4th Generation of VRV - setting the standards

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Available in the UK from January 2013

The new VRV IV heat pump units will be available from January 2013. Daikin products are distributed in the UK by Daikin Airconditioning UK Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daikin Europe NV, and Space Air Conditioning Plc, the largest independent Daikin distributor.

VRV IV heat pump achieves a new benchmark for efficiency, as it features major enhancements to the already industry-leading VRV solution. VRV IV heat pump offers three revolutionary innovations: variable refrigerant temperature, continuous heating during defrost and the VRV configurator for simplified commissioning and servicing.

Variable refrigerant temperature technology allows installers to customise the system using a choice of presets.

In automatic mode, the system is configured for high efficiency levels throughout the year, while allowing rapid response on the hottest days, thereby ensuring comfort at all times. This technology is capable of delivering a 28% increase in seasonal efficiency, because the system continually adjusts the refrigerant temperature according to the total required capacity and weather conditions.

For example, in mid-season when little cooling is needed, the room temperature will already be close to the setpoint, so a small difference between room and refrigerant temperature is sufficient for the system to operate effectively. In automatic mode, the system will change the refrigerant temperature from 6°C (the current operating standard) to a higher temperature, resulting in reduced energy consumption and significantly improving the seasonal efficiency.

The other available mode is the “high sensible” mode, where energy efficiency is maximised with guaranteed high outblow temperatures and no cold drafts, but the set point may not be maintained so accurately.

Continuous heatingduring defrost is another revolutionary innovation that sets a new standard in comfort, making VRV IV the best heat pump alternative to traditional heating and cooling systems.

Continuous heating finally overcomes any perceived disadvantages of specifying a heat pump because the heat pump continues to provide continuous comfort, even when in defrost mode.

This is important because all heat pumps accumulate ice during heating operation, which must be melted periodically. This defrost operation reverses the refrigeration cycle, causing a temporary temperature drop within the room. VRV IV features a unique heat-accumulating element which provides dedicated energy for the defrost function, while indoor units continue to provide heating and maintain a comfortable indoor climate.

The new VRV configuratorcompletes the trio of innovations, offering an advanced software solution which simplifies commissioning and servicing. The software allows the remote configuration of settings that can be used at multiple sites, so less time is required on the roof, configuring the outdoor unit. Ongoing maintenance is easier too, thanks to a graphical interface that allows engineers to evaluate operational data and errors.

VRV IV integrates with intelligent solutions

To complement the VRV IV heat pump system, Daikin’s new intelligent Touch Manager (iTM) offers an intuitive user interface with a visible floorplan, which can manage up to 2,560 indoor units and provides energy management tools to maximize efficiency.

The VRV IV heat pump can be used together with a wide range of ventilation units, hot water hydroboxes, Biddle air curtains and Daikin’s wide range of fan coil units, including the latest round flow cassettes, which feature a daily auto cleaning filter option that could reduce energy consumption over the year by up to 50%. The Roundflow cassette is also available with a presence sensor that adjusts the set point or switches off the unit when nobody is in the room. This produces potential further savings in energy consumption of up 27% over a typical three hour working period.

Daikin Invests In R&D Jobs

HVAC equipment company to invest $9.2M in Va expansion, creating 50 jobs in Augusta County


By Associated Press, Published: February 13


RICHMOND, Va. — Daikin McQuay plans to invest $9.2 million to expand its manufacturing and research and development operation in Augusta County, creating 50 jobs.

Gov. Bob McDonnell says the subsidiary of Japan-based Daikin Industries plans to upgrade its facility to increase its ability to generate energy-saving global chiller products.

The company is a global manufacturer of commercial heating, ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration and building management equipment and systems.

McDonnell met with Daikin Industries officials in Japan during his Asia marketing mission in 2011. He also met with the company in New York City on marketing trips in 2011 and 2012.

McDonnell approved a $250,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund for the project.

Ontario sets drilling rules to prevent disaster

Ontario is strengthening drilling regulations for geothermal energy systems after averting a potential disaster in Oakville recently.

By: Tony Van Alphen Staff Reporter, Published on Fri May 18 2012


Ontario is strengthening drilling regulations for geothermal energy systems after averting a potential disaster in Oakville recently, but a business leader says the extra costs will put the industry at risk.

The rules will add “significant costs” to vertical geothermal heat pump systems and make them less attractive to consumers, says Denis Tanguay, president of the Canadian GeoExchange Coalition.

“It is very likely that these additional costs will put the industry at risk to a point where the customer return on investment will be delayed by many years,” he said Friday. “The geothermal industry in Ontario is already challenged by high electricity rates. Any additional cost will have a negative impact.”

The Ontario government announced earlier in the day that it will require geothermal installers to obtain provincial approval for vertical closed loop systems. They must also consult with a certified geoscientist or engineer and develop an emergency plan before drilling. The rules are effective immediately.

Furthermore, the Environment Ministry said it will consult industry stakeholders in the next few months about the regulations and conduct inspections to ensure installers are meeting safety standards.

Geothermal energy is a form of renewable energy that leverages underground temperatures to heat and cool buildings. Systems to tap that energy provide an excellent source of green heating and cooling.

They support the government’s long-term plan to use more renewable energy and eventually close dirty coal plants.

“The actions we are taking today and in the coming months will ensure geothermal drilling takes place safely,” said Environment Minister Jim Bradley.

The government moved quickly after urgent calls last week by Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, his town council and the provincial association of fire chiefs for an immediate moratorium on unregulated drilling for geothermal energy installations until it implemented rules for public safety.

Last month, a contractor drilled a borehole for a heating system and struck significant volumes of pressurized natural gas hundreds of metres deep, which could have sparked major explosions, property damage and loss of lives in Oakville.

The local gas utility and town fire department received an emergency call from the owner of a home about 100 metres from the drilling site a few days later.

High levels of natural gas (which is odourless in its naturally occurring state) were found inside and outside the home. Officials took steps to ensure proper ventilation and monitoring.

Tanguay acknowledged the new rules may help avoid a similar incident. But he noted that in the Oakville case, an engineer or a geoscientist could not have guessed installers would hit natural gas at 120 metres since underground mapping of the area showed its presence at about 380 metres.

“Disaster could be averted with multiple gas detectors on the drilling rig so that the operator knows precisely what is happening when it is happening,” he added, offering an alternative.

“In short, drilling activity comes with a risk. Anything that can be done to reduce those risks is good. But the current regulation may not be the answer.”

Since 2008, companies have installed more than 8,800 geothermal systems in Ontario. About 15 per cent involve closed loop vertical systems.

The average price for a four ton vertical geothermal heat pump system in Ontario is about $32,000. A similar system with a horizontal loop has a price tag of about $28,000.

Tanguay said it would be difficult to estimate how much more the systems would cost with the new rules.

ACCA Names Magic Touch Mechanical 2013 Residential Contractor of the Year

For Immediate Release:
January 30, 2013

Contact: Melissa.Broadus@acca.org
703-824-8842


ACCA, the nation’s largest association of indoor environmental systems professionals, has named Magic Touch Mechanical in Mesa, Arizona, its 2013 Residential Contractor of the Year.

“Each year many of the best residential contractors in the industry apply for this award, and share the unique business practices that make them so successful,” said Paul T. Stalknecht, ACCA president and CEO. “It is always a difficult decision for our panel of judges to choose who they consider the ‘best of the best’ from the group. This year’s winner, Magic Touch Mechanical, is an extremely deserving company that truly exemplifies the qualities that all of the best companies in the industry share.”

Magic Touch Mechanical will be presented the Residential Contractor of the Year award on February 27 at the opening general session of ACCA 2013 in Orlando, Florida.

Magic Touch Mechanical’s customer-centric business model is bolstered by the use of social media and review sites to enhance their customers’ overall experience.

Over the past 15 years, Magic Touch Mechanical has grown to be a leader in their market by focusing on “doing the right thing” by their customers. The company puts a focus on educating their customers and providing a full range of options that allows the customer to make a decision about what work needs to be done now, what needs to be done later, and what they feel doesn’t need to be done. The company is a firm believer that the “whole home approach” is the best way to provide their customers with the best comfort possible.

Magic Touch Mechanical has connected with customers through its investment in social media and review sites. The company is active on both Twitter and Facebook, sharing company information, updates, and tips with their service area. They also encourage all of their customers to post reviews on sites such as Angie’s List and Kudzu, and they consistently follow up with those customers who do so.

“To be named Residential Contractor of the Year out of all of the best contractors in the nation is the equivalent of being a Gold Medalist at the Olympics,” said Rich Morgan, president of Magic Touch Mechanical. “It’s probably pretty easy for an Olympic athlete to win an award in his or her event when up against a lesser athlete; it’s a whole other achievement when pitted against the finest athletes in the world. For that reason, winning this award is Magic Touch’s Gold Medal!”

