500,000 units of Eco Cute heat pump water heaters using R744 were sold in FY 2008 in Japan, while a survey conducted by METI found the leakage rates of fluorinated refrigerants significantly higher than formerly believed, pointing to the necessity of adopting low GWP refrigerants such as R744 in the country. Meanwhile, in the EU a new Directive recognising heat pumps as a renewable source of energy has been officially signed into EU legislation.
A survey conducted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan, found that leakage of fluorinated refrigerants used in air-conditioning equipment in the country, was 10 times more than what was previously estimated, while leakage from commercial refrigeration and air conditioning equipment was between 2-20 times more than estimated. More specifically, the leakage rates between years 2007 and 2008 and by type of technology were revised upwards as follows:
- Household Room Air Conditioners (RACs): revised significantly upward from 0.2% in to 2%
- Commercial Packaged Air-Conditioners (PACs): revised upward from 0.9% to 3%
- Chilling Units: revised upward from 2% to 6%
- Mid-Sized Refrigeration Units: revised significantly upward from 1.1% to 17%
500,000 Eco Cute units sold in 2008 & further opportunities for CO2 as a low GWP refrigerant
“A cumulative total of more than 100 million units of heat pumps and other equipment that use HFC and HCFC refrigerants have been installed in Japan. Management of HFCs has its limits, and the reality in Japan is that some types of equipment are uncontrollable. The adoption of new refrigerants with low GWP for this equipment is a pressing issue,” said Zenta Senoo, Deputy Director of the Ozone Layer Protection Policy Office of METI.
Until recently there has been a tendency to merely consider the energy saving offered by heat pumps, a technology recognised as renewables in Japan, and disregard the greenhouse gas effects from leakage of high GWP refrigerant. However, and as the survey conducted by METI also points out, unlike heat pumps working with natural refrigerants (i.e. Eco Cute), heat pumps working with high GWP refrigerant may not be as environmentally friendly as previously thought.
Meanwhile the latest issue of JARN (Japan Air Conditioning, Heating & refrigeration News) reports that an estimated 500,000 units of Eco Cute air to water heat pump water heaters using natural refrigerant CO
2 have been sold in fiscal year (FY) 2008, with sales expected to grow substantially in FY 2009. The pressing issue of dealing with the leakage of high GWP refrigerants in Japan opens further market opportunities for the wider deployment of technologies using natural refrigerants with low GWP and no other ‘unforeseen’ consequences such as Eco Cute in the country.
EU follows suit in recognising heat pumps as renewables
On 5 June, the EU Directive on the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources was published in the Official Journal, thereby effectively turning the text adopted on 17 December 2008 by the European Parliament and on 6 April 2009 by the EU Council of Ministers into EU legislation. This long awaited Directive recognises for the first time under EU law the potential of aerothermal and hydrothermal energy in addition to geothermal energy as sources of renewable energy. The adopted text specifically takes into account highly efficienct aerothermal, geothermal and hydrothermal heat pumps, while all EU Member States are asked to promote heat pumps which fulfill the minimum requirements of eco-labelling set down in Decision 2007/742/EC. EU Member States are now required to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive within the next 18 months.
The recent recognition of heat pumps as a renewable source of energy in conjunction with the possibility of future adoption of provisions for stationary applications such as heat pumps similar to the existing provisions phasing out high GWP refrigerants in mobile air conditioning, renders the deployment of CO
2 based heat pumps in the EU a safe option not only in terms of environmental sustainability but also in terms of securing against future stricter policy governing the use of fluorinated gases.
