New Regulations for Heat-Pump Installers. Is the Industry Ready for the Changes?

Certification and training

Between 2022 and 2024, almost 430,000 heat-pump investments were carried out in Poland. In the vast majority of cases, these installations were fitted with air-source heat pumps, which run on fluorinated refrigerants known as F-gases. These solutions, although popular, have for years been subject to increasingly restrictive regulations related to the impact of the refrigerants used in them on climate change. Legal regulations have been introduced with the aim of limiting the use of these substances, including heat pumps running on F-gases.

Under Regulation (EU) 517/2014, heat-pump installers are required to hold specialist F-gas certificates, and many users must register the equipment they operate in the Central Register of Operators (CRO) and carry out regular leak checks of the installation.

Personnel training

Regulation 2024/573, which entered into force on 11 March 2024, introduces changes to the qualifications required of technical personnel servicing refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat-pump equipment. Member states are working on adapting national regulations to the EU rules, which distinguish the following categories of certificate:

  • certificate A1 — attesting that holders may carry out specific activities with regard to fluorinated greenhouse gases and hydrocarbons;
  • certificate A2 — attesting that holders may carry out specific activities with regard to fluorinated greenhouse gases and hydrocarbons, limited to equipment with a charge size of less than 3 kg, or less than 6 kg in the case of hermetically sealed systems that are labelled as such;
  • certificate B — attesting that holders may carry out specific activities with regard to carbon dioxide (CO₂);
  • certificate C — attesting that holders may carry out specific activities with regard to ammonia (NH₃);
  • certificate D — attesting that holders may carry out the recovery of fluorinated greenhouse gases from stationary refrigeration equipment, air-conditioning equipment, heat pumps, and the refrigeration units of refrigerated trucks and refrigerated trailers, in the case of equipment containing less than 3 kg of fluorinated greenhouse gases, or less than 6 kg in the case of hermetically sealed systems that are labelled as such;
  • certificate E — attesting that holders may carry out leak checks, provided that such an activity does not involve opening a refrigeration circuit containing fluorinated greenhouse gases.

Another important change concerns the validity of the certificates issued, which until now have been open-ended. Existing certificates and training-completion attestations are valid, but the people holding them must take part in a course or re-sit an examination for the first time within a maximum of 5 years of the regulation’s entry into force. It will also be mandatory to renew certificates once every 7 years. Natural alternatives to HFCs and matters of energy efficiency are additionally to appear in the training/examination programmes. More detailed guidelines will only be known once the Polish legal acts enter into force.

The list of equipment subject to the obligation of periodic leak checks has been expanded to include refrigeration units installed in light refrigerated vehicles, intermodal containers, and railway wagons. Furthermore, leak checks are also required for air-conditioning systems and heat pumps in heavy-duty vehicles, vans, agricultural, mining, and construction machinery, trains, the metro, trams, and aircraft. In the case of air-conditioning systems in mobile equipment, a training-completion attestation will suffice, and no leak-check schedule will apply if the equipment is covered by periodic inspections that include leak checking. The leak-check obligation for mobile equipment — apart from the refrigeration units on refrigerated trucks (mass >3.5 t) and refrigerated trailers — will begin 3 years after the regulation’s entry into force.

Increasingly restrictive regulations on F-gases are driving up the market share of equipment charged with alternative refrigerants. A significant proportion consists of equipment charged with flammable and highly flammable refrigerants.

Training in the installation of heat pumps with flammable gases

Working with refrigeration systems charged with flammable refrigerants means an elevated level of risk. When working with substances of this group, we should exercise particular caution. With the safety of technicians and installation users in mind, the PROZON Foundation, in cooperation with IGLOO, has developed proprietary training courses that comprehensively prepare technicians to install heat pumps and safely service equipment charged with flammable gases.

In the first training module, the principles of the correct and safe installation of a monobloc propane heat pump are discussed. The training includes a specialist scope that grants participants IGLOO company authorization. Participants will learn how to correctly carry out the hydraulic and electrical installation, and what the manufacturer’s requirements are in these areas in order to ensure the correct operation of the device and preserve the warranty. In addition, they will learn the requirements and recommendations regarding the use of buffer tanks and DHW cylinders, and the ways of working with peak heat sources. This module contains detailed information on device configuration and recommended ways of ensuring anti-freeze protection.

An integral element of the training is advanced practice in the safe recovery of flammable refrigerants. Training participants will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the latest technologies, the properties of refrigerants, and the protective measures that are essential for minimizing the risk associated with working with flammable refrigerants. Practical exercises will make it possible to hone skills in the safe handling of these substances during installation, maintenance, servicing, and leak checking — a key aspect ensuring not only compliance with legal standards, but also the protection of people’s health and lives.

