The Federal Government has released a comprehensive report on leaks, maintenance and emissions for refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment released the report yesterday to highlight opportunities to reduce electricity consumption and leaks of refrigerant from large stocks of RAC equipment.
Authored by the Expert Group, many of the problems raised in the report could be reduced through regular maintenance procedures.
It examines faults in the installation, operation and maintenance of stationary refrigeration and air conditioning equipment.
In most modern economies RAC equipment is one of the largest, if not the single largest consumer of electricity. This fact, coupled with the high GWP of the most refrigerants in use today, makes this report an important contribution to reducing the impacts of climate change.
The report provides information on good installation/commissioning practices, equipment monitoring and metering for fault detection, as well as airflow sensors to initiate early alarm, and/or field diagnosis, and/or repair procedures.
Refrigerant loss from RAC equipment in Australia was responsible for 1.2 per cent of national emissions in 2019, according to the report.
“In that same year RAC equipment was estimated to consume more than 24 per cent of all electricity generated in the economy, resulting in a combined total of direct and indirect emissions of 61.28 million tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) or approximately 11.5 per cent of national emissions,” the report said.
"The maintenance activities that deliver both improvements in energy efficiency and reductions in loss of refrigerant charge require skilled technicians with the appropriate licensing, knowledge and understanding that is common and accepted practice in the RAC community."
The report is available on the Department’s website at: www.environment.gov.au/protection/ozone/publications/leaks-maintenance-emissions-refrigeration-air-conditioning-equipment