Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Basics Level 3

About this module

Level 3 is where you stop being the person who fixes one fridge and become the person who makes sure the whole cold chain works, legally and safely.

Who it is for. People who have finished Level 2, or can show the same skills, and who want to supervise cooling work, advise a business on its cold chain, or start a cooling service business that employs or partners with certified technicians. Ghana's TVET framework places National Proficiency II below National Certificate I. This module is written at an advanced level, comparable to National Certificate I; that comparison is the author's judgement, not a CTVET ruling.

CTVET status. No official CTVET or NVTI syllabus, grade structure or exam fee for Refrigeration and Air Conditioning was found by the author. This module is not a CTVET curriculum. Ask CTVET (ctvet.gov.gh) or NVTI which grades exist.

THE SAFETY AND LEGAL GATE (it never changes at any level).

Refrigerant work is for EPA-certified technicians only. The Environmental Protection Agency says the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technicians Certification Regulations (L.I. 2503, 2025) are in force and cover installing, servicing, decommissioning and handling natural and flammable refrigerants. The EPA has warned that technicians without certification will not be allowed to work in the field and that the law lets the EPA fine or arrest offenders. I could not read the full text of L.I. 2503, so no fine amount is quoted here.
You must NOT open, charge, top up, vent, recover, braze or evacuate any refrigerant circuit, use manifold gauges on a live system, pierce or cut pipes, or replace a compressor, condenser, evaporator or capillary tube. At Level 3 you learn to recognise, plan, supervise, check and hire for these tasks, not to do them.
Wiring of premises is for certified electrical wiring professionals (CEWPs). Under Ghana's Electrical Wiring Regulations only certified persons may wire premises. You may work on the appliance side of the plug; you may not add sockets, change breakers or run new circuits.
Flammable refrigerants (R600a, R290 and, in many new splits, mildly flammable R32) need special rules.

A Level 3 manager who tells an uncertified helper to "just add a little gas" has broken the law and put a life at risk. Do not do it, and do not let anyone you supervise do it.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

How the four parts of the cycle work, and that a fridge moves heat rather than making cold
Safe isolation, discharging a capacitor through a resistor, never working live
Fault-finding trees for fridges, freezers and split ACs; testing relays, overloads, PTCs and capacitors
Clean coils, filters, drains and door seals; reading nameplates and star labels
Supervised help with split installation (plate, hole, drain test), never pipework or gas
Working with a certified technician: written fault reports, photos, measurements
The path to EPA certification and the CTVET question

Level 2 gave you the single-appliance skills. Level 3 joins them into whole systems, adds the law, and shows you how to earn and keep a business.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 60% of the time is practical. Every unit ends with a Check yourself of three questions and a homework task.

Example numbers. Every price, tariff, wage, room size and load in a worked example is marked "example" unless a source is given. Replace them with your own local quotes. A technician who guesses is a danger to customers.

Unit 1 · System-level diagnosis and performance

A fridge that "does not cool" is a sentence, not a diagnosis. Measure, compare, decide, then act or refer.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
1.1 Diagnose by measurement	records temperatures, current and voltage and compares them with a baseline
1.2 Judge airflow, load and efficiency	finds airflow, door, load and site causes before blaming the system
1.3 Calculate energy use and running cost	works out kWh and cost, and compares appliances
1.4 Decide when to call a certified technician	writes a referral note with evidence

Range. A domestic or small commercial fridge or freezer, and a split AC. Evidence. Measurement sheet; energy calculation; referral note; oral questions.

The system view

At Level 2 you tested parts. At Level 3 you look at the whole system and ask: is the heat getting in, being carried away, and being thrown out as it should? Every cooling system has the same four jobs: the compressor pumps, the condenser throws heat out, the expansion device drops pressure, and the evaporator picks heat up. If air cannot move over the coils, or heat keeps leaking in through a bad seal, the best compressor in the world will not keep the box cold.

So work from the outside in:

The site: sun, ventilation, distance from the wall, supply voltage.
The load: how much product, how warm, how often the door opens.
The airflow: filters, coils, fans, vents.
The electrics: voltage and current.
The sealed system: only a certified person looks here.

Step 1: set a baseline

A baseline is what a healthy unit reads when everything is clean and working. You cannot say a reading is "too high" unless you know what normal looks like for that unit. When you commission or service a unit that works well, write down and keep:

Date, unit make and model, serial number, refrigerant type and charge on the nameplate
Cabinet or room temperature at the thermostat setting
Supply voltage at the socket, running and while the compressor starts
Running current with a clamp meter, and the nameplate current
Temperature of the air going in and coming out of a split AC indoor unit
How long the compressor runs and rests in a cycle (use a watch and a thermometer)

Common practice puts a domestic fridge at 3 to 5 °C and a freezer at −18 °C; I did not verify these numbers from a cited source, so use the maker's manual as the rule.

Step 2: measure at the right place

Temperature. A digital probe is best. Put the probe in the middle of the cabinet, away from the evaporator and the door; wait until the reading settles; note the time. For a split AC, hold the probe in the airstream at the grille for the supply, and at the filter for the return. The difference between them is the temperature drop across the coil. Compare it with the baseline for that unit, not with another unit. Do not quote a "correct" drop for all units: it depends on the model, the humidity and the airflow. Pipe temperatures can be felt or measured on the outside of the pipe with a contact thermometer; you never touch or open the pipe itself.

Voltage. Read at the socket while the compressor tries to start. Low voltage is a major suspect for fridges that will not start in Ghana (the author's judgement, not a measured statistic). Level 2 gave the fridge-guard teaching: a guard cuts power outside a voltage band and reconnects after a delay; a Ghana listing shows 180 V disconnect and 185 V reconnect on a 220 to 240 V supply.

Current. A clamp meter around one conductor shows running current. Compare it with the nameplate. Current well above the nameplate suggests a mechanically stuck or overloaded compressor, a dirty condenser or very low voltage. Current much below normal with no cooling can mean the compressor is running but not pumping. In both cases the next step is a referral, not a repair.

Power. Power in watts is roughly volts times amps for a simple load (example: 230 V × 4.5 A = 1,035 VA; real power is lower for a motor because of power factor, so treat it as an upper estimate). If the nameplate says 4.0 A and you read 4.5 A, you are 12.5% over: write it down and check airflow and voltage first.

Step 3: airflow, load and site

Before you suspect the sealed system, rule out the cheap causes. The research on split ACs lists the usual ones: remote on "fan", dirty filter, blocked vents, blocked or dirty outdoor unit, iced indoor coil from restricted airflow. For fridges: door left open, seals failed, condenser coil dust, blocked vents, a hot room, overloaded box.

Airflow and load survey

Measure the room temperature and note the sun and wind on the outdoor unit or the fridge's back.
Check clearance at the back and sides against the manual (the gap size is in the manual; do not guess).
Run the paper test on the door seal in four places, and check the light-leak test with a torch.
Count how many times the door is opened in an hour, and what was put in last (warm food is a big load).
Clean or check the filter and coils (Level 2 steps), then re-measure and compare.
Write what changed.

Step 4: energy use and running cost

Energy in kilowatt-hours: kWh = kW × hours. A compressor does not run all the time, so multiply by the share of time it runs (the duty).

