The F-gas Regulation imposes a series of obligations on operators of equipment containing fluorinated greenhouse gases (air conditioners, refrigerators, climatic chambers, chillers, heat pumps, stationary fire protection systems, vehicles with refrigeration units and electrical switchgear):
F-gas Regulation obligations
- Obligation to register with the Italian National F-gas Online Register
- Obligation to use F-gas certified technical personnel and companies
- Obligation to prevent F-gas emissions
- Obligation to carry out periodic checks on equipment containing F-gases
- Obligation to keep equipment records
- F-gas recovery and recycling obligation
- F-gas annual declaration obligation
Starting first of all with the definition of “operator”, it is useful to define its scope, since under the above-mentioned legislation (Regulation No 517/2014) the operator is defined as “…the natural or legal person exercising actual power over the technical functioning of products and equipment covered by this Regulation”.
Presidential Decree (DPR) 43/2012 (Article 2(2)) also establishes that “the owner of the equipment or system shall be considered the operator where he or she has not delegated actual control over its technical functioning to a third party.”
The owner of the equipment or system is therefore considered the operator until he or she fully delegates actual control of the equipment or system to an external company (by means of a written contract). In this case, the obligations, requirements and related responsibilities for compliance with the provisions fall on the delegated company. If, on the other hand, the owner has delegated only maintenance and/or servicing to the installer/maintenance company, the owner remains the operator and is therefore subject to the obligations set out above.