R22 Gas from 1st January, 2010

R22 Gas Replacement

From now building managers and property owners, need to be aware of the effects of the R22 Phase-out which kicks-in on 1 January 2010.

If you already know about the R22 Phase-out and would like further details now, then please call us on: 0800 085 4737

How will it affect you?

R22 has been identified as having ozone-depleting potential so the use of virgin R22 will be banned from January 2010.

Service engineers will have to rely on reclaimed gas for routine maintenance or emergencies until its outright ban in 2015.

Air-conditioning equipment more than five years old will almost certainly be using R22 gas.

If there is, a shortage of the gas following the phase-out buildings could be left without heating and cooling until replacement gas is obtained.

Running out of gas

According to the BRA (British Refrigeration Association), severe shortages of reclaimed R22 are predicted based on the small amount of gas being reclaimed.

Mitsubishi Electric, Business Partners of Air Conditioning Solutions (UK) Ltd, is highlighting the R22 problem encouraging building owners to start preparing now.

The option of direct direct-replacement or ‘drop-in’ refrigerants may help however; these have been developed to drop into an R22 system to keep the air conditioning going for the short term.

The problem is, each individual system is different, and it is impossible to tell whether there is a simple solution, or how effective it will be until you get to the stage where you actually need to use it.

Recent tests also indicate that direct-replacement refrigerants can hinder performance; in some cases, they have even caused complete mechanical failure.