Mandatory refrigerant leak testing in refrigeration equipment
Who is subject to F-gas leak testing
Operators of refrigeration equipment containing F-gases with weights of over 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Limit values of selected refrigerants in relation to the duty to control F-gas leakage
| Refrigerant | GWP | Weights | ||
| CO2-eq | 5 ton CO2-eq | 50 ton CO2-eq | 500 ton CO2-eq | |
| R134a | 1 430 | 3,5 kg | 34,96 kg | 349,65 kg |
| R404A | 3 922 | 1,27 kg | 12,75 kg | 127,49 kg |
| R407C | 1 774 | 2,82 kg | 28,18 kg | 281,85 kg |
| R410A | 2 088 | 2,39 kg | 23,95 kg | 239,46 kg |
Frequency of F-Gas Leakage Control
| Fluorinated greenhouse gases | Frequency of tightness testing | |
| Without detection system installing | With detection system installing | |
| 5 ton CO2-eq | 12 months | 24 months |
| 50 ton CO2-eq | 6 months | 12 months |
| 500 ton CO2-eq | 3 months | 6 months |
Exceptions: Hermetically sealed refrigeration systems with a refrigerant content of less than 10 tonnes CO2-eq of fluorinated gases are exempted from regular leakage checks (the CHZ must have a label that defines it as hermetically sealed).
Legislative duty to control F-Gas leakage
According to EU Council Regulation no. 517/2014 pursuant to Act no. 286/2009 Z.z.
Penalties for F-Gas Leakage Control
From € 2,000 to € 34,000, the operator of the refrigeration plant.
Example
The refrigeration unit with 1.4 kg of R404A (GWP is 3,922 CO2-eq) contains F-gases at 5.5 tonnes CO2-eq. In this case, it is possible to see how the change in legislation from the plant, when no F-gas control was necessary, has become a facility where F-gas control is required once a year. If this cooling device is considered as a hermetically sealed system and labeled with a label, the control obligation would only arise when the 10 tonne CO2-eq limit was exceeded.
