The refrigeration industry has had two major pieces of legislation come into effect in recent years:
- The Kyoto Protocol leading to the F-gas legislation that began to come into effect in 2006.
- The Montreal Protocol that has led to the Ozone Regulations in 2000 with a staged implementation.
The most prominent influence of the Montreal Protocol for many businesses is the phase out of ozone depleting gasses e.g. R22 refrigerant.
For all businesses it is sensible to plan for either:
- Replacing existing equipment for plant that uses less harmful refrigerants outside the scope of the legislation.
- Carrying out a gas change to a ”drop in” refrigerant. This requires careful consideration for the impact the new refrigerant will have on plant operating performance.
From 1st January 2015 it has no longer been possible to purchase or supply R22 in any form. This means equipment containing the refrigerant will need to be converted or replaced if a fault occurs.