Heat pump combines gas and electric technologies

JAPAN: Japanese manufacturer Yanmar has developed a hybrid chiller system, in cooperation with Daikin Industries and Tokyo Gas, that combines gas and electric technologies. 

The Smart Mix Chiller, designed for the Japanese market, is said to be the first product in Japan that packages a GHP chiller and EHP chiller in a central air conditioning system to achieve energy savings, CO2 reduction, and cost savings while maintaining comfort. It will go on sale in Japan in April.

The system is a package product that combines Yanmar’s gas air conditioning GHP chiller and Daikin’s highly efficient electric air conditioning EHP chiller together with Tokyo Gas’s Enesinfo cloud control service. 

The package optimises operation by taking advantage of both gas and electric air conditioning, reducing running costs for general commercial facility air conditioning by approximately 15% compared to an all-EHP chiller.

The EHP chiller is prioritised in normal operation, while the GHP chiller is activated when air conditioning is under heavy load.

When demand for electricity is tight, the system automatically switches to priority operation of the GHP chiller to avoid exceeding the power contract while maintaining the comfort of the indoor environment.

When defrost operation of the EHP chiller is anticipated in winter, the system automatically switches to a mode that facilitates operation of the GHP chiller to avoid defrost operation as much as possible.