Dave Archer, business development manager at Parasense takes a look at current refrigeration-related legislation and how it affects the supermarket sector.
F-GAS, EN378 and L2 are just a few of the legislative requirements to hit the acr sector this year which have engineers grappling with what they really mean – is it just more red tape to wade through or will they deliver life cycle costing benefits?

The F-gas directive aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol, pertains to the maintenance of equipment with 3kg or more of F-gas – this includes refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment and their circuits, as well as fire protection systems.

The legislation states that operators are obliged to use all measures which are technically feasible and which do not entail disproportionate costs, to prevent the emission of gases and repair any detected leakages. An on-site record must be maintained of all leakage inspections, the frequency of which depends on the refrigerant charge of the equipment. Smaller systems with a charge of up to 3kg require inspections every 12 months. Larger systems in excess of a 300kg charge should be inspected every three months and must be fitted with a leakage detection system. Furthermore, if the inspectors find a leak, it must be repaired as soon as possible and inspected within one month.

Refrigerant in space

EN378 1:2000 (BSEN378) is an all-encompassing regulation that states: “Where the release of a refrigerant gas into a confined space will exceed the safe limits for that gas in that volume, it is a legal requirement to fit a fixed gas detection system.” This includes rooms or parts of buildings where people may sleep, where they may be restricted in movement and/or where an uncontrolled number of people who are not acquainted with the necessary safety precautions have access. This is particularly relevant for plant rooms and enclosed small spaces such as modern hotel bedrooms. A fixed multipoint detection system will satisfy these requirements.

Building regulations

Any supermarket planning a new build, major refurbishment or extension will have to comply with the new L2 Building Regulations. They refer to the conservation of fuel and power in buildings other than dwellings which have a usable floor area of 1,000m2. The aim of the ruling is to reduce the energy consumption of new builds by 28% compared to what they would have been prior to the implementation of the legislation.

This reduction of 28% can be offset by using certain equipment – for example a 5% reduction can be obtained though the implementation of automated monitoring and targeting (am&t) and a 2.5% reduction for a full-site power factor adjustment.

The regulation requires that at least 90% of the estimated annual usage is monitored for performance and that in buildings with a usable floor area that exceeds 1,000m2, an automatic meter reading and data collection must be used. When an energy management programme includes the most relevant refrigeration leak detection, optimum consistent performance of a refrigerant plant can be ensured.

Organisations need to take the long-term view of current legislation and use it as an opportunity to implement proactive measures, such as installing a fixed leak detection system, as part of an overall refrigerant management strategy. The environmental concerns alone should compel decision makers to sit up and take notice. Add this to the cash-saving benefits of reducing leakage and you have a powerful business case.