These information sheets are intended to help personnel working on mobile air conditioning in vehicles. This mainly affects the servicing and recovery at end of life of F gases from car air conditioning.

The emissions from this sector accounted for 11% of the UK total 2005 emissions of F gases. So whilst the quantity of F gas contained in a system is relatively small, usually less than 1 kilogram in each vehicle, the number of systems and their potential to leak makes them a cause for concern.

Air conditioning systems found in vehicles built after 1993 use HFC 134a as the refrigerant. The number of car air-conditioning systems has increased significantly since the late 1990s and, as the typical life of a vehicle is 12 years, most systems in existence use an HFC refrigerant.  There is to be a ban on the use of F gases in car air conditioning.  This will be introduced through the EU MAC Directive 2006/40 which affects car manufacturers (for new vehicle types introduced after January 2011).  The Department for Transport (DfT) have responsibility for implementation of the MAC Directive in the UK.

Information sheets

The following information sheets can be read comprehensively as a complete set or selectively as needed.

If you have any further questions on the EU F gas Regulation please contact us.

• MAC 1 – overview (PDF 100 KB)
• MAC 2 – usage of F gases (PDF 50 KB)
• MAC 3 – key obligations (PDF 100 KB)
• MAC 4 – getting started (PDF 50 KB)
• MAC 5 – certification of personnel (PDF 100 KB)

Each information sheet indicates when it was last updated. Over time, the information sheets will be updated to reflect current contact points.