AREA, the European organisation of air conditioning, refrigeration and heat pump contractors, has issued a guide on the new F-gas regulation.

The new F-Gas Regulation includes many changes that will become reality from 1 January 2015. Refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump contractors will be faced with a set of new requirements that will substantially affect the content and performance of their activities. With this guide, AREA aims to provide a tool that explains and clarifies the new rules, their impact and their practical application.

President of AREA Per Jonasson said: “This guide is the result of a work that started immediately after the EU Institutions found a compromise on the final text. Having closely followed the revision since the very beginning, we were well-placed to anticipate the questions the new Regulation would trigger. Yet addressing them into a comprehensive yet clear and practical guide required great efforts and commitment from the entire AREA membership over more than 6 months.”

The European Commission also cooperated to ensure common understanding and consistency.

The guide comprehensively addresses all aspects relevant to contractors. For each theme, it clearly highlights what the impact is on contractors and it makes suggestions as to what they should do. It also includes useful tools, such as a conversion table weight-CO2-eq for the most commonly used refrigerants, a flowchart on leak check frequency and a table summarising certification requirements.

AREA also took that opportunity to give an opinion on how Member States could/should interpret and apply certain provisions, notably on delivery of f-gases and on sale of pre-charged equipment. “These two issues are very important to AREA. We make concrete suggestions to ensure the practical effectiveness of the Regulation’s good principles,” adds Per Jonasson.

The guide is a living document that will be updated and completed following experience and notably after the adoption of implementing legislation. AREA will also create thematic fiches on the most important issues for contractors (for example, leakage checking, delivery of f-gases, service ban).

AREA Practical Guide on the application of the new F-Gas Regulation to refrigeration, air conditioning & heat pump contractors is available at www.area-eur.be