Refrigeration Standard EN 378 now Published
13 January 2017
Cool Concerns director Stephen Benton is one of the European experts who worked on the five year revision of EN 378 Refrigerating systems and heat pumps – Safety and environmental requirements. EN 378:2016 is now available in the UK from BSI.
Standards are revised on a five year cycle to ensure they are up to date and relevant to industry. The most significant areas changed in EN 378: 2016 are:
- The addition of the A2L safety classification (R32, R1234ze and some new blends come under this lower flammability classification);
- Methods of determining charge limits (especially relevant for flammable refrigerants);
- Alignment with the Pressure Equipment Directive and the Machinery Directive;
- A more streamlined flow chart for determining over pressure protection;
- Information about machinery rooms.
EN 378 is in four parts and is an important standard in our industry. It is relevant to all RACHP systems which do not fall under product standards. It provides guidance for those who design, construct, install, operate, maintain and use RACHP systems. It provides a means of proving conformity to some European directives. Part 2 (Design, construction, testing, marking and documentation) is harmonised with:
- The Pressure Equipment Directive (PED) 97/23/EC;
- The Machinery Directive (MD) 98/37/EC.
We provide guidance on compliance with EN 378 and run one day interactive workshops for those needing to know more about this important standard.