Reminding delegates that it is the owner and operator of a system who will be required by the new regulations to ensure that anyone working on it is appropriately qualified, Graham Hendra pointed out that 60% of the 9000 t of refrigerant used in the UK each year is for topping up existing systems and that a kilogram of R410A has about 1900 times the global-warming potential of carbon dioxide.
He also asserted that a third of systems in the UK have the wrong charge. ‘A 15% charge loss reduces capacity by 50% and adds 11% to running costs,’ he said, adding that ‘A qualified installer releases up to 15% less gas while servicing.’
For its part, LG is working towards making units that use less refrigerant. The latest generation of R410A units, for example, use 30 to 40% less refrigerant than their R407C predecessors.
