ARTICLES
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How Heat Pump Technology will reduce your carbon footprint
Friday, March 28, 2008
The CIOB Essex Centre was fortunate to have Max Halliwell, Product Sales Manager for Mitsubishi Electric UK (www.mitsubishi-aircon.co.uk) speak at their December CPD evening. Max is spearheading Mitsubishi’s sales drive into the UK domestic heating market with their pioneering “Ecodan”, an electric-powered air-to-water heat pump.
His informed and convincing presentation, explaining and justifying the system was backed up by well researched and tested performance data.
The Ecodan provides a viable alternative to all modern boilers and is especially welcome where no natural gas is available. This makes the system very competitive in price. It works on the same principle as a fridge, by removing heat from outside air and transferring this heat into the domestic hot water system.
The astonishing truth about the Ecodan is that every 1kWh of energy used by the system produces in excess of 3.5kWh of energy, as an average thoughout the year. Compare the efficiency rating of the best gas-fired condensing boilers of about 95% with the Ecodan figure of 350% and you can begin to understand what an environmental miracle this system presents.
The Ecodan is differentiated from other systems on the market such as the Daikin “Altherma” (www.spaceair.co.uk) by the fact that the Ecodan is an integrated system. This means the flow and return is brought from the home to the external unit. The Altherma unit is split with an internal unit linked to the external one by refrigerated pipes that require specialist gassing on site, with the main flow and return brought to the internal unit.
The Altherma unit was earlier to the market and is being installed entirely on a 36 home development in Upwell, Norfolk by James Development (www.jdhomes.co.uk). The company has recorded and published all their running expenses with a full fuel comparison at http://jamesdevelopment.org.uk/JDCUpAltherm2.html.
Both the Ecodan and Altherma systems offer similar huge CO2 emission reductions - in excess of 45%. Analysing the cost savings between 23 September 2007 and 20 January 2008, James Development discovered that over £85 has been saved against the cost of oil heating or over £37 against the cost of natural gas, although no natural gas is available.
However, it must be remembered that the colder the ambient air, the less efficient the heat pump will be. As a result, the figures to date relate only to the coldest winter months. The savings for the next eight months should be much higher as the ambient temperature rises.
Max also produced a case history using the Ecodan, which recorded excellent saving on a retro fit case study. All those present at the evening left in the sure belief that we will see much more from these pioneering systems.
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ECODAN HEAT PUMP BOILER SURPASSES EXPECTATIONS
Mitsubishi
26/02/2008
Ecodan™, the new low carbon heating technology from Mitsubishi Electric (EcoBuild – Stand E432) has performed beyond expectations, by delivering an average 50% reduction in CO2 emissions against a gas fired boiler.
The hot water and heating system, which has been on trial in a four-bedroomed home near Luton, was independently tested by BRE* (Building Research Establishment Ltd) before the trial and had been expected to deliver a reduction of around 30% in carbon emissions.
The Ecodan heat pump system harvests energy from the outdoor air and transforms it into usable heat, benefiting both the environment and the home owner with significant reductions in energy consumption and emissions.
“The trial has been conducted throughout September, October and November which, as usual in the UK, threw up a wide array of temperatures so we are delighted that the unit has exceeded our expectations,” explained Jason Tinsley, Technical Manager for the product. “We have also been pleased by the evidence which proves that Ecodan will also deliver a 41% reduction in running costs over gas.”
Ecodan uses proven heat pump technology to produce 1,500kg less CO2 than a gas-fired boiler and 3,000kg less than an oil-fired. Other alternatives to gas are often unproven, depend on how brightly the sun shines or how hard the wind blows, are far too expensive, require complex equipment, or leave the homeowner with waste to dispose of.
The Ecodan unit runs off a normal domestic electric circuit and is easy to install, although Mitsubishi Electric is stressing the need for exacting standards of installation coupled with modern levels of building insulation to ensure the greatest efficiency.
The average UK household produces over 5 tonnes of CO2 per year with space and water heating accounting for more than 73 per cent of this and in response, the Government introduced the Code for Sustainable Homes in 2006 as part of a growing body of legislation aimed at reducing CO2 emissions.
“The trial data clearly shows that Ecodan presents a viable and sustainable alternative to even the latest modern gas boilers, in terms of performance, running costs and emissions and it therefore helps new built houses achieve compliance with the Code for Sustainable Homes,” added Tinsley.
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20/09/2007
Ecodan Boiler Helps Homes Meet Sustainable Code
Environmental technology manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric has launched an incredibly efficient new heating system that harvests and upgrades the energy found naturally in the outdoor air to minimise energy use within our homes and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.
The Ecodan heat pump boiler gathers over 70 per cent of the heat energy it needs from the surrounding air, making it significantly more efficient at providing heating and hot water than modern condensing gas boilers.
Ecodan, which has BRE testing to validate performance, uses a sealed vapour compression cycle similar to a domestic refrigerator to exchange heat (or energy) between the outdoor air and the water supply. Ecodan comes as a simple to install, packaged system that is perfect for use in a variety of house sizes and styles. Ecodan is a new generation air source heat pump boiler (ASHPB) that is specifically designed for the UK’s domestic market and achieves an average of between 10 – 30 per cent reduction in running costs over gas, depending on the age of the gas boiler being replaced.
Significantly quieter and smaller than previous generations of ASHPBs, Ecodan is easy to install, requiring an in/out water and single-phase electrical connection. The company also stresses the need for exacting standards of installation coupled with modern levels of building insulation to ensure the greatest efficiency for each home.
Unlike previous forms of heat pump boiler, Ecodan's carefully developed control system has been specifically designed to provide hot water to either underfloor heating systems or traditional radiators in properties with appropriate levels of thermal insulation.
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