Example (invented numbers): a split AC draws 1.0 kW when running, runs 8 hours a day and the compressor is on 60% of that time.

Energy a day = 1.0 × 8 × 0.6 = 4.8 kWh
A 30-day month = 4.8 × 30 = 144 kWh
At an example tariff of GH¢2.00 a kWh, the month costs 144 × 2.00 = GH¢288

Example: an inverter model may run about 30 to 40% cheaper. On GH¢288 that saves GH¢86.40 to GH¢115.20 a month; over a year, GH¢1,036.80 to GH¢1,382.40. A customer can compare that with the extra purchase price. The tariff is an example; take the real figure from the customer's electricity bill.

Example: a fridge draws 0.15 kW when running and the compressor runs 40% of the day: 0.15 × 24 × 0.4 = 1.44 kWh a day, or 525.6 kWh a year.

Maintenance matters: a basic annual service costs less than the extra running cost of an unmaintained unit, and poor maintenance raises running cost. Energy Commission labels carry a 1 to 5 star rating, estimated annual consumption, cooling output and refrigerant type; an air conditioner minimum efficiency of 2.8 W/W was quoted on an IEA page last updated in 2020 and may have changed.

Step 5: decide, and when to call a certified technician

You must call an EPA-certified technician when the fault points inside the sealed system. That is the legal line. Use this decision table.

What you found	Likely area	Your action
No power at the socket, plug or cord damaged	Supply or lead	Fix the supply (a CEWP for fixed wiring)
Dirty coils, filter, drain, seal	Maintenance	Fix it yourself, re-measure
Fans run, compressor silent or clicking, parts test bad	Start parts	Replace same-spec parts after safe isolation (Level 2 steps)
Compressor runs long, condenser warm, poor cooling at the coldest setting	Possible leak, blockage or weak compressor	Stop and refer
Split AC iced again after cleaning filter and clearing airflow	Possible low refrigerant	Stop and refer
Current well above nameplate, hot casing, tripping	Seized or overloaded compressor	Stop and refer
Oily marks on pipe joints, hissing, a smell of gas	Leak	Stop, ventilate, no sparks, refer
Breaker or fixed wiring problem	Premises wiring	CEWP only

Flammable gas smell or hiss from a unit. No sparks, no switches, no flame. Open doors and windows, keep people away, and call a certified technician. This is general good practice; the detailed UNEP steps were not read in full.

Write a referral note

A good note gets the job done faster and protects you. Include: customer, unit make, model and serial; refrigerant type from the nameplate; the complaint and for how long; your baseline and your readings (voltage, current, temperature); what you already ruled out (filters, seals, airflow, parts tested with their readings); photographs; and your reason for referral in one sentence.

What nobody has told you. Most repair shops in Ghana lose money by guessing. A shop that measures first, writes the numbers down and refers sealed-system faults early saves parts, avoids the callbacks that come from wrong guesses, and keeps its licence-holding partner happy.

Whole-system diagnosis

Take a fridge with a planted fault (blocked condenser, torn seal or loose fan). Record a full measurement sheet.
Fix only the cheap causes. Re-measure. Write the change.
Calculate the daily energy and the monthly cost at a tariff your trainer gives.
Write a referral note for a second fault your trainer describes (compressor runs long, warm condenser).
Explain to a partner why you did not add gas.

Energy and cost (example numbers)

A shop has two fridges. Fridge A draws 0.20 kW when running and runs 50% of the 24 hours. Fridge B draws 0.15 kW and runs 40% of the 24 hours. The tariff is GH¢2.00 a kWh (example). (1) kWh a day for each? (2) Cost for 30 days for each? (3) A 30% saving on Fridge A after cleaning the coils: new monthly cost? (4) A clamp meter reads 5.2 A on a unit whose nameplate says 4.0 A: how many percent over?

Baseline sheet

Take one fridge at home or in a shop (with the owner's permission). Fill in a baseline sheet: nameplate, temperature at three times, time on and off for one hour. Bring a photograph of the nameplate.

Check yourself: Unit 1

Why do you record a baseline for a unit?
A split AC freezes again after you cleaned the filter. What do you do?
A unit draws 1.2 kW, runs 10 hours a day at 50% duty. How many kWh a day?

Unit 2 · Cold chain for fish, food and vaccines

The cold chain is as strong as its weakest link: the box left open, the generator that failed at night, the log nobody read.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
2.1 Plan a cold chain	lists each step from catch or harvest to customer with its temperature
2.2 Use ice and insulation correctly	calculates ice for a load and chooses an insulated box
2.3 Size a small cold room and a solar supply (basic)	works the example heat-load steps and knows when to hire a designer
2.4 Monitor and log temperatures	keeps a log, reads min/max, and acts on a deviation

Range. A fish landing site, a shop freezer, a small cold room and a clinic vaccine fridge. Evidence. Cold-chain plan; ice calculation; temperature log; oral questions.

What a cold chain is

A cold chain is every step that keeps a perishable product cold from where it is produced to where it is used: catch, ice, box, transport, cold room, shop freezer, customer. Fish spoil quickly. Fresh fish should be chilled to about 0 °C as quickly as possible after catching; ice does this by direct contact. Different products have different targets, so write the target on the plan.

Product	Target (check the rule that applies to you)	Where the target comes from
Fresh fish on ice	about 0 °C	Source: FAO Icing
Vaccines in a refrigerator	+2 °C to +8 °C, aim for about +5 °C	Source: NSW Vaccine Fridge
Frozen food	−18 °C is common practice	not verified; check the product label
Ordinary fridge food	3 to 5 °C is common practice	not verified; check the manual

Vaccines in Ghana are stored and handled under the rules of the health service. The Ghana Health Service sets those rules, and I did not read them. The figures above come from an Australian state protocol and are used here only to teach the method. Ask the service before you touch a clinic's fridge.

Ice, step by step

Ice is a free-energy cold store: it needs no electricity, but it melts. FAO gives rules of thumb for boxed fish: about 1 kg of ice for 1 kg of fish in the tropics, and about 1 kg of ice for 2 kg of fish in cooler climates, and these include the ice needed to bring the fish down to 0 °C. The ratios are rules of thumb based on experience; the tables date from 1984; one course page cites a different tropical ratio. Crushed ice touches more fish than lumps, and block ice should be finely crushed so the lumps do not damage the fish.

Example: 200 kg of fish in a hot place at 1 : 1 needs about 200 kg of ice (about 100 kg at a 1 : 2 ratio).

Pack a box of fish on ice

Wash the box. Choose an insulated box with a lid and a drain hole.
Put a layer of crushed ice, 5 to 10 cm thick, on the bottom.
Lay fish in a single layer, not heaped, not touching the walls.
Cover with another layer of ice. Repeat until the box is full, finishing with ice on top.
Close the lid. Keep it in the shade.
Let melt water drain; do not let fish sit in warm water.
Add ice when it melts. Check the ice before each journey.
Write the time packed, the weight of fish and ice, and the time delivered.

Insulation: why it matters, and a worked example

Heat comes in through walls, roof, floor, doors and gaps. Thicker insulation of a good material slows it. A simple estimate for heat coming through the walls is:

Q (watts) = U × A × ΔT, where U is the wall's heat-transfer value (W per m² per °C), A is the area in m², and ΔT is the outside-minus-inside temperature in °C.

