R22 Phase out  - Guidance for owners and users of refrigeration equipment

The Ozone Depleting Substances Regulation came into force in 2000 and has already banned the use of ozone depleting HCFC refrigerants such as R22 in new systems.  R22 remains a very common refrigerant in existing systems used by many air conditioning users.  The Regulation bans the use of R22 as a “top up” for maintenance between 2010 (for virgin fluid) and 2015 (for recycled fluid).  This is of crucial importance for many companies and means that all users of R22 systems need to consider alternative refrigerants or purchase new equipment.

Planning for the phase out of R22

2.    It is important that R22 users begin to plan now for the phase out of R22, as there is very little time available before the 2009 phase out deadline.  It is dangerous to rely on the 2014 phase out date for recycled R22 because:

·      There is no guarantee that there will be sufficient levels of recycled R22 available and also what costs will be involved with the purchase

·       Also the review process for the phase out is being continually reviewed and may be brought forward 2 or 3 years.

R22 Phase Out Timetable

Date:
Since 1st July 2002	Cooling only air conditioning equipment that uses R22 has not been permitted to be manufactured
Since 1st January 2004	Heat Pump equipment that uses R22 has not been permitted to be manufactured.
After 31st December 2009	No more virgin R 22 can be used in existing systems.
After 31st December 2014	No more recycled R22 can be used for plant maintenance.

What options are available to you?

Options	Advantages	Disadvantages
Replace whole plant	·     New equipment can be designed to be more energy efficient. ·     New plant can be designed to meet your current cooling requirement using the latest technology. ·    You can choose to use a more environmentally friendly refrigerant. ·     Properly maintained these systems should provide approx.15 years service ·     Tax benefits using the ECA scheme.	·     Most expensive option initially unless the equipment installed falls within the ECA guidelines (see below).
Modify plant to use an alternative refrigerant	·     Fairly quick refit. ·     Lower capital cost than plant replacement.	·     System efficiency may deteriorate. ·     Not applicable to all equipment designs. ·     Cooling capacity may decrease. ·     Reliability problems possible. ·     Equipment life not extended.
Use existing equipment with recycled refrigerant	·     Zero capital cost option.  New technology options could become available in the next few years.	·     There is no guarantee that recycled refrigerant will be available and at what cost ·     Efficiency will not be improved. With this option you are only delaying your response – one of the other options must be taken by end of 2014 but this date could be changed to an earlier date

The selection of the correct option from above for you needs careful consideration and will be influenced by your company’s circumstances.  It may be if you have a large quantity of the systems affected that you may wish to consider a mixture of the above options.

Another factor to consider is the new Building Regulations, which come into force in January 2009 in relation to European Union Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).  The EPBD specifically targets air conditioning systems for special treatment, with a requirement for ‘regular’ inspections. It makes compulsory the inspection of all air conditioning systems with a power greater than 250kW by 4 January 2009. The inspector must also produce a report recommending improvements to their energy efficiency. This means that inspections should already be underway in order to be ready for the deadline and should be taken into consideration when replacing R22 systems.

Considering replacing your existing systems?

The Government have recognised the financial implications of the new Legislation and have introduced the Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme (ECA).  This scheme allows you to offset the cost of the supply and installation of selected new equipment against your Corporate Tax, we can advise which systems are covered by this scheme.

Considering converting your existing plant to a new refrigerant?

Firstly you will need to identify the options available to you, not all R22 equipment will be compatible with the replacement refrigerants, your maintenance contractor should be able to advise on this.  For instance you cannot convert to a refrigerant like ammonia as the existing plant will be incompatible. 

One of the main factors to consider is that most R22 systems operate with mineral lubricating oil and most HFC refrigerants require polyol ester oil.  It is costly and time consuming to change the oil in an existing system , however the service blend HFCs are designed to minimise this problem.

Another important point to consider is the difference between the use of a pure fluid or a blend refrigerant.  Your existing R22 plant uses a pure fluid as a refrigerant.  This means that evaporation and condensation take place at a constant temperature.  Most HFC blends exhibit a characteristic called ‘temperature glide’ which means that evaporation and condensation takes place across a range of temperature instead of at a constant temperature.  For some plant designs a high temperature glide could cause problems and it would be inadvisable to replace the R22 with a new refrigerant blend with a high glide.  In general this problem occurs on flooded and pumped circulation systems – which tend to be used on large plants such as blast freezers, cold stores and large liquid chillers.  This is less of a problem with DX (direct expansion) systems – these can cope much better with a refrigerant with a temperature glide.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you wish to discuss any of the above information or for advice on which option would be best suited to you.