In Turkey, operators must register stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning, heat pump and fire protection equipment holding 5 tonnes CO₂ equivalent or more of F-gas in EKOMVET, along with switchgear holding 6 kg or more in a single compartment. The CO₂ equivalent is the nameplate charge times the GWP from the regulation's own annex, divided by 1000. That number then sets the leak check interval, somewhere between 6 and 24 months.
The legal basis is the Regulation on Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases (Florlu Sera Gazlarına İlişkin Yönetmelik), published in the Official Gazette on 15 October 2024, issue 32693. Article 4 says it was prepared to align with EU legislation, taking Regulations (EU) 517/2014 and 2024/573 into account. If you manage EU sites the structure will look familiar. Do not assume the details carry over, though: the Turkish text has its own annex GWP values and its own registry, and that text is what applies to equipment in Turkey. Article references below are to RG 32693.
What EKOMVET is and who enters data
EKOMVET (Ekipman Operatörleri Merkezi Veri Tabanı, the central equipment operators' database) is the electronic database holding the logbooks of the equipment listed in Article 7(1) (Art. 5(1)(ğ)). It is run by the Climate Change Presidency (Art. 7(4)). The operator enters the data. "Operator" means the natural or legal person who actually operates the equipment or owns it (Art. 5(1)(ş)), so in leased buildings the answer depends on the lease.
Certified technicians are part of the workflow. Certified service companies or operators register their certified staff in EKOMVET (Art. 7(2)), and the technician checks each entry the operator makes and approves it if it is correct (Art. 7(3)).
Which equipment is in scope
| Equipment | Registration trigger | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Stationary refrigeration (cold rooms, display cases, industrial) | 5 t CO₂e or more | 7(1)(a) |
| Stationary air-conditioning (split, VRF, chillers, rooftops) | 5 t CO₂e or more | 7(1)(a) |
| Heat pumps | 5 t CO₂e or more | 7(1)(a) |
| Stationary fire protection (gas suppression) | 5 t CO₂e or more | 7(1)(a) |
| Refrigeration units of refrigerated trucks and trailers | 5 t CO₂e or more | 7(1)(a) |
| Organic Rankine cycles | 5 t CO₂e or more | 7(1)(a) |
| Electrical switchgear | 6 kg or more in a single compartment | 7(1)(b) |
Anything not listed in Article 7, such as vehicle air-conditioning, refrigerated vehicles under 3.5 t or portable extinguishers, is outside registration. So are fluorine-free refrigerants: propane, isobutane, ammonia, CO₂. HFOs like R-1234yf appear in Annex 2 as "other fluorinated substances"; because Article 7 refers only to fluorinated greenhouse gases, we do not apply the registration threshold to them. A blend containing an Annex 1 substance, R-454C for example, is a fluorinated greenhouse gas and is tested.
Calculating tonnes CO₂ equivalent
t CO₂e = charge (kg) × GWP / 1000 (Art. 5(1)(şş))
Use the GWP from the regulation's annex, not the one in your corporate inventory. Annex 1 values are based on the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). R-32 is 675 in the annex; under AR6 you would use 771. For the EKOMVET test, 675 applies.
For blends, Annex 4 gives the rule: sum each component's mass fraction times its GWP, with substances not listed in the annexes counted as zero. R-410A is 50% HFC-32 (675) and 50% HFC-125 (3500):
0.50 × 675 + 0.50 × 3500 = 2087.5
Annex 4 sets no rounding rule. We round to the nearest integer, 2088, and show both figures in the calculation trail. The difference at the threshold is one gram: R-410A equipment reaches 5 t at 2.395 kg.
| Gas | GWP (regulation annex) | Charge that reaches 5 t CO₂e |
|---|---|---|
| R-32 | 675 | 7.41 kg |
| R-134a | 1430 | 3.50 kg |
| R-410A | 2088 | 2.395 kg |
| R-404A | 3922 | 1.28 kg |
| HFC-227ea (FM-200) | 3220 | 1.56 kg |
| SF₆ | 22800 | for switchgear the test is kg, not tonnes |
Leak check intervals
| Installed charge | No leak detection system | With leak detection system | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 – 50 t CO₂e | every 12 months | every 24 months | 12(1)(a) |
| 50 – 500 t CO₂e | every 6 months | every 12 months | 12(1)(b) |
| 500 t CO₂e and above | every 6 months | system mandatory | 12(1)(c), 12(4) |
We read the band limits as exclusive at the top: exactly 50 t falls in the second band, exactly 500 t in the third. Hermetically sealed equipment under 10 t CO₂e that is labelled as such is exempt from leak checks (Art. 12(2)). Switchgear is exempt if it carries a label showing a tested leak rate below 0.1% per year, has pressure or density monitoring, or contains less than 6 kg (Art. 12(5)). Leak detection systems are themselves checked every 6 years on switchgear and every 12 months on other equipment (Art. 12(3)). Checks follow the procedure in Annex 5 (Art. 12(7)), and results go into EKOMVET (Art. 12(6)).
Worked example: a small site with four items
Inputs are hypothetical; GWPs are from the regulation's annex.
