Ecodesign Directive

The Ecodesign Directive which applies to a wide variety of Professional Refrigerated Storage Cabinets has seen some changes since it was first introduced into this product category on the 1st July 2016. Pentland Wholesale is continually working with our suppliers to ensure that all our products comply with relevant legislation and over the past four years we have seen a positive effect of the legislation with more energy efficiency cabinets being produced. Manufacturers now have to design and manufacture professional refrigerated cabinets with efficiency in mind and provide an energy efficiency rating between A+++ to E when tested. The minimum energy performance (MEP) is now “E”.

In brief, the products that are currently included in the scope of the Ecodesign directive for professional refrigeration are all solid door fan assisted refrigerated cabinets used for storage but not display of product.

March 2021 will see further changes to the Ecodesign Directive which will widen the scope of cabinets that will also require an energy efficiency rating. The energy label will also change to include additional information. Pentland Wholesale is working closely with our suppliers to ensure that cabinets supplied by Pentland Wholesale will comply with the new standards.

F Gas regulation places restrictions on the use of some HFC refrigerants which have a high GWP (Global Warming Potential). This regulation sets limits on the products used in specific types of systems with an aim to reduce the contribution of refrigerant gases to global warming.

The 1st January 2020 saw a mandatory limit of 2500GWP being introduced, which effectively prevents the manufacture of products containing a refrigerant with a GWP higher than 2500 and a limitation on the use of high GWP refrigerants in servicing. This limit affects large scale commercial refrigeration like that found in supermarkets, and some commercial / professional refrigerated equipment.

Pentland Wholesale’s suppliers are ahead of the changes, with most of our cabinets now using hydrocarbon refrigerants like R600A and R290, which have a very low GWP. Where the use of hydrocarbon refrigerants cannot be introduced, the larger capacity cabinets are now using alternative refrigerants like R448A or R452A, which have a lower GWP and comply fully with the latest legislation.

Existing equipment

Please be aware that the refrigerant gas within a system should not need replacing regularly and should last the lifetime of the appliance. The refrigerant will only need replacing if a component or pipework within the refrigeration circuit fails. Pentland Wholesale has done extensive research on the cabinets we supply and found that a suitable lower GWP refrigerant of R452A (XP44) is a suitable drop in refrigerant that can be used in existing and current equipment that was initially manufactured using R404A refrigerant.

Please be aware that all R404A units are not the same, specialist advice should be sought before changing the refrigerant in any system, especially equipment not supplied by Pentland Wholesale Ltd.