Colombia. The new Technical Regulation for Thermal Installations (RETSIT by its acronym in Spanish) was formalized by Resolution 40773 of the Ministry of Mines and Energy. According to the Colombian authorities, the objective is to guarantee the safety of citizens, the preservation of the environment and the improvement of energy performance.
The regulation establishes the requirements that must be met by thermal installations for air conditioning, refrigeration, and production and distribution of thermal energy through districts in the country; acting within the guidelines set out in bodies such as the Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment.
For example, Title I defines the responsibilities of those who design, build, operate, and maintain these infrastructures.
Meanwhile, Title II includes specific provisions on aspects such as the assembly of pipes and components, maximum allowable levels of pressure, resistance and airtightness tests, among others. Below, the requirements for the commissioning and operation of thermal districts are described, as well as the conditions for the distribution of thermal energy. The full document is available online.
It should be noted that the RETSIT applies to new thermal installations, to the extensions that are made to them and to the people who carry out activities in the infrastructure that is the subject of the regulation.
How did the standard come about?
The initiative was accompanied and supported by the government strategy called Thermal Districts in Colombia, which is the product of the articulated work between agencies and entities such as UNIDO, SECO, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
This joint work allowed the revision and updating of the draft document, developed during Phase 1 of the Thermal Districts project, prior to the dissemination of the version for public consultation, at the national level.
The different levels of the HVAC industry and the companies that have been developing thermal districts in Colombia also participated.
