Grenada technicians train on NatRefs in Germany

Thanks to collaboration between Germany and the Caribbean nation of Grenada, two local technicians have returned to Grenada after an October training session on natural refrigerants in Germany.

They went abroad to complete a two-week training programme on using natural refrigerant-based HVAC&R technologies. A total of five Grenadian technicians have now taken the trip to Europe.

Upon their return they paid a visit to Leslie Smith, national ozone officer in Grenada’s NOU (National Ozone Unit), to report on their experience. They will now share their knowledge with other technicians to increase the number of technicians trained on natural refrigerants.

The C4 (Cool Contributions fighting Climate Change) project, executed by the NOU with the support ofthe German Federal Ministry for the Environment, will train more Grenadian technicians in the coming years. Five technicians have already been selected to attend next year’s training programme.

The aim of the project is to expose and train local technicians on the handling of low-GWP flammable refrigerants. The programme covers natural refrigerants such as hydrocarbons.

“The policy of the NOU in the phasing out of HCFCs is to transition to a longer term refrigerant/technology alternative, that has zero ODP, zero/negligible GWP, and is energy-efficient,” said Smith.

Two fisheries in Grenada recently switched from HFC systems to ammonia ones.

“The idea is to use natural refrigerants in all applications where applicable. This includes other applications such as domestic, commercial and industrial refrigeration,” he said.

“Over the last year, two major government fisheries complexes have transitioned from HFCs to ammonia as the refrigerant used.”

Projects underway in Grenada to facilitate technician training include:

• Cool Contributions fighting Climate Change (C4): Project with approximately 30 hydrocarbons-based air-conditioning demonstration sites.
• Capacity building and training on international standards.
• Hydrocarbons demonstration caravan.
• Regional project on the safe handling of low-GWP flammable refrigerants.

On 25 August Grenada opened a pilot training centre equipped with two hydrocarbons-based air-conditioning units as part of a regional demonstration project implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The demonstration essentially compared the energy performance of similar-sized air-conditioning units using R22, R410A and R290. The results revealed that the propane unit consumed the lowest amount of energy.

Leslie Smith was among 24 people to receive an award for ‘policy and implementation leadership’ organised by the Ozone Secretariat in collaboration with the Government of Canada to commemorate the 30^th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, awarded during the recent Meeting of the Parties in Montreal, Canada.