Why air conditioning inspections are required?

An air conditioning system inspection by an accredited air conditioning energy assessor (the energy assessor) is designed to improve efficiency, reduce energy consumption, reduce operating costs and reduce carbon emissions. The energy assessor will highlight how the operation of existing systems can be improved or opportunities to replace older, less energy efficient systems, or oversized systems, with new energy efficient systems.

As the replacement of refrigerant is restricted in older systems (as established in other legislation), there is an additional incentive to improve or replace older systems with more modern energy efficient units.

The person who controls the operation of the system, such as the building owner or manager, has statutory obligations and duties of care related to the operation and maintenance of air conditioning systems. The inspections referred to in this guide are in addition to the standard activities associated with the ownership and operation of air conditioning systems.

Inspection, maintenance and cleaning programmes maintain the ability of the system to provide healthy and comfortable environments for building occupants, limiting the escape of refrigerant gases and ensuring the safety of equipment. The practices and procedures needed to achieve these aims should be applied more frequently than the assessment for energy efficiency described here. It is outside the scope of this document to describe these procedures in detail.