TM44 Inspection Regulations: What, when and how..
In England and Wales all existing air conditioning systems with an effective rated cooling output of more than 12kW needs a Statutory TM44 Inspection every 5 years, or within 5 years from the systems commissioning date.
We provide guidance on how to comply with the TM44 Inspection Regulations on England and Wales, and the what and when of the TM44 inspection certificate and report.
Why choose us for compliance with the TM44 inspection certificate Regulations?
Smart GreenTech Solutions provides fast and efficient TM44 inspections by qualified and experienced engineers at very competitive prices.
We will ensure compliance with the TM44 Regulations with the least possible disruption to you business.
We have extensive experience of completing TM44 inspections in London and across England and Wales.
Our CIBSE accredited low carbon energy assessors will not only ensure that your buildings are compliant with the TM44 Regulations, but also provide you with practical and cost effective recommendations on how to improve the energy efficiency, operation and maintenance of your air conditioning and ventilation systems, with a key focus on improving indoor air quality.
Our TM44 inspections are conducted by qualified air conditioning engineers, with extensive knowledge and experience of the operation and maintenance of air conditioning, ventilation and associated control systems.
In addition to the TM44 inspection certificate and report, our TM44 inspection also includes a compliant F-Gas Register template and the relevant information to ensure that you are up to date and compliant with the latest changes to the F-Gas Regulations and associated HFC phase down.
As CIBSE TM44 assessors, our TM44 air conditioning inspectors conduct annual CPD accredited training to stay abreast of the latest legislative and technological developments within the air conditioning and building services domains to always provide our clients with the best advice.
In addition to our core TM44 inspection services, we also provide a range of compliance plus optimisation services on air-conditioning and ventilation systems as indicated below;
You can access our latest article on when buildings qualify for TM44 air conditioning inspections, where we provide a summary of when a building qualifies for a TM44 inspection and clarify who the responsible person is to ensure compliance with the TM44 Regulations.
You can also access a recent article on the difference between TM44 inspections and the F-Gas Regulations, where we also provide an overview of the key changes to the F-Gas Regulations and associated HFC phase down.
Explaining the TM44 Inspection and TM44 Regulations
What is TM44?
CIBSE Technical Memorandum number 44 - TM44 was published by The Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), and provides guidance on good practice for air conditioning inspection procedures and an approved inspection methodology for compliance with regulatory inspections within the UK.
A TM44 inspection assess and report on how well the air conditioning system is maintained, operated and controlled, and whether it is fit for purpose.
There is a level 3 and level 4 type of air conditioning inspection, with the level 3 covering simple packaged type cooling systems and the level 4 covering complex centralised systems. It must be noted that any level 3 air conditioning system serving a space that is also ventilated by a centralised mechanical ventilation system that includes a heating coil (irrespective of whether the ventilation system includes a cooling coil) requires a level 4 inspection.
The person who has both technical and financial control of the air conditioning system is seen as the operator, and the responsible person to ensure compliance with the Regulations.
What does a TM44 inspection cover?
A TM44 inspection examines the refrigeration, air and water movement equipment that are part of the air conditioning system and associated controls.
As its not cost effective to inspect all units, sampling is applied in line with the guidance provided in TM44, as indicated below.
All central chiller plant shall be inspected.
A minimum of ten or 30% of all central air handling plant, whichever is the greater. This also applies to any central air handling plant which does not directly deliver cooling but serves an area which is cooled.
A 2% sample of the total number of central plant terminal units must be inspected, with a minimum of five units. Terminal units include VAV terminals, fan coil units or chilled beams, local heat recovery and ventilation units.
Where an installed system consists of a series of packaged cooling plant, then a 10% sample of the total number of outdoor units must be inspected, with a minimum of three units being sampled and an equal amount of indoor units.
It will also examine any documentation that helps to understand the air conditioning system, and indicate the extent to which the system has been maintained and whether the air conditioning system is compliant with the revised F-GAS Regulations.
The TM44 assessor is also required to estimate whether the air conditioning system is suitably sized for the cooling load in the treated spaces, and to provide advice on ways in which the loads and associated energy consumption and costs can be reduced in the air conditioning inspection report.
How often should a TM44 inspection be completed?
In England and Wales air conditioning systems that exceeded the 12kW installed capacity required a first inspection by 4 January 2011.
All existing air conditioning systems with an effective rated cooling output of more than 12kW need TM44 Inspection every 5 years or within 5 years from the systems commissioning date.
If a building has multiple split type units installed which each have a cooling capacity of less than 12kW, but collectively have a cooling capacity of more than 12kW, then the building needs to be in possession of a valid TM44 inspection certificate and report.
Statutory lodgement of your TM44 inspection certificate and report
From 6 April 2012, it became mandatory to lodge all TM44 air conditioning inspection reports in England and Wales on the Government's non-domestic energy performance register, where after a TM44 inspection certificate and report can be generated.
Who can conduct a TM44 Inspection?
A TM44 inspection can only be conducted by an accredited TM44 air conditioning assessor whom is a current member of an approved accreditation scheme.
Level 3 accredited assessors can only inspect packaged type cooling systems and level 4 accredited assessors can inspect packaged and centralised systems.
Consultation on proposed changes to the Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012 to transpose part of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive ((EU) 2018/844).
The EU EPBD (Energy Performance of Buildings Directive) 2010 required that member states implement the necessary measures to establish regular air conditioning inspections. Part 4 of The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, as amended, sets out the requirements for TM44 inspection and air conditioning inspection certificates and reports in England and Wales.
The policy objectives were to ensure effective transposition of Energy Performance of Buildings Directive 2018/844 (EU) for air-conditioning inspections into UK regulations to meet with the UK obligations under the withdrawal agreement, to improve the energy efficiency of air-conditioning systems in buildings and reduce carbon emissions from buildings.
The consultation proposed to increase the threshold of the current air-conditioning inspection regime for systems with effective rated output of more than 12kW to include only air-conditioning systems and combined air-conditioning and ventilation systems with an effective rated output of more than 70kW.
As a result of industry engagement, evidence from stakeholder responses and consideration of the cost benefit analysis, within the context of the wider climate change targets, the UK Government intends to diverge from the European Commission proposal and to retain the existing threshold for the inspection of the energy efficiency of air-conditioning systems that have an effective rated output of more than 12kW.
Retaining the threshold for TM44 inspections at effective rated output of more than 12kW would be in line with government policy of diverging from EU Directives where this is to meet UK Government objectives and in this case the Government commitment to net zero carbon buildings by 2050 requires all opportunities for carbon saving to be encouraged.
Check out our latest articles
Read through our articles and case studies provided by our team of professionally registered engineers about TM44 Inspection, ESOS compliance, SECR compliance as well as how to improve the energy efficiency, indoor air quality, operation and maintenance of commercial buildings.