Appliances/Equipment using flammable refrigerants
According to the Electrical Products (Safety) Regulation, all household electrical products must comply with the applicable safety requirements such as the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards. These safety standards also regulate the use of mildly flammable refrigerants or flammable refrigerants by setting out requirements on refrigerant level restriction, minimum room area, minimum installation height, etc. Under normal circumstances, there is no difference between the use of mildly flammable refrigerant electrical appliance and ordinary appliance in terms of safety.
R32 is a mildly flammable refrigerant and a R32 household air-conditioners should be labelled with a flame symbol for identification,in which actual location should be subjected to individual models. Before purchasing such products, consumers should pay particular attention to the restrictions on use as specified by the manufacturers, such as requirements on minimum room area and minimum installation height, etc. They may check with the agents or suppliers for relevant restrictions. Installation, inspection or maintenance of the products should be carried out in compliance with the specified restrictions by the agents, suppliers or technicians who have experience in handling mildly flammable refrigerants.
A R32 household air-conditioner would bear the following flame label on its body to remind the maintenance personnel and user:
R32 air-conditioners with energy labels currently available on the market are listed in the following table:
For details of storage, transportation, installation, maintenance and disposal of household air-conditioners using mildly flammable refrigerant, you can refer to the Guidance Note.
Currently, relevant trainings on household air-conditioner using mildly flammable refrigerants are provided by the Hong Kong Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Association (ACRA) co-organized with Vocational Training Centre (VTC), and other R32 air-conditioner suppliers. Their enquiry contacts are listed below for reference.
| Organization | Contact Person | Telephone |
|---|---|---|
| ACRA | Ms. Chiu | 2598 0101 |
| R32 Air-conditioner Supplier | Contact Person | Telephone |
|---|---|---|
| Carrier / Canopus | Ms. Wong | 2263 6786 |
| Daikin | Ms. Mak | 3966 9574 |
| General | Mr. Kwok | 2821 7645 |
| Gree / Electrolux / Philco / Zanussi / Tosot / SHARP | Customer Service | 8210 8210 |
| Haier | Customer Service | 3690 8008 |
| Hitachi | Ms. So Mr. Mo |
3793 5175 6290 6523 |
| LG | Mr. Fu | 2909 5240 |
| Midea / Morita Denko | Customer Service | 2443 0082 |
| Mitsubishi Electric / Ryobishi | Customer Service | 2510 0555 |
| Mitsubishi Heavy | Ms. Chiang | 3158 2990 |
| Panasonic / Rasonic | Mr. Chiu | 2400 6744 |
| Samsung | Ms. Cheung | 2187 3498 |
| TCL | Ms. Chiu | 2437 7615 |
| Toshiba | Customer Service | 2707 0688 |
| White-Westinghouse | Customer Service | 2406 9792 |
| Comfee’ | Customer Service | 6120 5628 |
| White Hippo | Customer Service | 2303 1318 |
| Fortress | Mr. Tsoi | 2555 5192 |
| BODYSONIC | Ms. Chan | 2514 4040 |
| YORK | Mr. Mo | 6290 6523 |
| Whirlpool | Mr. Cheng | 9129 5384 |
For household refrigerator using flammable refrigerant, a flame symbol of “Risk of fire / flammable materials” shall be marked on the appliance to alert consumer and service personnel that flammable refrigerant is in use. The type of refrigerant is also suggested to be included under the flame symbol. In addition, a warning sign of “Caution: Risk of fire” and the type of flammable refrigerant shall be clearly seen when gaining access to the compressor.
For the details of storage, transportation, maintenance and scrapping of household electric refrigerators using flammable refrigerant, you can refer to the Guidance Note.
Household dehumidifiers / portable air-conditioner using highly flammable refrigerant R290 are already available in market.
When installing, using or maintaining a household dehumidifier / portable air-conditioner with such highly flammable refrigerants, the following safety precautions must be observed:
