Panasonic developing CO₂ CDU with heat reclaim

As Panasonic continues to invest in R&D on new CO₂ system research and development, the Japanese multinational last week presented findings on tests conducted with its new 20HP CO₂ condensing unit featuring heat reclaim.

The system, which has an evaporating temperature of -15°C, also has the ability to supply 8.5 litres of hot water per minute at 70.4°C.

"Even when supplying hot water, sufficient cooling performance was secured," noted the presentation, given at the International Symposium on New Refrigerants and Environmental Technology 2018, held 6-7 December in Kobe, Japan.

With a COP of 1.74, the system aims to replace HFC and gas boiler-based systems at food processing factories where both cooling and heating are often needed.

In addition, the presentation highlighted the advantages of using CO₂, including the refrigerant's superior ability to "heat water up to high temperatures and utilize waste heat from the refrigerator".

In October, Panasonic's Shigeru Dohno discussed the company's ongoing development of a water-cooled CO₂ system with heat recovery.

Dohno is the managing officer for Panasonic Appliance Company's Food Retail & Commercial Equipment Business and is the main driver of the company's strategy of creating a 'CO₂ family' of solutions.

"At the moment, our natural refrigerant products are supplied to supermarkets and convenience stores. We want to expand our portfolio to include large-scale systems for logistics companies and warehouse companies,” Dohno said at ATMOsphere Japan earlier this year in February.

"We want to make a CO₂ family."

Dohno will return for a second time to ATMOsphere Japan 2019 to discuss Panasonic's latest market and technology developments with natural refrigerants. The event will be held on 12 February 2019.

See the latest programme here.

This year marks the 13^th anniversary of the International Symposium on New Refrigerants and Environmental Technology, which has been held every two years since 1994. The event is organised by the Japan Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Industry Association (JRAIA) and aims to promote discussion of the latest developments with HVAC&R and refrigerant technology.