F-Gas Leak Check Calculator (beta)
Pick the refrigerant and enter the charge. You get the CO₂-equivalent, the leak-check interval required under the F-Gas Regulation as it applies in Great Britain, whether a leakage detection system is compulsory, and the date the next check falls due. Knows which refrigerants the Regulation does not reach - ammonia, CO₂ and the hydrocarbons are not F-gases, and R-22 sits under the ozone regime instead.
Beta - not yet reviewed by a qualified engineer.Detail
Checked against the F-Gas Regulation as it applies in Great Britain. Tell us if something is wrong.
Enter the refrigerant charge in kilograms to get the CO₂-equivalent and the leak-check interval.
Intervals under Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 as assimilated law in Great Britain, Articles 4 and 5. Covers the periodic leak-check duty on stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps only - not record keeping, recovery, technician certification or the phase-down quota. GB retains 517/2014; the EU has replaced it with 2024/573, so an EU site will differ.
The PDF is a calculation record, not a certificate - it carries no declaration and no signature.
Method and standard
How the interval is set
The duty is driven by the CO₂-equivalent of the charge, not its weight: multiply the charge in kilograms by the refrigerant's GWP and divide by 1,000. Article 4(3) then sets the interval - 12 months at 5 tonnes CO₂e, 6 months at 50, and 3 months at 500. A fitted leakage detection system doubles each of those.
Below 5 tonnes CO₂e no periodic check is owed. Hermetically sealed equipment is exempt below 10 tonnes CO₂e, but only where it is labelled as hermetically sealed.
Not every refrigerant counts
The Regulation covers fluorinated gases. Ammonia (R-717), CO₂ (R-744) and the hydrocarbons (R-290, R-600a) are not F-gases, so Article 4 does not reach them - though BS EN 378 and, for the flammables, DSEAR still will. R-22 is an HCFC and sits under the ozone-depleting substances regime instead. This calculator says so rather than inventing an interval.
Where this is recorded
- F-Gas installation & commissioning certificate - charge and tonnes CO₂e recorded at handover.
- Air conditioning commissioning report - refrigerant type and charge per system.
- UK refrigerant reference - GWP, safety class and F-Gas status for each gas.
Method
tonnes CO₂e = charge (kg) × GWP ÷ 1000; interval from Art 4(3) - 12 months at 5 tCO₂e, 6 at 50, 3 at 500, each doubled where a leakage detection system is fitted
Reference
Regulation (EU) No 517/2014 as assimilated law in Great Britain - Article 4(1) (5 tonne threshold, hermetically sealed exemption below 10 tonnes), Article 4(3)(a)-(c) (check intervals), Article 5(1) and 5(3) (leakage detection systems). GWP figures are AR4 basis, as Annex I uses. GB retains 517/2014; the EU replaced it with 2024/573, so an EU site will differ. Covers the periodic leak-check duty only.
Related calculators
- Gas Rate Calculator-Convert meter readings to m³/hr and kW for natural gas or LPG.
- Flue-Gas Ratio Checker-Get the CO/CO₂ combustion ratio and its BS 7967 action band.
- Gas Pipe Sizing Calculator-Size a whole installation against BS 6891:2015, section by section.