Hydrocarbon Refrigerants Supplied to Eastern Caribbean States

About 50 people from the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector attended the launch ceremony of Duracool® hydrocarbon refrigerants by SNJ Electrical on 28 January 2012. Mr. Stephan Baldeau, the company’s operations manager, highlighted the need for the products to be used only by technicians who are trained in Good Refrigeration Practices and Hydrocarbon Technologies. He outlined the benefits of using hydrocarbon refrigerants and their long-term desirable characteristics, such as them being non-ozone depleting, non-global warming, cheap and very efficient as a cooling agent, as well as the fact that equipment with hydrocarbons use smaller refrigerant quantities.

Retrofit demonstration of air-conditioners of 3 vehicle types

A product demonstration whereby the mobile air-conditioning systems of cars, sports utility vehicles (SUV) and a large bus were retrofitted to use the hydrocarbon refrigerants, followed the launch ceremony. The owner of the refrigerant supplying company in Grenada, who had already converted the air-conditioner of his retail store to hydrocarbons, went one step further to also convert his SUV.

The results of those retrofits realised lower temperatures – as much as 10 degree Celsius – and significantly lower discharge pressures from the compressors.

Grenada establishes 3 more recovery and recycling centres

At the end of January 2012, the National Ozone Unit of Grenada announced it had established three more recovery and recycling centres bringing the total number of such centres in the country to twenty. The centres, that are established as part of Grenada’s Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) Phase-out Management Plan, will assist about 150 technicians in the islands of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique to carry out good refrigeration practices in the recovery and recycling of refrigerants.

The centres have been supplied by the Grenada Refrigeration Air-conditioning and Ventilating Association (GRAVA) with the following equipment: Recovery Units, Electronic Refrigerant Scales, Electronic Leak Detectors, Electronic Refrigerant Identifiers, Infra-red Thermometers, Recovery/Refillable Cylinders, Vacuum Pumps, Micron Gauges and Hose and Gauge sets.

National Ozone Officer, Mr. Leslie Smith, presented the equipment to the owners of the three workshops during a ceremony held at on 28 January 2012. In his presentation at the ceremony, Mr. Smith highlighted the need for technicians to be trained in Good Refrigeration Practices and to do continuous research to be able to keep abreast with the rapidly emerging new technologies in the refrigeration and air-conditioning sector.

Background

Under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Grenada is required to freeze consumption of hydrocfluorocarbons (HCFCs) in 2013, to reduce consumption by 10% in the year 2015 and to further reduce consumption by 25% in 2020.

The island state of Grenada along with another 107 countries have signed a declaration recognising that the projected increase in the use of HFCs poses a major challenge for the world’s climate system and declaring their intent to pursue further action to transition the world to environmentally sound alternatives to ozone-depleting substances.