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 | | AN INNOVATIVE AND ENERGY EFFICIENT LPG-POWERED GAS HEAT PUMP LAUNCHED FOR RURAL BUSINESSES | | | Calor | | 16/07/2008 | | | An innovative and energy efficient LPG-driven gas heat pump from Sanyo has been launched for rural businesses requiring heating and cooling. Available through LPG supplier Calor and distributor Oceanair, the product provides heating and cooling for non-mains-gas commercial applications with a limited electricity supply.
For businesses that require cooling as well as heating, but do not have an adequate electricity supply, gas heat pumps are an ideal solution. Though they can be used in a wide range of commercial buildings, including offices and factories, they offer significant benefits for rurally based hotels, holiday parks, leisure centres and golf clubs.
The product can also be used in inner-city areas, in applications where there is a lack of three-phase power and inadequacies in the mains gas supply. It is estimated that around 40 per cent of commercial buildings suffer from upper-limit electrical supply issues, so in typical air conditioning applications, such as offices, shops and restaurants, an LPG-powered product provides a solution.
Sanyo’s gas heat pump is a Variable Refrigerant Flow air conditioning system, and can be run on LPG or natural gas. It comprises an internal combustion engine which drives a refrigeration compressor – which then produces heating and/or cooling. The product is unique in that it’s the only three pipe VRF air conditioning system available in Europe that can run on LPG. Being three pipe means it provides simultaneous heating and cooling, but there is a two pipe option available for heating or cooling. The system requires a single-phase, rather than three-phase, supply and there will be one outdoor unit (a condenser, which is usually sited on the roof), and several indoor units.
The gas heat pump delivers environmentally friendly heat, and ‘free’ hot water if required, while providing energy efficient, innovative air conditioning and reducing electrical demand. The product is over 100 per cent efficient, achieving 140 per cent efficiency in heating and 160 per cent efficiency in cooling. Cost savings of around 40 per cent can be achieved. There is also an optional 4kW generator which provides ‘free’ electricity by maximising the efficient running of the product.
To market the product, Calor is working in partnership with Sanyo distributor Oceanair. Oceanair carries out site surveys/assessments, designs the heating/cooling system, provides a quote and supplies the units. Calor adds the LPG supply and fuel costs.
Calor’s bulk market manager Laura Luty said: “Being a forward-thinking energy supplier, Calor has, for some time, been working with leading heating manufacturers to make sure that new technologies are available for commercial buildings based in rural areas. LPG-compatible solar thermal water heating systems and combined heat and power units are already available, and now we can offer an innovative heat pump through our partnership with Oceanair.
“Heat pumps transfer heat, taking it from where it isn’t needed to where it is, and upgrade it to a more useful temperature. In the winter, heat is extracted from the air outdoors and is transferred indoors. In the summer this is reversed. As such, it’s recognised as a ‘green’ technology.”
Bob Cowlard, managing director of Oceanair, said: “This new LPG-powered system from Sanyo is a major step forward for the air conditioning sector, not only in terms of the technology, but in the fact it opens up many new market opportunities.”
Installed prices start at around £25,000 (Oceanair suggests between £120 to £150 per square metre), but with the Enhance Capital Allowance scheme this can be 100 per cent allowable in year one. An electric air conditioning installation would be around £6,000 lower, but the cost of upgrading the electrical supply could be over £15,000. In addition, an electric air conditioning system would not be able to supply hot water or generate electricity. With the Sanyo gas heat pump system a hotel could be looking at a payback of just 18 months (excluding any Enhanced Capital Allowance benefit).
LPG can provide a very efficient heating solution for rural businesses, with official figures stating that it has the lowest carbon emissions out of all the fossil fuels available in rural areas. In fact, LPG emits 19 per cent less CO2 per kWh than heating oil. | |
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