Other > Refrigeration

You produce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from this activity if your organization uses refrigerators to keep spaces cold. Refrigeration is a Scope 1 (direct) emission because your retail or industrial cooling units release GHGs into the atmosphere.

Enter data about this activity into Climate Smart to calculate the emissions from your inventory period.

On this page:

• Examples of emission sources
• Prepare the data you need
  • Option 1: Mass of release (most accurate)
  • Option 2: Estimate by cost (least accurate)
• Find your emissions data
• Enter data into your inventory

Examples of emission sources

Not sure if you should report this emission source? Here are some examples of refrigeration that you should consider tracking in your inventory:

• Refrigerants in air conditioning and HVAC systems
• Industrial coolers, chillers, and refrigerators (just the refrigerant, not the electricity that powers the appliance)
• Refrigerated trucks (just the refrigerant, not the gas or fuel that powers the truck)

Prepare the data you need

To get your emissions data ready for Climate Smart, choose one of the following options based on the information that’s available to you. This will be the method you use to calculate the GHGs emitted by your organization’s activities.

Remember to collect information for the relevant inventory period.

Option 1: Mass of release (most accurate)

You’ll get the most accurate results if you enter the actual amount of refrigerants you released during the year. This means you’ll need to know:

• Weight of the GHG released (kilograms or pounds)
  • What does this mean? A functioning HVAC system doesn’t need fluid/refrigerant top-ups. If yours does, it means fluid was leaked into the atmosphere, and therefore GHGs were released.
• Type of refrigerant or GHG released (for example, carbon, methane, or nitrous oxide)

Option 2: Estimate by cost (least accurate)

If you only know how much you paid for refrigerant fluid top-ups in refrigerated units (for example, air conditioners or industrial refrigerators), you can use this amount to estimate your emissions.

Find your emissions data

Not sure where to find the data you need? Try the following suggestions:

Ask your team

Ask your accounting department, building maintenance crew, and facilities or building management about collecting data for your emissions inventory. They might already have the information you need!

Check invoices

Invoices from your refrigeration maintenance provider include important information you need for your inventory, such as the weight and type of the GHG released. This information might be listed under top-ups.

You can also obtain the type of GHG released from your refrigerant supplier or the company that tops up your refrigerants.

Talk to your landlord

Do you rent the space where your organization is located? Ask your landlord for information about refrigerants, such as air conditioning. If your landlord can’t provide details about the specific room or floor you lease, ask for the refrigerants used by the entire building, and estimate your amount based on the size of your business space.

Enter data into your inventory

When you’re ready to track emissions from this activity, you can start entering the data you’ve collected into Climate Smart. 

Add this activity to your inventory

Before you can enter information about your emissions, you need to add this activity to your inventory. Learn how to add new activities to your inventory.

Add an entry to your inventory 

To enter your data into Climate Smart: 

1. Choose a calculation method based on the information you have:
   • If you know the actual amount of refrigerants you released, select Mass of Release and enter your information into Climate Smart.
   • If you only know how much you paid for refrigerant fluid top-ups, select Estimate by Cost and enter your information into Climate Smart.
2. Under Refrigerant or gas release, select the type of gas from the drop-down list.
3. Enter the start and end dates of the activity you’re measuring. These will usually match the start and end dates of your inventory year.
4. Enter the cost of the refrigerants you purchased (including taxes). If you're estimating this amount, select the checkbox next to Cost is estimate. Tell us if you paid in Canadian Dollars (CAD) or United States Dollars (USD) from the Currency drop-down list.
5. Under Description, enter any details that will help you (or your Climate Smart Advisor, if applicable) understand your data better in the future.
6. When you’re done, click ADD ENTRY. Your entry will appear in the table below.