Mitsubishi Electric has added the Ecodan Hydrodan to its heat pump range, a water-to-water unit designed for Fifth Generation heat networks, the company said on 7 February 20221. The announcement was made by James Chaplen, Senior Product Manager at Mitsubishi Electric, writing on the company's own site1.
The unit is intended for ambient loops, the low-temperature networks that circulate water at between 10oC and 30oC1. Each building or apartment on such a loop has its own heat pump producing domestic hot water and space heating, with heat interface units (HIUs) generating domestic hot water and low-temperature water for space heating1. Mitsubishi Electric describes the loop as able to act as either a heat source or a heat sink, so that heat ejected from cooling systems in mixed use developments can be absorbed back into the loop to provide heating elsewhere on the network1.
"It's a water-to-water heat pump specifically designed for ambient loops, built to fit into modern apartments, easy to install and maintain and very quiet in operation."
The company contrasts this with the heat networks in operation today. It states that many of the 14,000 heat networks operating in the UK have a central energy centre with a gas boiler or combined heat and power plant, and that operating temperatures across these networks remain the same whatever the heat source1. It says this has been shown to cause distribution heat losses through pipework, which in turn contributes to overheating in buildings, described as an important design factor under upcoming Part L and Part F updates1. Mitsubishi Electric states that heat network operating temperatures have fallen since the 1880s from 200oC high-pressure, high-temperature steam to between 55oC and 70oC flow and 30oC to 40oC return1.
The company also links heat networks designed around heat pump technology to the government's target of 600,000 annual heat pump installations by 2028, saying it brings that target within easier reach1. It cites the Climate Change Committee as having highlighted heat networks and heat pumps as significant technologies for a decarbonised future1. No price, efficiency rating, output range or UK availability date for the Ecodan Hydrodan is given in the announcement1.
| Network type | Loop or flow temperature |
|---|---|
| Historic steam networks (from the 1880s) | 200oC |
| Current heat networks | 55oC to 70oC flow, 30oC to 40oC return |
| Fifth Generation ambient loops | 10oC to 30oC |
Why it matters for households
Most UK homes are heated by their own boiler or by a standalone heat pump, so a product aimed at ambient loops matters mainly to households in, or moving into, buildings served by a shared heat network. For those homes, the heat pump sits inside the building or apartment rather than in a garden or on a wall, and the heat it delivers comes from water circulating round a communal loop rather than from a fuel burned on site. That changes where the energy comes from, how the home is metered and who is responsible for maintenance, though the announcement does not set out those arrangements1.
The efficiency argument rests on temperature. Lower loop temperatures reduce heat lost from pipework between the energy centre and the home, and the ability to move heat from cooling systems back into the loop means some heating demand can be met from heat that would otherwise be rejected1. For a household, that bears on running costs and on how much of its heating is exposed to gas prices, though no running cost figures are given1.
Mitsubishi Electric is one of several manufacturers supplying the UK market, and its Ecodan range is already established in individual homes. Households comparing options may also encounter hot water heat pumps and units from other makers such as Stiebel Eltron; a direct comparison of two common domestic models is set out in Daikin Altherma vs Mitsubishi Ecodan. Further manufacturer information sits in the manufacturers hub.
What happens next
No installation dates, project pipeline or commercial availability for the Ecodan Hydrodan in the UK have been reported1. The Part L and Part F updates referred to in the announcement are described only as upcoming, with no date given1.
Sources1 cited
- Taking low carbon heating to the next level, les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk