| Refrigerant Compliance Includes Calculating Carbon Emissions |
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| Environment - Environment |
| Written by Daniel Stouffer |
| Friday, 13 March 2009 08:30 |
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Under federal and state environmental laws, commercial facilities with refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) systems or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are required to report carbon emissions in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases. Calculating carbon emissions involves monitoring, collecting data and performing in-depth reporting of CO2 sources. Having commercial facilities manage carbon emissions is one way to stabilize global warming.
Under federal and state environmental laws, commercial facilities with refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) systems or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are required to report carbon emissions in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases. Calculating carbon emissions involves monitoring, collecting data and performing in-depth reporting of CO2 sources. Having commercial facilities manage carbon emissions is one way to stabilize global warming. Refrigerant systems use high levels of greenhouse gases, so the EPA established the Climate Registry Protocol for calculating carbon emissions on a regular basis. The international equivalent of this requirement is outlined in the Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocol. The main purpose for calculating carbon emissions is to begin reducing the damaging effects that refrigerant gas has on the environment. Refrigerant gas has been identified as a key source of carbon emissions. Refrigerant gas used in commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) systems or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems is comprised of hydrochlorofluorocarbons, chlorofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons. These substances release carbon, chlorine, fluorine and hydrogen into the air during normal operation, thus depleting the earth's ozone layer. Calculating carbon emissions and submitting the results to the oversight agencies is a way for government to manage the problem. Companies that fail to submit the required forms for tracking and calculating carbon emissions are severely fined. Protocols released by the EPA, ISO, World Resource Institute and Climate Registry outline what is required when calculating carbon emissions. Among the components are collecting, organizing, calculating and reporting carbon emissions from refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) systems or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. These protocols are aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions over time. Calculating carbon emissions is a complex process. The different types of emissions need to be identified and collected companywide. From this information, the amount of each type of gas released into the environment needs to be calculated. In addition, tracking methods need to show the daily use of refrigerant gas. The end result will show the global warming potential for each facility with a refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) system or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Because there are so many components involved in monitoring, gathering and recording carbon emissions data, refrigerant management programs are very beneficial for calculating carbon emissions. Verisae at www.verisae.com is an example of a comprehensive refrigerant management program. It is all encompassing with a Refrigerant Tracker and a Carbon Calculator. Calculating carbon emissions is tedious for facility personnel, but the Refrigerant Tracker application and Carbon Calculator simplifies the process by tracking and reporting refrigerant gas usage for all AC/HVAC systems operated by the company. There are several reasons that led to the EPA and international environmental agencies to require companies to include calculating carbon emissions in their reports. Most importantly is to identify the major sources of greenhouse gases. Equally important is to establish a tracking mechanism for determining how much harmful gases are released at any given time. The information will be used to improve air quality with measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions. By calculating carbon emissions, companies will be able to recognize the extent of their carbon footprint. For companies with multiple locations using refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) systems or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, the task becomes even more critical. But there is help to address this challenging issue. Software provided by Verisae at www.verisae.com tracks carbon dioxide gas emissions across all sites so companies can do their part to ensure a healthy environment for years to come. About the Author: Daniel Stouffer has a lot of information on the importance of calculating carbon emissions and why refrigerant-tracker will be of use to you. |