Earlier this year, a new legislation was enforced banning the use of Hydrochlorofluorocarbons including R22 gas. R22 is a gas used in AC systems that weaken the ozone layer and many AC units pre-dating 2004 use it. HCFC, which are petroleum-based products, have been replacing the CFCs (Chlorofluorocarbures) since 1995. Until recently they were considered acceptable interim substitutes for CFCs. However, even though far less polluting than CFCs, HCFC’s are still harmful to the environment. R22 has been extensively used in many systems before 2004 but as of the 1st January 2015, the use of any appliances that might contain this fluid is no longer permitted. Continue reading →
With new F Gas changes coming in January 2017 Defra consultation has said in a report that nearly half a million new air conditioning units will have to have a different process put in place when it comes to checking for refrigerant leaks.
They have written an Impact Statement after a public consultation was carried out which states “the new EU Regulation is expected to lead to an extra 350,000 small systems requiring mandatory leak checking, 15,000 large systems requiring automatic leak detection and 60,000 refrigerated trucks and trailers being included in the leak checking regime.”
The amount of new units that need will need servicing means that there will be more work for engineers and contractors not just for air conditioning units but for refrigeration too. There are some smaller systems too that will need to be maintained but these are usually done by the end user. However, with the new system in place they will have to be retrained so they are making the correct checks. Continue reading →
It has been announced that Toshiba Air Conditioning have been shortlisted in the national technology awards next year in three categories! They are a division of Toshiba Carrier UK Ltd and the awards that they have been shortlisted for are Training Provider of the Year, Total Refrigerant Leak Protection and Management System and for Air Conditioning Product of the Year. On top of this they are also a finalist for Best Marketing Campaign as a result of their advertising over the last two years. These adverts have given the business a high profile and a vast amount of coverage across the industry. Continue reading →
Air conditioning is one of those things that gets fought over in the office during the summer as there are always those that are too cold or too hot. It is now winter and hopefully the fights have cooled down along with the temperature (pardon the pun), however this doesn’t mean that you can forget about your system. With this in mind and the importance climate change coming to the forefront of conversations a team of researchers have revealed that they have found a way to cool a room without increasing demands in time for next summer.
The team that have come up with this new system have said that in the USA alone, 15 per cent of the energy used in buildings is spent running air conditioning systems. As it is likely that air conditioning systems are only run during the summer months this seems like a reasonable percentage however, there is a huge amount of electricity generated from coal based power plants which in turn creates a lot of carbon emissions. Continue reading →
Last week there were global climate talks in Paris and the outcome was that India are leading the way in terms of refusing to sign up to the proposed HFC phase-down. However, they didn’t just refuse, they of course had reasons to justify their decisions. Prakash Javadeker is the environmental minister and voiced the reasoning behind their decision to refuse the proposal. Continue reading →
As a business it is essential that you understand UK air conditioning and refrigeration laws. The regulations state that: “If you own or operate equipment that contains ODS or F-gases, such as air-conditioning or refrigeration, you will need to manage your own equipment to prevent polluting the environment.”
In order to do this you must ensure that you recover, contain and destroy the refrigerant gasses in an appropriate manner. You must also ensure that checks are carried out on your air conditioning unit at least once a year for leaks in small units but if you are using a larger system then this needs to happen on a more regular basis. You can either do this yourself or get a professional to do it. The latter is the advised option so you are sure it was completed by a professional and mistakes are less likely to have been made. You mustn’t handle the refrigerants yourself, if this is required call a qualified technician to carry out the task for you. It is also important that you make sure you are aware of any imminent changes that will be occurring to the legislation so you can stay on top of it and up to date. Continue reading →
Most will rememberthe sixties for the fashion and music, but something else happened during this decade that us HVAC’ers will be far more interested in! This decade saw a rise of the refrigerator in households.
In general, the basics of refrigeration have remained mostly the same although a lot has changed. The refrigerator is now an important staple to any commercial or domestic kitchen which ensures food waste is reduced by extending the life of produce.
