Since the middle of last year when we started hearing about the F-Gas review, the price of HFCs has been going up and up. We all know about the difficult times the cooling sector is experiencing due to the current situation with coolant gases. The F-Gas review is now in a period of trialogue negotiations, with different proposals on the table, but one thing all parties seem to agree on is that quotas should be reduced, in other words, to accelerate the phase-down.

This will, without doubt, cause the price of coolant gases to keep rising (it has already done so considerably so far this year), and their availability will be much lower than it is now, dropping from the current 80m TCO2 equivalent to 40m in 2024, and 20m in 2027.

It is evident that in new builds the solution is to choose coolant gases with a low PCA such as CO2, NH3, R290, or the group of coolants A2L, but we must remember that the biggest challenge lies in the equipment already installed.

With approximately 23,500 supermarkets in Spain, of which 80-90% still work with HFCs, and where many of these installations have barely reached the mid-point of their operational life (meaning that for many of them their costs have not yet been recouped), it is clear that there is not enough time, money, materials or labour to remodel all of these shops within the timeframes on the table with the new F-Gas.

Remember that, in addition, these operations require complex and costly remodelling projects or changes to the refrigeration installations, which entails closing stores for approximately two months, with the resulting loss of sales and, in some cases, customers.

And if this situation was not yet challenging enough, the new IGFEI (Spanish fluorinated greenhouse gas tax) means this is charged at the moment the gas is acquired, and not when it is used, moving away from the spirit of “those that pollute pay”, to “everybody pays”. This fact is grossly affecting maintenance companies that must keep a safety stock in their warehouses to provide service for coolant gas leaks their customers may have, making this stock much more punitive on an accounting level now than it was a year ago.

With this uncertain scenario of storms in the horizon, doubling down our efforts in preventive maintenance and reducing gas leaks has gone from being recommended practice to essential for survival and to ensure the activity of the sector.

Keeping coolant gas inside the installation, preventing the loss of this valuable component, key to the correct functioning of the installation and the business development of all sectors that depend on cooling for their activity, must become the highest priority for both owners and maintenance companies.

We must note that the importance of keeping the coolant gas inside the installation does not lie solely in the value of this gas, but also in the energy efficiency of the system. A cold store operating with 80% of its coolant gas (leak rate of 20%) is consuming 15% more energy, in addition to shortening the operational life of the elements of the installation due to the extra effort needed to reach the setpoint temperatures.

If what we want is to reduce coolant gas leaks to zero, or almost zero, we can use periodical manual sweeps, or the installation of detection systems aimed at personal safety in compliance with EN-378, although the latter are compulsory and will avoid a costly fine in the event of industrial inspections.

It is only possible to reduce coolant gas leaks by combining detection systems with highly accurate, precise and reliable sensor systems, continuous monitoring of the installation’s status with advanced indicators that help quickly detect and find the leaks in their initial stages, and the expertise of the maintenance professionals repairing these leaks quickly and effectively.