Servicing and Maintenance of Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning, and Heat-Pump Equipment in 2026

Law and the environment

Legal requirements, technical possibilities, prospects

Anna Choma

Introduction

In 2026, the servicing of refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat-pump equipment ceases to be merely an element of standard operational maintenance. This results from the parallel influence of regulatory and technical factors that directly affect operating costs and the reliability of installations. On the one hand, there is an intensification of environmental requirements concerning the minimization of refrigerant emissions and a gradual reduction in the availability of refrigerants with a high GWP; on the other, users’ expectations are rising with regard to maintaining high energy efficiency, stable operating parameters of the systems, and minimizing the risk of failure throughout the entire service life. In practice, this means the need to shift from a reactive approach — limited to intervention in the event of failure — toward a diagnostic and preventive approach, encompassing the monitoring of thermodynamic parameters, assessment of the system’s tightness, analysis of refrigerant quality, and evaluation of the degree of contamination of the refrigeration circuit.

Legal conditions in 2026 and their consequences for servicing

In 2026, the servicing of refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat-pump equipment is conducted under the applicability of Regulation (EU) 2024/573 of the European Parliament and of the Council, which introduced restrictions on the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases). As of 1 January 2025, a ban applies on the use of virgin F-gases with a GWP ≥ 2500 for the servicing and maintenance of refrigeration equipment, which in practice eliminates the possibility of using, among others, virgin R404A in the servicing of existing installations. From that date, the use of reclaimed refrigerants with a GWP ≥ 2500 remains permissible. The next stage of tightening will occur on 1 January 2030, when a complete ban on the use of F-gases with a GWP ≥ 2500 for servicing purposes will be introduced. This means that from that moment, topping up installations that use refrigerants with a GWP ≥ 2500 will become legally impermissible.

A consequence of these conditions for servicing practice is the fact that keeping an installation in operation is increasingly determined not only by the technical condition of the mechanical components, but also by the quality of the refrigerant and the degree of cleanliness of the circuit. In practice, this means that preventive measures should not be treated as optional activities, but as an element of a rationally conducted operational strategy — especially in installations following a compressor failure, after modernization, after a loss of system tightness, as well as in cases where a significant presence of moisture, solid residues, and high-boiling substances is found in the system. Under such conditions, a technically justified procedure is the flushing of the installation, the aim of which is to remove contaminants from the circuit.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the likelihood of recurring failures and to limit the system’s energy losses, which — in the reality of tightening regulations and the constrained supply of F-gases — should be regarded as a measure that is at once economically and operationally justified.

Contamination of the refrigeration circuit as the main cause of deteriorating operating parameters

In operational practice, a decline in equipment performance and a deterioration of energy efficiency are often interpreted as a consequence of the natural wear of installation components or of their ageing. In many cases, however, the fundamental cause of deteriorating operating parameters is the gradual contamination of the refrigeration circuit and a decline in refrigerant quality during the installation’s operation. Among the most frequently observed anomalies are the moisture contamination and acidification of the refrigerant, and the presence of non-condensable gases, solid residues, and oil contaminants. Their occurrence in the system leads to disturbances in the flow conditions and heat exchange within the system.

Moisture present in the refrigeration circuit is a particularly dangerous contaminant, as it promotes the degradation of compressor oil, initiates corrosion processes, and can lead to the formation of acidic compounds. An increase in the acidity of the oil and refrigerant accelerates the wear of the compressor’s friction surfaces, worsens the lubricating properties of the oil, and increases the risk of damage to the metal components of the installation. At the same time, moisture can cause unstable operation of the throttling elements, including expansion valves and capillaries. In operational terms, this results in fluctuations in superheat, periodic restriction of refrigerant flow, deterioration of its distribution in the evaporator, and a reduction in the system’s thermal or cooling capacity.

The presence of non-condensable gases, such as air or nitrogen, in turn leads to an increase in condensing pressure and discharge temperature, which causes an increased load on the compressor, a reduction in energy efficiency, and accelerated mechanical wear of its components. Solid contaminants, on the other hand, can cause clogging of filters and precise components of the installation, and over the longer term can lead to recurring damage to the compressor and control elements.

Particularly unfavourable are situations in which the aforementioned contaminants occur simultaneously, as they lead to a cascade effect. The deterioration of heat-exchange and refrigerant-flow conditions results in an increased load on the compressor, while the unfavourable thermodynamic conditions promote the degradation of the oil and the formation of further contaminants in the circuit. Consequently, standard servicing activities — limited to cleaning the air heat exchangers and checking the basic operating parameters — may prove insufficient to restore stable and efficient operation of the installation in cases where the fundamental source of the problem is the condition of the refrigeration circuit.

Flushing the installation with refrigerant as an element of preventive and remedial servicing

The main aim of flushing the installation is to remove the contaminants present in the refrigeration circuit. The procedure is carried out using a specialized service machine, in which the flushing medium is refrigerant in the liquid state (Fig. 1). In the first stage of the procedure, the system is filled with refrigerant, and this refrigerant is then subjected to controlled circulation forced by the flushing device. This process is carried out in a pulsed manner, using short-term pressure increases, which makes it possible to dislodge contaminants deposited on the internal surfaces of the installation’s components.

Fig. 1. A specialized machine for flushing refrigeration installations, manufactured by WATEX.

The service machine is equipped with a sight glass (Fig. 2), enabling continuous observation of the working medium during the process. Observation of the refrigerant allows a qualitative assessment of the presence of oil contaminants and moisture in the installation. The oil separated from the refrigerant is collected in a dedicated settling tank (Fig. 3), which enables its physical separation and an assessment of the degree of contamination of the circuit after flushing is complete.

Fig. 2. A view of the contaminated refrigerant in the flushing machine’s circuit during the process of removing contaminants from the installation.

The use of refrigerant as a flushing agent makes it possible to flush the entire system, including sensitive components such as valves and heat exchangers, without the risk of damaging them. An important advantage of this method is that there is no need to use chemical agents, which eliminates the risk of leaving foreign-substance residues in the installation that could negatively affect the properties of the refrigerant, the compressor oil, and the equipment’s operating parameters. Consequently, this method does not create a risk of losing the equipment manufacturer’s warranty.

Fig. 3. The oil settling tank of the flushing machine, with oil contaminated after the installation-flushing process.

After the flushing process is complete, the refrigerant used in the procedure is fully recovered from the installation, and a vacuum is then created in the system (Fig. 4). The final stage of the procedure is filling the installation with technical nitrogen, which enables further servicing work or the preparation of the system for refilling with refrigerant.

Fig. 4. A view of the clean refrigerant in the flushing machine’s circuit in the final phase of the process of removing contaminants from the installation.

Summary

In 2026, the servicing of refrigeration, air-conditioning, and heat-pump equipment should encompass diagnostics of the installation’s condition, monitoring of refrigerant quality, and assessment of the degree of contamination of the circuit. This is a consequence of the direct impact of moisture, non-condensable gases, acidic products, and solid contaminants on compression conditions, the stability of the system’s control, the intensity of heat exchange, and the durability of the compressor. Flushing the installation with refrigerant, carried out without the use of chemical agents, constitutes a technically justified procedure in systems in which contaminants are present, and performs an important servicing function in stabilizing operating parameters and reducing the risk of further failures.

PROZON Climate Protection Foundation, tel.: 22 392 74 62, e-mail: prozon@prozon.org.pl, www.prozon.org.pl

Source: Anna Choma, “Rynek Instalacyjny” 3/2026 (March 2026). rynekinstalacyjny.pl