Combining the PROZON Foundation’s many years of training experience with IGLOO’s modern technologies made it possible to meet the dynamically growing needs of the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry.

Comprehensive training and practical exercises with IGLOO’s MultiTherma

To ensure the highest quality of training, the IGLOO MultiTherma heat pump was used for the practical part. All MultiTherma heat pumps are manufactured from the highest-quality components based on the natural working refrigerant R290 (propane). These are monobloc-type devices, with the option of configuration as a hydro-split. These devices are characterized by many innovative solutions, including multi-point injection of refrigerant into the evaporator and a three-stage refrigerant subcooling system, which significantly improves their energy efficiency. Moreover, MultiThermas feature an exceptionally functional application enabling remote monitoring and control of the heat pump’s operation, which provides convenience for both the user and the service team. In the event of a fault, the service team can — through communication with the heat pump — remotely diagnose any operating anomalies plotted on clear graphs, and if a component is damaged, the faulty element is automatically flagged on a 3D drawing of the device, indicating the place where the service technician’s intervention is required.

IGLOO has taken care, down to the finest detail, of the comfort and safety of heat-pump users. The manufacturer allows its devices to regulate output across an extremely wide range, from 100 to 15%. Such a regulation range is unheard of among competing devices on the market and translates into a very flexible adaptation of these heat pumps to the variable heat loads of buildings, which in practice means no frequent switching on and off of the compressor at higher outdoor temperatures — that is, no so-called cycling during transitional periods.

Before the Polish F-gas Act existed, the PROZON Foundation helped people obtain European credentials, together with the Czech and then the Slovak refrigeration associations. This was a significant step to meet the needs of the Polish refrigeration and air-conditioning industry, which needed F-gas certificates for personnel for its work in accordance with European standards. Now PROZON is meeting the further challenges and needs of the industry brought about by the entry into force of EU Regulation 2024/573, continuing the European REAL Alternatives training programme.

Within the programme, it has for years been developing technicians in the field of flammable refrigerants and carbon dioxide, focusing not only on theory but above all on honing practical skills. A range of materials and teaching aids has been prepared, and a carefully selected training staff combines academic knowledge with many years of practice. The comprehensive programme covers such topics as safety, automation and monitoring, and testing and diagnostics. The training takes place in a training centre equipped with technologically advanced refrigeration circuits.

Refrigerants LIFE Cycle

In Grabce Józefpolskie, a second branch of the PROZON Foundation was established, in which an installation for the separation of refrigerant mixtures was built as part of the Refrigerants LIFE Cycle project carried out between 2019 and 2024. The separation installation makes it possible to reclaim almost 100% of the refrigerant waste handed over for processing and enables its reuse on the market.

The main process is the distillation-based separation of mixtures on rectification columns, combined with an adsorption process, which ensures high separation efficiency. The technology employed has opened up new possibilities for cooperation for servicing companies. Thanks to the separation methods used, even mixed refrigerants can be separated and their components used in the reclamation process. This solution is particularly important in view of the limited availability of synthetic refrigerants in the coming years. The beneficiaries of this process are both servicing companies and installation users. The recovered refrigerant handed over to the PROZON Foundation makes it possible to extend the life of installations charged with refrigerants covered by servicing bans.

RE-ELECTRO 4 LIFE

The second part of the hall was designated for the implementation of the EU project RE-ELECTRO 4 LIFE, which envisages the construction of a WEEE processing plant together with diagnostic technology for the reuse of parts dismantled from refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment. Using recovered parts for repairs will make it possible to reduce the waste generated and the need to purchase new equipment. This is another investment by the PROZON Foundation in the circular-economy business model, which is based on extending the life of waste. Installation work on the plant’s components and optimization of the diagnostic technology are currently underway.

The actions taken by the PROZON Foundation in recent years are a response to changes in legislation, the growing expectations of clients, and the need to conduct business in a modern, responsible way.

Prepared on the IGLOO side by: Daria Wątroba, Marcin Kowacz, Bartłomiej Adamski.
Prepared on the PROZON Foundation side by: Paweł Mitkowski, Kamila Klubińska.

Source: prepared by IGLOO (Daria Wątroba, Marcin Kowacz, Bartłomiej Adamski) and the PROZON Foundation (Paweł Mitkowski, Kamila Klubińska), “Chłodnictwo & Klimatyzacja” 9–10/2024. chlodnictwoiklimatyzacja.pl