Marco BuoniVicePresident, AREA

Air Conditioning & Refrigeration European contractors’ Association

(www.area-eur.be)

Secretary General Italian Association of Refrigeration Technician, ATF (www.associazioneATF.org)

Present scenario in Refrigeration and

Air conditioning capacity building in Europe,

Class Room Training and Real Alternatives, Gaps

Paris, 11 April 2016

AREAThe indisputable voice of European RACHP contractors

• Funded in 1988 in Brussels, Belgium

• Represents RACHP contractors

• AREA in figures:

22 national member associations

20 countries from EU and beyond

> 9,000 companies (mainly SMEs)

+/- 125,000 work force

+/- € 20 bn annual turnover

Design, installation, maintenance and repair of all Refrigeration,

Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps RACHP systems

AREA Priorities

General objectives

Harmonisation of education & training / certification

Promotion of technical evolutions

Environmental protection / tackling climate change / energy efficiency

Recommendations on and promotion of professional techniques & high-level standards

Key issues

Regulatory aspects

- F-Gas Regulation implementation and review

- Monitoring of Ozone Depleting Substances

- Energy efficiency - Climate change

- Eco-design of energy-related products

Professional standards

- Heat pump installation

- F-gas certification and education

Professional guidance

- Low GWP refrigerants, certification and education

AREA

1. International cooperation in capacity

buildings

2. Gaps following the EU increase in use of

Alternative Refrigerants

3. Available trainings and certification in EU

4. Real Alternatives

Training and certification worldwide • Together with the UN implementing

agencies UNEP, UNIDO, UNDP over

the past few years AREA has been

deeply involved in helping developing

countries through training RSS

technicians to install, repair, maintain

and design RAC systems and

numerous Certification Sessions in

Africa and Asia.

• Pics from top: Rwanda, Former

Soviet Unit Rep, Benin, Gambia,

and also Ghana, Tunisia, Eritrea,

Montenegro, Saudi Arabia, Turkey…

etc…).

AREA

1. International cooperation in capacity buildings

2. Gaps following the EU increase in use of

Alternative Refrigerants

3. Available trainings and certification in EU

4. Real Alternatives

Even in EU, RSS training

with low GWP refrigerants:

Mind the gap! - Survey

EU legislation support to enhanced uptake of low GWP refrigerants (79%

phase down HFCs), the AREA internal survey aimed at:

Assessing the proportion of currently trained RACHP contractors

On the basis of the current training possibilities, what is the

proportion of trained contractors with low GWP refrigerants?

Assessing the current level of training possibilities

What is the training offer available at the moment?

Evaluating the training’s financial impact on RACHP contractors

Direct & indirect costs per type of low GWP refrigerant

Contractors’ training with low GWP

refrigerants: mind the gap!

In EUROPE,

the use of HFCs is legislatively decreased ( by 79% by 2030 )

and consequently the use of alternative refrigerants is pushed,

there will be a gap between training offer and training needs

resulting in a shortage of trained contractors

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• Need for improved skills – especially for CO2 and HFO/low flammable refrigerants

• Retraining to address safety, reliability and leakage

• Assessed and certificated classroom based training, with supporting on line technical information

Same Conclusions

AREA

1. International cooperation in capacity buildings

2. Gaps following the EU increase in use of

Alternative Refrigerants

3. Available trainings and certification in EU

4. Real Alternatives

Training offer in

low GWP refrigerants in EU

List of training providers for Alternative

Refrigerants in EU:

• More than 40 training centres in total• 27 Ammonia

• 22 Hydrocarbons

• 29 CO2

• Only few on HFOs

Training in low GWP refrigerants Training facilities:

• Few in Eastern Europe (with some exceptions, e.g.

ammonia in PL)

• More in Western Europe but many are insufficiently

equipped, thus focusing on theoretical training (N.B.:

facilities in DK and NL are relatively well equipped)

• Usually run by the private sector: guilds, training

centres, sometimes manufacturers or distributors

• Creating a training centre is costly – e.g. €300,000 for

centre on NH3 in NL

REGULATION (EC) 2067/2015 (or EN 133133 becoming ISO)

MINIMUM COMPETENCE OF PERSONNEL

T = THEORETICAL P = PRACTICAL CATEGORIES

DUTIES AND KNOWLEDGE I II III IV

1 Basic thermodynamics T T T

2Environmental impact of refrigerants and corresponding environmental regulations

