Madrid, Spain, 20 September 2018: The Spanish HVACR market is adapting to market conditions, despite the increasingly stringent policies being rolled out across Europe in compliance with the F-Gas Regulation, said Félix Sanz, Deputy Manager, AEFYT. “Like other European associations, AEFYT thinks that the roadmap imposed [by F-gas regulation] has not taken into account state-of-the-art technology,” he said, “but the industry has made a great effort and is reacting in an exemplary manner.”

Speaking on emerging trends in Spain, Sanz said that commercial refrigeration has seen a shift towards new refrigeration systems with CO₂, propane and ammonia. “As far as refrigerant gases are concerned, we detect that natural refrigerants will coexist with the new mixtures that have a low (global warming potential) GWP,” he added. Sanz said that the maintenance of refrigeration installations also takes center stage under the premise of recovery and recycling, all in the interests of energy efficiency, which, he said, is a main concern for stakeholders in the refrigeration industry.

Sanz said that a negative consequence that has been of concern of late, is the expanding black market related to HFC gases, in Spain and across Europe, owing to a tax on fluorinated gases making things difficult for stakeholders in the industry. These issues, he added, were part of the key takeaways that will be highlighted in the Symposium of the Spanish Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry, which, he said, will address the new Spanish and European regulations related to the circular economy, security and digital transformation. “These include the Directive on Ecodesign and Energy Labelling of Refrigerated Furniture, the certification of supermarket furniture and numerous issues related to energy efficiency,” he added. These issues, Sanz said, are being discussed in the move to highlight the refrigeration industry, as a leading sector, in a sustainable economy, at the service of society.

Hannah Jo Uy is Assistant Editor at Climate Control Middle East magazine. She may be contacted at hannah@cpi-industry.com