2013 new standard for air conditioners and dehumidifiers will be officially implemented

Recently, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the National Standardization Administration jointly announced 352 national standards, including the “Special Requirements for Safety Heat Pumps, Air Conditioners, and Dehumidifiers for Household and Similar Electrical Appliances” (New Standard No. GB4706.32- In 2012, instead of the standard number GB4706.32-2004) will be formally implemented on May 1, 2013.

It is understood that as early as June 2009, the National Standardization Technical Committee for Household Appliances began to organize the drafting of standards for some enterprises and institutions in the industry. This standard is the most important national standard in the field of air conditioning. Compared with the 2004 old standard, the 2012 edition adds flammable refrigerants to the standard for safe operation and use in identification, transportation, installation, storage, filling, and other aspects.

The new standard applies to the safety of heat pumps (including domestic heat pump hot water) equipped with motor-compressors and room fan coils, air conditioners and dehumidifiers. The maximum rated voltage of individual items does not exceed 250 V. The maximum rated voltage of other appliances Not more than 600V.

The requirements for the transportation, marking and storage of flammable refrigerants used by the standard include: Transportation of equipment with flammable refrigerants. Attention should be paid to the presence of flammable gas equipment that may have additional requirements during transportation. The maximum amount of equipment to be transported or the structure of the equipment allowed to be transported together are specified in the corresponding transport regulations; the markings for similar appliances in the work area are usually determined in accordance with local regulations, including setting up safety or/and health in the work area. The basic requirements for identification, all the provisions of the logo should be complete, should ensure that employees receive adequate and adequate guidance and training, in order to understand the correct meaning of safety signs, and can take appropriate measures based on these logos; equipment packaging should be able to store The equipment inside the protective package will not cause leakage of refrigerant when it is subjected to mechanical damage. The maximum number of equipment that can be stored together is determined by local regulations.

The newly revised standard also increases the installation and maintenance requirements for the use of flammable refrigerant appliances. The main requirements are as follows: Prior to repairs using flammable refrigerants, a safety inspection must be carried out to ensure that the risk of fire is minimized; Before and during the operation, appropriate refrigerant monitors should be used to monitor the area to ensure that the technicians are aware of the presence of potentially flammable gases, to ensure that the leak detection equipment used is used for flammable refrigerants; it is necessary to check that refrigerant leaks are not present. In a potentially ignition environment, the halogen probe or any other open flame detector should not be used for testing.

Experts believe that the publication of the 2012 version of the standard means that in the path of air-conditioning refrigerant replacement, China is in line with the national standard, and domestic air-conditioning companies also have the ability to meet standards and meet product safety requirements. After the standard is officially implemented on May 1, next year, consumers can choose to use low-carbon, environmentally-friendly refrigerant air-conditioning products.