Buying equipment containing F-gas
In summary:
- When selling equipment containing F-gas, a vendor must take details of the F-gas qualified installer the purchaser will be using.
- Vendors are not allowed to sell systems containing older refrigerants that have a high global warming potential.
How the legislation affects what you can buy
The UK is party to the Kyoto Protocol 
that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To meet these obligations there are a series of phased bans on the use of certain refrigerants and equipment that contains them.
Particularly relevant is the 2025 ban on the use of virgin refrigerants with a Global Warning Potential (GWP) of greater than 750 (i.e. 750 times the GWP of carbon dioxide) in the installation of single split systems with a charge capacity of less than 3kg. In short, that pretty much includes all domestic mini-split systems.
This means you should avoid buying a system that uses R410A (a refrigerant with a GWP of 2088) and opt for one using refrigerant R32 (GWP 675). There are now fewer units on the market that contain R410A because of the 2025 ban, but it’s worth checking.
A full list of the ban schedule is on the UK Government website for both new products and refilling older equipment .
Legislation for sellers
The law that sellers of equipment containing F-gas must follow are detailed on the UK Government website .
This law means that you must give the supplier the name and F-gas number of the installer you are using. Checkmark can give you our FGAS number when you contact us for a booking .
The government are encouraging people to report anyone breaking F-gas law by email to f-gassupport@environment-agency.gov.uk.
There are instances of companies being fined for not following the law. One example is Appliances Direct who were fined £37,500 .