F-Gas Category II (IE) cheat sheet

Regulation (EU) 2024/573 (F-Gas) controls fluorinated greenhouse gases including HFCs, PFCs and SF6; it replaced Regulation (EU) No 517/2014.

Regulation (EC) No 1005/2009 (ODS) controls ozone-depleting substances such as CFCs, HCFCs and halons; R-22 is an HCFC.

In Ireland, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the competent authority for F-Gas and ODS enforcement.

Operators must ensure that leak checking, servicing, recovery and charging are performed by personnel holding the appropriate F-Gas certification.

F-Gas certification is personal and activity-based; Category II holders may carry out the activities within their certified scope.

The EU HFC phase-down reduces the quantity of HFCs placed on the market, measured in CO2e, through a quota system.

Placing on the market of certain equipment is banned from specified dates based on refrigerant GWP and equipment type.

Records must be kept for at least five years and made available to the competent authority on request.

GWP is the 100-year global warming potential of a gas relative to CO2, whose GWP is 1.

CO2e in tonnes = refrigerant mass in kg × GWP ÷ 1000.

R-410A GWP = 2088; 1 kg released equals 2.088 tonnes CO2e.

R-404A GWP = 3922; 1 kg released equals 3.922 tonnes CO2e.

R-134a GWP = 1430; R-32 GWP = 675; R-407C GWP = 1774.

ODP is the ozone-depleting potential relative to CFC-11, set at ODP 1.0; HFCs have ODP = 0.

R-22 has ODP of about 0.055 and GWP of 1810; it is both ozone-depleting and a greenhouse gas.

TEWI combines direct refrigerant emissions with indirect CO2 emissions from energy use.

Leak checks: 5–50 tCO2e every 12 months; 50–500 tCO2e every 6 months; 500 tCO2e or more every 3 months.

A leak detection system halves the frequency: 24, 12 and 6 months respectively.

Leak detection systems are mandatory for equipment containing 500 tCO2e or more and must be checked annually.

Equipment below 5 tCO2e has no mandatory periodic leak-check interval; hermetically sealed equipment below 10 tCO2e is exempt.

After repairing a leak, the equipment must be leak-checked within 24 hours.

If a leak cannot be repaired, the equipment must be decommissioned.

Records include refrigerant type and charge, top-up amounts, leak-check dates and results, repairs and technician details.

Labels must state refrigerant type and CO2e charge; update the label after any charge change.

Recovery is the collection of refrigerant from equipment for reuse, recycling, reclamation or destruction.

Recycling is basic cleaning and reuse of recovered refrigerant; it does not restore virgin specification.

Reclamation is reprocessing to virgin specification, normally requiring laboratory analysis and certification.

Venting refrigerant to atmosphere is prohibited; recovery is required before servicing, decommissioning or disposal.

Recovered refrigerant is waste unless reclaimed or recycled to an appropriate standard; use an authorised waste contractor.

Never mix different refrigerants; mixed refrigerant cannot be reclaimed as a single product and is treated as waste.

Recovery cylinders must be dedicated, labelled and filled by weight; never exceed the cylinder's maximum filling ratio.

Destruction must be by an approved facility, with waste transfer records retained.

Wear gloves, goggles and protective clothing; liquid refrigerant can cause frostbite and vapour can displace oxygen.

Work in ventilated areas; refrigerant vapour is heavier than air and can accumulate in low spaces.

Charge refrigerant by weight using calibrated scales; charge zeotropic blends as liquid to prevent fractionation.

Never charge liquid refrigerant into the suction of a running compressor.

Pressure-test with dry nitrogen (OFN), never oxygen or compressed air; use a regulator.

Evacuate to 500 microns (about 67 Pa) and hold; a rising vacuum indicates moisture or a leak.

For A2L or A3 flammable refrigerants, remove ignition sources and use intrinsically safe leak detectors.

Before decommissioning, recover all refrigerant, isolate and purge with nitrogen, then label and remove equipment.