Chiller, 12 kg R-410A, no leak detection. 12 × 2088 / 1000 = 25.06 t CO₂e. Registration required; 5-50 band, so a leak check every 12 months, or every 24 months once a detection system is fitted (the system itself then needs a 12-monthly check).
Server room gas suppression, 60 kg HFC-227ea. 60 × 3220 / 1000 = 193.2 t CO₂e. Registration required; 50-500 band, every 6 months, or 12 with a detection system.
Cold room, 12 kg R-404A. 12 × 3922 / 1000 = 47.06 t CO₂e. Registration and a 12-month check. There is also a 2031 issue: from 1 January 2031, servicing refrigeration equipment of 40 t CO₂e or more with gases of GWP 2500 or higher is restricted (Art. 14(8)). Some cases, such as servicing with labelled reclaimed or recycled gas, are exempt until 1 January 2033 (Art. 14(9)), and equipment designed to cool below -50 °C is outside the restriction. With R-404A you hit 40 t at about 10.2 kg.
Medium-voltage panel, 0.23 kg SF₆. 0.23 × 22800 / 1000 = 5.24 t CO₂e. Above 5 t, but for switchgear the test is kilograms in a single compartment. Below 6 kg, so no registration (Art. 7(1)(b)) and no leak checks (Art. 12(5)).
One spreadsheet error we have seen on site: a column in tonnes compared against 5000 instead of 5. That form would mark 10 kg of R-404A (39.2 t) as out of scope.
Logbook and the 30-working-day deadlines
Operator obligations sit in Article 18:
- first leak check on new equipment within 30 working days of installation (18(1)(e));
- notification of newly installed charged equipment through EKOMVET within 30 working days (18(1)(h));
- leaks repaired without delay (18(1)(ç)) and a follow-up check within 30 working days of the repair (18(1)(d));
- service work entered in EKOMVET within 30 working days of completion (18(1)(ğ));
- the equipment logbook created in EKOMVET (18(1)(ı)), with a current copy provided to the Presidency on request (18(1)(g)).
We could not find a logbook retention period in RG 32693, so we do not state one. Releasing F-gas to the atmosphere, and disposing of equipment without recovering the gas, is prohibited regardless of charge size (Art. 6(1)).
Certified technicians and companies
Anyone who installs, commissions, services, decommissions, leak-checks or recovers gas from covered equipment needs a Mesleki Yeterlilik Belgesi, Turkey's personal vocational qualification certificate (Art. 16). Third-party companies doing this work on stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning, heat pump or fire protection equipment need a Hizmet Yeterlilik Belgesi issued by TSE under TS 13905 (Art. 17). The operator must use only certified people and companies (Art. 18(1)(a)). Put the technician's certificate number and the EKOMVET approval turnaround into the service contract; the 30-working-day clock runs against you, not the contractor.
Installed gas is not an emission
The EKOMVET figure measures gas sitting inside equipment. Your carbon footprint counts gas that leaked during the year, via a mass balance for ISO 14064-1 Category 1.4: gas added plus charge of decommissioned equipment minus gas recovered. The four items above hold more than 270 t CO₂e between them; if nothing was topped up all year, the leak emission is zero.
How Carbolyt handles it
For a single unit, the free F-gas calculator (Turkish only) returns t CO₂e, the registration test and the leak check interval, each with its article reference. GWPs come from the regulation's annexes, and 34 blends are computed from composition. Results are informational; your EKOMVET record is what counts.
For a full equipment list, the platform imports it from Excel and keeps scope tests, the leak check calendar and the logbook in one register; refills logged there feed the Category 1.4 inventory. EKOMVET entries are made through Turkey's Integrated Environmental Information System, and Carbolyt does not replace that filing. See the regulation overview or book a demo.
Frequently asked questions
Which equipment has to be registered in EKOMVET?
Stationary refrigeration, air-conditioning, heat pumps, stationary fire protection equipment, refrigeration units of refrigerated trucks and trailers, and organic Rankine cycles containing 5 tonnes CO₂ equivalent or more of fluorinated greenhouse gases, plus electrical switchgear containing 6 kg or more in a single compartment (Art. 7(1)).
How is the CO₂ equivalent calculated?
Charge in kg multiplied by the GWP given in the regulation's annex, divided by 1000 (Art. 5(1)(şş)). For blends the GWP is the mass-weighted sum of the components under Annex 4; for R-410A that is 2087.5, rounded to 2088.
How often are leak checks required?
5 to 50 t CO₂e: every 12 months (24 with a leak detection system); 50 to 500 t: every 6 months (12 with a system); 500 t and above: every 6 months, and a leak detection system is mandatory (Art. 12).
Is this the same as the EU F-gas Regulation?
No. The Turkish regulation states that it was prepared for alignment with EU law, taking Regulations (EU) 517/2014 and 2024/573 into account, but the binding text for equipment in Turkey is RG 32693 and its own annex values.
Sources
This article is for information and is not legal advice. Dates and rates reflect the official texts at the time of publication; check the current text before acting.