International News
SURVEY REVEALS LACK OF
TRAINING IN LOW GWP REFRIGERANTS
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European refrigeration and air conditioning contractors ’ body AREA ’ s revealed that only between 3.5 % and 7 % of F-Gas certified personnel are trained on alternatives , depending on the refrigerant .
This is one of the main outcomes of an internal survey that AREA has recently completed and that also looked at F-Gas certification – considering the fast-tracked plans of the EU to cut global warming potential ( GWP ) refrigerants and reduce CO₂ emmission targets further .
Six years after the entry into force of the revised F-Gas Regulation and as a new HFC phase-down step just started , such a low figure provides clear factual support of AREA ’ s plea for mandatory certification on alternatives .
Around 345 000 refrigeration , air conditioning and heat pump ( RACHP ) personnel are F-Gas certified in the 18 EU countries covered by AREA membership . The figure increases to 397 000 in the UK and over 433 000 in Turkey and Norway .
As expected , Category I dominates with 85 % of the certifications . In addition , 116 500 companies are F-Gas certified in the 18 EU countries covered by AREA membership , 125 000 with the UK .
Since the phase-down scheme and the bans provided by the F-Gas Regulation are gradually pushing HFCs out the market , the survey also looked at the proportion of F-Gas certified personnel trained on alternatives . Unfortunately , though unsurprisingly , the results are low . Ammonia has the highest rate with 7 %, closely followed with CO2 ( 6.9 %). HCs score 6.2 % and 5.3 %, depending whether the equipment is small or large . Finally , only 3.5 % of F-Gas certified personnel are trained on HFOs .
What do these figures then mean ? Back in 2012 , as the European Commission was working on an HFC phase-down in the context of the revision of the 2006 F-Gas Regulation , AREA alerted on the risk of shortage of contractors trained in the use of low GWP refrigerants . The combination of low training rates and insufficient quantitative and , sometimes , qualitative training offer cast strong doubts on the system ’ s ability to cope with increasing demand for alternatives resulting from phase-down and bans . Yet , AREA ’ s call for compulsory certification on alternative refrigerants based on minimum requirements was not heard by EU decision-makers .
Nine years later , the situation has not improved . Arguably , it has actually worsened : training rates have remained largely stable whereas demand for low GWP alternatives has substantially increased . The issue is widely acknowledged and considered as a major obstacle to a stronger market take-up of alternative refrigerant solutions . Whereas these alternative solutions are becoming available for an increasing number of applications , they need enough competent contractors to be certificated to work with them safely .
Fortunately , there is one simple solution to the issue : extending the existing mandatory F-gas certification scheme to low GWP alternative refrigerants . This would provide a sufficient number of contractors with the necessary level of competence to ensure safe , efficient and reliable handling of equipment working with low GWP refrigerants . To this end , AREA is now preparing concrete proposals , including minimum requirements .
Nine years ago , the discussions on the need for compulsory training and certification on alternative refrigerants were surrounded with some level of uncertainty . One can hardly argue it is the case today . Insufficiencies are known , and needs are understood . The ongoing review process is a great opportunity to correct the situation and remove an obstacle to the achievement of the F-Gas Regulation ’ s objectives . RACA
Amidst the EU F-Gas Regulation transition , an independent report by European refrigeration and air conditioning contractors ’ body AREA indicates a lack of trained technicians to handle low GWP refrigerants .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I March 2021 11