Process manufacturers warned over R22 blindspot

London - Air conditioning company Ergro Group has warned UK process businesses to get ahead of the impending R22 ban and not to forget vital facilities such as server rooms while they prepare for the banning of this commonly used refrigerant from the end of next year.

From midnight on 31 Dec 2014, the sale and storage of R22 recycled and reclaimed refrigerant will be banned. Overnight, this will make a great many of the UK’s currently installed air conditioning units unserviceable, and leave unprepared businesses faced with building closures in the event of unit breakdown.

While many process and manufacturing companies are already taking steps to plan the logistics and financing of modifying or replacing equipment, some are leaving what they see as less business critical areas, such as server rooms, to chance.

“It makes sense if you are running a food production facility to ensure climate control/air conditioning/process water is compliant and unlikely to fail and cause production down time; it’s easy to forget that a server room that has never let you down is just as ‘mission critical’, said Chris Wollen from Ergro Group.