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Refrigeration costs to rise as manufacturers ditch HFCs, adopt safer gases

Saturday October 22 2016
fridge

Africa is one of the largest commercial markets for refrigeration and air conditioning units. The world agreed to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), gases that are harmful to the environment, mainly used in the manufacturing of refrigerators and air conditioning units. PHOTO | FILE

Last week the world agreed to phase out the use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), gases that are harmful to the environment, mainly used in the manufacturing of refrigerators and air conditioning units.

But the historic decision will come at a price, with consumers expected to pay more for devices that use HFCs; it will cost manufactures about $230 million to redesign their manufacturing plant to accommodate the use of alternatives.

The agreement was reached in Kigali by more than 200 countries that amended the Montreal Protocol, agreeing to phase out consumption of HFCs by 2019 for developed countries. Developing countries will follow suit starting 2024.

With the agreement, the world will avoid emissions of more than 70 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent HFC, thus preventing a 0.5 degree Celsius increase in global warming by the end of the century.

Some manufacturers have said that the alternative gas would impact insulation pricing as the input materials are more expensive and the manufacturing process more complicated.

Top global companies that manufacture air conditioning units and refrigerators include LG and Samsung from South Korea, Japan’s Hitachi and Daikin, and India’s Voltas. The companies have spent billions of dollars researching alternatives after anticipating the phasing out of the use of HFCs.

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“Given that no decision on the alternatives has been brought forward, and countries like India want to accelerate the push for business considerations, manufacturers could increase the price as they seek funds for alternative research on safer gases,” said Andrew Mokin, a researcher with Green Climate.

Africa is one of the largest commercial markets for refrigeration and air conditioning units. In East Africa, Kenya imported $48 million worth of units last year, up from $11.9 million 10 years ago. Uganda’s imports stood at $18.3 million last year, up from $8.4 million a decade ago. Imports into Tanzania tripled in 10 years, from $15.2 million to $46.2 million last year.

Rwanda plans to phase out HFCs from January 2017. Other EAC member states set an early phase out from 2020 to 2022, and a freeze date of 2024.

Despite the rise in the use of HFCs, Africa has contributed little to the world’s carbon emissions, pegged at less than three per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in the past three decades. Yet the continent remains most vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

Over a similar period the average temperatures have increased by five per cent necessitating the need of air conditioning units in most modern building designs.

Rising temperatures

Peter Kamwaro, an energy consultant at the United Nations Environment Programme, says that in the 1980s, architects designed buildings with windows and ventilation vents.

“With rising temperatures due to climate change, this is not enough and almost all new buildings in cities now come with air-conditioning units as part of their standard design. They are now a necessity rather than a luxury,” Mr Kamwaro said.

More than 5,000 suppliers in Europe now use carbon dioxide and ammonia in their fridges as an alternative to HFC. Four years ago, Indian manufacturer Godrej & Boyce developed a range of air-conditioning systems that use the natural refrigerant propane.

On the sidelines of the Kigali meeting last week, Stephen Yurek, the president of the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, said that while the freeze dates and step down levels are ambitious, the industry is confident it can meet them and continue to provide quality, innovative, energy efficient products and equipment.

“The agreement is just the first step of the process. Our industry is doing the research on the HFC alternatives that will be used in the world’s air conditioners, heat pumps, and refrigeration equipment, and getting that right is certainly as important as reaching agreement,” Mr Yurek said.

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