An 800-pound R-123 chiller cooling an office building has leaked above the 10% rate. Under 40 CFR 82.157(g), how often must leak inspections be done?
Once per calendar year. Comfort-cooling appliances that exceed their leak rate are inspected annually, however large the charge, until leak rate calculations show they have stayed under the rate for one year.
- Once per calendar year, until it stays under the rate for one yearCorrect answer
- Once every three months, until four quarters in a row are under the rate
- Once a month, until the chiller is retired
- Only once, right after the repair
Why “Once per calendar year, until it stays under the rate for one year” is correct
For comfort cooling and other appliances, 40 CFR 82.157(g)(1)(iii) calls for a leak inspection once per calendar year after the appliance exceeds its leak rate. The inspections continue until leak rate calculations show it has not exceeded the rate for one year.
Source: 40 CFR 82.157(g)
Why the other answers are wrong
- Once every three months, until four quarters in a row are under the rate — Quarterly inspections apply to commercial and industrial process refrigeration of 500 pounds or more, not comfort cooling.
- Once a month, until the chiller is retired — No monthly schedule appears in the rule.
- Only once, right after the repair — The rule requires inspections to continue until the appliance has stayed under its leak rate for a year.
The source, word for word
For comfort cooling appliances and other appliances not covered by paragraphs (g)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section, leak inspections must be conducted once per calendar year until the owner or operator can demonstrate through the leak rate calculations required under paragraph (b) of this section that the appliance has not leaked in excess of the applicable leak rate for one year.
Why charge size does not change the answer here
The common mistake is applying the 500-pound quarterly schedule to every large chiller. That schedule is written only for commercial and industrial process refrigeration, so an 800-pound chiller cooling an office stays on the annual schedule. The quarterly schedule has the full comparison.
What matters is what the appliance does. Comfort cooling means air conditioning that controls heat or humidity in occupied facilities such as residential, office and commercial buildings, and EPA's definition names chillers, commercial split systems and packaged rooftop units (40 CFR 82.152).
Other numbers that change with the category
Comfort cooling also has the lowest trigger under Part 82: 10 percent, against 20 percent for commercial refrigeration and 30 percent for industrial process refrigeration (40 CFR 82.157(c)(2)). A certified technician must do the inspection (40 CFR 82.157(g)(2)).
Keep practicing
- EPA leak repair rules
- How often leak inspections are required at 500 pounds or more
- The leak rate that applies to cold storage
- EPA 608 Type 3 practice test
- EPA 608 Type 3 mock exam
Unofficial, not affiliated with the EPA or any EPA-approved certifying organization. Questions are original practice written from public EPA material, not real exam questions.