Recognised at this year’s IRI Industry Awards, Mitsubishi Electric’s Ecodan Hydrogan is a new, highly efficient, low-carbon water-to-water heat pump developed for the multi-residential sector. The packaged ‘plug & play’ solution is specifically designed to provide heating and hot water in residential apartments, and to capitalise on the significant sustainable energy efficiency that the next generation of heat networks offer.
The 2024 IRI (Institute of Refrigeration Ireland) Industry Awards were staged in the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel on Dublin’s Naas Road on Friday night, April 19th and Mitsubishi Electric Ireland were one of the big winners, claiming the prestigious IRI Heat Pump Product of the Year award for their game-changing Ecodan Hydrogan heat pump.
Shane Toye, Specification and Consultant Sales Heating Division, was on hand to accept the award on Mitsubishi Electric Ireland’s behalf. “Winning this award was a nice achievement,” he told Building Ireland afterwards. “We went down a different route with our apartment-heating solution and went with a water-to-water heat pump designed to produce heating and hot water in residential apartments.
“We have stepped outside the norm with this product – which we’ve been making available in Ireland for just over 18 months now, and we believe it represents the future of commercial heating. No-one else has anything like this. It goes to all our key customers and is a big stepping stone within the industry.
“It’s a basic concept – water-to-water heat pumps have been around a long time – and is one-size-fits-all as it goes from one kilowatt up to 7.5 kilowatts. As it’s water-to-water, the user is guaranteed a very high level of efficiency.”
An Ecodan Hydrodan unit is installed in each individual apartment and connects to a 5th generation ambient temperature heat network deployed throughout the building. The use of these networks produces negligible distribution losses and, crucially, helps reduce overheating in apartments.
These networks also afford the ability to recover heat from cooling plant on the network to reduce primary energy consumption. The local heat network can be maintained at ambient temperature by a Mitsubishi Electric commercial heat pump, environmental source, or connected to a district heat network.
Offering low running costs, reduced environmental impact due to the low quantity of R32 refrigerant used, simple repairs and internet based controls with smart speaker connectivity, while delivering highly-efficient all-year-around heating and hot water production in multi-residential buildings, the Ecodan Hydrodan operates at an ultra-low noise output (27dBA at 1m), and it’s easily concealed within a utility room cupboard optimising comfort for occupants.
Installation and maintenance have been carefully considered within the design of Ecodan Hydrodan. The removable heat pump module makes maintenance simple. All connections for the heat network, mains cold water, domestic hot water and low temperature hot water circuit are fitted at the top of the unit for simple installation.
Boasting a heating temperature range of 20-60°C, the Ecodan Hydrodan is designed for use in multi-residential apartments which have up to three bedrooms. It is compatible with various space heating equipment including underfloor heating and fan assisted radiators.
The Ecodan Hydrodan unit incorporates an easily removed heat pump module containing the compressor, refrigerant to water heat exchanger, loop to refrigerant plate heat exchanger, and water circulating pump.
5th generation networks utilise ultra-low temperature, typically between 10-30°C. The use of such a low temperature allows the use of multiple water source heat pumps on the network. These heat pumps can use the network as a heat source or heat sink depending on the demand for heating or cooling, meaning the network can be used as an energy store to share rejected energy from cooling plant with the heat injection needs of heating plant.
The ideal option for new-build apartments, the Ecodan Hydrodan upgrades heat energy from the water loop for use in each apartment. Each packaged unit offers a capacity range of between 1.1-7.5kW with flow temperatures of up to 60°C. The 170l integrated tank includes variable PIC (Pressure Independent Control) Valve loop control, which allows the flow into the unit to change independently of the pressure in the system.
The Ecodan Hydrodan is a significant stepping stone along Mitsubishi Electric’s journey towards Net Zero. As Alex Bagnell, Product Manager for Hydronics at Mitsubishi Electric, commented when the product was launched:
“There are already renewable heating solutions for single homes, but this is one of the first truly low-carbon options available for multi-residential apartments. The next decade will see us continue to decarbonise home heating, in order to reach the net-zero target and low-carbon technology will play a pivotal role here. Ecodan Hydrodan, and particularly the use of water-to-water heating, is well placed to support this”.
The use of a low-temperature ambient loop network makes this heat pump ideal for multi-use buildings that might have commercial units on the lower floor, with air conditioning or cooling requirements. In the apartment units where they are installed, Ecodan Hydrodan water-to-water pumps efficiently allow for comfortable conditions from the depths of winter through to the warmest days of summer
Another game-changing, award-winning product from the industry leaders at Mitsubishi Electric!
Mitsubishi Electric Ireland,
Plunkett House,
Grange Castle Business Park,
Nangor Road,
Dublin 22.
Phone: +353 (1) 419 8800
Fax: +353 (1) 419 8890
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, October 2024, Vol 10 No 10
