that is charged with 3 kg of refrigerant (or 6 kg if hermetically sealed). However, Williams Reach-In products (cabinets / counters) contain less than the 3kg limit, as do many of our Walk-In product range (Coldrooms / Modular) - which are also hermetically sealed.
The legal responsibility for compliance with the Regulation lies with the operator who is likely to be the owner, even if there is a comprehensive maintenance contract in place. It is in the operator’s interests to use competent, specialist contractors, installers and maintenance providers.
The operator is responsible for ensuring that:
those handling refrigerant are fully certified - showing a full understanding of the regulations
leaks are repaired immediately by certified personnel after detection
if a leak is detected and repaired, a further inspection is carried out within a month
detailed records are available that track refrigerant from design to disposal
F-gases are recovered during servicing and at end of plant life
all new equipment is labelled with the name and the amount of refrigerant
| Frequency |
Normal systems |
Hermetically sealed systems |
| None |
Less than 3 kg |
Less than 6 kg |
| Annual |
3 kg to 30 kg |
6 kg to 30 kg |
| 6-monthly* |
30 kg to 300 kg |
30 kg to 300 kg |
| Quarterly* |
Greater than 300 kg |
Greater than 300 kg |
*but 12 months if they have an automatic leak detection system
To download a copyof the Williams F-Gas certificate, please click here (1.1MB Pdf)
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