Events and Exhibitions
John Ackermann came on stage and livened up the room sharing
a short story about how he was first introduced to natural
refrigerants. Ackermann is adamant that going the natural
refrigerants route is the only option. “And there are many options
that such a refrigerant offers, there is, water, air, ammonia, CO 2 ,
hydrocarbons and liquid nitrogen. So, there is no reason why
anyone would be sceptical.
“We’d better start doing it today; we have only got one option
and that means natural refrigerants, no matter which way you look
at it,” Ackermann said.
Ammonia is used in the industrial sector in South Africa, while
there are more than 300 CO 2 systems installed, both subcritical
and transcritical. No synthetic refrigerants are produced in South
Africa or anywhere else in Africa, so African countries rely solely on
imports. As a result, they will have to follow the rest of the world
as it bans and phases out f-gases, or risk a ‘day zero’ for synthetic
refrigerants, Ackermann said. A day zero would be detrimental to
many other sectors, affecting industries like mining, food supply
and healthcare.
Ammonia is the most developed natural refrigerant technology
in South Africa, focused on the industrial sector. “The expertise of
ammonia here in this country matches the expertise anywhere else
in the world,” he said. “On ammonia, we’ve got the skills, we’ve got
the knowledge.”
Adopting CO 2 technology has taken longer in South Africa.
“We started off with a bit of a slow start in 2008, mainly in the
supermarket industry and the wholesale industry, and now
transcritical is becoming more popular,” Ackermann explained,
before adding that “CO 2 at the moment is the dominant
[refrigerant] in the retail supermarket sector.”
He stressed that an “enormous amount of research” is being
done on natural refrigerants to develop the technologies and
address inherent challenges like toxicity and flammability.
According to Ackermann, the way forward to changing to
natural refrigerants will require safety awareness campaigns,
a comprehensive skills training programme, buy in from
government in their own installations and lastly, compliance with
standards and regulations.
Apart from technical challenges Ackermann spoke of more
generic barriers, like public apathy to the climate crisis. “Believe it
or not, there are still people in our society that say ‘huh, yeah, it’s
getting a bit hot eh?’” he joked.
Ackermann also accused the air conditioning industry of having
a “convenient” lack of awareness of natural refrigerants, and a lack
of innovation.
End-users in attendance from Spar, Pick n Pay, Woolworths,
etc. shared their experience with transitioning to a natural
refrigerant. The underlying response that Ackermann highlighted
from all their presentations is that, none of them have lost money
from going green.
www.hvacronline.co.za
An exhibition was held during the conference featuring some of
the industry leading companies.
Attendees were interactive in sharing their experience with
natural refrigerants, asking thought-provoking questions and
giving advice.
FRIGAIR 2021
shecco will be part of FRIGAIR 2021 and looks forward to another
interactive discussion around the topic.
FRIGAIR 2021 takes place 9-11 June 2021 at Gallagher
Convention Centre, Midrand, Johannesburg. With exhibition
space measuring around 3 300m 2 , close to 40 companies have
booked their spot! Don't blow hot and cold on this one: use this
excellent opportunity to generate sales, gain valuable sales leads,
and develop business connections.
FRIGAIR 2021 will run under the theme ‘Showcasing the
crucial role played by the HEVAC&R industry and the rapidly
developing technology in eco-friendly efficiency’.
Visit www.frigairexpo.co.za for regular updates. RACA
BOOK YOUR STAND
AFRICA’S LARGEST HEATING, VENTILATION, AIR CONDITIONING,
REFRIGERATION & ENERGY EVENT EXPO
From July 2019, FRIGAIR 2021 is officially open for new
bookings. Contact Dale Macnamara to book your spot, or for
more information, email: [email protected]. Space is
limited, so book now to avoid disappointment!
* With input from Shecco.
RACA Journal I May 2020
17