What is the phase down?
The phase down of HFCs is designed to steadily reduce the global warming potential (GWP) of all gasses placed on the market in refrigeration, heat pumps and air conditioning in the European Union. The target is to reduce the CO2 equivalent of all gasses in use to 21% of the baseline by 2030. Individual producers and importers will receive a quota based on their 2009-12 baseline.
2009 - 12 |
2015 |
2016-17 |
2018-20 |
2021-23 |
2024-26 |
2027-29 |
2030 |
Baseline 100% |
100% |
93% |
63% |
45% |
31% |
24% |
21% |
This is not a ban on any particular type of F-gas, and operators can continue to use the equipment that they have at present. By limiting the total GWP of the F-gases in equipment it is expected that the gases with the highest GWP will be eliminated from the market first.
The higher the GWP of a particular gas, the more expensive it will become. Future costs should be considered when planning for maintenance and servicing of equipment.
Service ban
In 2020, a service ban will come into force which will mean that equipment with a charge in CO2 equivalent greater than 40 tonnes will no longer be able to be refilled or serviced with virgin HFCs with a GWP > 2,500.
This ban doesn’t apply to equipment designed for low temperature refrigeration, at temperatures below -50°C.
Recycled or reclaimed gases with a GWP > 2,500 can still be used for servicing and maintenance until 2030, if labelled correctly.
Although possible, the use of HFCs with a high GWP will become increasingly expensive, so in the long term it will make financial sense to opt for equipment containing refrigerants with a low GWP.
Refrigerant |
Charge size threshold
of 40t CO2 equivalent |
R23 |
2.72kg |
R404A |
10.20kg |
R507 |
10.04kg |
R422D |
14.66kg |
- Small hermetically sealed systems (ice cream freezers, bottle coolers, stand-alone retail displays) which typically contain between 0.1 and 0.5kg
- Condensing units, used in small shops, convenience stores and food service – are medium-sized systems with one or two refrigerated display units which are cooled by a condensing unit, typically containing between 2 and 10kg of refrigerant
- Central pack systems which are used in supermarkets and other large stores which typically contain more than 100kg of refrigerant
- Switching your current refrigerants, to reclaimed and recycled HFC – which are exempt from the ban… but only until 2030
- Switching to lower GWP refrigerants – by retrofitting your existing refrigeration system, OR replacing your current refrigeration system with new, compliant equipment
Posted on 03/02/2020