I don’t know about you, but I have spent time in the last fortnight checking all the hidden places where I might have stashed some coins – coat pockets; jacket pockets; bags; nooks and crannies in the car; down the sides of the sofa and the chair.
It’s not that I’m any tighter than the average person, I’m just being sensible and I also hate waste. Plus, the idea that I will come across some old pound coins when they are no longer legal tender is definitely something I want to avoid.
So far, I’ve collected 24 old pound coins and managed to spend them all before yesterday’s deadline.
If you hadn’t heard the news, Britain now has a new one pound coin and the old versions are now longer accepted as payment. Sorry if you’re a bit late to the party. I think the banks may still change them for a while, but you better hurry.
The reason for the change is predominantly to do with avoiding counterfeits and the new versions are probably cheaper to produce as well.
The serious side to all of this though is that there are estimated to be around 400 million old one pound coins still in circulation, so that is a lot of money that would help both the individuals involved and the wider economy!
The moves to R32 prove that change can be good and can provide a real opportunity if you embrace it.
Graham Temple Marketing Manager
Whilst it seems change is all around us and ultimately inevitable, it doesn’t always have to be viewed as a bad thing and if you embrace it, it can actually deliver increased results or opportunity.
I’ve recently been responsible for marketing the change of refrigerant in our air conditioning products and so far, the building services industry seems to be embracing this change. Sales and orders for both our M Series R32 models and our Mr Slim R32 Power Inverter models are increasing month on month and we will be introducing new R32 models in the New Year.
But there’s a serious reason for this particular change and it’s all to do with global warming.
Air conditioning is now an accepted and essential part of modern commercial life, offering energy efficient cooling and heating to 1) counter the heat produced by all the office and computing equipment we all use and 2) keep rooms comfortable for the occupants.
However, the refrigerant that has become the norm for the industry is called R410A and this has been shown to have a global warming potential (GWP) of 2,088, when compared to CO2.
We therefore have to move to refrigerants with a lower GWP and this is why there is a move to R32 which has a GWP of only 675.
Embracing change
Added to this, changes to the F-Gas Regulations mean that the amount of total refrigerant that can be imported into Europe will be reduced – based on its GWP. There is a big drop in the total amount that can be imported coming next year and this imposes a limit on the actual amount of equipment that manufacturers such as us can bring to the market, with a high GWP.
A 14kW air conditioning system, preloaded with R410A will have a much higher GWP than one loaded with R32, so you will be able to bring in less R410A models than you can R32 ones.
In advance of this, we are also seeing the price of R410A gas rising significantly and this is likely to continue.
So, we all have to adopt the change and embrace R32.
It’s not the complete answer, because larger VRF (variable refrigerant flow) air conditioning systems are not yet ready for R32, so there needs to be more work by all the manufacturers on finding ways to hit required energy efficiency and comfort requirements, whilst reducing the overall GWP.
Increased efficiency
It’s not just air conditioning though, because all those fridges in supermarkets, homes, offices, cold rooms, etc, use a lot of refrigerant and this presents different challenges for different manufactures and parts of the industry.
For our part though, we are doing what we can with regard to air conditioning, and being as supportive of our customers and their customers, so that we can move to the adoption of R32 as quickly as possible.
The other thing as well is that the new R32 models don’t just match the efficiency of the older ones, they surpass it, bringing an increase in performance for customers, whilst also helping them demonstrate how they are reducing their overall carbon footprint.
This increase in efficiency also reduces carbon emissions and helps cut energy costs for business.
Automatic room scan
What our clever engineers have also been able to do though is fill the new products with seriously advanced technology such as the 3D i-See Sensor.
This scans a room and breaks it down into zones so that it can measure the room occupancy, position and body temperatures in each area. It will then automatically adjust the system to ensure that everyone is comfortable in the most energy efficient way possible.
Plus it will recognise when a room has been vacated, so it will switch off the air conditioning or change it to a more efficient set point so that no more energy is wasted.
So, the moves to R32 have actually given us an opportunity to include advanced benefits to our customers proving that change can be good and can provide a real opportunity if you embrace it.
Well I hope that's given you a taste for change and if you needed any further incentive, we've ensured you can get our Mr Slim R32 Power Inverter range for exactly the same amount of pounds as the existing Mr Slim R410A Power Inverter models.
Graham Temple is Marketing Manager for Mitsubishi Electric, Living Environment Systems in the UK.
