The Environment Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs updated their guidance on bans on F gases in new products and equipment on 4 January 2023. The change recorded in the update log was to the "Insulating foam: F gases banned in new products" table, where the date of ban was changed "from 2023" to "banned now"1.
The guidance, first published on 21 August 2019, sets out which uses of fluorinated gases are banned or will be banned in Great Britain1. Its opening instruction is that products or equipment containing banned F gases must not be placed on the market in Great Britain, and that doing so could lead to a civil penalty1.
The insulating foam table now lists three banned uses, all with a global warming potential threshold of 150 and all marked "Banned now"1:
| Banned use | Type of F gas | GWP | Date of ban |
|---|---|---|---|
| One component foam aerosols | All F gases | Above 150 | Banned now |
| Extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) | HFCs | 150 | Banned now |
| All foams, including polyurethane | HFCs | 150 | Banned now |
The entry for all foams, including polyurethane, carries an exception: "Except when required to meet national safety standards"1. The other two entries list no exceptions1.
The same guidance covers other product categories. Under refrigerants, bans already in force include non-confined direct evaporation systems, domestic fridges and freezers above 150 GWP, stationary refrigeration equipment above 2,500 GWP, commercial refrigerators and freezers above 150 GWP, and multipack centralised refrigeration systems for commercial use with a rated capacity of 40 kW or more above 150 GWP1. For air conditioning and heat pump systems, all new cars and movable air conditioning equipment above 150 GWP are banned now, while single split systems containing less than 3kg of refrigerant above 750 GWP are banned "From 2025"1.
The guidance also states that exemptions from the bans do not apply to equipment that produces lower greenhouse gas emissions over its total lifecycle including energy consumption, is more efficient than alternative equipment that does not contain HFCs, or is used in military hardware such as tanks and aircraft1. Exemption requests can only be granted by passing legislation and assessing supporting evidence, which the guidance says can take at least 12 months, and if granted last for up to 4 years1.
Why it matters for households
F gases are used as blowing agents in some insulating foams, including polyurethane and extruded polystyrene boards. The change means the ban on these foams at the stated global warming potential thresholds is presented as already in force rather than as a future date, so the position for anyone specifying or buying such products is that the restriction applies now1.
The guidance addresses placing products on the market in Great Britain, not the removal of foam already installed in a home. It does not state any requirement to remove existing insulation, and no such requirement is reported1. The exception for foams required to meet national safety standards means some uses remain permitted where that condition is met1.
For a household, the practical link to energy independence runs through the fabric of the building: insulation reduces the heat a home needs to buy, and the rules on which blowing agents may be used in new foam products affect what is available in the supply chain. The guidance does not set out how the ban affects availability, price or performance of insulation products, and none of that has been reported1.
What happens next
The guidance lists a further change: single split air conditioning and heat pump systems containing less than 3kg of refrigerant, above 750 GWP, are banned from 20251. The page's update log records later amendments, including added information on F gases that produce trifluoromethane as a by-product on 2 March 2023, and three exemptions added to the air conditioning and heat pump table on 27 August 20261. Further detail on the wider rules is held in the regulation-policy hub.