Section 84.108 - [Effective 12/10/2024] Automatic leak detection systems(a) Owners or operators of refrigerant-containing appliances used for industrial process refrigeration or commercial refrigeration with a full charge of 1,500 pounds or greater of a refrigerant containing a regulated substance or a substitute for a regulated substance with a global warming potential greater than 53 must install and use an automatic leak detection system in accordance with this section.(1) If the refrigerant in a refrigerant-containing appliance contains a substitute for a regulated substance, whether the global warming potential of the substitute is greater than 53 will be determined as described in § 84.106(a)(2).(b)(1) Owners and operators of refrigerant-containing appliances that are subject to the requirements under paragraph (a) of this section and that are installed on or after January 1, 2026, must install and use an automatic leak detection system upon installation of the refrigerant-containing appliance or within 30 days of installation of the refrigerant-containing appliance.(2) Owners and operators of refrigerant-containing appliances that are subject to the requirements under paragraph (a) of this section and that were installed on or after January 1, 2017, and before January 1, 2026, must install and use an automatic leak detection system by January 1, 2027.(c) Automatic leak detection systems must be installed in accordance with manufacturer instructions.(d) Automatic leak detection systems must be audited and calibrated annually.(e) Automatic leak detection systems are required to monitor components located inside an enclosed building or structure.(f) For automatic leak detection systems that directly detect the presence of a refrigerant in air, the system must:(1) Have sensors or intakes placed so that they will continuously monitor the refrigerant concentrations in air in proximity to the compressor, evaporator, condenser, and other areas with a high potential for a refrigerant leak;(2) Accurately detect a concentration level of 10 parts per million of vapor of the specific refrigerant or refrigerants used in the refrigerant-containing appliance(s); and(3) Alert the owner or operator when a refrigerant concentration of 100 parts per million of vapor of the specific refrigerant or refrigerants used in the appliance(s) is reached.(g) For automatic leak detection systems that monitor conditions of the refrigerant-containing appliance, the system must automatically alert the owner or operator when measurements indicate a loss of 50 pounds of refrigerant or 10 percent of the full charge, whichever is less.(h) When an automatic leak detection system alerts an owner or operator of a leak as described in this section, owners and operators of refrigerant-containing appliances using automatic leak detection systems must comply with the requirements either in paragraph (h)(1) or in (h)(2) of this section and must also comply with paragraph (h)(3) of this section where applicable: (1) Calculate the leak rate within 30 days (or 120 days where an industrial process shutdown would be necessary) of an alert and, if the leak rate is above the applicable leak rate as described in § 84.106(c)(2), comply with the full suite of leak repair provisions in § 84.106; or(2) Preemptively repair the identified leak(s) before adding refrigerant to the appliance and then calculate the leak rate within 30 days (or 120 days where an industrial process shutdown would be necessary) of an alert. If the leak rate is above the applicable leak rate as described in § 84.106(c)(2), the owner or operator must comply with the full suite of leak repair provisions in § 84.106.(3) Where a refrigerant-containing appliance using an automatic leak detection system is found to be leaking above the applicable leak rate as described in § 84.106(c)(2), and the automatic leak system is only being used to monitor portions of an appliance, the remainder of the appliance continues to be subject to any applicable leak inspection requirements, as described in § 84.106(g).(i)Recordkeeping. The owner or operator must maintain records for at least three years in electronic or paper format, unless otherwise specified, regarding:(1) The installation of the automatic leak detection system;(2) The annual audit and calibration of the system;(3) A record of each date the automatic leak detection system triggers an alert; and(4) The location of the leak(s) which resulted in the alarm.