Crop growers are no strangers to legislation - whether it is about food hygiene, casual labour or agricultural waste, the EU is never averse to slapping another piece of red tape on the sector. On the face of it, this year’s F-Gas legislation (EC Regulation No. 842/2006), concerning containment of refrigerant gas, is yet another burden to the industry. In a nutshell, any grower using refrigeration or heat-pump equipment needs to take measures to improve the containment of F-Gas, keeping an auditable trail of monitoring activity and responses to any leakage.
Needless to say, compliance will involve some upfront investment, but improving containment of refrigerant gas could save growers money in the longer term. With the right approach, it is possible to ensure that compliance brings associated benefits and that a return on investment is realised sooner. Look at it this way - a system losing just 15 per cent of its refrigerant charge through leakage could easily experience a 50 per cent drop in cooling capacity and a corresponding 100 per cent increase in energy consumption. Add to this the potential loss of produce due to temperature fluctuation, and you have a costly situation on your hands. The following outlines some hints and tips for finding the silver lining in F-Gas regulations.
Tips for benefiting from EC Regulation No. 842/2006
1. Determine your refrigerant charge immediately
If you refrigerate your produce and do not know the refrigerant charge of your equipment, you need to find out - there is a link to the Defra refrigerant calculator at www.parasense.co.uk/fgas that will help you to determine what it might be. The legislation states that any facility with a refrigerant charge of more than 3kg must take reasonable measures to monitor its use of F-Gas, improve containment and keep track of all activity with an auditable trail. There is a sliding scale of responsibility, with growers using a charge in excess of 300kg obliged to fit a fixed leak detection system, conduct regular checks and repair any leaks within a set timeframe.
2. Take a thorough, long-term approach
Whether your refrigerant charge is 3kg or 300kg, the single most important action you can take is to develop a refrigerant management strategy that is tailored to your specific needs. The first step towards achieving this is conducting an audit of your current system and identifying how much F-Gas is lost to leakage, what you will be required to implement by law and what you might want to carry out to further improve efficiencies.
Take some time to work out the most cost-effective approach to F-Gas for your circumstances. It is likely that you will have to invest in leak detection equipment of some sort, but think carefully about what is best for your situation - a little more money spent now could mean much bigger savings in the long term.
3. Walk the course
It is essential to establish a detailed understanding of your refrigeration equipment when implementing a leak detection system. Make sure any third-party suppliers join you on a thorough tour of the premises to identify any potential weak spots, and ensure they are covered sufficiently. Small measures, such as installing sample points alongside shaft seals, valves and pressure relief line discharge points, make leak detection far more effective and can help achieve a significant return on investment sooner.
4. Consider all your options
Talk to a supplier with a range of products so you have a good understanding of what is available. For example, a fixed multi-point leak detection system enables you to maintain a constant monitoring presence on site, alerting you to leaks before they get out of control. This type of system detects refrigerant loss and alerts relevant parties as required. Compared to the cost of lost refrigerant the pay-back period can be short, resulting in significant savings.
To ensure the most accurate readings and to minimise servicing costs, the best option is an infrared system that can be programmed to detect low parts per million levels of a variety of gases.
5. Gather and analyse leakage data
Well-formatted data can provide targeted management information leading to substantial savings, as well as compliance with EC 842/2006. There are a number of tools on the market that will analyse the information for you, meaning you do not need a degree in computer programming to decipher the mountains of data created.
6. Ensure the right people receive relevant information
Once reports have been generated, ensure there is a system in place to distribute them to the correct people. For example, if you have a refrigeration manager responsible for the F-Gas strategy across multiple sites, they should be given a high-level portfolio analysis. Alongside this, engineers should receive more specific email alerts with details of the location, time and scale of leaks.
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