Guidance

Banned F gas for refilling equipment

Fluorinated gases (F gas) that you must not use to refill equipment.

You must not use virgin (unused) F gases to refill existing refrigeration systems when both of the following apply:

  • the refrigeration system contains F gas equivalent to 40 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide (CO2)
  • the F gas has a global warming potential above 2,500

Find out how to calculate the weight of an F gas in carbon dioxide equivalent.

This does not apply to military equipment or equipment designed to cool products to temperatures below –50°C.

Mass of common F gases banned for refilling equipment

F gas Global warming potential Mass of F gas banned from use to refill equipment (kg)
HFC 508B 13,396 3
HFC 507A 3,985 10
HFC 404A 3,922 10.2
HFC 434A 3,245 12.3
HFC 422D 2,729 14.7

HFC 404A is the gas most affected by the ban. It’s used in:

  • industrial refrigeration systems
  • medium and large commercial refrigeration systems, such as central pack systems in supermarkets
  • large transport refrigeration systems, such as on trains or ships

How to refill refrigeration systems affected by the ban

If you need to add refrigerant to a system affected by the refill ban, you can:

  • use an F gas with a global warming potential of more than 2,500 that has been reclaimed (until 2030 only)
  • use an F gas with a global warming potential of more than 2,500 that has been recovered and recycled from similar equipment by your business or the business which serviced your equipment (until 2030 only)
  • remove all of the F gas from the system and replace it with an F gas with the lowest possible global warming potential, for example HFC 448A or HFC 449A (known as ‘retrofilling’) - follow the manufacturer’s recommendation
  • replace the refrigeration system with new equipment that uses a refrigerant with a lower global warming potential

Updates to this page

Published 21 August 2019
Last updated 17 July 2023 + show all updates
  1. Corrected the line 'This does not apply to military equipment or equipment designed to cool products to temperatures below –50°C.' to include the minus symbol.

  2. Added a line on how bans do not apply to military equipment or equipment designed to cool products to temperatures below 50 degrees Celsius. Removed outdated dates.

  3. First published.

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