Delays in European adoption of two key standards are holding up transition to clean cooling – there is no time to waste!
By F-gases have a huge greenhouse effect – yet they are widely used in cooling appliances such as air conditioners and freezers. The good news is that two recently updated international standards could start turning the tide. However, in Europe, red tape is holding up advancements. European institutions and national governments must weigh in for a speedier adoption.
Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) are the dominating working fluids in the cooling sector, in spite of their negative impact on climate and environment. Along with a lack of ambitious regulation against all F-gases, outdated and biased safety standards have long posed a significant barrier to this much-needed transition.
Recently though, important advancements were made when two standards were finally updated at the international level. Sadly, the realisation of these benefits in Europe is currently being held up in administrative procedures.
The transition to clean natural refrigerants is important in ensuring a clean and future-proof cooling sector. Red tape must not be an obstacle. Delays in Europe are causing missed opportunities for climate mitigation and environmental protection, bringing the continent further away from its climate commitments.
Leaps forward for natural refrigerants – stuck in administrative pipeline
IEC 60335-2-89 and IEC 60335-2-40 are international standards that contain safety requirements for commercial refrigerating appliances, and for household heat pumps and air conditioners, respectively. The new version of IEC 60335-2-89 was approved in May 2019, while the new version of IEC 60335-2-40 – in May 2022.
The latest updates to these standards included changes to the allowed charge size for systems and appliances using natural refrigerants, which removed unjustified barriers for these alternative gases. By enabling the effective use of natural refrigerants in typical supermarket refrigerators and in room air-conditioners, the changes in these two standards are milestones on the road to cleaning the cooling sector.
However, after gaining approval at the international level, these standards need to be adopted into the European standardisation system before they are effective in Europe.
In the case of IEC 60335-2-89 and 60335-2-40, this process is handled by the European standardisation organisation CENELEC’s Technical Committee 61 (abbreviated CLC TC 61). In the interest of keeping international and European standards harmonised, this step usually does not involve any significant changes to the standard and is thus largely administrative. Nevertheless, this step is currently a major bottleneck.
Though the first of the two standards, IEC 60335-2-89, was approved in May 2019, the European adopted version, EN IEC 60335-2-89, has only just been finalised, and publication is expected in November 2022. In other words, it will have taken three and a half years from the moment the international standard was approved until European industry can confidently start applying it.
Meanwhile, an indicative timing of the adoption of the second standard, IEC 60335-2-40, has yet to be communicated by CLC TC 61.
Missed climate objectives are not acceptable – EU institutions and member states must weigh in
Current delays are holding up the transition to natural refrigerants in Europe, as European companies will not make the switch until the standards are adopted. Instead, appliances containing F-gases keep being installed as the sector waits for years for the paperwork to get done.
The environmental damage caused by the delays is amplified by the fact that the cooling sector is growing. According to a report by the International Energy Agency, the total number of air conditioning units in use worldwide is expected to roughly triple by 2050.
Amid a climate emergency, unnecessary administrative delays are simply unacceptable.
The European Commission, as well as EU member states, must put pressure on European and national standardisation organisations. European standards and national building codes must be immediately updated to reflect the new allowable charge sizes of natural refrigerants, in conformity with IEC 60335-2-89 and IEC 60335-2-40.
We can avoid emitting tonnes of climate-wrecking F-gases at the stroke of a pen. Let’s do it as soon as possible.
