S R C C Alternatives to H F s in the efrigeration and Air Conditioning Sector ection 01 21 [IEA, SATORU KOIZUMI, 2007] evaluated the impact on energy consumption of increased efficiency requirements in Article 5 countries. The report gave the example of Ghana, an Article 5 country which imports its AC equipment and needs stronger national energy efficiency requirements. It demonstrated why the efficiency of installed equipment in the country is lower than that of the equipment available on the market. Su mmary Alternatives to HCFCs There is not and will most likely never be one refrigerant that can be used to replace all HCFC applications, since the use is so widespread and the requirement for better energy efficiency will result in an increased demand to adapt the technologies to the actual operating conditions. Each system, or at least each type of system, needs to be evaluated from several perspectives to find the environmentally and technically best option that can be used safely at an acceptable investment and operating cost. W hen evaluating the impact of RAC equipment on the climate, the direct GWGWP of the refrigerant used as well 1.4 Alternatives to HCFCs in air conditioning and refrigeration Fig. 1.6 Development of energy efficiency of AC equipment in Japan. 6.0 5.0 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 EE R 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Fig. 1.5 Development of energy efficiency of AC equipment in Ghana. The country has no domestic equipment production. 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 EE R In comparison, Japan, which has clear and strict energy efficiency requirements, showed a rapid improvement of energy efficiency despite the fact that from the beginning the country already had a significantly better performance rate than Ghana. The Japanese air conditioners used 50% less electricity than those installed in Ghana. The expected rapid increase in use of air conditioning systems in many Article 5 countries will result in drastically higher electricity consumption. The use of low efficiency equipment will be costly in terms of energy consumption. Furthermore, the often weak infrastructure used in producing and distributing electricity will be frequently overloaded by excessive energy demands coming from high air conditioning loads. An introduction of efficiency requirements and labelling schemes to improve efficiency is vital for Article 5 countries. For Ghana, an enforcement of minimum energy standards in installed air conditioning units was estimated to reduce the country’s total need for generated electrical power by 8%. The report contains an evaluation of barriers and possible counter-measures to introduce higher efficiency equipment.