Air conditioning regulations: health and safety questions answered

Is air conditioning bad for your health? It seems to be a question on everyone’s lips when the summer months come around and the demand for air conditioning systems increase. It’s important to understand how air con units work and in fact, just how beneficial to health they can be to not only the home, but the workplace too.

Air conditioning regulations are put into place to ensure the safety of you and the occupants of your home or property. In this guide, we’ll explain these regulations and the importance of an air conditioning inspection. We’ll also banish some myths about the dangers of air conditioning and why a new system is, in fact, a wise choice.

What are air conditioning health and safety regulations?

There are air conditioning regulations you must follow if you have an air conditioning system installed. These regulations are simply put into place for your safety and comfort, and to ensure there is no risk of danger to yourself or anyone else inside a property.

F-Gas Scheduled Statutory Inspection

F gases are fluorinated gases used in refrigerated equipment, such as an air conditioner. Some of these gases can be quite harmful to the environment and contribute to global warming. This inspection ensures that owners of refrigerated equipment follow the following regulations:

• They must use qualified professionals to repair and maintain any refrigerant or equipment.
• Take the necessary precautions to avoid and prevent refrigerant leaks.
• Repair leaks as soon as they have been identified.

For bigger systems:

• Regular testing of the system by qualified professionals.
• Keep records up to date with details of each check.

Energy Performance Certificate

An EPC is a review of energy efficiency. By choosing an air conditioning system that is rated highly with an ‘A’ rating, for example, you can reduce your electricity consumption and the effects of it on the environment.

EPC regulations require an air conditioning inspection to be completed. This is to improve the efficiency as well as reducing energy consumption and running costs of the air conditioning system. If you have an older air conditioning system, there will be the opportunity to replace older systems with more modern energy efficient ones. This is because the replacement of the refrigerant is restricted in older systems.

If you’re looking for a new air conditioning system, you can use our ‘Find An A/C System’ tool to find the perfect one for your home.

Office air conditioning health and safety

A manager may decide to introduce an air conditioning system to improve working conditions. There are certain rules for workers in an office environment. For example, working temperatures need to be comfortable and the humidity level should be correct for optimum productivity.

Offices also need the right ventilation with clean air circulating the building. Environments not following these rules may impact the health of workers.

What happens during an air conditioning inspection?

AC inspections are essential to ensure there are no air conditioning health risks. They’re required at regular intervals to ensure that everything is working as it should and that your system is entirely safe.

Inspections should be no more than five years apart and they must be carried out by an energy assessor. After an inspection, you’ll be provided with an air conditioning inspection report, which will include the following:

• The efficiency rating of the overall system, along with any areas for improvement.
• The identification of any faults within the system and suggested actions.
• Adequacy of equipment maintenance and controls.
• Summary of findings and recommendations.

Is air conditioning bad for your health?

Air being circulated around a building from an air conditioning system may set those alarm bells ringing. Is it safe? Can polluted air be circulated around a building and inhaled by us? Is it bad for your health?

Some people may worry about the dangers of air conditioning when in fact, the way air conditioning systems work means that they rid an environment of possible health risks. Here are just some of the potential ‘risks’ and how, in fact, air conditioning will help:

The fluctuation of temperature.

In most cases, a fluctuation of temperatures shouldn’t have any effect on the human body. In fact, adapting to change is one of the things our bodies excel at. However, previous health conditions may suffer a little and these people may prefer a limited change in indoor and outdoor temperatures to manage their conditions.

Mould.

The worry of mould can be a common one – cooling hot air can create moisture, so the growth of mould is surely something to watch out for. In fact, to prevent this from happening and from breathing in the potentially dangerous spores, air conditioners are good at removing the excess moisture through a vent.

The only way in which mould may become a problem is if an air conditioning system has a fault or isn’t working as it should. In this case, you should seek the advice of a professional engineer and to organise an inspection.

Airborne germs.

As air conditioning circulates the air around an environment, it’s a common worry that it will carry germs from one person to another. However, air is filtered and cleaned before it circulates, meaning the air you breathe is the cleanest possible.

In bigger buildings, air conditioning systems use water to cool the air. The only risk with this is if the water becomes stagnant, bacteria can start to grow. It’s good to know that home systems don’t pose this risk, however.

Air conditioning systems prevent fewer pollution particles from entering the home than an open window or door.

What are the health benefits of air conditioning?

Air conditioning health issues are always going to be a main concern when installing a new system or at least considering it. In fact, there are a number of health benefits of installing an air conditioning system that you may not know about.

• Improved comfort levels.
• The lower temperature reduces risk of heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses.
• Improved air quality.
• Creates a healthy temperature.
• Improves sleep quality.
• Helps with respiratory conditions such as Asthma.

See our guide on how air conditioning works for more in-depth benefits for health and your environment.

Air conditioning regulations are there to keep you safe.

With the right care and regular inspections, there is no reason why your air conditioning system should pose any health issues. With the help of air conditioning regulations and general health and safety advice, there will be very limited air con health risks.

If you’d like more information or you have any questions about a new air conditioning system for your home, our engineers are always happy to help. Use our live chat to discuss your queries with a qualified BOXT engineer.