For a flat insulating panel, U is roughly the conductivity of the material divided by its thickness (ignoring the thin air films). Example (invented values, not from a cited source): a polyurethane panel with conductivity 0.024 W/mK.

Panel thickness	U (W/m² per °C)	Heat in at 33 °C outside and 3 °C inside, 48 m² of surface (example)
100 mm (0.10 m)	0.024 ÷ 0.10 = 0.24	0.24 × 48 × 30 = 345.6 W
50 mm (0.05 m)	0.024 ÷ 0.05 = 0.48	0.48 × 48 × 30 = 691.2 W

Halving the thickness doubled the heat coming in. That means a bigger compressor and a bigger electricity bill, every hour of every day, for the life of the room.

Add the other loads. The wall heat is only part. Add product cooling (warm fish from the sea), door openings, lights, fans and people. As a simple example allowance, add 50%: 345.6 × 1.5 = 518.4 W. Real designs use proper calculation by a refrigeration designer (not verified here).

Sizing a small solar supply (basic, example)

Solar-powered cooling can suit places with weak mains, such as landing sites. The example steps below show the idea; a certified refrigeration contractor and a solar installer must size and install the real system.

Heat to remove per day: 518.4 W × 24 h = 12,441.6 Wh = 12.44 kWh of heat (example).
A refrigeration machine moves more heat than the electricity it uses. Use an example performance of 2 units of heat per unit of electricity: 12.44 ÷ 2 = 6.22 kWh of electricity a day.
Solar panels give power only in sunshine. Use an example of 5 hours of full sun a day and a system efficiency of 0.7: panel size = 6.22 ÷ (5 × 0.7) = 1.78 kW of panels.
With 400 W panels: 1,780 ÷ 400 = 4.4, so 5 panels (example).
Add batteries or ice or thermal storage if the room must stay cold at night; that needs a designer.

I did not find verified Ghana sunshine hours, panel prices or cold-room costs for this book: not verified. Get at least three written quotes.

Monitoring and temperature logs

A log is your proof. Read a thermometer at fixed times, write the reading, the time and your name. For vaccine fridges, the New South Wales protocol requires reading twice a day during operating hours, recording the minimum, maximum and current temperature, and acting when the reading leaves +2 to +8 °C. A US study using data from 243 digital loggers found that twice-daily current readings alone caught only about 5 to 6% of temperature excursions; adding minimum and maximum readings raised that to a range of about 35 to 97%. So: use a min/max thermometer, and consider a continuous data logger.

Sample log (example):

Date	Time	Now °C	Min °C	Max °C	Door opened?	Initials	Action
5 Nov	08:00	4.8	3.9	5.6	yes	KA	none
5 Nov	16:00	5.1	4.1	9.2	yes	KA	max above 8: call manager

When a reading is out of range: do not throw the stock away and do not use it. Mark it "do not use", record the time and the temperature, and ask the health authority or the manufacturer what to do. The excursion step comes from a US state log (summary only) and the owner must follow the local rule.

A vaccine fridge is a clinic's asset. Do not service, move or "adjust" the thermostat of a clinic's vaccine fridge without a written request from the facility manager. Never open a fridge holding vaccines for a repair without a plan for where the vaccines go.

A cold-chain plan: one page

Step	Who	Temperature target	Check	Record
Catch	Fisher	chilled to about 0 °C quickly	ice ready in the boat	time on ice
Landing	Landing-site team	keep about 0 °C	ice level in box	log
Transport	Driver	keep about 0 °C	box closed, shade	arrival time
Cold room	Cold-room keeper	per product	min/max thermometer	twice-daily log
Sale	Seller	per product	stock rotation (oldest first)	daily check

Build and log

For a product your trainer gives, write the five-step plan above with temperature targets.
Calculate the ice for a load of 80 kg of fish at 1 : 1 and 1 : 2.
Pack a box with crushed ice and log the temperature at start and after two hours.
Run a min/max thermometer in a fridge for a day. Fill in the log and say if any reading was out of range.
Work the example heat-load steps for a room of your own size, using the same example U-value.

Ice, heat and logs (example numbers)

(1) A landing site packs 350 kg of fish at 1 : 1 and at 1 : 2. How much ice for each? (2) A cold-room wall surface of 36 m², 100 mm panel (U 0.24), outside 32 °C, inside 4 °C: wall heat in watts? (3) Add a 40% allowance: total? (4) The room needs this much heat removed for 24 hours: kWh of heat? (5) At 2 units of heat per unit of electricity: kWh of electricity? (6) Panels give 5 full-sun hours at 0.7 efficiency: kW of panels?

Cold chain at home

Pick a perishable food your family sells or buys (fish, milk, meat). Draw its cold chain from source to plate and mark every place the cold could fail. Suggest two fixes.

Check yourself: Unit 2

What temperature should fresh fish be chilled to as quickly as possible?
Why use a min/max thermometer rather than only reading the current temperature?
You find a clinic's vaccine fridge at 10 °C. What do you do with the stock?

Unit 3 · Safety, environment and compliance

The law does not stop you earning. It decides how you earn and who does the dangerous parts.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
3.1 Explain the certification route	states what EPA certification covers and how to find the current steps
3.2 Explain the wiring and appliance rules	separates appliance-side work from premises wiring and knows label rules
3.3 Explain environment duties	links Montreal and Kigali to daily practice and handles e-waste correctly
3.4 Control fire and gas hazards	applies R290 and R600a rules and the fire-certificate route

Range. A cooling service shop and its jobs. Evidence. Compliance checklist; hazard plan; oral questions.

The EPA certification route

L.I. 2503 (2025) sets out the Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technicians Certification Regulations. The EPA's director for ozone and climate change said in October 2024 that the certificate is "a licence that you have the skills to work" and that uncertified technicians will not be allowed in the field; the EPA training is free. Ghana has Centres of Excellence in Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, including one at Takoradi Technical Institute.

Not found, so ask: the enrolment steps, the intake dates, the certificate-issuing body and any fee; the exact name and phone number of the Takoradi centre; whether a non-certified person may replace compressor-mounted relays and capacitors or an appliance power cord lawfully. Phone the EPA Western Regional office and the Takoradi Technical Institute and write down what you are told, with the date.

Counts of technicians trained conflict between reports of different dates (one report says four centres and about 1,050 technicians; earlier sources give other numbers), so this book states no single number.

Your route. Learn (this course), work under a certified technician, enrol for the EPA training and certificate, then supervise or run a shop where certified technicians do all refrigerant work. As an employer you may not allow an uncertified person to do refrigerant work. Keep a copy of each technician's certificate and write down each person's allowed tasks.

What nobody has told you. The training is free and demand is growing faster than the supply of trained technicians. A certified technician is the scarcest person in a cooling business. Treat your certified partner well, pay on time, and put the arrangement in writing.

Wiring and appliance rules (Energy Commission)

Only Certified Electrical Wiring Professionals may wire premises, and wiring materials must be approved by the Ghana Standards Authority. A news report on penalties (fines up to GH¢3,000 or up to two years in prison) is older and is not verified as current. Exam fees quoted there (Domestic GH¢450, Commercial GH¢580, Industrial GH¢720) may have changed.

