Maintenance

With the careful monitoring of equipment and energy usage MSS are in a unique position to deliver tangible benefits to our customers through our maintenance activities.

Whether you require an ongoing planned maintenance programme or reactive call out service, our specialist teams will care for your property needs.

Using our own dedicated teams we are able to provide for the servicing and maintenance of all HVAC plant, undertake electrical fixed line and PAT testing, as well as maintain your water treatment requirements.

MSS plc provides a full range of turn-key services, as listed below, on many of the current key legislative directives to assist our clients in developing a corporate strategy to ensure compliance.

R22 Replacement

From 1 Jan 2010 it will be illegal to use virgin hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) such as R-22 (which has been the most commonly used refrigerant) when servicing and maintaining air conditioning equipment. Until the 31 December 2014 temporary use of recycled/recovered R-22 is possible but availability could be limited and costs high. From 1 January 2015 sales or use of recycled/recovered R-22 will be prohibited.

The regulation also calls for all operators of HCFC refrigeration systems to take “all precautionary measures practicable” to prevent and minimise leakage. It states that all fixed equipment systems with a refrigerant charge greater than 3kg will require an annual check for leakage. Qualified personnel must undertake this and they will be required to properly recover any HCFC refrigerant removed from a system.

MSS plc engineers are fully qualified to undertake this work. We will help you develop a corporate strategy to ensure compliance with the new legislation.

Contact us now and we will audit your equipment and advise on the options, which include replacement, refit or retrofit. A new air conditioning system may represent the best long-term investment – in which case we will calculate likely energy savings, CO₂ reductions and the payback period. We will project manage the transition to ensure the smooth integration of new systems and the safe disposal of the R-22 refrigerant.

F Gas Legislation Conformity

The new F-Gas regulations became law on 4th July 2006 with the majority of measures taking effect from 4th July 2007.

The main objective of this regulation is to contain, prevent and thereby reduce emissions of the fluorinated greenhouse gases covered by the Kyoto protocol. The regulation addresses containment, use, recover, destruction, reporting, labelling, training and certification on the market prohibitions for the fluorinated gases.

The relevant parts affecting refrigeration and air conditioning are detailed below:

Containment
Operators of stationary refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment shall use all measures which are technically feasible and do not entail disproportionate cost to prevent leakage of HFCs and as soon as possible repair any detected leakage.

An operator is defined as the natural or legal person exercising actual power over the technical functioning of the systems covered by this regulation. A member state may in specific situations designate the owner as being responsible for the operator’s obligations.

Operators shall ensure that certified personnel, as defined by the training and certification requirement, check systems for leakage.

Leakage Inspection

Systems shall be checked for leakage dependant on refrigerant charge
3kg charge – check at least every 12 months
30kg charge – check at least every 6 months
300kg charge – check at lease every 3 months
The application shall be checked for leakage within 1 month after a leak has been repaired to ensure the repair was effective
Operators of equipment containing 300kg or more shall install leakage detection systems – these must be checked every 12 months
“Checked for leakage,” means that the system is examined for leakage using direct and indirect methods.

Record Keeping
Operators of equipment with more than 3kg will need to maintain records on the quantity and type of HFC installed. Any quantities added or recovered during maintenance, servicing and disposal will need to be recorded along with leak checks and any actions taken. These records need to be made available upon request by the authority.

Recovery
Operators of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment are responsible for putting in place arrangements for the proper recovery by certified personnel who comply with the training and certification requirements.

Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD)

Air conditioning systems can account for 50% of the energy used in a building, and are therefore specifically targeted in the new legislation. MSS is here to help you comply with this aspect of EPBD and the new Energy Performance of Buildings Regulations. The aims of the inspection are to:

Provide building owners/operators with information about system performance, and
Identify opportunities to reduce your CO₂ emissions and save energy and money

The output of the inspection will be a report highlighting measures, which, if adopted, will have the potential to save energy and money within a reasonable payback period. Inspection reports will remain valid for five years, after which the system will require another inspection.

Which systems require inspection?

An air conditioning system is defined within the regulations as “a combination of all the components required providing a form of air treatment in which the temperature is controlled or can be lowered, and includes systems which combine such air treatment with the control of ventilation, humidity and air cleanliness”. The regulations are being adopted in two phases. The first phase applies to systems with a rated cooling capacity above 250 kW and the second phase for the remaining systems over 12 kW. The cooling capacity of an air conditioning ‘system’ is further defined as “the sum of all individual cooling units under the control of one building owner or operator”. It may therefore include smaller ‘window-box’ and split units, which are considered to be part of the ‘system’.

When will the Regulations apply?

First inspection of all existing systems over 250 kW cooling capacity must be completed by 4 January 2009.
First inspection of all existing systems over 12 kW must be completed by 4 January 2011.
New systems over 12 kW installed after January 2008 must be inspected within 5 years of being put into service.

It is envisaged that the inspections will be undertaken parallel to associated routine activities such as maintenance and F-Gas inspections for economy.

Energy Performance Certification (EPCs)

What is an Energy Performance Certificate?

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) provides a rating for the energy
performance of a building. The ratings are standard so the energy efficiency of
one building can easily be compared with another building of a similar type.

More: Energy Performance Certificates [1.12MB]
Case Study 1: EPC by MSS plc [1.57MB]
Case Study 2: EPC by TACE [434.25KB]