Last Friday was World Refrigeration Day – A day to remind ourselves of the critical role that refrigeration and refrigerants play in so many aspects of modern life.
Everything from the medical sector, to food supply, retail, manufacturing, engineering, and IT all depend on refrigerant technology, along with the air conditioning systems and HVAC equipment that provides modern comfort levels for any building and its occupants.
It has been over 100 years since the first electric air conditioning unit was produced by Willis Carrier and in that time, we have seen some incredible innovations and developments in the air conditioning market - from body tracking, to being smartphone controlled.
We're recognised amongst the leading companies in the cooling sector on climate-related metrics
Rachel Lekman Channel Marketing Manager
Futureproof
Today’s buildings face tough legislation which means that ‘traditional’ HVAC technologies may no longer be the best solution.
In recent years, the HVAC sector has been searching for more innovative and energy efficient solutions and the development of new F-Gas regulations has seen ozone depleting refrigerants like R22 being phased out and others like R410A, being phased down and replaced with lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) counterparts, such as R32.
Looking to the future, the F-Gas Regulation is aiming to achieve an 80% cut in emissions across the EU by 2030. From 2020 onwards, refrigerants with a GWP of over 2500 will be made illegal for any system, starting the next 10-year phase down of hydrofluorocarbon gases with the ultimate objective to cut the availability of HFCs by 79% between 2015 and 2030.
Here at Mitsubishi Electric we are driven by our innovation and our desire to be better stewards of the planet. Our M Series, Mr Slim and City Multi air conditioning ranges are now available with an R32 refrigerant variant – a UK first – to deliver a lower GWP alternative for our customers.
And this innovation is also recognised beyond the industry with the recent report from CDP finding the company to be amongst the leading companies in the cooling sector on climate-related metrics.
Always leading, always unique
A pioneering spirit is embedded in our corporate culture and along with innovative technology, this approach has led the way over the last decade with advances in energy efficiency, inverter driven technology, refrigerant and compressor design, as well as advanced control solutions.
We remain the only manufacturer able to deliver R32 VRF systems, but standing tall amongst our suite of unique innovations is Hybrid Variable Refrigerant Flows, which remains the only VRF system able to offer R32 for any building.
Hybrid VRF uses water as the heat transfer medium for the majority of the system, meaning no refrigerant is used in occupied spaces, lowering the overall environmental impact of the air conditioning system.
This also removes the installation, hassle and annual maintenance costs of leak detection systems, whilst still complying with BS EN378.
So, while we celebrate the second annual World Refrigeration Day to show how far the industry has come since the early days of air conditioning, this forward-thinking spirit lives in everything we do.
Rachel Lekman is channel marketing manager