Task	Who may do it
Clean, replace a plug-top lead on the appliance side, test and replace appliance parts after isolation	Trained appliance technician (ask the Energy Commission whether a plug or cord needs a CEWP; not verified)
New socket, new dedicated AC circuit, breaker change, distribution board, earthing	CEWP only
Open the refrigerant circuit	EPA-certified technician only

Importers of air conditioners and refrigerators must meet registration, testing and labelling rules, and a public notice dated 17 November 2025 said the transition period is over. When you sell or recommend an appliance, read the label and prefer registered models.

Montreal and Kigali: why your daily work matters

Ghana ratified the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol in 1989 and its amendments including Kigali. Ghana is phasing out HCFC-22 under Stage II of its HCFC Phase-out Management Plan, and L.I. 2505 (2025) governs ozone-depleting substances and their alternatives, supporting the Kigali HFC phase-down. Dates of phase-out steps conflict between reports, so check the EPA before you quote a year.

What it means for you: old fridges and ACs hold gases that harm the ozone layer or the climate; leaks must be prevented; new equipment increasingly uses natural refrigerants (R600a and R290) that are flammable, so training and certification matter. The Ghana law consolidating environmental protection is reported to be the Environmental Protection Act 2025 (Act 1124); I did not read it, so its sections are not verified. Ask the EPA.

E-waste: old fridges and ACs

Old fridges and air conditioners are e-waste. The Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Act, 2016 (Act 917) set up registration for importers and exporters of used equipment, an advance eco-levy on new equipment and take-back duties for producers. The brief for this module says Act 917 has been consolidated into the Environmental Protection Act 2025 (Act 1124); I could not confirm this, so ask the EPA which text applies. The EPA has said e-waste generators should take end-of-life items to designated collection centres or permitted collectors.

Course rules for scrap:

Never break open, cut or burn a fridge or AC. Dismantling without recovering the refrigerant releases it.
Mark the unit "refrigerant not recovered" and store it upright, under cover, away from children.
Give it to a certified technician to recover the refrigerant, then to an EPA-designated collection point or a permitted collector. Keep a receipt.
Never burn wires or insulation for copper. The EPA has said it will prosecute those who burn e-waste.
Record each unit scrapped: date, make, serial, who took it.

Fire and gas hazards: R290, R600a and R32

R600a (isobutane) is in many new domestic fridges. R290 (propane) is in new fridges, freezers and some split ACs. R32 is mildly flammable and used in many new splits. Ghana is actively promoting R290 and R600a. The UNEP quick guide exists because installing and servicing flammable-refrigerant units has special rules, including limits on the amount of refrigerant and on the size of the room. I did not read the limits, so no numbers are given here.

What you must do as a manager:

Read the refrigerant type on the nameplate before every job; write it on the job card
No flame, no cigarette, no sparks, no grinding or welding near the unit
Keep the workshop ventilated; store scrap units outdoors under cover
Brief every helper before the job: what the gas is and what to do in a leak
Keep an extinguisher you are trained to use close and in date (service only by a licensed contractor)
Only a certified technician opens the circuit, using the right tools and training

Refrigerant hazards in general. Heavier-than-air gas pools low and can cause suffocation in enclosed spaces; liquid refrigerant can freeze skin and eyes; fire and toxic breakdown products can follow burning or brazing. First aid: move to fresh air, flush eyes and skin with water, get medical help.

Fire certificate and extinguishers. Ghana's National Fire Service issues fire certificates and runs the AFCAS online system; only licensed contractors may supply, refill, install or tag extinguishers. Facility owners are urged to hold a fire certificate. Your shop is a facility: plan for it.

Safety culture for a team

Hold a short safety briefing before each job. Keep an incident book. Ask everyone to report near misses. Use isolation, discharge and dead-test steps from Level 2 on every electrical job, no exceptions. Lifting: two people for fridges and outdoor units, a trolley, never carry up a stairway alone. Rooftop and balcony work needs proper work-at-height equipment and trained people, not trainees.

Compliance walk-round

Take a mock workshop (or your own training centre). Make a checklist of the rules in this unit.
Walk round and tick or fail each item: certificates on file, scope of work posted, refrigerant types listed on job cards, scrap units labelled, extinguisher in date, no flames near units, incident book.
Write an action list: who, what, by when.
Prepare a short toolbox talk on a flammable-gas leak and give it to three people.
Phone (or role-play phoning) the EPA to ask how to enrol; write down the questions.

Phone call

Ask the EPA Western Region or Takoradi Technical Institute how to enrol for the free certification training. Write down the date, who you spoke to and what they said. If you cannot get through, write what you tried.

Check yourself: Unit 3

Who may open a refrigerant circuit in Ghana?
A helper wants to cut open a scrap fridge to get the copper. What do you say?
Name two things you must do when you smell gas from a unit with R290.

Unit 4 · Planning and supervising work

A good supervisor makes the plan clear before the job starts and the proof clear when it ends.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
4.1 Plan a job	writes a scope of work, materials list, time, roles and safety steps
4.2 Supervise certified and non-certified workers	assigns tasks by competence and legal limit
4.3 Check quality and hand over	uses a quality checklist and a handover form
4.4 Manage warranties and complaints	writes warranty terms and handles a complaint

Range. A split AC installation, a fridge repair and a service contract visit. Evidence. Job card; scope-of-work table; handover form; complaint record.

Plan the job: the job card

Every job gets a job card: one page, filled in before you go. Without it, jobs get done wrong, forgotten, or argued about later.

Customer, address, phone, date, who will be there
Unit: make, model, serial, refrigerant type, voltage, nameplate current
Complaint in the customer's words, and for how long
Planned tasks, who will do each one, and what each person is allowed to do
Tools and materials, with parts to buy
Safety: isolation points, flammable gas, work at height, lifting
Time estimate, price, and what the customer approved in writing
Photos before, and after

Who does what: the scope-of-work table

A supervisor assigns tasks by two tests: can the person do it, and may the person do it legally.

Task	Trainee (Level 1 to 2)	Level 3 supervisor (non-certified)	EPA-certified technician	CEWP
Clean filters, coils, drains	Yes (supervised)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Test and replace start parts	Under supervision	Yes	Yes	Yes
Site survey, mark wall plate, drill hole, fit bracket	Under supervision	Yes	Yes	Yes
Flare, connect, leak-test, evacuate, charge	No	No	Yes	No
Replace compressor, coil, capillary	No	No	Yes	No
New circuit, socket, breaker	No	No	No	Yes
Recover refrigerant, scrap units	No	No	Yes	No

This table follows the safety and legal gate at the front of this book. When the law or the owner says otherwise, the stricter rule wins. Put a copy on the workshop wall.

Supervise people

Brief before the job: the card, the hazards, who does what, what to do in an emergency. Ten minutes.
Check at planned points, not only at the end. A supervisor who is always on the phone is not supervising.
Stop work when someone breaks a safety rule. The first time, explain. The second time, take them off the job.
Teach one thing per job to every trainee, with a demonstration, not just words.
Record who did what; sign and date.

