The move is part of Mitsubishi Electric's 'Green Gateway Initiative' and comes on the back of rapid advances in air conditioning and heat pump technology over the last five years, which now means that it can be the most energy efficient and cost-effective way of heating and cooling a building.
Modern air conditioning systems can transfer energy around a building 'borrowing' excess heat from an area that is being cooled to use elsewhere in a zone that requires heating.
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The obvious example is a building with predominantly north and south sides, where the sunny southern side will mainly need cooling and the darker north side will need more heating. Theoretically, it is possible to get a system in absolute equilibrium where the air conditioning uses hardly any power at all.
"Air conditioning is now ideal as the primary source of heating and cooling for the majority of commercial applications," explained Commercial Director Donald Daw. "Heat pumps are one of the lowest carbon ways to heat a building and we are ensuring that we encourage as many heating installations as possible."
Year-long tests at Mitsubishi Electric’s Hatfield headquarters have also demonstrated that air conditioning is over 300 per cent more efficient than the traditional method of heating and cooling a building – a boiler in the basement and a chiller unit on the roof.
Modern air conditioning also uses 'inverter-control'. This means that instead of being either 'off' or 'on at full power', the system only consumes the amount of energy needed to reach set temperatures and it is therefore much more efficient.
Mitsubishi Electric's UK Living Environmental Systems Division has produced a 10-point action plan for the country which will contribute to the reduction of over three million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year by 2016.
(CL/SP)