T T T T

3Checks before putting in operation, after a long period of non-use, after

maintenance or repair intervention, or during operationP P

4 Checks for leakage T/P T/P T/P

5Environment-friendly handling of the system and refrigerant during installation, maintenance, servicing or recovery

P P P

6Component: installation, putting into operation and maintenance of

reciprocating, screw and scroll compressors, single and two-stageP P

7Component: installation, putting into operation and maintenance of air cooled and water cooled condensers

P

8Component: installation, putting into operation and maintenance of air cooled and water cooled evaporators

P

9Component: installation, putting into operation and servicing of Thermostatic Expansion Valves (TEV) and other components

P

10 Piping: building a leak tight piping system in a refrigeration installation P P

11Information on relevant technologies to replace or to reduce the use of

fluorinated greenhouse gases and their safe handling T T T T

Registration and monitoring

In EU, estimate around

500.000 technicians competent and certified

in the 28 EU Members States

for handling refrigerants, mainly HFCs

AREA

1. International cooperation in capacity buildings

2. Gaps following the EU increase in use of

Alternative Refrigerants

3. Available trainings and certification in EU

4. Real Alternatives

Refrigerant Emissions and Leakage-blended learning for

alternative refrigerants in new equipment

safety, efficiency, reliability and containment

REAL Alternatives

e-learning

classroom

practice

e-library

www.realalternatives.eu

Developed as part of a collaborative European funded project to address skills needs in technicians in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sector in:

• Carbon dioxide

• Ammonia

• Hydrocarbon

• Low Flammables (HFO/R32 etc)

Refrigerant Emissions and Leakage-blended learning for alternative refrigerants in new equipment

Addresses safety, efficiency, reliability and containment aspects of service and maintenance.

• Higher system pressures

• Flammability

• Toxicity

Institute of Refrigeration

London South Bank University

Air Conditioning andRefrigeration European

Association

Informationszentrum für Kälte- Klima- und

Energietechnik gGmbH

Foundation forthe Protection of theOzone Layer, Poland

AssociazioneTecnici del

Freddo, Italy

Limburg Catholic University College

With the co-operation of the International Institute of

Refrigeration

EU funded project

Consortium of Expert Partners - INDIPENDENT

Pilot

Testing

Launch

Numbers – Elearning Login

1000 have registered

to use the website

• download

• library/manuals

• booklets

REAL Alternatives blended

learning resources: • free of charge, available for everybody

• flexible learning programmes and schemes for use by individuals, companies or training providers.

• multi-lingual website

• e-learning & booklets study materials in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish

• searchable e-library (over 100 free documents) of resources users can add to

• tracking spreadsheets, report formats and other tools

• standard on-line tests and controlled assessment papers with optional certification

• stakeholders contribute materials and resources

• opportunities for more translations, training programmes etc

Real Alternatives Europe programme modules:

1. Introduction to Alternative Refrigerants - safety, efficiency, reliability and good practice

2. System design using alternative refrigerants

3. Containment and leak detection of alternative refrigerants

4. Maintenance and repair of alternative refrigerant systems

5. Retrofitting existing systems with low GWP alternatives

6. Checklist of legal obligations

7. Measuring the financial and environmental impact of leakage

8. Tools and guidance for conducting site surveys

Learning materials in 8 modules

Multi language e-learning with free registration (English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Dutch)

Each module offers downloadable Learning Booklets (PDF)

Register at the project Website and searchable e-library

8. Member States shall ensure that all natural persons

holding certificates under certification programmes

provided for in paragraphs 1 and 7 have access to

information regarding:

(a) information on relevant technologies to replace or

to reduce the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases and

their safe handling

9. Member States shall ensure the availability of training

for natural persons who wish to update their knowledge in

relation to the matters referred to information on relevant

technologies to replace or to reduce the use of fluorinated

greenhouse gases and their safe handling

Real Alternatives

to comply to EU targets on

Training and Certification

www.realalternatives.eu

EU commission

supports Real

Alternatives uptake(September 2015 Consultation Forum)

THANK YOU!

Email: buoni@centrogalileo.it

Marco BuoniVicePresident, AREA

Air Conditioning & Refrigeration European contractors’ Association

(www.area-eur.be)

Secretary General Italian Association of Refrigeration Technician, ATF (www.associazioneATF.org)