The terms from refrigeration engineering, F-gas regulations and certification — explained in plain language. Click through for more depth, or calculate directly whether an installation is subject to the logbook obligation.
BRL 100 and STEK are Dutch national certification schemes — full support today is NL-only. See our honest country-coverage disclosure.
The European F-gas rules and what they concretely require from a refrigeration company.
Fluorinated greenhouse gases: synthetic gases widely used as refrigerant that have a strong greenhouse effect.
F-gases trap heat many times more strongly than CO₂. That is why the EU regulates their use strictly: leak checks, certification, registration and a gradual phase-down of the most harmful types.
See also: HFC, GWP, EU 517/2014, EU 2024/573
The F-gas Regulation that applied from 2015 to 11 March 2024 and set requirements for leak checks, certification, registration and the HFC phase-down. Repealed and replaced by (EU) 2024/573; the old number still circulates widely, and the article numbers did not carry over one-to-one.
See also: EU 2024/573, Leak check, Logbook obligation
The revised F-gas Regulation (in force since 11 March 2024) that replaces 517/2014 and accelerates the phase-down of HFCs.
The Regulation tightens the phase-down, sets extra requirements for equipment with high-GWP refrigerants and steers towards an almost complete HFC phase-out. For most installation companies the practical duties — leak checks, logbook, certified staff — stay the same, but the choice of refrigerant shifts.
See also: EU 517/2014, F-gas phase-down, F-gas quota
The stepwise reduction of the amount of HFCs (in CO₂ equivalent) that may be placed on the EU market.
See also: F-gas quota, EU 2024/573, CO₂ equivalent
The system that sets a maximum (in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent) per producer/importer on the HFCs brought to market each year.
The quota falls in steps, making high-GWP refrigerants scarcer and more expensive. This affects installers indirectly: the price and availability of top-up refrigerant change faster than many customers expect.
See also: F-gas phase-down, EU 2024/573
The obligation to keep a logbook per installation with ≥5 tonnes CO₂ equivalent, recording refrigerant changes and leak checks.
The threshold is determined by refrigerant charge (kg) × GWP. Hermetically sealed systems have a higher limit (from 10 tonnes CO₂ equivalent). Not sure whether an installation falls under it? Calculate it below.
See also: CO₂ equivalent, Leak check, Installation logbook
Periodic check for refrigerant leakage; the frequency depends on the CO₂ equivalent of the installation.
Guideline: from 5 tonnes CO₂ equivalent annually, from 50 tonnes every six months, and from 500 tonnes a fixed leak detection system is mandatory (in addition to the six-monthly check). A correct leak detection system can halve the required frequency.
See also: Leak detection system, CO₂ equivalent, Logbook obligation
A permanently installed system that automatically detects refrigerant leakage; mandatory from 500 tonnes CO₂ equivalent.
See also: Leak check, CO₂ equivalent
BRL 100, BRL 200, STEK and BRL K25000 — who is allowed to work on refrigerant or gas combustion installations.
The assessment guideline on the basis of which a refrigeration company obtains the mandatory F-gas company certificate.
BRL 100 describes the requirements for the company's quality system, equipment and working method. An accredited certification body assesses this and issues the certificate; periodic checks follow after that.
See also: STEK, F-gas company certificate, BRL 200
The assessment guideline for the F-gas personal certificate: the professional competence of the individual technician.
See also: F-gas personal certificate, BRL 100
Kiwa's certification scheme for CO safety certification of gas combustion installations under the Dutch statutory CO certification scheme (Bbl) — an alternative route, assessed partly remotely, aimed at sole traders and small companies alongside BRL 6000-25.
BRL K25000 is about carbon monoxide prevention in gas combustion installations, not about refrigerants or F-gases. In the refrigeration sector the term is sometimes used incorrectly for the annual BRL 100 surveillance audit — that is a different, unrelated check on refrigerant administration.
See also: Certification body (CI)
Colloquially, 'STEK-recognised' stands for a company with the mandatory F-gas company certificate; STEK historically refers to the Stichting Emissiepreventie Koudetechniek.
See also: BRL 100, F-gas company certificate
The legally mandatory certificate for companies that carry out work on installations using F-gases as refrigerant.
See also: BRL 100, STEK, F-gas personal certificate
The mandatory diploma/certificate (category I–IV) for the individual technician who works on refrigerant systems.
