ATLANTA, Georgia, United States, 13 July 2020: The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) launched its latest guidance document supporting domestic and commercial refrigeration manufacturers seeking to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ASHRAE said through a Press release. The project is funded by the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program (K-CEP) and supported by International Copper Association (ICA), ASHRAE added.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, ASHRAE said, the study will be launched through a webinar, which will present the outcomes of the project and provide insight into how to use the guidance document, analyse changes in manufacturing, evaluate technical and financial options for energy-efficient refrigeration equipment and calculate associated emission reductions. ASHRAE will host the webinar towards an inclusive and sustainable industrial development.

The new study, ASHRAE said, sets out a methodology and tools for manufacturers to understand cost and net benefits for different energy-efficient refrigeration design options and the required manufacturing line upgrades.

The COVID-19 outbreak, AHSRAE said, has disrupted cold value chains, which are critical for the distribution of foods and vaccines. The refrigeration and air conditioning sector is currently responsible for around 17% of global electricity consumption and, in some developing countries, even exceeds 40% of the national electricity demand, ASHRAE noted. In order to reduce the impact on health and the environment, it is vital to improve the energy efficiency of the refrigeration systems and to adopt refrigerants that have zero- or low-climate impact, ASHRAE said.

As an implementing agency of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, UNIDO is supporting its Member States which phase-out the use of ozone-depleting and global-warming substances in the cooling sector, ASHRAE said in the release. The amendment to the Montreal Protocol, in 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, has led to the creation of the Kigali Cooling Efficiency Program, which aims to help increase energy efficiency (EE) of cooling in developing countries, ASHRAE said. This unique K-CEP-funded project, “Assessment of incremental capital and operating costs for improved EE in domestic, commercial and retail refrigeration”, looked at manufacturers in five countries and characterized them using a Manufacturer Development Index (MDI), which takes into account: Manufacturer development capacity; Manufacturer production volume; Manufacturer proximity to, and relationship with, component’s original equipment manufacturers (OEM); Market maturity; and Country’s energy-efficiency score.

Manufacturers are now able to ascertain which changes to their offerings can be taken cost effectively, ASHRAE noted. The simulation software, named Commercial Refrigeration Analysis (CERA)[1], gives visual modelling of the changes in components, the benefit in energy efficiency and the cost involved in promoting green design and, thus, keeping the product competitive in the long term, ASHRAE said. A record of the changes made, enable scenarios and costings to be formed into a “board room ready” style presentation (see www.unido.org/cera) ASHRAE said.

“Many companies in Article 5 countries are missing suitable guidance and opportunities for knowledge transfer when trying to meet global climate goals,” said IINO Fukuya, Department of Environment, UNIDO, in Vienna, Austria. “This guidance document introduces practical ways to calculate and cost the changes needed for their product and factory footprint to comply with both international agreements and national legislation.”

Lead author and presenter, Omar Abdelaziz, Member, ASHRAE and Assistant Professor of Thermofluids, Zewail City of Science and Technology, said: “The outcomes of the project provide insight into how to analyze changes in manufacturing, evaluate technical and financial options for energy-efficient products and calculate associated emission reductions. We hope manufacturers and service providers that need help to change their products and factories in today’s competitive marketplace can rely on the project guidance document and consultants familiar with the work to improve products’ energy efficiency and reduce emissions.”

According to ASHRAE, the following are the Webinar details:

Webinar date and time: 22 July 2020, 15:00-16:30 CEST

Click here, free of charge, to register: https://www.ashrae.org/2020onlinejuly22

Recordings will be available on ASHRAE Global Training Centre website following the webinar.

^[1] CERA is originally developed by the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory of the United States Department of Energy (DOE).