For apprentices the Labour Act and a written agreement help (see Unit 5). Teach safety first.

Working with certified technicians

You are hiring skills you do not have. Treat them as partners:

Agree in writing: scope, price per task, who pays for parts, who handles the customer, who is responsible for warranty on their work.
Give them a complete referral note (Unit 1). They will arrive prepared.
Do not pressure them to cut steps. A good technician will walk away.
Pay on the agreed date.

Quality checks and handover

At the end of a job, run the quality checklist before you ring the customer.

Unit runs; no unusual noise or vibration; no leaks or drips
Readings recorded: voltage, running current vs nameplate, temperatures
Condensate drain tested with water before taping (split AC)
Clearances and brackets checked; cable and pipe neat
Work area cleaned; scrap labelled and removed
Certified technician's work signed by that technician with certificate number
Photographs taken; job card complete

Handover. Walk the customer through: how to switch on/off, how to clean the filter, what a normal noise sounds like, when to call, and the next service date. Give them the handover form: what was done, readings, service date, warranty terms, your contact. Get a signature.

Warranties and complaints

No statutory warranty period for repair work or parts sold in a small shop was verified for this book, so write your own terms clearly: what is covered (parts you supplied, workmanship), for how long, what voids it (power surges without a guard, customer misuse, someone else opening the unit), and how to claim. Example terms (author's suggestion, not legal advice): 90 days on parts you fitted and 30 days on labour. Ask a lawyer or the Ghana Enterprises Agency for the standard wording you can use.

Complaint handling. Write the complaint, thank the customer, visit within two days (good practice), find the cause, fix if it is your fault, explain if it is not, record the outcome. Learn from every complaint. A complaint handled well often becomes a loyal customer.

Plan, supervise, hand over

Fill in a job card for a mock split AC installation (survey, plate, bracket, drain test). Mark every task that needs a certified technician.
Brief two classmates for ten minutes using the card.
Supervise them at the planned check points and record what you saw.
Run the quality checklist and write the handover form.
Role-play a customer complaining that the AC drips: handle it step by step and write the record.

Scope-of-work poster

Make a poster or one-page sheet for a workshop showing who may do which task (trainee, supervisor, certified technician, CEWP). Show it to a technician and ask if anything is wrong.

Check yourself: Unit 4

Why does a job card list the refrigerant type?
Name two tasks you must assign only to a certified technician.
What three things do you hand to the customer at handover?

Unit 5 · Establish a refrigeration and AC service business

Every cold room and every split AC in Takoradi needs someone who measures first and refers wisely. That someone can be you.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
5.1 Choose a legal form	compares sole proprietor, partnership, company and cooperative
5.2 Register correctly	lists the bodies, steps and fees in order
5.3 Plan premises, tools and start-up	budgets premises, kit and finance
5.4 Hire certified technicians and protect	explains Labour Act basics, insurance and compliance
5.5 Market and include	markets honestly and makes services accessible

Range. A one- to three-person cooling service business in Sekondi-Takoradi or nearby. Evidence. Registration checklist; start-up budget; one-page business plan.

What you can sell, and what you must not

Maintenance and cleaning: split AC filter, coil and drain cleaning; fridge coil cleaning; seal checks; service contracts
Diagnosis and referral: measurement, baseline sheets, written referral notes, energy checks
Appliance-side repairs: start relays, overloads, capacitors, thermostats, fans, defrost parts, door seals, lights, drain hoses (after isolation)
Spares and protection: voltage guards, plugs, seals
Cold-chain advice: ice plans, logs, insulation checks, monitoring for fish sellers, shops and clinics
Refrigerant work through a certified partner who does it, signs it and carries the warranty

Never let your business open a refrigerant circuit, charge gas or braze unless a certified technician does it and signs for it. Never claim a certificate you do not hold. An advertisement that says "gas filling" with no certified person behind it is an offence waiting to happen. A scrap-metal side business also raises e-waste rules (Unit 3).

Choose a legal form

Form	ORC registration	Key point
Sole proprietor (business name)	GH¢130; renewal GH¢70 a year	Easy; you carry unlimited liability
Partnership	GH¢270; renewal GH¢100 a year; 2 to 20 partners; Form B	Needs a partnership agreement stamped by the Lands Commission
Company limited by shares	GH¢585 plus 1% capital duty on stated capital (check the rate)	At least 2 directors and a secretary; first annual return 18 months after incorporation
Company limited by guarantee	GH¢490	For NGOs, churches, social enterprises; no profit to members
Cooperative	Not registered at ORC; organisational TIN from GRA	Registration route with the Department of Co-operatives not verified

Annual returns cost GH¢175 a year, with late fees of GH¢1,000 (1 to 4 years) or GH¢2,000 (5 years or more). For a first business, a sole proprietor or a partnership with your certified partner is simplest. A partnership with a certified technician makes sense if you will work together for years; a plain written contract per job may be safer if you are not sure.

Registration, step by step

Choose a name; register it at the Office of the Registrar of Companies.
Get your tax identity: your Ghana Card PIN is your individual TIN; a company gets a GRA TIN after ORC registration.
Get the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly business operating permit through the STMA portal; fees follow the STMA fee-fixing resolution. Renew each year (the permit deadline is 31 March; confirm with STMA).
Certification: refrigerant work in your business must be done by EPA-certified technicians. Keep copies of their certificates. A business-level EPA licence, if any, was not verified: ask the EPA.
Fire certificate for your workshop: apply through GNFS. Fee not verified.
Wiring: use a CEWP for any wiring of your premises.
Register workers with SSNIT when you hire.
Open a business bank or mobile-money account separate from your personal one.

Tax. Residents with business income only and no VAT registration may use the Modified Taxation Scheme: fixed instalments up to GH¢20,000 turnover, and 3% of turnover from GH¢20,001 to GH¢750,000; professionals, owners of several outlets and partners are excluded. Companies pay 25% standard, with other rates by sector. VAT: the registration threshold for goods rose to GH¢750,000 from 1 January 2026; for services there is no turnover threshold and a provider of taxable services registers within 30 days of starting. A VAT-registered business cannot use the Modified Taxation Scheme. A service shop that sells both services and parts may therefore have to register for VAT from day one. Ask the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in writing; this book does not decide it for you. The effective VAT rate from 1 January 2026 is 20% (15% VAT plus 2.5% NHIL and 2.5% GETFund).

Premises and location

Start from home or a shared bench with a phone, a bag of tools and a motorbike or pick-up for visits. Rent a small workshop only when jobs justify it. Good places: near markets, hotels and guest houses, clinics, fish landing sites, cold stores, fuel stations and small supermarkets; close to spare-parts shops. A workshop needs: a bench with an RCD-protected supply, ventilation, a place for scrap units under cover, an extinguisher, lighting, a lockable store. Ground-floor, ramp-accessible space helps customers and workers who use wheelchairs.

Tools and the start-up budget

Basic hand kit prices from Jiji listings on 8 Oct 2026 (Western Region not checked): Uni-T UT33B+ multimeter GH¢250; Ingco 600 A clamp meter GH¢270; test leads GH¢29. Total of these three: 250 + 270 + 29 = GH¢549. Hand tools, a vacuum, coil cleaner, a fin comb, a digital probe thermometer and min/max thermometer: prices not verified; get local quotes. Do not buy manifold gauges, vacuum pumps, recovery units or brazing kits for your own use unless a certified technician in your team will use them: they are awareness tools for you.

