SANYO's CO2 heat pump courses well received in the UK

More than 30 installers have already received training courses on how to install SANYO’s ECO CO₂ heat pump-based heating system at a specialized centre in the UK. The company reports rapidly growing interest in SANYO’s product, while additional training facilities planned for 2009 are expected to further disseminate CO₂ technology knowledge throughout the country.

Oceanair Distribution, the company that has been providing training courses on how to install SANYO’s ECO CO₂ heat pump, has already trained more than 30 registered installers in CO₂ technology in the UK, while it expects the figure to rise to above 50 over the next few weeks. According to Oceanair Distribution, interest in SANYO’s ECO CO₂ heat pump-based heating system is growing rapidly, with several hundred enquiries received to date that are now translating into orders.

Martin Hook is heading up the training provided by Oceanair on how to install SANYO’s ECO CO₂, which consists of a one-day course focusing on the principles of the carbon dioxide cycle, and how it differs from conventional refrigerant and gas-fired systems. “We are delighted to have Martin’s expertise available to us. He co-devised the course on behalf of SANYO, and knows the requirements inside out” said Richard Tyson, Oceanair Managing Director. “In the age of expensive energy, and the need to cut carbon emissions, we believe it’s a technology whose time has come”.

The courses were initially launched in April at the Oceanair Distribution site in Bristol as well as another two centres across the United Kingdom, namely the SANYO headquarters in London, and the Easy Air Conditioning site in Birmingham. Additional training centres are planned to be added throughout 2009.

The SANYO CO₂ air to water heat pump

The SANYO CO₂ air to water heat pump is available in single phase power supply at 4.5kw and 9kw. The units come with 223 litres of thermal store. Thanks to the properties of CO₂ refrigerant and unlike conventional technology that requires the use of immersion heaters to raise the water temperature to kill legionella, SANYO’s 223 litre thermal store can be run at 65˚C on the heat pump alone to provide hot water for radiators and domestic or commercial hot water.

The unit features the world’s first two stage rotary compressor operating on R744, which is able to deliver hot water even at ambient temperatures as low as -25˚C. Additional features include the option to connect the tank to solar panels, while the use of a state of the art control system allows the system to simultaneously deliver water at different temperatures for different uses, i.e. hot water usage, underfloor heating, or central heating. In addition, the system is simple to install with only two water pipes and control wiring linking the outdoor unit to the tank.

Regarding efficiency, a performance analyser monitoring the system at a UK trial where a 9kW SANYO CO₂-based heat pump was installed at a solid stone-walled 200-year-old three-bedroom cottage to provide for all heating and domestic hot water needs, recorded a coefficient of performance (COP) of 3.7 with water temperature output of 35°C and an outside temperature of 15°C, and a COP of 2.71 with a flow temperature of 65°C and an outside temperature of 7°C.