UN OzonAction Releases HC Training Video

The United Nations Environment OzonAction Programme has released two refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) training videos, including one on flammable refrigerant safety and a second on HVAC&R techniques, safety and best practices.

Both videos are part of the The OzonAction Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Technician Video Series, developed by the United Nations Envieonment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with Bundesfachschule Kälte Klima Technik, a Maintal, Germany-based group specializing in refrigeration technology education.

According to the UNEP announcement flyer, the series consists of “instructional videos on techniques, security and best practice and flammable refrigerant safety.”

The video on flammable refrigerant safety can be found here. It contains detailed sections on working with flammable refrigerants, with an emphasis on hydrocarbons. 

It also recommends personal protective equipment (PPE), such as personal gas detectors suitable for hydrocarbons, and warns against retrofitting hydrocarbon-based refrigeration in systems not originally designed for them.  

The video also contains a section on transporting flammable refrigerants, necessary safety preparations before working with them, as well as some of the specific safety systems of hydrocarbon-based refrigerants.

The video on techniques, safety, and best practice can be found here. It contains detailed sections on common tools of HVAC&R professions and their uses, as well instructions for how to perform regular safety checks, such as leak detection. 

It also demonstrates best practice methods for refrigerant charging, refrigerant recovery, and connecting refrigeration units to a manifold gauge.

Response to app

The new videos were made in response to the success of UNEP’s OzonAction smartphone application, the “RAC Technician Video Series” app, according to the flyer.

The original app specialized in shorter videos on individual topics, and formed part of “OzonAction’s portfolio of activities and tools to help enhance the knowledge and skills of technicians in the servicing and maintenance of refrigeration and air-conditioning systems,” said the flyer.

The current videos are longer, with a more general outlook. According to the flyer, this makes them suitable for education purposes.

Rather than replace formal technical education, “they are intended to serve as a complementary training tool for refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) sector servicing technicians to help them revise and retain the skills they have acquired during hands-on training.”

Further information on the videos can be found at the OzonAction Youtube channel.