The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), Dr Adeleke Mamora, has decried that air conditioners (ACs) utilised in Nigeria have lower energy efficiency ratio (EER).
Mamora said this at a one-day National Stakeholders’ Consultative Workshop on Energy Efficient and Climate-Friendly Cooling in Nigeria, organised by the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), yesterday in Abuja.
He also said such ACs are below internationally acceptable minimum energy performance standards (MEPS), adding that the importance of the workshop on scaling up energy-efficient and climate-friendly cooling in Nigeria could not be over-emphasised.
“It is a fact that Nigeria is the largest market in Africa and this applies to the cooling sector also.
“With the current growing population, combined with improving lifestyle, urbanisation and rising global warming, Nigeria will continue to experience growing demand for ACs, refrigerators and other cooling devices, thus, becoming one of the fastest growing ACs and refrigerators market in the world.
“Unfortunately, most of the ACs utilised in the country have an energy efficiency ratio (EER) below internationally acceptable minimum energy performance standards (MEPS),” Mamora said.
He said that Nigeria, through its National Energy Policy and Climate Protocols, has joined the rest of the world to recognise energy efficiency as one of the most cost-effective means of providing energy security.
The minister said it would also increase economic productivity, reduce local air pollution, and help mitigate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
According to him, its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), an unconditional greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction target of 20% and a conditional reduction target of 47% below the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario by 2030 were set.
Mamora said: “To achieve this, energy efficiency best practices across all sectors, as one of the climate change mitigating priority measures, has set a conditional target of 2.5 per cent per year reduction in energy intensity.”
Unfortunately, most of the ACs utilised in the country have energy efficiency ratio (EER) below internationally acceptable minimum energy performance standards (MEPS).
Energy audit
The Director-General of Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) Prof. Eli Jidere, said 80% of electricity supplied in Nigeria is from fossil energy, the greatest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.
He said ECN with the support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), had in 2017 conducted an energy audit of selected public buildings in Abuja.
According to him, the study showed that over 60% of electricity consumed in public buildings was from space cooling.
Jidere said: “The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 on ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all is also anchored on the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency as key pillars.”
A United Nations Environment Programme expert (UNEP), Brian Hojul, said: “I view this as an opportunity for us not only to improve the lives of everyday families to help a family save money on their utility bills.
“It will make your businesses more competitive. It will save public resources instead of the ECN and others spending so much on electricity bills free up those resources for other investments,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister inaugurated a National Technical Committee on Sustainable Cooling in Nigeria.
The committee comprises the Energy Commission of Nigeria, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Federal Ministry of Environment (Dept. of Climate Change (DCC), the National Ozone Office (NOO}), the Nigerian Customs and representatives of the organised private sector.
The committee is expected to provide general guidance to the project’s implementation with focus on data collection, data analysis for updating MEPS, the ACs market monitoring and verification training. (NAN)
