In short: With the regulation published in the Official Gazette on 15 October 2024, Türkiye moved to a phased ban schedule for refrigerants with a high global warming potential (GWP). Refrigeration systems running on gases such as R404A and R507A sit right at the centre of this schedule. The good news: your existing system won't stop tomorrow. The bad news: businesses that don't plan will struggle with gas availability and service costs.
What does the regulation introduce?
- Phase-down and quotas: HFC consumption is being cut step by step until 2045; importers work with annual quotas.
- Equipment registration: New equipment must be registered in the EKOMVET system within 30 working days of installation and gas charging, and the equipment logbook must be kept digitally.
- Periodic leak checks: Check frequency depends on the CO₂-equivalent quantity of gas in the system.
- Bans on placing on the market: After set dates, new equipment running on gases above certain GWP values can no longer be sold.
First, one concept: GWP and CO₂ equivalent
GWP shows how many times more a gas warms the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. R404A has a GWP of 3922; in other words, a 1 kg leak of R404A is equal to about 3.9 tonnes of CO₂ emissions. The thresholds in the regulation are also defined in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (t CO₂e), not kilograms:
1 January 2027: the era of new R404A systems ends
From this date, new stationary refrigeration equipment and hermetic commercial refrigerators and freezers running on gases with a GWP of 2500 or above can no longer be placed on the market. In practice, this means that a new system running on R404A or R507A can no longer be installed.
Your existing, working systems are not directly affected by this ban. But if you are planning a store opening, a warehouse expansion or a major refurbishment, you need to choose equipment for after 2027 based on low-GWP gases today.
1 January 2031: central systems and servicing
2031 is the real turning point for supermarkets and warehouses:
- In central multi-compressor commercial refrigeration systems of 40 kW and above, new equipment running on gases with a GWP of 150 or above can no longer be placed on the market.
- In hermetic commercial cabinets, the limit drops to GWP 150.
- Servicing ban: Gases with GWP ≥ 2500 can no longer be used to maintain and service equipment containing 40 t CO₂e or more. For R404A this threshold is about 10.2 kg, which means even the rack system of a mid-sized supermarket falls within scope.
There is limited flexibility for the transition: reclaimed gases, and gases recovered from the equipment being serviced, can be used until 1 January 2033. After that date, a leak in a large R404A system will in most cases mean conversion or replacement.
Leak checks: which class is your system in?
| Gas quantity (CO₂e) | R404A equivalent | Check frequency |
|---|---|---|
| 5 – 50 t | ≈ 1.3 – 12.7 kg | Every 12 months (24 months with a leak detection system) |
| 50 – 500 t | ≈ 12.7 – 127 kg | Every 6 months (12 months with a leak detection system) |
| 500 t and above | ≈ 127 kg and above | Leak detection system mandatory |
In large systems, a leak detection system is an economic choice as much as a requirement: it halves the check frequency and catches leaks before the invoice arrives.
A 4-step roadmap for your existing system
Why is smart monitoring the key to this period?
The regulation rewards preventing leaks continuously, not finding them on "check day". A system that monitors liquid level, subcooling and superheat trends sees a falling charge before any alarm is raised. That lowers the legal check frequency and prevents product loss, wasted energy and emergency call-out costs.
This article is for information only and is not legal advice. For exemptions and details, refer to the Regulation on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases published in the Turkish Official Gazette dated 15.10.2024, No. 32693.