Page 41 - Climate Control News Magazine Feb 2021

Safety in HVACR
LEFT: A technician soldering copper pipes during an AC installation.
be managed through the setting of standards, training to ensure knowledge of standards and re- quired competencies, and effective regulation.”
The report recommends licens- ing and accreditation schemes but points out that the current regime is too disjointed. For example, in some states technicians need to hold several licenses.
“In some jurisdictions, air condi- tioning and refrigeration techni- cians are required to hold three li- cences – an air conditioning and refrigeration licence, a restricted electrical licence and the ARCtick licence,” the report said.
“Motor vehicle repairers may also be required to hold an indus- try specific licence or registration in addition to an ARCtick licence. The requirement to hold multiple licences or registrations imposes a regulatory burden on participants.
“They must apply and pay for multiple licens- es and potentially also bear indirect costs asso- ciated with managing their compliance with regulatory requirements, such as training, sys- tems and processes.
“It also creates confusion, both for partici- pants and consumers. Further, given none of the licensing requirements beyond those in Queens- land have a direct correlation to the handling of flammable refrigerants there is a potential, or at least a perception, that they do not adequately ensure those licensed have the required compe- tencies and knowledge to mitigate risks associ- ated with the use of flammable refrigerants.”
The report also points out that substituting refrigerants and retrofitting equipment to in- corporate flammable refrigerant raises clear safety issues.
TRAINING ISSUES
On issues relating to competency there are a number of training courses available covering flammable refrigerants.
In addition to training provided by TAFE and RTO’s there is Green Scheme Accreditation available from the Australian Refrigeration Council (ARC).
The ARC Green Scheme Accreditation pro- gram provides a pathway for technicians to up- skill in the use of new refrigerants.
It is voluntary, and incorporates key refriger- ants not covered by the ARCTick scheme specifi- cally hydrocarbons, C02 (R744), Ammonia and HFO 1234yf.
ARC CEO, Glenn Evans, said the scheme pro- vides a national framework for refrigeration and air conditioning technicians to demonstrate they are qualified to work with low GWP (flam- mable) refrigerants.
He said the Green Scheme program is one way for companies in this space to identify the com- petence of technicians.
“OHS obligations state that refrigeration and air conditioning employees working with flam- mable refrigerants must be competent to do so,” he said.
“THERE SEEMS TO BE AN OBSESSIVE NEED TO REGULATE FLAMMABLES.” – HYCHILL GENERAL MANAGER, MARIO BALEN.
“While it is voluntary, the framework is al- ready in place so it is a logical, effective and effi- cient way for licensing of flammable refrigerants to be made mandatory, all that needs to happen is for the states and territories to adopt the ARC Green Scheme program.”
LICENSING ISSUES
Commenting on the Flammable Refrigerants Re- view Project, HyChill Australia general manager Mario Balen said there seems to be an obsessive need to regulate flammable refrigerants, which has become a regular feature of the Australian HVAC&R landscape.
“The basic flaw in this approach is that it ig- nores the need for all refrigerants to be ade- quately licensed,” he said.
“Singling out any group should be called out for what it is – a blatant attempt to pervert the market and deny Australia the benefits of using
hydrocarbon refrigerant which is vastly superior when it comes to energy efficiency, lower cost and negligible environmental damage.”
Balen said the rest of the world is on a com- pletely different path adopting hydrocarbons for domestic fridges and freezers.
He said Europe has just increased the charge limits for commercial freezers and displays to 500 g per unit and is about to do the same for stationary air conditioners.
“India and China are powering ahead with stationary ACs with hundreds of thousands of propane R290 units installed,” he said.
“Licensing by itself does not improve effi- ciency or cost outcomes. These elements can only be improved by developing national standards and codes of practice, only then can a licensing regime be successful in driv- ing progress.”
Balen said any scheme relating to refrigerants would need to satisfy the following criteria:
1. Enhance and protect safety and wellbeing of
the trade, customers and public
2. Be, on balance, in the general interest of the
public and society
3. Improve, rather than merely regulate the
outcomes
4. Be outcome-based and technology/materials
agnostic
Balen said a licensing scheme should be
tiered to cater to different levels of technical sophistication.
He said it should take into account size, cost and complexity of installation.
“It makes little sense to require someone per- forming a relatively routine task of installing self-contained, highly engineered domestic AC machines to be under the same licensing onus as a designer or installer of an industrial-size refrig- eration plant,” Balen said.
“Any licensing regime should also pass a cost/ benefit analysis to ensure that red tape does not stifle innovation or unnecessarily add to the cost of doing business.” ✺
The review project found that technicians need to be made aware
of the risks associated
with flammable refrigerants.
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS
FEBRUARY 2021
41