F-Gas Regulations Explained

What the F-Gas Regulation covers

Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases), including the HFC refrigerants used in most air conditioning and heat pumps such as R410A, R32 and R407C, are powerful greenhouse gases. In Great Britain they are regulated by the retained F-Gas Regulation (EU 517/2014 as it applies in GB), which aims to reduce emissions through leak prevention, certification, restrictions on certain equipment and a phase-down in the supply of HFCs.

The rules use tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (tCO₂e) rather than kilograms. The CO₂e of a system is its refrigerant charge in kg multiplied by the refrigerant’s global warming potential (GWP), divided by 1,000.

Who is responsible

Obligations fall on the operator: the natural or legal person exercising actual power over the technical functioning of the equipment. In practice, that is usually the business occupying or owning the building, not the contractor who services it. A maintenance contractor can carry out checks and keep records for you, but the legal responsibility remains with the operator.

Leak-check frequencies

Equipment containing F-gases at or above the thresholds below must be checked for leaks by certified personnel:

If a leak is found, it must be repaired without undue delay, and the equipment re-checked within one month of the repair.

Leak detection systems

Equipment containing 500 tCO₂e or more must have a permanent leak detection system that alerts the operator or a service company, and the system itself must be checked at least every 12 months. Separately, safety standards such as BS EN 378 may require refrigerant detection in occupied rooms where a leak could exceed safe concentration limits, which is particularly relevant to VRF systems.

Record keeping

Operators of equipment that requires leak checks must keep records for each piece of equipment, typically including:

• The quantity and type of refrigerant installed
• Quantities added during installation, maintenance or leak repair
• Whether recycled or reclaimed refrigerant has been used
• Quantities recovered
• The identity of the company that installed, serviced or decommissioned the equipment
• Dates and results of leak checks
• Measures taken to recover and dispose of refrigerant on decommissioning

Records should be kept for at least five years and be available to the regulator on request.

Certified engineers

Installation, servicing, maintenance, repair, decommissioning, leak checking and refrigerant recovery on stationary air conditioning and heat pumps must be carried out by appropriately certified personnel, and companies doing this work need the relevant company certification. Ask contractors for evidence of both.

Bans affecting air conditioning

• Single split systems (from 1 January 2025): single split air conditioners containing less than 3 kg of F-gas with a GWP of 750 or more cannot be placed on the GB market. In practice this means new small splits use lower-GWP refrigerants such as R32.
• R22 and other HCFCs: these ozone-depleting refrigerants can no longer be used to service equipment, including recycled gas, which typically means R22 systems must be replaced when the refrigerant circuit needs work.
• Phase-down: the supply of HFCs is being cut in stages, which affects the price and availability of high-GWP refrigerants like R410A. See our refrigerant phase-down guide.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland follows the EU F-Gas rules, which were updated in 2024 and differ from those in Great Britain. If you operate sites there, check the EU requirements separately.

Operator checklist

• List all equipment containing refrigerant, including split units, VRF, chillers and heat pumps
• Record refrigerant type and charge, and calculate tCO₂e for each system
• Set leak-check frequencies and book them with a certified contractor
• Keep records for each system for at least five years
• Check whether leak detection is required
• Plan replacement of older equipment using R22 or high-GWP refrigerants