Magic Touch Mechanical is only one of the thousands of top contractors who will be attending ACCA 2013, February 26 – March 2 in Orlando. Learn more and register online at www.accaconference.com or call 703-824-8856.


The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) is a non-profit association serving more than 60,000 professionals and 4,000 businesses in the indoor environmental and energy services community. Founded more than 40 years ago, today ACCA sets the standards for quality comfort systems, provides leading-edge education for contractors and their employees, and fights for the interests of professional contractors in every state in the country. Learn more at www.acca.org.

Variable Refrigerant Flow: An Emerging Air Conditioner and Heat Pump Technology

 


Ammi Amarnath, Electric Power Research Institute
Morton Blatt, Energy Utilization Consultant


ABSTRACT
This paper reviews the attributes of  an emerging space conditioning technology;
variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems. Material presented in this paper was synthesized from
the open literature, private interviews with industry experts and data (sometimes proprietary
data) obtained from manufacturers. VRF systems are enhanced versions of ductless multi-split
systems, permitting more indoor  units to be connected to each outdoor unit and providing
additional features such as simultaneous heating and cooling and heat  recovery. VRF
technology uses smart integrated controls, variable speed drives, refrigerant piping, and heat
recovery to provide products with attributes that include high energy efficiency, flexible
operation, ease of installation, low noise, zone control, and comfort using all-electric
technology. VRF systems are very popular in Asia and Europe and, with an increasing support
available from major U.S. and Asian manufacturers are worth considering for multi-zone
commercial building applications in the U.S.

 This paper provides an overview of variable refrigerant flow system technology,
including the market situation, advantages and disadvantages for the customer, possible impact
on the electric utility, applications recommendations, and technology attributes. Also addressed
are what is holding back the technology, including lack of verified third party field data; codes
and standards issues; technology improvements needed; and market actions needed to increase
penetration of these systems.


Evolution of the Technology

Ductless space conditioning products, the forerunner of multi-split and VRF systems,
were first introduced in Japan and elsewhere in the 1950s as split systems with single indoor
units and outdoor units. These ductless products  were designed as quieter, more efficient
alternatives to window units (Smith, 2007).

Products have evolved from a few indoor units operating off each outdoor unit, to multisplit products with 4 units to 8 units in the late 1980s, to 16 units in the early 1990s, to 32 units
by 1999. Today’s advanced systems permit as many as 60 or more indoor units to operate off one
outdoor unit, enabling application in large commercial buildings. Electronically commutated
motors, inverter-driven/capacity modulated scroll compressors, multiple compressors, versatile
configurations and complex refrigerant and oil circuitry, returns, and controls have enabled this
addition of up to 60 indoor units. Refrigerants have also changed. The early “mini-split” systems
used R-22 refrigerant, then R-407C, and today’s systems rely on R-410A. Figure 1 shows the
piping and refrigerant flow for conventional split systems (one indoor and one outdoor unit)
multi-split systems, and variable refrigerant flow systems (Dyer, 2006).

Multi-splits offer some of the major advantages of VRF systems, such as zoning, capacity
control, ease of retrofit, low installation costs, and minimizing ducting and use of secondary
2008 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 3-1fluids and associated costs and losses. On the other hand, their simpler piping results in longer total length of piping compared to VRF systems. Similarly, multi-split heat pumps do not have the opportunity for heat recovery between units that are cooling and units that are heating. As such, multi-split systems should be considered  for smaller, simpler buildings where heat recovery is not a possibility and fewer numbers of zones need to be conditioned.


How Does VRF Work?
 
Multi-splits include multiple indoor units connected to a single outdoor unit. Ductless
products are fundamentally different from ducted systems in that heat is transferred to or from
the space directly by circulating refrigerant to indoor units (evaporators or condensers) located
near or within the conditioned space. (When the indoor units are in the cooling mode they act as
evaporators and when they are in the heating  mode they act as condensers.) In contrast,
conventional ducted systems transfer heat from the space to the refrigerant by circulating air (in
ducted systems) or water (in chillers) throughout the building.

VRF systems are enhanced versions of ductless multi-split systems, permitting more indoor
units to be connected to each outdoor unit and providing additional features such as simultaneous
heating and cooling and heat recovery. VRF heat pump systems permit heating in all of the indoor
units, or cooling of the all the units, not simultaneous heating and cooling. Heat recovery systems
provide simultaneous heating and cooling as well as heat recovery to reduce energy use during the
heating season.

