BOC campaign urges action before 2010 deadline
MANY end users will not be able to meet the deadline for HCFC phase-out, according to one of the UK’s leading refrigerant suppliers.

With less than three months before the Montreal Protocol ban on the use of virgin HCFC for servicing comes into force, BOC believes more needs to be done to improve the rate at which contractors and end users are adopting alternatives.

According to its own forecasts, BOC predicts adoption rates for HCFC alternatives need to increase by around 10% year-on-year for phase-out to be completed by 2010.

However, a significantly lower rate of adoption to date has prompted BOC to launch a campaign focused on broadening the range of HCFC alternatives available at its own outlets and at those of its wholesale partner, HRP.

Price driven

Echoing the concerns already raised by other refrigerant suppliers, BOC Refrigerants business development manager, Barry Lyons said: “Mounting evidence suggests there is resistance to the early adoption of HCFC alternatives, much of which is driven by price.

“The danger of waiting for the ‘tipping point’– where increasingly restricted availability forces the R22 price beyond that of alternatives – is that it may be too late to truly determine which is right for a specific refrigeration system.”

All systems are different, and whilst BOC can advise on whether a refrigerant is fit for purpose, the acid test, according to the company, is to trial the alternative. Trials have already begun but with an estimated 8,300 supermarkets and 15,000 industrial sites throughout the UK – many with multiple systems reliant on R22 – Lyons believes the rate of uptake needs to improve immensely.

Tight timetable

The view is shared by BOC’s supply partner, DuPont. Simon Ferris, who is responsible for the development of the DuPont Isceon 9 Series of HCFC alternatives, said “Supermarkets have the greatest concentration of HCFCs and face the tightest of timetables. A supermarket with 200 or more stores will need to replace or retrofit at a rate in excess of five stores per month for the next three years if they are to meet the 2010 deadline.

“Factor in those industries using process cooling as well as air conditioned buildings and it becomes clear that the scale of change required is enormous,” he added.

“Retrofits need to be completed by December 2009 so the need for planning and implementation at every level in the supply chain is crucial – nowhere more so than for large organisations operating multiple sites with complex cooling needs. Many have yet to appreciate that this also means running down stocks of HCFCs throughout the course of the year.”

“It’s not too late to get started but without sufficient planning the growing fear for end users will be the lack of time to assess and trial alternatives and the availability of properly qualified, licensed contracting resources to carry out retrofits.”

According to BOC, another contributing factor to the adoption rate is lack of awareness of the alternatives. To combat this BOC is working on a series of road shows later in the year to raise awareness of the impact of environmental legislation and advising on alternatives for the future. The BOC campaign, which is budgeted to cost the company £150,000 in its first year alone, will continue until the 2010 phase out. As well as trade press advertising focusing on HCFC alternatives, every BOC retail outlet will carry copies of BOC’s guide to refrigerants and a stock of ‘comparators’ that compare pressure and temperature for a range of R22 and HCFC alternatives.