Regulation (EU) 2024/573 changes how often and who must check the tightness of cooling equipment. What this means for operating a cold box or freezer room, and why you should ask about the refrigerant when buying.
The European Union is gradually restricting fluorinated greenhouse gases, known as F-gases, which are used as refrigerants in most catering cooling equipment. Regulation (EU) 2024/573 stipulates, among other things, mandatory leak checks based on the amount of refrigerant in the unit, converted to tonnes of CO2 equivalent. For operators of a cooling box or freezer room, this entails several specific obligations, and also provides a good reason to enquire about the refrigerant when selecting a new unit, rather than waiting until the first inspection arrives.
The quantity in tonnes of CO2 equivalent is calculated from the mass of the refrigerant charge and its GWP (Global Warming Potential). For smaller catering units, such as a single chiller cabinet or counter, the charge is typically measured in kilograms, placing them in lower bands. For larger freezers, multiple interconnected units or industrial chillers, the total charge and thus the control band may shift higher. A certified technician will calculate the exact classification of a specific unit based on the refrigerant type and service documentation; estimating it by eye is pointless.
The inspection must be documented with a record: the operator should have a certificate available after each inspection showing the date, result and identification of the technician who carried it out. This record is best kept together with the other service documentation for the unit, not just as a one-off paper that gets filed away and forgotten. Dates are easily confused where operations involve multiple units with different functions and intervals, so it pays to keep them recorded in one place, not just in one person's head.
Older refrigerants with high GWP are gradually disappearing from manufacturers' offerings, and their servicing and recharging will become increasingly difficult and expensive, this alone is a reason to consider the type of refrigerant when selecting a new unit, not only after it breaks down and weeks are spent searching for a replacement charge. New units using low-GWP refrigerants, whether natural refrigerants such as propane or CO2, or low-GWP blends, have a lower CO2 equivalent for the same charge mass. This can move the unit into a lower inspection band or even exempt it from mandatory inspection altogether.
Apart from the refrigerant type, it is worth asking the supplier about the future availability of service and spare parts for that specific refrigerant: a unit can easily remain in operation for fifteen years or more, while the market range and price of refrigerants change more rapidly. A lower initial purchase price with a refrigerant that will be harder to source in a few years may not prove cost-effective when considering total servicing costs over the unit's entire lifespan.
The question of refrigerant belongs to the same decision-making phase as volume of the box or structureThe supplier should be able to answer immediately when providing the quote, not only upon request.
For older units lacking documentation, the refrigerant type and quantity are determined from the manufacturer's label on the unit, which typically states both the refrigerant designation and its mass. If the label is missing or illegible, a certified technician will ascertain this during a routine inspection. service inspectionIn any case, it is better to have this information verified in advance than to find out only when determining whether a leak test is mandatory for the given unit and at what interval.
For contract clients, we automatically monitor mandatory inspection deadlines; the inspection is carried out by a certified technician and the result is entered directly into the log maintained by the operator for their own records. During new installations, we always inform you of the type and quantity of refrigerant contained in the unit so that you know in advance which inspection regime applies and what this means for future servicing. The same principle applies to equipment we did not supply. We verify the F-gas certification and inspection deadline and add it to the log even for units from other suppliers.
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ServicingSigns of a fault, what to check yourself and when not to wait for service.