The handbook contains 31 articles by individual authors covering the following issues: policies and legislation on F-gases and related issues (Part 1), safety concerns and means to overcome (Part 2), a technical assessment of natural refrigerants in different applications (air conditioning, commercial and industrial refrigeration and heat pumps) (Part 3), and case studies by manufacturers and end-users providing insights into market developments and examples of successful conversions to natural refrigerants (Part 4).

This report highlights two underutilized but fully implementable technologies that efficiently integrate heat and electricity systems, provide flexibility and enhance energy security. It examines what restricts co‑generation and efficient district heating and cooling systems that can help de-carbonize the energy system.

According to this paper, an alternative to standardised imported hand pumps is the locally manufactured rope pump, which is considerably cheaper and easier to maintain but has been rejected in the past because of fears of impaired water quality. This paper presents the key aspects of a study in northern Ghana that compared the performance of rope pumps with that of conventional hand pumps, to determine whether the rope pump provides a viable alternative for community water supplies across the subcontinent.

This report is a review of irrigation technologies for smallholders in the context of improving rural livelihoods, especially in regards to the prospects for sub-Saharan Africa. The role of traditional technologies is evaluated and modern water distribution technologies, such as sprinkler and trickle irrigation, are reviewed. Low-cost irrigation systems, including such innovations as the use of treadle pumps and drip-kits are then examined.

Treadle pump (TP) technology has been promoted by Enterprise Works Worldwide (EWW) in West Africa as an alternative to the traditional rope and bucket irrigation that is necessary to overcome the challenge of uncertain and inadequate rainfall for agricultural production. The aim is to improve output, increase income and reduce poverty among rural farm households. This study examines the strategies used for dissemination of the TP and the dynamics of its adoption and impacts, with a special focus on poverty reduction.

This paper deals with a series of tests conducted on a PV-DC pump. The tests involved measurements of solar radiation, on both a horizontal surface and the tilted module surface, flow rates, volumes, and total dynamic heads. In total, up to 3000 data were collected every day whose analysis allowed the authors to find empirical relationships between system efficiencies, solar radiations and total dynamic heads.