Leak Checks, Frequencies and Records

Decide whether periodic leak checks apply

Use the installed refrigerant type and charge to calculate tonnes CO2e. The listed equipment categories are stationary refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps and fire protection; refrigerated trucks over 3.5 tonnes and refrigerated trailers; electrical switchgear; and organic Rankine cycles.

For covered equipment, the normal entry threshold is 5 tonnes CO2e or more. Equipment labelled hermetically sealed is exempt below 10 tonnes CO2e. Exactly 10 tonnes is not below that limit.

Electrical switchgear has separate exemptions: a suitably labelled tested leakage rate below 0.1% a year, a pressure or density monitoring device, or less than 6 kg of F-gas. Other vehicle refrigeration is outside the listed truck/trailer periodic-check schedule; that does not remove applicable recovery and containment duties.

Maximum intervals between checks

For equipment subject to the duty:

• 5 to less than 50 tonnes CO2e: at least every 12 months, extended to 24 months with working automatic detection.
• 50 to less than 500 tonnes CO2e: at least every 6 months, extended to 12 months with working automatic detection.
• 500 tonnes CO2e or more: at least every 3 months, extended to 6 months with working automatic detection.

The upper ends of the first two bands are excluded. A charge of exactly 50 tonnes starts the middle band; exactly 500 starts the highest band. Working automatic detection extends the permitted interval but never removes periodic checking.

At 500 tonnes CO2e or more, automatic detection is mandatory for stationary refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps and fire protection. The same duty applies to electrical switchgear and organic Rankine cycles installed from 1 January 2017. Refrigerated trucks and trailers are not included in this automatic-detection requirement. The three-month basic interval above is not permission to omit detection where it is mandatory.

Check the detection system too

A required detection system must alert the operator or responsible service company. Check its proper operation at least annually for the listed stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning, heat-pump, fire-protection and organic Rankine-cycle equipment; the electrical-switchgear interval is at least every six years.

Investigate an alarm safely. It may indicate a leak or another fault requiring attention. A functioning detector supports monitoring, but it does not complete diagnosis, repair or the equipment record.

Repair and follow-up

Known leakage must be repaired without undue delay. For equipment subject to periodic leak checks, a certified person must verify the repair within one month. Apply the appropriate checks as part of the repair itself; the deadline does not justify an unverified handover.

Normal running does not consume refrigerant. An unexplained need for a top-up suggests a fault, but charge may also have been removed during previous work. Check the history and investigate: an addition does not always mean gas leaked to atmosphere.

Keep quantities and status distinct

For equipment subject to mandatory records, log:

• The quantity and type installed, plus later additions and their reasons.
• The quantity recovered from the equipment.
• Whether installed gas was recycled or reclaimed, identifying the processing facility by name and address and its certificate number where applicable.
• The undertaking carrying out installation, service, repair, checks or decommissioning, with its relevant certificate details.
• The dates and results of checks, repairs and follow-up, and the recovery and disposal measures at decommissioning.

Amounts added and recovered are separate measurements, not totals that must always balance. Scales measure cylinder mass changes; monitor during recovery as well as recording initial and final weights so the fill limit is not exceeded.

Keep the required records and the service undertaking’s copies for at least five years, and make them available to the relevant regulator. The Environment Agency is the regulator in England. The operator is determined by actual technical control; a rental agreement should reflect that responsibility, but it does not decide it.

Use rounded mass tables carefully

For R134a, the 5-tonne level is about 3.5 kg. For R404A, 500 tonnes is approximately 127.5 kg using GWP 3922. A guidance table rounded to 127 kg is useful for orientation, but 127 × 3922 ÷ 1000 = 498.094 tonnes CO2e. Use the actual charge and stated GWP when deciding which side of a legal boundary equipment occupies.