- The AC testing chamber facility can potentially reduce electricity demand resulting from cooling in commercial residential and industrial buildings.
- SON plans to expand its efforts by procuring equipment for testing the quality and efficiency of other renewable energy and energy-efficient appliances.
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has commissioned a Bioclimatic Testing Chamber for Air Conditioners (AC) to ensure that products manufactured in the country or imported meet quality standards and efficiency to help consumers reduce and save energy costs. The facility, commissioned on September 21, 2023, in Lagos, is supported by the European Union (EU) and BMZ within the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) framework.
The NESP is a technical assistance programme co-founded by the EU and the BMZ and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power (FMP). According to SON, once the facility is fully operational, there will be improvement in the quality and efficiency of both domestically manufactured and imported ACs in the Nigerian market.
It added that the facility has the potential to reduce electricity demand resulting from cooling in commercial residential and industrial buildings. “The facility is equipped to test the seasonal energy ratio cooling capacity of up to 20kw, compressor quality and efficiency of other renewable energy, and other power, pressure, and temperature requirements,” SON stated.
The director-general of SON, Mallam Farouk Salim, represented by the director of product Certification, Tersoo Orngudwem, commended its partners for their efforts in supporting the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency sector. He assured them that the agency would utilise it for the set goal of compliance testing.
He added that SON plans to also expand its efforts through the procurement of equipment for testing the quality and efficiency of other renewable energy and energy-efficient appliances. The permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Temitope Fashedemi, charged the organisation to intensify its monitoring and enforcement of standards to prevent the influx of substandard cooling devices.