The demand for refrigeration systems in Africa is increasing. But regulating the industry is a struggle

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — As the sun shines in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, Ahmed Bukar turns on the air conditioning in his home to emit a blast of hot air. The charging valve on the outdoor unit is leaking the cooling gas that powers the unit. A technician recently helped him refill his air conditioner with gas, but he didn’t test for possible leaks.

In Abuja and across Nigeria, air conditioners are sprouting from walls as the unit moves from a middle-class luxury to a necessity in an economy. increasingly hotter climate. The industry is governed by regulations that prohibit the release of refrigerant gases into the air, for example by carrying out leak tests after repairing an appliance. Still, the routine release of gases into the atmosphere due to poor quality installations, unsafe disposal at the end of use or the addition of gas without leak testing is a common problem in Nigeria, although it is illegal.

The gases known as soft drinks that make refrigeration systems work are hundreds to thousands of times greater than the heating power of carbon dioxide and the worst of them also harm the ozone layer. After global agreements that promised to limit the release of these gases into the air, such as Montreal Protocol and Kigali Amendments, Nigeria has enacted regulations that guide the use of these gases. But enforcement is a problem, threatening Nigeria’s commitments to reducing emissions.

“These laws, these rules, nobody enforces them,” said Abiodun Ajeigbe, manager of Samsung’s air conditioning business in West Africa. “I haven’t seen any applications.”

‘I wasn’t taught’

The weak regulatory system for the refrigeration industry in Nigeria is evident in the rampant lack of adequate training and awareness of the environmental damage caused by refrigerants among technicians, according to Ajeigbe. And it’s common to see.

After uninstalling an air conditioner for a client who was moving to another neighborhood, Cyprian Braimoh, a technician in the Karu district of Abuja, casually wasted the unit’s gas into the air, preparing it to be refilled with fresh gas at the new customer location.

If you followed the country’s regulations, you would collect the gas in a container, avoiding or minimizing the environmental damage from the gas. Technicians like Braimoh and those who serviced Bukar’s appliance without testing for leaks are self-employed and have no supervision. But they often get customers because they offer cheaper services.

“I wasn’t taught that; I just release it into the air,” said Braimoh, who originally specialized in building electrical wiring before repairing air conditioners to increase his income options. He received irregular training that did not include the safety standards required for handling soft drinks. And he has not yet performed the tightness test after installing the air conditioning at his client’s new location, which is required by the country’s legislation. refrigeration industry regulations.

Installations carried out by well-trained technicians who follow environmental regulations can be more expensive for customers. This is often the case in Nigeria, where hiring services from companies like Daibauwhich later helped Bukar fix its leaks, could result in higher costs.

Manufacturers offering direct refrigeration and air conditioning installation services to large commercial customers have tried to self-regulate with safety training and certifications for their technicians, Ajeigbe said.

Potent greenhouse gases

According to industry professionals and public records, the most common air conditioners in Africa still use what is known as R-22 gas. This refrigerant is less harmful to the ozone layer compared to older and even more harmful refrigerants called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). CFCs have been largely phased out, thanks to the 1987 Montreal Protocolwhich was created to protect the ozone layer, the vital shield in the atmosphere that protects against cancer-causing ultraviolet rays.

But R-22 is 1,810 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Just one pound of the refrigerant is almost as potent as a ton of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas, but while CO2 can stay in the atmosphere for more than 200 years, R-22 stays in the atmosphere for about 12 years. R-22 air conditioners are also low energy efficient and most of the electricity that powers them in Africa comes from fossil fuels.

Nigeria plans to phase out R-22 refrigerant by January 1, 2030. But with lax enforcement, meeting the phase-out target is doubtful, Ajeigbe said.

Newer air conditioners that use a family of gases called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) don’t harm ozone and use less electricity. But HFCs are still potent greenhouse gases and are responsible for about 2% of all human-caused warming in the atmosphere.

An HFC, R-410A, which is still a common refrigerant in Europe and the United States, has a warming potential 2,088 times that of carbon dioxide and lasts about 30 years in the atmosphere. Air conditioners that run on it are the next most common in Africa.

Another HFC, R-32, is 675 times more powerful than CO2, lasts around five years in the atmosphere and is more energy efficient. But it is only “marginally” in the African market, Ajeigbe said.

Air conditioners that run on HFC are more expensive, which means they are less popular than more polluting ones, according to sellers and technicians in Abuja and Lagos.

A wider problem

It’s not just Nigeria. In Ghana, the refrigeration industry also struggles to get technicians to comply with environmental standards.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “prevailing poor maintenance practices” in the country are largely driven by consumers, who choose poorly trained technicians due to price considerations and neglect recommended standards.

In Kenya, demand for refrigeration systems is growing as temperatures rise, the population grows and access to electricity expands. Air conditioners that run on R-22 are still very common in Kenya, but the National Environmental Management Authority told the Associated Press that there have been no new imports since 2021, in line with 2020 regulations.

Regulations require technicians who handle refrigerants and refrigeration appliances to obtain a license, but this is not enforced, technicians told the AP, leaving room for environmentally unsafe practices.

“You just need to be well trained and start the installations, it is a very simple industry for those of us who make a living in it,” said Nairobi-based technician Jeremiah Musyoka.

A refrigeration gas that is energy efficient and less harmful to the atmosphere, R-290, is slowly gaining traction as an alternative for refrigeration and air conditioning in developed markets like the EU. O demand for efficient heat pumps is expanding rapidly in the EU, but adoption in Africa remains negligible due to cost barriers and limited awareness.

Countries such as Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya have also identified R-290 to replace HFCs, but models that use it are not commercially available. And they still need to worry about specialized training for technicians due to the high flammability of R-290.

“I am concerned that there is not enough training and that existing regulations are not enforced,” said Ajeigbe, the Samsung manager. But he said imposing a ban on imports of banned gases and the devices that use them would make a difference.

Anastasia Akhigbe, senior regulatory officer at Nigeria’s National Environmental Standards and Regulations Agency, added that raising awareness among home appliance importers, technicians and consumers about the environmental impacts of certain refrigerants would also help.

“Enforcement is a known challenge, but we are moving forward gradually,” Akhigbe said.

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AP reporter Evelyne Musambi in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

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