Personal Air-Condition

The right and the wrong installation..!

This  information is compiled from years experience, information which is common knowledge to those technician F-Gas and R32 Certified. We will point you to links with information on safety precautions and disasterus result when safety Failed. 


Air conditioning is the process of removing heat and moisture from the interior of an occupied space to improve the comfort of occupants. Air conditioning can be used in both domestic and commercial environments. This process is most commonly used to achieve a more comfortable interior environment, typically for humans and other animals; however, air conditioning is also used to cool and dehumidify rooms filled with heat-producing electronic devices, such as computer servers, power amplifiers, and to display and store some delicate products, such as artwork.
Air conditioners often use a fan to distribute the conditioned air to an occupied space such as a building or a car to improve thermal comfort and indoor air quality. Electric refrigerant-based Air Condition units  (often also referred as AC, A/C, or Air-con units) range from small units that can cool a small bedroom, which can be carried by a single adult, to massive units installed on the roof of office towers that can cool an entire building. The cooling is typically achieved through the refrigeration cycle, but sometimes evaporation or free cooling is used. Air conditioning systems can also be made based on desiccants (chemicals which remove moisture from the air). Some AC systems reject or store heat in subterranean pipes for later use.

Older refrigerant-based Air Condition units used to work with Non flammable refrigerants like (R22, R407c, R404, R509, R410a, etc.) and where very forgiving in a scenario of a wrong installation  and in the case of a leaking refrigerant it would only effect the performance and energy efficiency of the unit. With the  more eco friendly refrigerants (R290, R600, R32) the wrong installation and the actual location of  unit, in a leaking refrigerant scenario warrants a high risk to start a fire or explosion.

F-GAS certification is the way to educate and certify that the installer knows how to properly handle the refrigerant gases to protect the environment. An additional certificate is also required for those handling the new Flammable refrigerants (R290, R600, R32). 
The F-GAS certification expects from the installer to follow a safe installation procedure and to consider every possible scenario of something going wrong and plan appropriately to prevented it. Its also important for the installer to educate the final user for the proper way to handle a sadden poor performance of the unit (in case of a leak)! 
18 Things you need to know about F-Gas Regulations

Safety first... Always 

  • The right installation  -Always read the manual of the Air-Condition, then follow exactly the instruction!  Never go bellow the minimum requirement of 3m for the piping because you will have the risk of building high pressures increasing the possibility for a leek, suggested piping length would guarantee you also the energy efficiency expected of the unit. 
  • The wrong installation  -especial when dealing with Flammable refrigerants (R600. R290, R32) piping under 3m lurking the risk of pipe bursting due to high pressures. Sort pipes In most cases will effect the efficiency of the unit  from ( A++ could become A-),  Having said that a lot of non Professional do installations with less than a meter of piping! Very dangerous because you are not only loose the warranty and energy efficiency of your unit but you will also have allowed someone to install  a ticking Bomb in n your home!! That is why you also have to read the manual especially in R32, R290 Installations and demand from the installer exactly the length in piping the manufacture suggests for your Air-condition and not the shorter pipes you often see and get with a free install packages.  An extra precaution would be to also remove the inside quick release connectors and solder the pipes between them with high pressure copper solder.
  • Energy efficiency- Key ingredient to energy efficiency is the proper installation.  To do this right its important to consider what refrigerant first is been used and next reading the manual to find the minimum length of piping required by the manufacture for safety and the suggested length in order to get the maximum expected energy efficiency results. Newer refrigerant R32 now commonly used in most  all personal Air-conditions (is Flammable) and requires special consideration  for safety first and energy efficiency!  In Residential installation for safety it is suggested a minimum 3 meters of piping and this length may also be enough for the more expensive air-conditions to meet energy efficiency too but for the more economical air-condition a 5-7m piping may be required to meet that efficiency!  Every installation has its's own requirements but in general Longer pipes always  within the manufactures specs provide usually better energy efficiency results!

If you are asking .... about what could go wrong see the following video, έκρηξη του συμπιεστή ή AC Blast (see video1). or (see video2)->>>
and for additional cases on what else has gone wrong you can do a search on the web for keywords "AC Blast " or "AC explosion"

AC Explosion

R32 Myths and Realities

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