As oil prices hit new heights, it is not only climate change driving the need to develop viable energy sources. Graham Wright explains how the Gaia principle is leading his company
In October, environment secretary Hilary Benn amended the draft climate change bill to make the UK's 2050 60% reduction carbon target legally binding.
In addition, the legislation sets out interim carbon targets as well as introducing new five-year carbon budgets. These amendments all point to government trying to make real changes to achieve a low-carbon economy.
Meanwhile, on a local authority level, planning initiatives such as the Merton Rule, have given a boost to the renewables sector. In the case of the Merton Rule, the planning policy has managed to boost sustainable energy and heating technology which was developing slowly before its implementation. As a result of the rule, the renewables sector is now turning into a mass market.
This is all good news in the fight against climate change and the search for new viable energy sources. But, in themselves, these policies are not enough. Individual companies need to take environmental responsibility.
In 2005, Sanyo decided to base its corporate philosophy on the concept of 'Think Gaia'. This means the company is committed to using its global resources and skills to develop solutions for sustainable co-existence on earth.
Living planet
Gaia, originally the ancient Greek earth goddess, is also a hypothesis that proposes that living and nonliving parts of the earth are a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism.
The concept was first proposed in 1979 by the English scientist James Lovelock, who participated in NASA's Mars exploration programme during the 1960s. Lovelock proposed the idea of earth as a living, green organism where mankind and all living things live in harmony.
His recent book, The Revenge of Gaia: Why the Earth is Fighting Back - and How We Can Still Save Humanity, says that it is too late to avoid significant climate change. He believes that this will lead to a mass reduction in the human population and proposes nuclear power as a short-term solution to preserve civilisation. Unsurprisingly, it has sparked much public debate.
With Gaia in mind, manufacturers need to take on board the effect they are having on the earth. Sanyo put this into practice with its Solar Ark - the world's largest solar power generator with more than 5,000 photovoltaic cells, which supplies one of its production plants. The Solar Ark also shows that renewables are becoming increasingly important in product development.
Utilising a renewable source of energy, photovoltaic cells, either in banks or individually, use the photovoltaic (PV) effect of semiconductors to generate electricity directly from sunlight. Until recently, their use in manufacturing had been limited because of high costs. Now, thanks to a recent reduction in manufacturing costs, the range of cost-effective uses for solar power is growing.
Following these developments, Sanyo combined its knowledge of PV cells and heat pumps and launched the UK's first standard solar air conditioning solution. The key to the technology is a power inverter that allow a coefficient of performance (COP) of 7.0 for part load, although it is theoretically possible to achieve a COP as high as 24 in some instances.
Holistic philosophy
Thinking Gaia has also been the driving force behind many other environmentally sustainable products. These include gas-driven VRF systems, and a chemical-free Virus Washer that suppresses 99% of airborne viruses including cold, flu and avian flu.
Taking gas-powered heat pumps as an example, recent research from BSRIA suggests that, because of global warming, demand for traditional heating products will slow down. In their place, heat pumps are set to steal a large chunk of the sector, offering an efficient and proven alternative to traditional heating and cooling solutions.
For instance, Sanyo's GHP range uses a new heat reclaim heat exchanger. It allows a system that is cooling to supply its waste heat from the engine into the hot water system, improving overall efficiency and COP.
The company says ECO G is the only GHP range in Europe to use mains gas or LPG as its main power source, and single-phase electricity for start-up and fan operation. It provides the ideal solution for operators facing a short-fall in power, particularly important in the current energy market.
In addition, the hvac industry is taking a dramatic technological leap forward with the emergence of CO2 air-to-water heat pumps. Introduced in Japan in 2001, CO2 air-to-water heat pumps are about to overtake sales of ground-source heat pumps in Europe. This type of unit is attractive because of its high COP, high water temperatures and environmental refrigerant. For instance, Sanyo's CO2 ECO water heater can generate hot water up to 60˚C at a COP of 3.75, and is more efficient that electric heaters, which generally have a COP of 1.
Meanwhile, another avenue that manufacturers should be exploring is the development of products using environmental refrigerants. For example, Sanyo's CO2 water heater uses heat energy derived from compressed carbon dioxide gas, which is less harmful to the environment than other refrigerants.
The real thing
Working with Coca-Cola, Sanyo has developed a cassette unit that uses CO2 as its refrigerant and includes an energy management system. Sanyo will supply these new units to Coca-Cola this month for use in its beverage coolers.Coca-Cola, an official sponsor of the Beijing Olympics, will be using these coolers in the games' venues. This shows how companies can work together to minimise their impact on the environment.
Other Sanyo examples of sustainable product development include the eneloop battery, which can be recharged 1000 times via a solar charger, and the Aqua washing machine, which uses ozone rather than detergent and recycles its water.
Manufacturers need to see the bigger picture when developing products. The world has seen the end of cheap energy prices. We have to find energy sources that will not have a detrimental effect on our environment.
The hvac industry has been working hard during the last few years to produce energy efficient products. The new challenge is to develop products that are sustainable and utilise renewable eneregy sources.
www.sanyo.co.uk