How Important Is Refrigerant Leak Detection?

By: Daniel Stouffer

Refrigerant leak detection in HVAC and RAC systems is a challenging task even for the most experienced service technicians as any leak can be very well hidden in a system component, tubing, or in a safety control switch.

With the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation documented in The U.S. Clean Air Act (Sections 608 & 609), refrigerant leak detection takes on great urgency. The intent of the regulation is to lower emissions of gases harmful to the environment. As such, the new government rules no longer give service technicians the option of adding refrigerant when the system is low due to a leak. Rather, the leak has to be found and fixed within a specified period of time.

There are numerous types of testing equipment that can be used in refrigerant leak detection, some of it automated and others acting as sniffers for on site testing. To find the leak, service technicians have to determine the best method to use. Methods include a soap solution, a halide torch, dye interception, isolation of a component from the system, or pressurizing the system with dry nitrogen gas.

All of these methods take time and money, which can turn into a very expensive service call. A less costly alternative for companies is utilizing refrigerant management software that pinpoints the origin of a leak by either tracking service events over time to establish trends or to implement an automated leak detection technology.

An electronic leak detector is one of the fastest methods used in refrigerant leak detection. Leaks of HCFCs and CFCs can be found using refrigerant leak detectors. Quick identification of a leak is important because the release of these gases is heavily regulated by the EPA, with companies subject to fines if their emissions are not fixed within a certain time frame.

Refrigerant gas management software is a valuable tool in refrigerant leak detection. Such systems will be able to provide companies important details on the performance of its heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and refrigeration and air conditioning (RAC) systems, monitor and detect refrigerant gas leaks, provide reports on refrigerant use, and accurately keep records on maintenance and repair.

Regulations on refrigerant leak detection describes and governs the proper repair of a leak and appropriate disposal of any refrigerant system which can't be repaired. These extensive requirements are in force in the United States, as well as several foreign countries. The treaties set forth a worldwide response to improving and protecting the planet.

Quick action of refrigerant leak detection is a great importance to the environment. Refrigerant gases are identified to cause damage to the ozone layer which have high global warming potential. To comply with environmental standards, many companies are investing in a refrigerant management program to monitor and track equipment usage.

Because of environmental and cost concerns related to refrigerant leak detection, many facilities with systems that use refrigerants are relying on refrigerant tracker applications. A refrigerant tracker monitors refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) systems and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems around the clock and instantly detects the location of any leaks. Various studies confirm that industrial and commercial facilities will be able to save money every year by using leak detection monitoring systems.

About the Author

Sustainability Resource Planning (SRP) software from Verisae helps to manage carbon emissions tracking and reporting requirements across global organizations. The SRP platform makes it easier to report carbon emissions and track refrigerant gases. Learn more at http://www.verisae.com/articles

(ArticlesBase SC #2039354)

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Climate control

Fox's Tales
by Graeme Fox
Graeme Fox is an RAC contractor based in Dundee. He is a director at AREA (Air Conditioning & Refrigeration European Contractors' Association) and a member of the Institute of Refrigeration.

23/03/2010 14:14:00
It's been a strange start to 2010. Heavy snowfalls grinding much of the south of England to a halt, while on the east coast of Scotland we've seen very little snow since the turn of the year. It has been a very cold winter.

From memory and from anecdotal evidence, it is quite normal to have a good, warm summer following a cold, hard winter.

It will be interesting to see, after so much bad news for the dedicated doomsday-warning brigade recently, if they immediately jump on this and proclaim it as evidence of chaotic climate change caused by man's recklessness.

Personally, I'm far from convinced of the extent of man's impact on global climate patterns.

I've been interested in the subject of planets and the universe for a long time and, having read so much on the subject over the last 30 or so years, the main thing that strikes you is the vastness of the universe around us - and consequently the relative size of Earth itself.

But even when you look at the Earth in isolation this same contrast in relative size is apparent. Viewed from space the Earth is an extremely beautiful planet but you don't see the myriad life forms that dwell on it because we are all so small.

I know that even the smallest creature can have a catastrophic effect on large life forms - after all, even viruses are life forms of a kind that can and have wiped out entire species in the past and continue to threaten us from time to time now.

But man does have an overblown opinion of his importance and influence, both existing and potential, on greater things. Many animals living in the wild have very similar family and network groups to western human society - and all without the infrastructure we seem to believe is necessary. In the distant past there is evidence aplenty of man's ability to live in harmonious communities long before there was any form of bureaucracy.

There is also a wealth of evidence proving that much of the planet has had a number of significant warmer and cooler periods than we are currently witnessing. Warm enough for certain crops to grow in the British Isles that wouldn't survive even now - at a time when we are told that we face imminent catastrophe - and long before the chemical emissions that man is guilty of discharging to atmosphere became an issue.

Environmentalists talk of global sea levels rising and cite Bangladesh as an example of the threat. But globally sea levels aren't rising - as surely they must if the cause were glacial melting! Isolated cases of minimal sea level rise are contrasted with the majority "no change", and the flooding in Bangladesh is apparently coming from rivers bursting their banks, not the sea! Other factors and influences are affecting these patterns, not just man's emissions.



The fact is that man has very little ability to control the weather, let alone climate patterns, despite his over inflated opinion of his worth.

So, before those with a vested interest in promoting their green jobs and positions start bleating this summer about how each sunny day we may be lucky enough to enjoy this year is evidence of catastrophic climate change, remember to give them a reality check on the insignificance of man in the great scheme of things.