The fist article reporting on this year’s Energy Solution & Thermal Storage Fair in Tokyo, Japan provides an overview as well as an image gallery of the residential CO2 heat pumps showcased at the event. + IMAGE GALLERY
Themed “A low carbon society driven by electricity”, the 2010 ‘Energy Solution & Thermal Storage Fair’ organised by TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company) saw the number of visitors compared to last year’s event growing by 10% after the first day.
A maturing CO2 domestic heat pump water heater market
CO
2 heat pump water heaters constitutes a well established and mature technology on the Japanese market, which now sees only a few new players.
For example, Toshiba - Carrier is a new market player offering a new residential CO
2 heat pump product, encompassing a combination of two heat pump units with sufficient capacity to cover the needs of a large home or a small building with a flat and a small convenience store. The capacity ranges between 4.5 kW and 6 kW, with an annual performance factor (APF) of 3.0 to 3.3 depending on the exact model.
CO2 novelties
Besides the novelty of combining two CO
2 heat pump units to cater for larger homes, other novelties and trends presented at TEPCO included:
- Improved CO2 compressors: For example, Corona (DENSO) showcased their new CO2 compressor for domestic CO2 heat pumps with an improved APF of 5.1.
- Focus on smaller tanks: With a view of reducing their carbon footprint, some companies are focusing on reducing the size of the tanks. As a result, the design of the units are better looking, while giving owners more space in their homes.
- Combining CO2 heat pumps coupled with solar: Under the brand name 'Twin Solar', several companies including Corona showcased combinations of CO2 heat pumps with photovoltaics, while one company (YAZAKI) presented the combination of a heat pump with solar thermal technology as an additional heat source.
A second article will provide an overview of CO2 heat pumps for commercial and industrial applications presented at the event.