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What to consider when choosing a heat pump for a residential building

With society being increasingly aware of the environmental concerns of heating solutions, the positive impact of switching from traditional heating technologies to heat pumps is seen as a step in the right direction.

 

According to the European Heat Pump Association (EPHA) the heating and cooling sector is responsible for 51% of final energy demand in Europe, and for 27% of its CO2 emissions (https://bit.ly/3NFGk0r). That means it is practically impossible to think about minimising our environmental impact without decarbonising heating and cooling.

In recent years, heat pumps have gained relevance as a way to decarbonise the construction sector. Heat pumps can provide heating, cooling, and hot water, and are suitable for commercial spaces and residential buildings, both single and multi-family homes. They can be used for new buildings and renovations.

This is very important as the heating systems in most urban buildings rely on fossil fuel boilers that use natural gas and oil. This means that heating and hot water account for a huge percentage of our city’s total greenhouse gas emissions. By choosing heat pumps instead of traditional heating systems, this trend is expected to gradually change.

 

Meeting the building’s needs while improving energy efficiency

Whether it is a new building or a renovation, residential buildings need a system that ensures the resident’s comfort by providing heating or cooling depending on the season and hot sanitary water, as well as being environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The system also needs to:

·       Have the correct capacity for the building’s size.

·       Meet the footprint constraints that a small residential building might present.

·       Adapt easily to the building’s actual demands at different times of the day or year.

 

Low combined CO2 emissions

To ensure a system has the maximum impact on decarbonising heating and cooling in our homes, it is very important to choose a heat pump that is as energy efficient as possible and uses a low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerant. This means that the system can guarantee low indirect CO2 emissions from both low energy consumption and low GWP refrigerant.

The solution is new generation heat pumps that use R-32 refrigerant. This refrigerant conveys heat very efficiently and can significantly reduce electricity consumption compared to traditional refrigerants. The seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of units with R-32 refrigerants is higher than conventional refrigerants (R-410A), with a lower peak power consumption.

R-32 also has zero ozone depletion potential (ODP), while its GWP is 675. R-32 can also reduce the charging volume by 30% compared to traditional refrigerants such as R-410A. This results in an up to 76% decrease in CO2 emissions compared to conventional technology running on R-410A, for instance.

Reclamation is another important aspect. As R-32 is not a blend of refrigerants, it can easily be reclaimed, for example during maintenance operations, before being reused. This makes it an even more environmentally friendly solution.

The roof of the CI Factory features not only the aforementioned photovoltaic array, but also four Daikin air-cooled chillers specially designed for “green” building architecture. Each has an output of 820 kW in cascade, providing efficient air conditioning for the logistics and production processes. © DAIKIN

Compact footprint

Footprint is another aspect to consider. Small residential buildings can usually only dedicate a very small space to HVAC equipment, especially if the project is a building renovation. This means that it is important to choose a heat pump that can provide all the needed capacity and energy efficiency, while keeping the footprint of the unit as compact as possible.

 

The new R-32 Small Inverter Chiller

The new Small Inverter Chiller and Heat Pump Series featuring R-32 refrigerant can be an extremely valuable choice when making relatively small residential buildings, such as single or multi-family houses, environmentally friendly.

The R-32 Small Inverter Chiller series is a range of air-cooled scroll compressor units that provides heating or cooling depending on seasonal needs and hot sanitary water up to 60°C. It can cover capacities from 16 kW to 90 kW for an extremely compact footprint. The heat pump version is suitable for ambient temperatures ranging from -20°C to 35°C (heating mode).

Amongst the outstanding features offered as standard are the Daikin designed DC-Invertor Scroll compressors, highly efficient Daikin designed DC-Inverter fans with a selectable silent mode, and an inverter pump kit with both low and high lift variants.

These components make the Small Inverter Chiller a full inverter series that addresses the load variation to ensure the heating system delivers exactly what is needed at different times of the day, improving the energy efficiency of the system.

The series also incorporates an enhanced ability to connect to the internet through the Internet of Things (IoT) to a dedicated mobile configuration app for ease of use.

The R-32 Small Inverter Chiller series is extremely reliable thanks to Daikin’s extensive experience in developing R-32 technology, which is now standard in the residential sector.

Daikin has been focusing on R-32 refrigerant since 2012, when replaced R-410a with R-32 in most of the residential air conditioning products. Since then, Daikin has been pushing forward its commitment in using this refrigerant, extending it to applied products as well.

In 2018, Daikin was an early innovator in the industrial and commercial sector as well, making history by introducing the first R-32 refrigerant chillers, followed by free-cooling scroll units the same year, and the R-32 Heat Pump in 2020.

Today, Daikin has the highest number of R-32 installations in the world. This is a testimony to the experience, knowledge, quality, and reliability of its R-32 products.

 

Read more here about Daikin being pioneers in R-32 technology development

 

Are you interested in learning more about the new Daikin R-32 Small Inverter Chiller? Contact us via the form below.

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