Example start-up budget (invented numbers except where a source is given):

Item	GH¢
Business name registration	130
Assembly permit (check the fee; example)	300
Multimeter, clamp meter and leads (Jiji prices)	549
Hand tools, fin comb, brushes, insulated tools (example)	1,500
Vacuum, pump sprayer, coil cleaner, drip sheets (example)	1,800
Printing, phone, data, signage (example)	600
First stock: relays, seals, fans, plugs, guards (example)	2,500
Insurance and fire extinguisher (example)	400
Working cash for three months (example)	4,000
Hand-kit extras, thermometers, PPE (example)	600
Total	12,379

Check the total yourself in the Unit 6 exercise.

Financing

Own savings; a susu or VSLA group; microfinance; bank loans; the Ghana Enterprises Agency, which offers SME GO, Business-in-a-Box, SME High Growth and Kaizen, with Business Advisory Centres in Takoradi, Shama, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Mpohor and Ahanta West. The 2026 Budget set aside GH¢170 million for a National Apprenticeship Programme and GH¢160 million for Adwumawura. The Assemblies' disability fund can help persons with disabilities; the 2026 rate was not re-verified, so ask the Assembly. Start free and cheap; borrow only when sales are clear.

Hire and protect

The Labour Act requires a written contract for work of six months or more (s.12), a written statement of terms within two months (s.13), 15 working days of paid leave (s.20) and 12 weeks of maternity leave (s.57); casual workers get the full minimum for each day worked (s.74). Minimum wage is GH¢21.77 a day in 2026. SSNIT: employee 5.5% and employer 13% of basic salary; employer pays within 14 days after month-end. PAYE is due by the 15th.

Hiring certified technicians. Ask to see the EPA certificate and keep a copy. Pay them either as an employee (with SSNIT and PAYE) or as an independent partner paid per job; withholding tax may apply on payments to individuals for services (7.5% over GH¢2,000 a year). Write the scope: which tasks, which warranty, who carries the insurance. An uncertified person may not be employed to do refrigerant work.

Apprentices. Give a written agreement, teach safety first, never let apprentices do refrigerant, ladder or live-electrical work, and supervise.

Insurance. Use only insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission; check at nic.gov.gh. Which covers are compulsory for a small firm was not verified; ask the NIC. Consider cover for your tools, your vehicle and public liability.

Market yourself

Use a WhatsApp Business profile and a free Google Business Profile. Offer a free first-visit checklist; put a sticker on each unit you service with the date and next clean due; keep before-and-after photos (with permission); and ask shops, hotels and landing-site groups for referrals. State clearly: "Refrigerant work done by EPA-certified technicians only."

Accessibility

A cooling service business has many tasks that suit different bodies; the adjustments below are the author's suggestions, not from a Ghana source (the research found no RAC-specific disability guidance).

Task	Notes and adjustments
Bench diagnosis with a multimeter	Workable seated at a raised bench; use written job cards and LED test lights for hearing impairment
Cleaning, filters, seal checks	Workable for most disabilities with a good table and light
Customer service, quotations, bookkeeping, marketing, parts stock	Workable for most, including wheelchair users and people with low vision (large print, a talking multimeter; price not verified)
Carrying outdoor units, ladders, rooftops, tight roof spaces	Not suitable for some; use team roles so one person works at height and another does bench work

The Persons with Disability Act 2006 (Act 715) bans job discrimination. Make your shop reachable by wheelchair users. Apply the same isolation, discharge and no-refrigerant rules to everyone. Women are about 6.8% of RAC enrolment in Ghana, and projects are working to raise this; welcome women into your team.

One-page plan and pitch

Fit on one page: customers; services and prices; location; start-up cost and finance; monthly costs and break-even; certificates and licences you and your partners hold or need; how you will advertise; safety and ethics rules.

Register on paper

Choose a legal form and justify it.
Fill in a registration checklist with each body, step and fee.
Build a start-up budget with real local quotes for at least five items.
Write a one-page agreement with a certified partner (scope, price, warranty, payment).
Write and present a one-page plan in three minutes.

Phone the Assembly

Ask the STMA (or your Assembly) what permit your business needs, the fee and the renewal date. Write down what you were told and the date. Ask the GRA office whether a repair business that sells parts must register for VAT from the start.

Check yourself: Unit 5

How much does it cost to register a sole-proprietor business name in 2026?
Why might a repair shop that sells services need to register for VAT early?
Who must do the refrigerant work in your business?

Unit 6 · Accounting and bookkeeping for a service shop

If you cannot show your numbers, you cannot get a loan, win a contract or know if you are earning. See the hub's Money Skills Level 2 for the basics.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
6.1 Keep daily records	writes a cash book, receipts, invoices and petty cash
6.2 Track parts stock	records stock cards and values stock
6.3 Cost jobs and contracts	costs a job, a service contract and a warranty provision
6.4 Close the month	does a trial check, income statement and bank/MoMo reconciliation
6.5 Meet tax records	lists what must be kept and filed, with a VAT and PAYE example

Range. A small cooling service and parts shop. Evidence. Cash book; stock card; costing sheet; month-end pack.

The core rule

Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Debits increase assets and expenses; credits increase liabilities, capital and income; the trial balance checks totals but cannot catch every error. Keep owner money and business money apart: pay yourself a fixed drawing.

Daily and weekly records

Cash book: every receipt and payment, in date order, with a running balance.
Receipts and invoices: number them in order; keep copies. Sign and date every receipt.
Job cards linked to invoices: each invoice number is written on its job card.
Petty cash: a small float with a voucher for every spend; top up to the same amount.
Stock card: for each part: in, out, balance, cost.
Debtors and creditors: a list of who owes you and whom you owe, with due dates (include the certified partner's fees you owe).

Parts stock

Keep a card for every part type (relay, capacitor, seal, plug, voltage guard).

Example (invented numbers): you buy 10 start relays at GH¢40 each, then 10 more at GH¢48 each, and sell 12.

Method	Cost of the 12 sold	Closing stock (8 left)
Average cost: (10×40 + 10×48) ÷ 20 = GH¢44 each	12 × 44 = GH¢528	8 × 44 = GH¢352
First in, first out (oldest cost first)	10×40 + 2×48 = GH¢496	8 × 48 = GH¢384

Pick one method and keep to it. Count stock at the end of each month and compare with the card; a gap means theft, waste or a missing entry.

Mark-up and margin for a relay costing GH¢44 and sold at GH¢70 (example): profit 26; mark-up = 26 ÷ 44 = 59.1%; margin = 26 ÷ 70 = 37.1%. Mark-up is on cost; margin is on the selling price.

Job costing: what a visit really costs

Example (invented numbers): a standard split AC service visit.

