Refrigerants are found in equipment such as refrigerators, freezers, air conditioning systems and heat pumps. Most refrigerants are very powerful greenhouse gases and are collectively referred to as fluorinated greenhouse gases. A powerful greenhouse gas contributes to the greenhouse effect, and in some cases its impact can be thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide. For this reason, there are regulations to minimise leakage from installations containing these gases. If you are the operator of an installation containing refrigerants, you have the main responsibility for ensuring that the rules are followed.

Inform the municipality before new installation

Before installing or converting equipment that contains 14 tonnes of CO2 equivalents or more, you must inform the Building and Environment Unit (Bygg- och miljöenheten) in advance. Forms for reporting installation, disposal and annual inspection of refrigerants are available on the website of the Swedish Refrigeration and Heat Pump Association.

The F-gas Regulation

The handling of refrigerants is regulated by the F-gas Regulation, which aims to protect the environment by reducing emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases. The rules that apply to an installation depend on the type of refrigerant used and its impact on the greenhouse effect. Reporting is based on the amount of CO2e, which indicates the climate impact of a gas compared with the same amount of carbon dioxide.

Requirements for leakage checks

Leakage check requirements apply to installations containing more than 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalents. How often leakage checks must be carried out depends on the amount of CO2 equivalents.

Leakage check requirements apply to installations containing more than 5 tonnes of CO2 equivalents. How often leakage checks must be carried out depends on the amount of CO2 equivalents.

Annual reporting

For installations containing a total amount of at least 14 tonnes CO2e, the results of recurring leakage checks must be reported to the supervisory authority, for example the Building and Environment Unit (Bygg- och miljöenheten) or the County Administrative Board. The report must be submitted no later than 31 March of the following year.

The report must include all measures carried out on the refrigeration system during the previous year, for example disposal of units. It must also state the quantities of refrigerants installed, refilled and recovered. The operator or user of the installation is responsible for inspection and reporting.

Annual report forms are available from certified refrigeration service companies. Please note that inspection reports for periodic checks must be retained by the operator for record keeping. It is important that the annual report is fully completed and signed. Remember to include the property designation and specify which installation the report concerns, for example “Restaurant Smörblomman”.

More information

For more information, contact the Building and Environment Unit (Bygg- och miljöenheten), the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency or Allt om f-gaser.