However, as you and everyone else is well aware of, it has been discovered that the refrigerants used in the refrigerators is not the most environmentally friendly. Paul Alway is the refrigeration specification manager at Marks and Spencer and he explained: “Over the years, society came to understand the atmospheric (ozone layer) impacts of refrigerant gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and the threat they pose on the ozone layer. Continue reading →
The Sistine Chapel is world famous and as it has grown in popularity in terms of visitors the air conditioning and lighting systems have had to be upgraded to ensure the frescos are preserved.
Currently the amount of people that visit each year pose a threat to the precious paintings so it was vital the temperature was kept at a constant so more visitors can enjoy the paintings for years to come.
Work was carried out on a brand new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system for the Chapel to ensure that the works of art created by Michelangelo did not deteriorate. The Vatican Museums have said that the new system was installed by Carrier who are an American air conditioning company and they have installed a system that had minimum noise and would limit the amount of air movement around the paintings. Continue reading →
There has been a long battle over which refrigerants should and shouldn’t be used in air conditioning systems and there has been a strong force within the industry to try and make refrigerants more environmentally friendly not only for the greater good but also to ensure that businesses adhere to the law.
However, the European Commission has recently sent a Statement of Objections to Honeywell and DuPont. The statement was sent in regards to the refrigerant R-1234yf. It said, “The European Commission has informed Honeywell International Inc. and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) of its preliminary view that the refrigerant for use in car air conditioning systems (R-1234yf), may have limited its availability and technical development, in break of EU antitrust rules.” Continue reading →
When it comes to the autumn we know there are often wars over the air conditioning, some people are freezing and some people are still warm, however, the closer we get to winter you need to ensure that you are looking after your units as best as possible. We have put together a guide for you to for you to follow to help protect your air conditioning unit during the colder months.
As soon as you are ready to stop using your air conditioning it is best if you turn the unit off. This will mean that your unit isn’t on and therefore doesn’t have any water flowing through it. Having water in the unit during the winter leaves the opportunity for it to freeze which could break the unit. Continue reading →
F Gas Legislation
With new F Gas changes coming in January 2017 Defra consultation has said in a report that nearly half a million new air conditioning units will have to have a different process put in place when it comes to checking for refrigerant leaks.
They have written an Impact Statement after a public consultation was carried out which states “the new EU Regulation is expected to lead to an extra 350,000 small systems requiring mandatory leak checking, 15,000 large systems requiring automatic leak detection and 60,000 refrigerated trucks and trailers being included in the leak checking regime.”
The amount of new units that need will need servicing means that there will be more work for engineers and contractors not just for air conditioning units but for refrigeration too. There are some smaller systems too that will need to be maintained but these are usually done by the end user. However, with the new system in place they will have to be retrained so they are making the correct checks. Continue reading →
Toshiba Air Conditioning & The National Technology Awards
It has been announced that Toshiba Air Conditioning have been shortlisted in the national technology awards next year in three categories! They are a division of Toshiba Carrier UK Ltd and the awards that they have been shortlisted for are Training Provider of the Year, Total Refrigerant Leak Protection and Management System and for Air Conditioning Product of the Year. On top of this they are also a finalist for Best Marketing Campaign as a result of their advertising over the last two years. These adverts have given the business a high profile and a vast amount of coverage across the industry. Continue reading →
Cooling your home without using electricity?
Air conditioning is one of those things that gets fought over in the office during the summer as there are always those that are too cold or too hot. It is now winter and hopefully the fights have cooled down along with the temperature (pardon the pun), however this doesn’t mean that you can forget about your system. With this in mind and the importance climate change coming to the forefront of conversations a team of researchers have revealed that they have found a way to cool a room without increasing demands in time for next summer.
