R22 PHASE OUT
Due to environmental concerns, the use of R22 refrigerant, a gas used in air conditioning systems before 2003, has been officially banned for use. If your building has air conditioning installed before this time, it is likely now at risk and you should be considering a sensible approach to its replacement.
HCFCs have been used as refrigerant gases since the complete phase out of the older CFC refrigerants. The most commonly used HCFC refrigerant, known as R22, was in widespread use, however, all HCFCs were completely banned after 31 December 2015.
Any operator of equipment running on R22 should consider the impact of this ban and ask for advice from a qualified and certified refrigeration and air-conditioning contractor to ensure that any business-critical equipment is retrofitted with an alternative gas or replaced before that date.
Operators of other equipment that is not considered business-critical may prefer to continue using the equipment; however, we recommend that operators have a plan in place in the event that the equipment breaks down, as it will be illegal to service or maintain the equipment if it involves the use of R22.
If you don’t know which type of refrigerant your air conditioning system has, you need to check. Complete Air offers you a comprehensive on-site survey of all air conditioning plant free of charge.