Cost element	GH¢
Technician time: 1.5 hours at GH¢25 an hour	37.50
Transport	20.00
Consumables (coil cleaner, rags, water)	10.00
Share of overheads for the visit	15.00
Cost of the visit	82.50

If you charge GH¢150: profit = 150 − 82.50 = GH¢67.50; margin = 67.50 ÷ 150 = 45%; mark-up = 67.50 ÷ 82.50 = 81.8%. The price GH¢150 is an example. Use the quotes you collected in Level 1 and 2 homework to set a real price, and check competitors.

Service contracts

A service contract is a promise to visit regularly for a fixed price. Example: a guest house with 10 split units agrees to two services a year each at GH¢150 a visit: 10 × 2 = 20 visits; revenue 20 × 150 = GH¢3,000; cost 20 × 82.50 = GH¢1,650; profit GH¢1,350. Ask for payment in advance or in two parts; the unpaid half is a debtor in your books. Record the revenue as earned when you do each visit; money received early is a liability (what you owe in work) until then.

Warranty provisions

If you sell parts or labour with a warranty, some will come back. A provision is an amount you set aside for expected claims. Example: parts and labour sold in a month with a warranty: GH¢12,000; from past records about 3% have claims; provision = 12,000 × 3% = GH¢360. Record it as a cost of the month and keep the cash for it. If you have no history, start with a cautious estimate and refine it. Keep a warranty register: date, customer, unit, part, claim, outcome, cost.

Costing, pricing and break-even

Break-even = fixed costs ÷ profit per unit (or per job).
Example monthly fixed costs: rent 800 + phone and data 150 + transport base 450 + depreciation 45 + insurance and permit share 200 = GH¢1,645. With profit GH¢67.50 per service visit: 1,645 ÷ 67.50 = 24.4, so 25 visits a month to break even (example).
Depreciation (straight line) = (cost − salvage) ÷ useful life. Example: tools and equipment GH¢3,000, salvage GH¢300, life 5 years: (3,000 − 300) ÷ 5 = GH¢540 a year = GH¢45 a month.
Certified-partner fee. When a certified technician does a refrigerant task on your customer's unit, the fee they charge you is a direct cost. Add your handling margin and a share of the warranty provision before you quote. Example: partner fee GH¢250; your quote GH¢350; margin GH¢100 (28.6% of price) (example).

Sample cash book page (example)

Date	Details	Receipts GH¢	Payments GH¢	Balance GH¢
1 Nov	Opening balance	2,000		2,000
3 Nov	Service visit, guest house (cash)	600		2,600
5 Nov	Relays sold	280		2,880
6 Nov	Bought 10 relays		440	2,440
8 Nov	Transport		60	2,380
12 Nov	Partner fee, certified technician		250	2,130
15 Nov	Contract part-payment	1,500		3,630

Month-end routine

Total the cash book and agree the closing balance with the cash in hand.
Reconcile bank and mobile-money statements to the cash book; list differences (MoMo fees too).
Update stock cards and count stock; list debtors and creditors.
Make a trial-style check: total debits equal total credits.
Write the income statement: income minus costs equals profit.
Write a simple balance sheet: what you own and owe.
Update the warranty provision and the next month's cash forecast.
File the records.

Example month (invented numbers)

Income statement	GH¢
Sales: service fees 3,800 + parts 1,400	5,200
Cost of parts sold	600
Partner fees for refrigerant jobs	500
Gross profit	4,100
Rent	800
Phone and data	150
Transport	350
Depreciation	45
Total expenses	1,345
Net profit before tax	2,755

If you take a drawing of GH¢1,200, GH¢1,555 stays in the business. Cash-flow forecast: a profit does not mean cash. Customers who pay late leave you short, so keep a debtors list.

Tax records and examples

Keep records in Ghana for at least six years from the end of the year of assessment or VAT period. Filing calendar: SSNIT by the 14th; PAYE and withholding tax by the 15th; VAT by the last working day of the next month; provisional tax quarterly; annual return within four months of year-end; STMA permit by 31 March. Free tools: Excel or Google Sheets, Zoho Books free plan and Wave. From 1 January 2027 the 2025 IFRS for SMEs applies to companies using it.

VAT example (if you are registered). Effective rate 20%: VAT 15% plus NHIL 2.5% plus GETFund 2.5%. NHIL and GETFund are now claimable as input tax. Example: you charge GH¢1,000 for a service (before VAT): output VAT 150 + 25 + 25 = GH¢200. You bought parts at GH¢400 before VAT: input VAT 60 + 10 + 10 = GH¢80. VAT to pay = 200 − 80 = GH¢120. Pay by the last working day of the following month. Use e-VAT invoices.

Modified Taxation example (if you are not VAT-registered and eligible). Turnover GH¢100,000 in a year: 3% = GH¢3,000.

PAYE example for a technician employee (basic salary GH¢2,500 a month, example). SSNIT employee share = 2,500 × 5.5% = GH¢137.50. Taxable pay = 2,500 − 137.50 = GH¢2,362.50. Using the 2026 monthly bands (first 588 at 0%; next 80 at 5%; next 100 at 10%; next 2,900 at 17.5%):

Band	Amount in band	Rate	Tax GH¢
First 588	588.00	0%	0.00
Next 80	80.00	5%	4.00
Next 100	100.00	10%	10.00
Next 2,900 (part used)	1,594.50	17.5%	279.04
PAYE			293.04

Take-home = 2,500 − 137.50 − 293.04 = GH¢2,069.46. Employer SSNIT 13% = 2,500 × 0.13 = GH¢325. Total paid to SSNIT: employee 137.50 + employer 325 = GH¢462.50 (that is 18.5% of 2,500; of this, 13.5% goes to SSNIT and 5% to a private Tier 2 trustee).

Month-end for a cooling shop (example numbers)

Opening cash GH¢2,000. Receipts: service fees 3,800, parts sales 1,400. Payments: parts bought 900, transport 350, rent 800, phone 150, certified partner fee 500. A customer owes GH¢600 for a visit (not yet paid). (1) Closing cash? (2) Cost of parts sold during the month was 600: gross profit using sales of 5,200 and subtracting parts sold and partner fee? (3) Net profit if other expenses are rent 800, phone 150, transport 350 and depreciation 45? (4) Mark-up and margin on a part bought at 44 and sold at 70? (5) Break-even visits if fixed costs are GH¢1,645 and profit per visit is GH¢67.50? (6) Depreciation per month of equipment costing GH¢3,000, salvage GH¢300, life 5 years? (7) Start-up budget: add the ten lines in Unit 5 (130, 300, 549, 1,500, 1,800, 600, 2,500, 400, 4,000, 600).

Close a month

Complete a cash book from a list of 15 transactions your trainer gives.
Fill in a stock card for relays with the example purchases and sales, and value the stock both ways.
Cost a visit and a ten-unit contract for your own area with your own quotes.
Reconcile a given statement to the book.
Prepare an income statement and a balance sheet.
Build a 12-month forecast template (see Unit 7).

Your own book

Start a real cash book now. Record every spend for one week, including MoMo fees. Ask one repair shop (with permission) what its three biggest monthly costs are.

Check yourself: Unit 6

A customer owes you GH¢600 for a finished job. Is that cash or a debtor?
A relay costs GH¢50 and sells for GH¢80. What is the margin?
Equipment costs GH¢2,400, salvage GH¢0, life 4 years. Depreciation per year?