The team that have come up with this new system have said that in the USA alone, 15 per cent of the energy used in buildings is spent running air conditioning systems. As it is likely that air conditioning systems are only run during the summer months this seems like a reasonable percentage however, there is a huge amount of electricity generated from coal based power plants which in turn creates a lot of carbon emissions. Continue reading →
India not likely to sign up to HFC Phasedown anytime soon
Last week there were global climate talks in Paris and the outcome was that India are leading the way in terms of refusing to sign up to the proposed HFC phase-down. However, they didn’t just refuse, they of course had reasons to justify their decisions. Prakash Javadeker is the environmental minister and voiced the reasoning behind their decision to refuse the proposal. Continue reading →
Understanding HVAC Legislation
As a business it is essential that you understand UK air conditioning and refrigeration laws. The regulations state that: “If you own or operate equipment that contains ODS or F-gases, such as air-conditioning or refrigeration, you will need to manage your own equipment to prevent polluting the environment.”
In order to do this you must ensure that you recover, contain and destroy the refrigerant gasses in an appropriate manner. You must also ensure that checks are carried out on your air conditioning unit at least once a year for leaks in small units but if you are using a larger system then this needs to happen on a more regular basis. You can either do this yourself or get a professional to do it. The latter is the advised option so you are sure it was completed by a professional and mistakes are less likely to have been made. You mustn’t handle the refrigerants yourself, if this is required call a qualified technician to carry out the task for you. It is also important that you make sure you are aware of any imminent changes that will be occurring to the legislation so you can stay on top of it and up to date. Continue reading →
Marks and Spencer’s Refrigeration Policy
Most will rememberthe sixties for the fashion and music, but something else happened during this decade that us HVAC’ers will be far more interested in! This decade saw a rise of the refrigerator in households.
In general, the basics of refrigeration have remained mostly the same although a lot has changed. The refrigerator is now an important staple to any commercial or domestic kitchen which ensures food waste is reduced by extending the life of produce.
However, as you and everyone else is well aware of, it has been discovered that the refrigerants used in the refrigerators is not the most environmentally friendly. Paul Alway is the refrigeration specification manager at Marks and Spencer and he explained: “Over the years, society came to understand the atmospheric (ozone layer) impacts of refrigerant gases such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and the threat they pose on the ozone layer. Continue reading →
The Sistine Chapel Received a new Air Conditioning System
The Sistine Chapel is world famous and as it has grown in popularity in terms of visitors the air conditioning and lighting systems have had to be upgraded to ensure the frescos are preserved.
Currently the amount of people that visit each year pose a threat to the precious paintings so it was vital the temperature was kept at a constant so more visitors can enjoy the paintings for years to come.
Work was carried out on a brand new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system for the Chapel to ensure that the works of art created by Michelangelo did not deteriorate. The Vatican Museums have said that the new system was installed by Carrier who are an American air conditioning company and they have installed a system that had minimum noise and would limit the amount of air movement around the paintings. Continue reading →
Honeywell and DuPont Receive Statement of Objection
There has been a long battle over which refrigerants should and shouldn’t be used in air conditioning systems and there has been a strong force within the industry to try and make refrigerants more environmentally friendly not only for the greater good but also to ensure that businesses adhere to the law.
However, the European Commission has recently sent a Statement of Objections to Honeywell and DuPont. The statement was sent in regards to the refrigerant R-1234yf. It said, “The European Commission has informed Honeywell International Inc. and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) of its preliminary view that the refrigerant for use in car air conditioning systems (R-1234yf), may have limited its availability and technical development, in break of EU antitrust rules.” Continue reading →
Protecting your Air Conditioning Unit During the Winter
When it comes to the autumn we know there are often wars over the air conditioning, some people are freezing and some people are still warm, however, the closer we get to winter you need to ensure that you are looking after your units as best as possible. We have put together a guide for you to for you to follow to help protect your air conditioning unit during the colder months.
As soon as you are ready to stop using your air conditioning it is best if you turn the unit off. This will mean that your unit isn’t on and therefore doesn’t have any water flowing through it. Having water in the unit during the winter leaves the opportunity for it to freeze which could break the unit. Continue reading →