Africa's first climate and environmentally friendly air-conditioning chiller has been installed at the nearly Zero Emission Building in Accra, Ghana. The chiller uses the natural refrigerant R290 and is mainly powered by a photovoltaic system, setting a new standard for sustainable construction.
Under the GIZ project Sustainable Energy for Climate Protection(SustainE4Climate) (Ouvrira une nouvelle fenêtre) in cooperation with the Energy Commission of Ghana (Ouvrira une nouvelle fenêtre), the first climate and environmentally friendly Air-Conditioning (AC) chiller in entire Africa has been installed. The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) provided funding for the project, which was implemented by GIZ in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy and the Energy Commission.
The chiller was installed at the nearly Zero Emission Building (nZEB) in Accra and has a cooling capacity of 115 kW. The chiller uses the natural refrigerant R290, which has almost zero climate impact. Moreover, R290 also does not have any negative environmental impacts because it is PFAS free and does not break down to TFA. R290 also provides great thermodynamic properties in terms of energy efficiency, even in tropical climate zones like Ghana. The chiller is mainly powered by a photovoltaic system that is installed at the nZEB, minimizing the indirect emissions and thus setting a pioneering example for sustainable construction.