Unit 7 · Grow, maintenance contracts, tenders and capstone

Quality and honesty grow a business. Shortcuts end it, especially in refrigerant work.

Competency standard

Learning outcome	Performance criteria — the trainee…
7.1 Run quality and customer care	uses checklists, feedback and complaint handling
7.2 Price and grow	sets a pricing strategy and plans scale
7.3 Win and keep maintenance contracts and tenders	explains contracts, tenders and partnerships
7.4 Present a capstone	presents a plan with a 12-month cash-flow forecast

Range. A cooling business plan. Evidence. One-page plan; forecast; panel score sheet.

Quality and customer care

Give every client a written report after each visit: what you found, what to fix first, what you did, the readings, the next service date. Use one checklist, ask for feedback and answer complaints in writing within two days (good practice). Keep a service history for each unit (baseline, repairs, dates). It makes you hard to replace.

Pricing and scaling

Price from cost, not from fear: include your time, transport, materials, overhead, the provision for warranty claims and a margin. Offer packages: a monthly or quarterly service plan for shops; a cold-chain check for fish sellers; an energy check for a guest house. Raise prices when you are always booked. Scale by training others, by hiring another certified technician and by partnership, rather than doing work you are not certified for. The 2026 Budget included programmes for apprenticeship and the 24-hour economy.

Where the demand is. GIZ reports that ownership of fridges and air conditioners is rising faster than the supply of trained technicians. Local demand figures for Takoradi are not verified: ask five shops, two clinics and two guest houses how they handle service today.

Maintenance contracts

A good contract makes your income steady. Write:

The parties and the units covered (make, model, serial, location)
The visits: how many, when, what is done (the checklist)
What is not included (refrigerant work, parts, wiring) and how those are quoted
Response time for a call-out
Price, payment dates, who pays for parts
Warranty terms and what voids them
Start and end dates, and how either side ends the contract

Sell to customers whose units matter: guest houses, clinics, schools, shops with freezers, fish-smoking and fish-trading groups. Offer a first-visit checklist free, then the contract.

Tenders and partnerships

Start with schools, churches, farms and small contractors; bigger firms may require tax clearance, insurance and proof of qualifications (not verified for Ghana public tenders). Read the tender document twice. Quote only for what you and your certified partners are allowed and able to do. Withholding tax may be deducted from your fees: services 7.5% and works 5%; ask the client for the certificate. Keep copies of everything you submit.

Records for a loan

Lenders ask for registration, TIN, 6 to 12 months of cash book and MoMo statements, and a plan. Tidy books are your best collateral. The Ghana EXIM Bank offers SME facilities with a Takoradi office; Ghana Enterprises Agency advisory centres can help prepare your file. The Bank of Ghana policy rate was 14.00% in October 2026; bank loans cost more than the policy rate, so work out repayments before borrowing.

Succession and ethics

Write your procedures down so the business runs without you, and name who takes over if you are ill. Never let an uncertified person touch a refrigerant circuit, never sign off a unit you did not inspect, never leave gas to vent, never sell fake or unregistered appliances or parts, never issue a report you could not defend.

Capstone: 12-month cash-flow forecast

Fill one row per month. Use example numbers in training and your own real ones in your plan.

Worked example (invented numbers; opening cash GH¢6,000 after the start-up spending in Unit 5; fixed costs GH¢1,900 a month; variable costs 55% of receipts for parts and partner fees; drawings GH¢1,200 a month from month 3):

Month	Opening cash	Receipts	Payments	Closing cash
1	6,000	3,000	3,550	5,450
2	5,450	3,600	3,880	5,170
3	5,170	4,200	5,410	3,960
4	3,960	4,800	5,740	3,020
5	3,020	5,400	6,070	2,350
6	2,350	6,000	6,400	1,950
7	1,950	6,000	6,400	1,550
8	1,550	6,500	6,675	1,375
9	1,375	7,000	6,950	1,425
10	1,425	7,000	6,950	1,475
11	1,475	7,500	7,225	1,750
12	1,750	8,000	7,500	2,250
Year		69,000	72,750	2,250

Lesson from the table: cash falls until month 8 because drawings begin and sales are still growing. The business is not failing, but the margin for error is thin. What would you do? (Delay a purchase, collect a debt, sign a contract with an advance payment, reduce the drawing.) Check months where closing cash goes below zero and plan how to fix it.

Panel scoring (20 marks each): customer and problem; services and legal route (including certified technicians and licences); money (start-up, prices, break-even, forecast); safety and ethics; clarity and answers to questions. Competent: at least 60 of 100 with no zero in safety and ethics (author's rule).

Present to a panel

Build a one-page plan with a 12-month forecast using your own quotes and clearly marked examples.
Present for five minutes to a panel of three.
Answer three questions, including one on what you will not do because you are not certified.

Feedback fix

Write two things the panel said to improve, and your plan to fix each by a date.

Check yourself: Unit 7

Name two things a maintenance contract must say is not included.
Why can a business with a profit still run out of cash?
What is the first question to ask before quoting for a tender?

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Competent / Not Yet Competent	The two possible results of a CBT assessment
Baseline	The readings of a healthy unit, kept for comparison
Duty	The share of time the compressor runs
kWh	Kilowatt-hour: energy used by 1 kW running for 1 hour
Cold chain	Every step that keeps a perishable product cold from source to use
Min/max thermometer	Shows the lowest and highest temperature since the last reset
U-value	How much heat passes through a wall per m² per °C
EPA certification	The certificate (L.I. 2503) needed to work on refrigerant circuits
CEWP	Certified Electrical Wiring Professional
R290 / R600a	Propane and isobutane refrigerants; flammable
Provision	Money set aside for an expected cost, such as warranty claims
Service contract	A promise to visit regularly for a fixed price
Mark-up / Margin	Profit as a share of cost / of selling price
Reconciliation	Matching your records to the bank or MoMo statement
Depreciation	Spreading the cost of a tool over its useful life
E-waste	Discarded electrical and electronic equipment, including fridges and ACs

Logbook

Copy these pages into an exercise book. Your logbook is part of your assessment evidence.

Unit 1: baseline sheet; measurement sheet; energy calculation; referral note
Unit 2: cold-chain plan; ice calculation; temperature log; heat-load example
Unit 3: compliance checklist; phone-call record; toolbox talk
Unit 4: job card; scope-of-work table; handover form; complaint record
Unit 5: registration checklist; start-up budget; partner agreement; one-page plan
Unit 6: cash book; stock card; job costing; reconciliation; income statement
Unit 7: contract outline; forecast; panel feedback
Every homework, dated

Self-check quiz

Why do you record a baseline for a unit?
How do you work out the kWh a day for a unit that draws 1.0 kW, runs 8 hours with the compressor on 60% of the time?
About how much ice is recommended for 100 kg of boxed fish in the tropics?
Why is a min/max thermometer better than a single reading for a cold room?
Who may open a refrigerant circuit in Ghana?
Who may wire a new socket or breaker?
What do you do with a scrap fridge?
Name two things you do if you smell gas from a fridge with R600a.
What must a job card show about the unit's refrigerant?
What is the cost of registering a sole-proprietor business name in 2026?
What is the difference between mark-up and margin?
How long must business records be kept?