2022
Events and Exhibitions
FRIGAIR 2022 WORKSHOP
AND COURSES ANNOUNCED
By Benjamin Brits
The global drive to phase down ODS and GWP refrigerants and the impact to the local market , South Africa being a signee to the Kigali amendment to the Montreal Protocol that includes legal compliances , led to this year ’ s event theme : Natural Refrigerants .
The theme will be taken on over three days from an educational perspective through several free-to-attend workshops covering technical talks , trends and case studies run by the show owners , the South African Institute for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning ( SAIRAC ).
Please remember space is limited - on the workshop channel it will be based on a first come , first served basis . The programme * schedule is listed as follows – keep an eye out on the official FRIGAIR 2022 website for any programme updates or changes at www . frigairexpo . co . za as well as the electronic communications that will take place during the weeks prior and during the exhibition days .
WORKSHOPS The SAIRAC workshop will fall into slots of one hour each with 40 - 45 minutes talks and an allocation of 10 minutes per session for questions and answers . There will be 11 * workshops over the three days . The programme will include the following talks - not in any particular order :
South African Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association ( SARACCA ) Barney Richardson will present on refrigerant safe handling which covers the processes , training , registration and renewals . This workshop will also cover the levels of registration and responsibilities .
South African Qualification & Certification Committee – Gas ( SAQCC Gas ) This workshop will address online certificates of conformance ( CoCs ) including the processes and procedures involved .
Department of Forestry , Fisheries and the Environment
( DFFE ) Margaret Molefe will discuss the South African signing of the Kigali amendment and phase-down / out of HCFCs and HFCs .
Energy Partners The subject of this talk , presented by Dawie Kriel , is servitisation in refrigeration and how it supports the use of natural refrigerants and shifts the focus sharply to life-cycle cost . Servitisation is a well-known tool in many industries such as photocopiers , Uber and aircraft engines , but in refrigeration it is a relatively new concept and is now known more widely as Cooling as a Service ( CaaS ). Energy Partners started offering their customers CaaS as an option since 2017 . Recently , the Basil Agency for Sustainable Energy ( BASE ), has started a world-wide drive to promote CaaS as a tool to promote the use of natural refrigerants and increased energy efficiency . Kriel will explain how CaaS works in practice , including the advantages to end-users and suppliers . In conclusion , with the use of data from refrigeration systems Energy Partners owns and operates , it will be demonstrated how the lifecycle cost can be optimised and guaranteed when using natural refrigerants in a CaaS project .
Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Academy ( ACRA ) Grant Laidlaw will speak about the status quo of air conditioning and refrigeration training in South Africa . He will also cover the latest qualification outline and address regular questions such as :
• Are natural refrigerants , including flammable hydrocarbons , in the training curriculum ?
• Is R32 included ?
• Is flammable refrigerant training available ?
• How to set up apprenticeships and a workplace register with a SETA .
• Are you obliged to use any particular SETA ?
• About learnerships .
• Qualifying your staff , trade testing .
• Who qualifies for trade testing , what criteria does the applicant need to meet , ie time , scope , qualifications ?
• What process does an applicant / company need to follow ?
• Will there be an ammonia-specific qualification with a trade test ?
• What does the future hold for air conditioning and refrigeration training and trade testing ?
• Special training projects will also be included .
www . hvacronline . co . za RACA Journal I June 2022 21