Refrigeration Tracking in TMS
In this tutorial, we'll show you how to use TMS to track refrigeration so that your organization is in compliance with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (abbreviated EPA in this document) policy for refrigeration. There are four parts to this process.
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Review and know the EPA policy for refrigeration tracking.
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Set up TMS for refrigeration tracking. Know the maximum charge rates and refrigerant types for your refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment with charges greater than 50 pounds.
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Create and process work orders to document the inspection.
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Report on refrigeration tracking.
We assume you have a working knowledge of TMS. While we do provide general instructions on how to perform refrigerant tracking in TMS, we expect that you are familiar with assets, vendors, user defined field labels, setup codes, and work orders.
About the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Policy for Refrigeration Tracking
For more information about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, visit www.epa.gov.
Source: “Complying With The Section 608 Refrigerant Recycling Rule.”In this fact sheet, see the topic called “Refrigerant Leaks.”
Owners or operators of refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment with refrigerant charges greater than 50 pounds are required to repair leaks within 30 days when those leaks result in the loss of more than a certain percentage of the equipment's refrigerant charge over a year. For the commercial (for example, grocery stores and warehouses) and industrial process refrigeration sectors, leaks must be repaired within 30 days when the equipment leaks at a rate that would release 35 percent or more of the charge over a year. For all other sectors, including comfort cooling (such as building chillers), leaks must be repaired when the appliance leaks at a rate that would release 15 percent or more of the charge over a year.
The trigger for repair requirements is the current leak rate projected over a consecutive 12-month period rather than the total quantity of refrigerant lost. For instance, owners or operators of a commercial refrigeration system containing 100 pounds of charge must repair leaks if they find that the system has lost 10 pounds of charge over the past month; although 10 pounds represents only 10 percent of the system charge in this case, a leak rate of 10 pounds per month would result in the release of over 100 percent of the charge over the year. To track leak rates, owners or operators of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment with more than 50 pounds of charge must keep records of the quantity of refrigerant added to their equipment during servicing and maintenance procedures.
Owners or operators are required to repair leaks within 30 days of discovery. This requirement is waived if, within 30 days of discovery, owners develop a one-year retrofit or retirement plan for the leaking equipment. Owners of industrial process refrigeration equipment might qualify for additional time under certain circumstances. For example, if an industrial process shutdown is required to repair a leak, owners have 120 days to repair the leak. Owners of industrial process refrigeration equipment should reference the Compliance Assistance Guidance Document for Industrial Process Refrigeration Leak Repair for additional information concerning time extensions and pertinent recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
The leak repair regulations do not apply to refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment with refrigerant charge sizes less than 50 pounds (such as residential split air-conditioning systems). However, smaller equipment is not exempt from the refrigerant venting prohibition. EPA regulations prohibit the intentional release of all refrigerants during the maintenance, service, repair, or disposal of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment.
