Certification exercise to regularise refrigeration sector
THE Heating Energy Ventilation Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Association of Zimbabwe (HEVACRAZ) has embarked on a certification exercise for its technicians as part of efforts to regularise the sector that has been flooded by non-professionals. This certification process will also ensure that technicians from Zimbabwe can work in other countries.
In an interview during the World Refrigeration Day celebrations held in Hwange recently, HEVACRAZ national chairperson, Mr Cain Manyukwa, said the certification process is meant to regularise the refrigeration and air conditioning sector. The exercise is being implemented across Sadc states.
“Our industry is being regulated heavily as seen in the SI 49 of 2022, which governs this and has necessitated the certification of technicians right across the country. This is not only a Zimbabwean issue but a global one. Even at the Sadc level, we have come up with the initiative to certify our technicians,” said Mr Manyukwa.
“So, you don’t have to go through these processes but all you need to do is produce your card and they check on the Sadc website or database to see if you are trained. This certification is going to help us regulate our industry and regularise operations because we now have many people who have not trained joining our industry.”
Mr Manyukwa said the exercise is important as it involves training in the use of new technologies since dangerous refrigerants are being phased out in light of climate change.
“We are moving to natural gases which are hydrocarbons like R600 and R290. These are highly flammable and we have had deaths while others lost property in the past because people had been working with equipment without knowledge on how to handle the refrigerants,” he said.
Mr Manyukwa said as an industry they were also working with climate mitigation departments and ministries of Environment and Energy as well as the National Ozone Unit.
“There is a standard that came recently on energy efficiency called the Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS), which has to do with the amount of power or consumption a unit can consume,” he said
Mr Manyukwa said there are regulations on domestic appliances such as fridges and air conditioners. A number of training workshops have been rolled out by the association as part of strategies to embrace innovations and developing technologies in the industry while enabling technicians to be knowledgeable and proficient in terms of saving money, lives and property.
Mr Manyukwa, who is also the Sadc Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Association (RAC) president, said the association is advocating for the phasing out of refrigerants used in refrigeration and air conditioning that are contributing to ozone depletion.
“We have had to phase out hydrofluorocarbons and refrigerants such as R22, which carry very high ozone depletion potential. Right now, in air-conditioning, we are using R32,” he said.
“In refrigeration, our preparedness has been top-notch through the Ozone Unit, which has been capacitating our technicians with the knowledge to handle the new refrigerants and to also recover. We are pushing for the recovery of those refrigerants with high global warming and ozone depletion potential.”
Mr Manyukwa said carbon trading will enable these recovered refrigerants to be taken at a cost or incentive to encourage people to recover refrigerants instead of vending them.
HEVACRAZ, which is a member of the Sadc Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Association (RAC), was founded two years ago. The organisation seeks to make it mandatory that practitioners keep abreast with new technological developments, discoveries and innovations. It resonates with the aspirations of the National Development Strategy 1 on structural transformation and productivity improvements through resuscitation and revival of the economy and re-engagement of the international community.
The association is registered and affiliated with the National Ozone Unit (NOU) under the Ministry of Environment.-chroncile
