F-gas leak checks: how often are they mandatory?

"How often does that leak check actually need to happen?" — a question that regularly trips people up, both on the installer side and the operator side. The answer is simpler than it looks: the frequency hinges on one number — the CO₂ equivalent of what's in the installation. Below are the three thresholds from the F-gas Regulation, plus worked examples per refrigerant so you can check it yourself.

What exactly is a leak check?

A leak check is a periodic measurement to establish whether a refrigeration, air conditioning or heat pump installation is losing refrigerant. A certified technician goes over the system — usually with an electronic sniffer detector or a pressure/soap-water check on the connections — and records the outcome in the installation logbook. The obligation comes from the F-gas Regulation and applies to the operator — whoever has the installation in use, not automatically the owner of the building.

The three thresholds — and how often

The frequency scales with the size of the installation, measured in CO₂ equivalent:

• From 5 tonnes CO₂ equivalent: at least once a year, a leak check.
• From 50 tonnes: at least once every six months.
• From 500 tonnes: a fixed leak detection system is mandatory; that halves the base frequency from three months to once every six months for the technician check.

Two important nuances:

• With an approved leak detection system the frequency may be halved. A 5-tonne installation with a working leak detection system in principle only needs a manual check once every two years — provided the detection system itself is tested annually.
• Hermetically sealed installations have a raised threshold: the obligation only starts from 10 tonnes CO₂ equivalent.

Worked example: how many kilos is "5 tonnes"?

CO₂ equivalent is calculated as charge (kg) × GWP of the refrigerant. For the most common types:

• R-290 (propane, GWP 3): you practically never reach 5 tonnes — that would need more than 1,600 kg of charge.
• R-32 (GWP 675): from around 7.4 kg charge, the installation is subject to an annual leak-check obligation.
• R-454B (GWP 466): from around 10.7 kg.
• R-410A (GWP 2,088): already from around 2.4 kg — a typical split air conditioner with 3 kg is at 6.3 tonnes CO₂ equivalent, well above the threshold.
• R-404A (GWP 3,922): even a small commercial refrigeration unit of 1.3 kg is already subject to a leak-check obligation.

For borderline cases, the logbook-obligation check works out your situation in two minutes — and immediately returns the matching check frequency.

Who is allowed to carry out the leak check?

Not everyone. The check must be done by someone with a valid F-gas personal certificate (BRL 200, category A1 or A2), and the executing company needs the F-gas company certificate. How you apply for those and what they cost is covered in Applying for an F-gas certificate.

What belongs in a good leak-check record?

The check is not just "a quick walk-through". The auditor wants to see:

• Date and the technician who carried it out, with certificate number.
• Method — electronic leak detection, pressure test, soap water, or leak-detection-system readout.
• Findings — connections checked, pressure readings, any leaks found.
• Follow-up actions — leak repaired, refrigerant topped up (with quantity), or "no findings".
• Next check date, derived from the threshold and the installation's charge.

Without that data, your installation logbook is incomplete and can come back as a finding at audit.

What if you miss the deadline?

Two things can happen. At a BRL 100 or STEK inspection, a missed or late leak check ends up on the findings list — depending on the shortfall, a conditional finding or, if it's a repeated pattern, a suspension. If an actual leak is established on an installation whose check was overdue, the supervisory authority (ILT) can take enforcement action against the operator — ranging from a warning to a penalty order.

Practical tip: set the next-check date automatically in your system on every new charge and let a reminder go off well in advance. That way the signal doesn't only surface at audit time.

How Koldwerk keeps track of this automatically

Per installation you record the refrigerant type and charge; Koldwerk calculates the CO₂ equivalent, links it to the correct check frequency and sets the next leak-check deadline in the installation management module. If the deadline is within 30 days, the owner gets a reminder; once it has passed, the installation is flagged as overdue. The linked refrigerant administration makes sure every top-up immediately updates the threshold calculation — no manual recount needed after every work order. Pricing is on /prijzen; how we compare to other solutions is on /vergelijk.

Further reading

• Work out your own installation with the logbook-obligation check.
• GWP values of refrigerants — the table that makes the thresholds possible.
• Heat pump: is maintenance and a logbook mandatory? — a separate article for heat pump owners.
• F-gas Regulation 2024/573 — the legal background.
• Refrigerant balance: a practical guide — how leak-check data feeds your balance.

Disclaimer: thresholds, frequencies and certification requirements can change. This explanation is a summary in plain language — the legally binding framework is Regulation (EU) 2024/573 and its national implementation by the ILT and the certifying bodies.