Safety Standards for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning in the Philippines

The Philippines actively participates in global efforts to standardize refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump (RACHP) regulations. As a member of specific RACHP subcommittees of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the country develops, adopts, and promotes standards, aligning local product safety regulations with IEC standards, adopted as Philippine National Standards (PNS). The Philippines also votes in key environmental standards committee of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). 

This report provides the experience of the Philippines in adopting international safety standards in air condititiong, refrigeration and heat pumps as PNS. Given local manufacturing capabilities on RAC appliances and equipment, the Philippines always used the vertical product standards IEC 60335-2-24 and IEC 60335-2-40 as basis of technical regulations over cooling appliances. Through both phases of the C4 project (C4 & Ca II), the country began adopting ISO 5149  and ISO 817  standards for refrigerants. In preparation for transitioning to low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants under the Kigali Amendments, the Philippines uses standards to safely introduce alternatives, avoiding arbitrary restrictions based on flammability, toxicity or pressure.