From 1 January 2015 it became illegal to use R22 refrigerant to service and maintain air conditioning systems, which means if you have an older cooling system it will be much more difficult for us to service or repair it.

As a Hydrochloroflurocarbon, the potential for R22 refrigerant to deplete the ozone layer has led to this interim measure, before it is phased out completely with new even tougher legislation, requiring the replacement of all such systems.

Coupled with the continual rise in energy costs and focus on reducing energy use, there has never been a stronger case or better time for replacing ageing air conditioning systems. Now is the time to plan a sensible replacement strategy, without the rush that will be caused if your system fails.

ENERGY ADVANTAGE

The benefits to the environment and your organisation are numerous, with the need to reduce CO2 emissions further, driving the development of far more energy efficient cooling technologies.

Beyond the obvious lower running costs of more efficient systems, making the switch now means planned downtime will minimise the operational impact and the installation schedule can be phased to suit your exact needs

Whilst we need to remove the R22 refrigerant, there is the potential to re-use some or all of the existing pipework, to make for a quicker, easier and more cost-effective installation. The process is available for ‘split’ systems and VRV systems, with a simple site survey by our experienced engineers the first step on your replacement journey.

CLOSE CONTROL SYSTEMS AND CHILLERS

Unlike some of our competitors, our experience with replacing R22 refrigerant is not just limited to comfort cooling, with a proven track record replacing mission critical cooling systems for data centres and server rooms.

We have experience of replacing large chillers in live data centre, temperature critical environments, requiring the installation of appropriate temporary cooling systems for the duration of the work. Our engineering team have also successfully replaced DX CRAC units with an innovative chilled water/CRAC system.

But each solution is different and not a five-minute job, with every conversion different for every system. And as equipment in R22-based systems will have been installed before 2003, the assessment of available solutions and what can be used and what must be replaced will complicate matters further.

So, you now understand the need to act on R22 refrigerant if you haven’t already and hopefully you recognise by now that Holborn should be your first call to discuss your options.