BS EN 12309-5:2014

What is BS EN 12309-5- Requirements for gas-fired sorption appliances about? 

Gas-fired heat pumps essentially use natural gas to drive their refrigeration cycle.

BS EN 12309 is a European Standard that discusses the gas-fired sorption appliances for heating and/or cooling. The BS EN 12309 series aims to provide with best industry practices that ensure gas-fired sorption appliances for heating and/or cooling are safe and reliable for use.

Appliances covered by BS EN 12309 include one or a combination of the following:

• Gas-fired sorption chiller
• Gas-fired sorption chiller/heater
• Gas-fired sorption heat pump.

BS EN 12309 applies to appliances designed to be used for space heating or cooling or refrigeration with or without heat recovery.

BS EN 12309 applies to appliances having flue gas systems of type B and C (according to CEN/TR 1749) and to appliances designed for outdoor installations.

BS EN 12309 only applies to appliances having:

• Integral burners under the control of fully automatic burner control systems
• Closed system refrigerant circuits in which the refrigerant does not come into direct contact with the water or air to be cooled or heated
• Mechanical means to assist transportation of the combustion air and/or the flue gas.

The above appliances can have one or more primary or secondary functions (i.e., heat recovery - see definitions in EN 12309-1:2014). In the case of packaged units (consisting of several parts), BS EN 12309 applies only to those designed and supplied as a complete package.  

BS EN 12309-5 is the fifth part of the series that specifies the requirements for gas-fired sorption appliances for heating and/or cooling with a net heat input not exceeding 70 kW.

Note 1: The appliances having their condenser cooled by air and by the evaporation of external additional water are not covered by BS EN 12309.

Note 2: Installations used for heating and/or cooling of industrial processes are not within the scope of BS EN 12309.

Who is BS EN 12309-5 - Requirements for gas-fired sorption appliances for? 

BS EN 12309-5 on requirements for gas-fired sorption appliances is relevant to: 

• Gas-powered device manufacturers
• Heat pump manufacturers
• Ventilation and air-conditioning system manufacturers
• Quality control and testing personnel

Why should you use BS EN 12309-5- Requirements for gas-fired sorption appliances?

With significant amounts of thermal energy being wasted, the demand for heat-conversion technologies to harness this untapped potential of wasted heat has been growing. In this regard, gas-fired sorption appliances can utilize waste heat and renewable energy to outperform conventional heat pumps, while increasing energy efficiency and minimizing environmental impacts.

BS EN 12309-5 deals particularly with the requirements relating to the declaration of capacity and energy efficiency performance.

BS EN 12309-5 also mentions requirements for cooling and heat capacity rating and energy performance.

Adopting BS EN 12309-5-compliant best industry requirements, can help manufacturers and quality control personnel demonstrate the quality, reliability and performance of gas-fired sorption appliances to determine whether they are fit for purpose.