Over the past 15 years the technology has advanced in a number of areas:
• Standard compressors to variable speed and capacity modulated scroll compressors
• Direct driven outdoor fans to variable frequency drive, inverter-driven fans
• Direct driven indoor coil motors to direct current or ECM-type motors
• Variable capacity indoor units
• Better heat exchanger surfaces with multi-segmented coils
• Improved controls and diagnostics
• R-22 to R-410A
• Better refrigerant charge and oil management
 
 Other features include the addition of  concealed ducted units and ceiling cassette
configurations to the traditional wall-mounted units. Refrigerant piping runs of more than 200
feet are possible and outdoor units are available in sizes up to 240,000 Btu/ hr.

[Continued...]

Completion of the Goodman Acquisition

Daikin Industries, Ltd. announces the completion of its acquisition of Goodman Global Group, Inc. (Head Office: Houston, Texas, USA - hereinafter "Goodman"), which was announced on August 29, 2012, for a purchase price of 3.7 billion dollars (including the refinancing of Goodman's existing indebtedness) as of November 1, 2012 (US time). In the two months since the signing, Daikin obtained the regulatory approvals from relevant authorities necessary for consummating the acquisition.

Combining the state-of-the-art environmental technology of Daikin with the air conditioners of Goodman, Daikin plans to use this acquisition to launch advanced environmentally-friendly products in the US residential and commercial HVAC markets. In doing so, the company hopes to initiate a new wave of growth that sustains both business expansion and contribution to the environment.

Furthermore, Daikin hopes to improve competitiveness even further by capitalizing on Goodman's lean management know-how to develop business in emerging economies and high-volume markets and restructure the earning power of the Daikin Group overall, including activities in the advanced economies.

To quickly generate synergies between the companies while maximizing the advantages of the complementary relationship between Daikin and Goodman and accelerating further growth and development of both companies, we have begun formulating and implementing concrete action plans.

In regards to Daikin's consolidated financial results, the acquisition will be reflected in the consolidated balance sheet for fiscal year 2012 and in the consolidated income statement from fiscal year 2013.

Japan's Daikin to buy Goodman Global for $3.8 billion: source

Daikin to announce Goodman Global purchase Wednesday: Daikin source
Tue, Aug 28 2012


NEW YORK | Tue Aug 28, 2012 7:30pm EDT

(Reuters) - Japan's Daikin Industries Ltd (6367.T), the world's second-largest maker of air conditioners, has agreed to buy U.S. rival Goodman Global Inc from private equity firm Hellman & Friedman in a deal worth about 300 billion yen ($3.82 billion), according to a source familiar with the matter.

San Francisco-based Hellman & Friedman bought Goodman Global in October 2007 for $1.8 billion in cash, including $1.1 billion of its own capital. The transaction also included assumed debt and other financing for a total of $2.65 billion.

Hellman & Friedman declined to comment. Daikin could not immediately be reached for comment.

Daikin said in April 2011 that it had been pursuing Goodman but takeover talks were on hold due to Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami. In January, Daikin reaffirmed that it was still interested in buying Goodman, but talks on a potential deal were on hold due to uncertainty over the global economy.

A deal would come more than two years after Goodman Global filed for an initial public offering in May of 2010. The company withdrew its IPO registration later that year, and a source at that time said it had explored a possible sale to Daikin and other potential buyers.

The deal marks a major push into the Americas for a company that was forecast to generate fewer than 10 percent of its projected 2012 air conditioning sales in the Americas, according to a May company presentation.

The Americas are the second-biggest market, behind Japan, for a Daikin business that provides refrigerants.

Daikin, which took over Malaysian-based O.Y.L. in 2006, has touted its ambition to become the world's biggest player in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning sector (HVAC).

The company competes in a crowded field of providers of heating and cooling technology for residential and commercial use. Rivals include United Technologies' Carrier unit (UTX.N), Johnson Controls' (JCI.N) York, Lennox International (LII.N), and Ingersoll Rand Plc's (IR.N) Trane brand.

News of the deal was first reported by Nikkei.

($1 = $78.5000 Japanese yen)

(Reporting by Michael Erman, additional reporting by Soyoung Kim and Nick Zieminski,; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Richard Chang)