Development of guideline and trainings for handling heat pumps containing refrigerants with higher flammability across Europe
As a result of the RePowerEU plan and the latest version of the F-gas regulation, more heat pumps containing refrigerants with higher flammability, such as R290, are being placed on the market. This leads to a need for improved and unified handling of such products during their lifecycle across Europe. Due to the currently fragmented and at times, incomplete, scenario about requirements for handling such heat pumps, a LIFE Project called SKILLSAFE EU, was initiated in July 2024 to prepare a unified guideline on handling such heat pumps during transportation, storage, installation, service, decommissioning and disposal and conduct pilot trainings to validate the same. The goal is to upskill professionals from the heat pump sector and reskill individuals from other sectors such as plumbers, electricians etc. in appropriately handling the heat pumps in scope. This study, therefore, will describe efforts already taken and ones planned over the course of the project to inform existing stakeholders and engage new ones. The project would, by May 2026, have hoped to achieve the publication of the first version of the mentioned guideline for air to water monoblock and split heat pumps for residential applications, conducted pilot trainings in multiple countries and performed on-site risk assessment studies. The results of these activities and future plans will be intended to be shared with the audience.