The European Standard on Refrigeration Safety, EN 378, is undergoing a revision and a draft version, prEN 378:2026 has been issued for public comment.  One of our Technical Committee members, Steve Benton, presented an overview of the main changes in the draft standard to a meeting at FETA headquarters on Wednesday 16^th July and the notes from the meeting are available here while a summary of the key points of Steve’s presentation can be viewed here. We encourage all members to engage in the consultation process by reading the draft standard and submitting comments through the on-line BSI portal, or by sending comments back to the Institute Technical Committee who will collate the comments and submit them on your behalf.

The closing date for submitting comments online is 26 August – if you want to reply through the technical committee please submit comments to IOR by 19 August.

The BSI online standards review portal instructions and links can be found below. Please also find here the BSI portal user guide.

• To access the public consultation prEN 378 please find below 4 links in green.
• When you click each hyperlink you will be taken to a landing page with a ‘read draft and comment’, push the button in red to access the part
• If you already have an account, then just enter your credentials, log in and the relevant prEN 378 online viewer page will open, if not register, it’s free of charge, you will then be returned to the online viewer page
• On the viewer page you can scroll up and down through the contents (with shortcuts) or within the standard itself on the scroll bars
• Each clause has an Add/View comments link, if you click on this a ‘word like’ screen will open where you can enter your comments and proposed changes (every comment should have a proposal where possible)
• You ‘save’ each comment/proposal as you go (this leaves your comment and proposal in an editable state)
• You need to use the ‘submit’ button to make them public and visible to BSI for the enquiry process
• Alternatively, you can ‘Discard’ the comment if you have changed your mind

Note: Your comments are not finalised until you use the ‘Submit’ button (for each comment), and they are anonymous.

The revised prEN 378 (Parts 1, 2, 3, & 5) standard is now open for public consultation (see links below). The consultation period will remain open until 26 August 2025.

Title: prEN 378-1 - Refrigerating systems and heat pumps. Safety and environmental requirements. Part 1: Basic requirements, definitions, classification and selection criteria

Title: prEN 378-2 - Refrigerating systems and heat pumps. Safety and environmental requirements. Part 2: Design, construction, testing, marking and documentation

Title: prEN 378-3 - Refrigerating systems and heat pumps. Safety and environmental requirements. Part 3: Installation site and personal protection

Title: prEN 378-5 Refrigerating systems and heat pumps. Safety and environmental requirements. Part 5: Safety classification and information about refrigerants.

BSI have made the prEN 378 available in the Knowledge Portal for sale at a reduced price of £20 for non-members and £10 for BSI members per section. 

•  Part 1: prEN 378 1
• Part 2: prEN 378 2
• Part 3: prEN 378 3
• Part 5: prEN 378 5

Please note that this document is structured as a four-part standard. Individual parts may be downloaded separately based on your specific area of interest.