Refrigeration and air conditioning - Businesses

Air con and refrigeration technicians have long played an important part in preventing damage to the ozone layer and climate systems.

When the world united in the 1980s to rid the atmosphere of chlorofluorocarbons, it helped to restore the ozone layer and prevented some significant climate warming.

The same thing is happening again as we phase down hydrofluorocarbons, the refrigerants that replaced CFCs. HFCs don't harm the ozone layer, but they are potent greenhouse gases.

The phase down aims to reduce their use by 85% by 2036.

With current international action, the ozone layer is expected to recover by 2065.

Unfortunately, refrigerants still aren't always dealt with properly, contributing to refrigerant emissions worth 2 million cars on the road in Australia each year.

With the energy they consume, the 60 million systems across the country that use HFCs are responsible for 12% of Australia's total emissions. And they can be expensive to run if not properly installed or maintained.

We all have a part to play to combat climate change. But air con and refrigeration technicians can do more than most.

It's illegal to release regulated refrigerants into the air. This is because some refrigerants can stay in the atmosphere for decades or more and can be thousands of times worse for climate change than carbon dioxide.

So when you make the right choice to recover refrigerant, you're choosing to comply with the law and protect the environment. Here's a few ways you can make a difference:

Fix any leaks before recharging a system.

Don't charge a system with refrigerant of higher global warming potential than it was designed for.

All systems must be labelled with the refrigerant used, its charge and whether it's flammable.

Identify refrigerants in automotive systems before recharging, in case they contain contaminated or flammable refrigerants.

Don't retrofit a system with a more hazardous refrigerant unless it's been redesigned based on manufacturer or engineer advice.

Only do the work you're licensed to do.

Keep required records, store refrigerant in refillable containers, and return them to an authorised business or destruction facility for money.

Make sure you follow the standards and codes. Plus, this means you're less likely to be held liable for repairs.

Businesses must also ensure leak detectors, vacuum pumps and recovery units are maintained and containers checked for leaks.

And as HFCs are phased down, we’ll increasingly come across alternative refrigerants. Because many of them are flammable, toxic or have high operating pressures, industry will need technicians who are trained to use them safely. Remember, even R32 is mildly flammable.

There are government training subsidies you can take advantage of to stay up to date. And a lot of resources and organisations out there to keep you informed, such as industry bodies, newsletters and magazines, fact sheets, guidelines and industry events.

The ARC conducted over 5,000 site visits in 2023, confirming that most technicians are great environmental stewards.

Their website provides info on how to prepare for your visit, as well as free templates and checklists. Get in touch If you have any questions.

The ARC now has more field officers, and new RTA holders will receive an education visit in the first 12 months.

There's also the chance to win awards that could give your business a competitive edge.

Unfortunately, there are some that let the industry down. Regulatory breaches and poor workmanship should be reported - with evidence - via the ARC’s online form. Serious cases are escalated to the Department for investigation.

The Department is reviewing penalties to strengthen compliance. It's expanding how it can respond to non-compliance, enhancing intelligence gathering to find unlicensed operators, supporting industry to update the Codes of Practice, and educating the public about why licensed technicians are so important.

The Department also froze 2024 license fees at 2023 levels to keep your costs down.

In the 2020s, the planet was at a crossroads. There was a choice - to work together to reduce the impact of refrigerants on climate change - or not.

Thankfully a concerted effort to ensure refrigerants were used properly meant millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases were not released into the atmosphere, Helping to limit climate change and protect the ozone layer.

As technology evolves, this industry is becoming increasingly important for everything from cooling batteries and refrigerating produce, to building sustainability. And keeping everyday Australians cool is only going to become more important.

So thank you to our air con and refrigeration technicians for keeping our systems running and playing their part in the fight against climate change.