Panasonic Turns Excess Hot Air Into An Easy Energy Saving Bonus

15/09/2015

Panasonic has added to its line of VRF systems with its new ECOi Hydrokit. With significant energy saving credentials, the new Hydrokit implements an efficient heat recovery system which can be used in conjunction with Panasonic’s new, sleek CZ-RTC5 remote controller.

This latest addition to Panasonic’s heating and cooling portfolio recovers heat which is a major source of energy waste. This heat is the result of the normal cooling process when using a standard air conditioning unit in cooling mode.

The ECOi Hydrokit recovers this energy to heat the water needed for the hot water supply. Marc Diaz, Country Manager for Panasonic UK & Ireland explains: “This heat recovery operation is incredibly efficient and environmentally friendly”

The ECOi Hydrokit the most complete system on the market, incorporating an A class water pump, flow switch, air purge valve, relief valve, backup heater, expansion vessel, manometer, a water filter, weather compressor and automatic sterilization process.

Available from October 2015, Panasonic’s ECOi Hydrokit is compatible with the 3 pipe VRF (ECOi) series of outdoor units. Multiple Hydro modules can be connected on the same circuit and each can be set to operate in either hot water supply mode or space heating mode for optimum efficiency, Panasonic’s DHW Cylinder, in particular, can set from 35 to 65 degrees celsius. The heating within these systems is weather compensated to maximise efficacy further, the system can utilise its own room temperature sensor or accept external inputs to improve internal climate control.

To further enhance the ease of use and efficiencyof this Panasonic solution, the ECOi Hydrokit can be used in conjunction with the new CZ-RTC5 remote controller, which supersedes the CZ-RTC3 controller. This updated controller is ideal for integration in the most demanding of applications. The CZ-RTC5 boasts a touch panel display with a sleek and compact design, complete with its own room temperature sensor to improve internal climate control. The information display is easy to read and navigate around, as there is a conscious reduction in the use of text through using pictograms. The necessary text can be displayed in five languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Italian) and for night time use, the screen is back-lit.

Key functions of the CZ-RTC5 controller include easy set-up of the timer and associated timer settings for the indoor unit. When connected to specific PACi units, the display can also reveal the energy consumption of the system as well as limit energy consumption in certain applications through utilising the demand control software in conjunction with the timer.

Additional energy saving functions include temperature auto return and temperature setting range limitation, both of which are especially useful in commercial and hospitality environments to avoid excessive heating or cooling.