While energy-efficient air conditioning equipment is essential to limit the impact of global warming, no two regions have exactly the same air conditioning needs. Using our heat pumps and inverter technologies, we offer energy-efficient cooling and heating solutions that match the climates and needs of people worldwide.

Reducing CO2 from Space and Hot Water Heaters, a Key to Minimizing Global Warming

Global warming occurs when CO2 and other greenhouse gases trap heat and cause the temperature of the earth's atmosphere to rise. Continuing global warming will affect climate and ecosystems as glaciers and polar ice melt, ocean levels rise, and floods and droughts increase. The effect on agriculture could trigger food shortages and rising temperatures might cause health problems.

Today, a large portion of the world's CO2 emissions result from interior space and water heaters. While Japan is concerned mainly with CO2 generated from air conditioning, cold regions—parts of Europe, the central and northern United States, Canada, central and northern China, and Russia—rely on interior space and water heaters for longer periods of the year than on cooling systems, making these devices the main source of their interior CO2 emissions. This type of heating, fueled by oil and coal—in other words "combustion heating"—gives off large amounts of CO2. A key to reducing CO2 emissions from interior space and water heater is heat pump technology.

Heat Pumps Offer Superb Thermal Efficiency Minimizing Direct CO2 Emissions

When gas is compressed to a liquid it generates heat, and when liquid is vaporized it removes heat from the surrounding air. Heat pump technology makes use of this phenomenon, repeatedly compressing gas (refrigerant) to a liquid and then vaporizing this liquid to transport heat. In cold regions, heat is drawn from the outside air and brought inside for interior space and water heating. Since no fuel is burnt, no direct CO2 emissions result. Of course, running the compressor requires electricity, so some CO2 emissions do occur indirectly from heat pumps at thermal power stations. But the heat pump's superb thermal efficiency allows it to heat air and water with surprisingly little energy. For example, an electric heater produces only one unit of thermal energy per unit of electricity, but a heat pump generates three to six times this amount.

Air conditioning technology involves drawing the heat from the air inside a room and pumping it outside in the summer (see diagram on right page). Daikin has applied the heat pump technology developed in its air conditioning equipment to the development of a heat pump for hot water heaters and interior heating systems.

Energy consumption per household(2001)