Oct 28 2008
Mitsubishi Electric is using Interbuild (NEC 26-30 October 2008) to demonstrate its comprehensive range of Ecodan® residential water and space heating products which offer UK households reduced running costs from a viable and sustainable low carbon alternative to gas and oil.
The company’s stand (T49/W50 in Hall 3) will have details of the three models available to offer hard-pressed homes an immediate reduction in running costs and CO2 emissions. An Ecodan 5kW model is also on display as part of the ‘Eco House’ in The Village in Hall 5, Interbuild’s brand new show feature which explores cutting edge construction methods.
The Eco House has been designed by Woodward Smith Architects and constructed and developed by Loosemore Chartered Building Company, as an example of a sustainable, three-storey, family home. The timber framed structure has been specially built in just five days by Barnstaple-based Kevin Jackson Building Consultants, who specializes in construction for exhibitions.
The timber frame for the house, which is designed to achieve Level 5 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, has been provided by leading manufacturer Taylor Lane Timber Frame Limited, and the Eco House will eventually be rolled out across a private development in Barnstaple, Devon, striving for ‘Eco Town’ status.
Ecodan has been specifically designed to meet the unique demands of the UK and uses proven heat pump technology to extract free, renewable energy from the surrounding air and reduce the amount of primary energy needed.
It can offer savings in running costs of over 30% and cut CO2 emissions by 50% against even the most modern gas condensing boiler. Savings over oil, older gas boilers, LPG or direct electric systems are even greater.
Ecodan is easy to install and needs just single-phase electricity and flow and return water pipes. There is no need for CORGI and no requirement for F-Gas qualification as the refrigerant circuit at the heart of the system is self-contained and factory-sealed. Ecodan works with both radiators and underfloor heating with the unit sited outside the property to free up valuable internal space normally taken by the boiler.
“With our product line-up we are confident that we can deliver low carbon heating to the vast majority of UK properties built from the 1970’s onwards,” explained John Kellett, , General Manager of Mitsubishi Electric’s Heating Department.
The Ecodan series will work with a wide variety of tank sizes and specifications and is also available as a stand-alone unit for situations where a packaged solution is not required. This provides installers with more choice and flexibility, allows Ecodan to be used with a greater array of pumps, valves, controls and tanks and now means that in addition to helping new build houses achieve the Code for Sustainable Homes, a wider range of existing properties from single flats to larger houses can benefit from air source heat pump technology.
“Heating and hot water accounts for over 70% of the energy we use in our homes so if we as a nation can cut this consumption, we can make a real difference to both emissions levels and the fuel bills of hard-pressed households,” adds Kellett.