See also: BRL 200, F-gas company certificate
An organisation accredited by the Raad voor Accreditatie that issues company and personal certificates and carries out audits.
See also: Raad voor Accreditatie (RvA), BRL 100, BRL K25000
The Dutch organisation that accredits certification bodies and so safeguards the reliability of certificates.
See also: Certification body (CI)
Commonly used refrigerants, their global warming potential and the CO₂-equivalent calculation.
The working fluid in a refrigeration installation or heat pump that absorbs and releases heat through evaporation and condensation.
See also: GWP, HFC, Natural refrigerant, Refrigerant balance
Global Warming Potential: how much more strongly a gas warms than CO₂ over 100 years. CO₂ has a GWP of 1.
The higher the GWP, the faster an installation reaches the logbook and leak-check thresholds. R290 (propane) has a GWP of 3; R404A has a GWP of 3,922 — more than a thousand times higher.
See also: CO₂ equivalent, HFC, Natural refrigerant
The refrigerant charge (kg) multiplied by the GWP; determines whether an installation is subject to the logbook and leak-check obligations.
Example: 3 kg of R410A (GWP 2,088) = 6,264 kg CO₂ equivalent ≈ 6.3 tonnes. That is above the 5-tonne threshold, so an annual leak check and a logbook are mandatory.
See also: GWP, Logbook obligation, Leak check
Hydrofluorocarbons: the most widely used synthetic F-gas refrigerants (such as R410A and R134a), often with a high GWP.
Hydrofluoroolefins: newer refrigerants with very low GWP, such as R1234yf, that are replacing high-GWP HFCs.
A refrigerant that occurs in nature and has a very low GWP, such as propane (R290), CO₂ (R744) and ammonia (R717).
See also: R290, R744 (CO₂), GWP
HFC refrigerant with a GWP of 675; widely used in modern split air conditioners and heat pumps.
HFC blend with a GWP of 2,088; long the standard in air conditioning and heat pumps, being phased out because of its high GWP.
See also: R32, R454B, CO₂ equivalent
HFC with a GWP of 1,430; used among other things in refrigeration and older car air conditioning.
HFC blend with a GWP of 3,922; widely used in (older) commercial and deep-freeze refrigeration, being phased out at an accelerated pace.
Because of its high GWP, an installation using R404A reaches the logbook threshold at as little as around 1.3 kg of charge. Replacement with lower-GWP alternatives is a recurring topic of conversation with customers.
See also: GWP, CO₂ equivalent, F-gas phase-down
Propane, a natural refrigerant with a GWP of 3; flammable (A3) and increasingly used in heat pumps.
See also: Natural refrigerant, GWP
CO₂ used as a refrigerant, with a GWP of 1; widely used in supermarket refrigeration and transcritical systems.
See also: Natural refrigerant, GWP
Refrigerant blend with a GWP of 466; one of the successors to R410A in new air conditioners and heat pumps.
HFO with a GWP of 4; used among other things in modern car air conditioning as a replacement for R134a.
Keeping a complete record of all refrigerant changes (top-up, draining, recovery) per installation.
A balance that adds up shows how much refrigerant is in a system and how much has been added or removed. In an audit this is the first thing an auditor checks.
See also: Recovery, Installation logbook, CO₂ equivalent
Extracting and capturing refrigerant from an installation for reuse or destruction, instead of venting it.
See also: Refrigerant balance
The documents used to record work and refrigerant changes in an audit-proof way.
The document on which a technician records the work carried out, materials used and measurements taken, and which the customer signs.
See also: Installation logbook, Refrigerant balance
The (digital) file per installation with installation details, refrigerant changes, leak checks and maintenance.
See also: Logbook obligation, Refrigerant balance, Work order
The holder or owner of the installation who is legally responsible for leak checks and keeping the logbook.
The EU Regulation calls this the 'operator'. In practice the installation company handles the execution, but final responsibility lies with the operator.
See also: Logbook obligation, Leak check
LMRA, VCA and transport inspections that come up in refrigeration engineering.
Last Minute Risk Analysis: a brief risk check the technician carries out on site just before starting work.
See also: VCA
Safety, Health and Environment Checklist Contractors: a certification for safe working that clients often require.
See also: LMRA
Inspection based on the international ATP agreement for the transport of perishable foodstuffs in refrigerated vehicles.
Monthly cancellable. No renewal tricks.
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