Winns eco-friendly heat pumps and cooling systems

In the 1990s, ozone layer depletion led producers of heating and cooling systems to replace harmful chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) with synthetic, ozone-friendly F-gases.

F-gases, however, are powerful greenhouse gases, with 2 kg of the least damaging F-gas having the same climate impact as more than 5 metric tons of CO₂. These gases are now being phased out, and many producers are looking to natural substances as replacements.

WINNS’ tap water heat pumps use a natural gas – CO₂ – as a refrigerant. In addition to sparing the environment, the heat pumps are energy saving as well. On average they use 1kW to produce 4–4.8kW of hot water at 75 °C.

The heat pumps can heat tap water directly from 6 °C to 90 °C. They can be incorporated into existing systems and draw on a wide variety of heat sources, including exhaust from ventilation systems, seawater, fresh water and geothermal wells.

Designed for use in commercial and residential buildings, WINNS’ heat pumps come in two sizes, with a heating capacity of 20kW–40kW and 60kW–150kW respectively.

Next-generation heat pumps will feature intelligent controls connected to the energy grid. These will further boost savings by timing production and accumulation of tap water to the time of day when electricity is cheapest, and will also have an impact on peak load, increasing grid capacity.

WINNS’ cooling system for data centres also uses CO₂ as a refrigerant and features an external seawater-cooled gas cooler. The units come in three sizes – 11kW, 28kW and 75kW – run in fully automated mode and are controlled by an industrial programmable logic controller.

WINNS’ technology reduces climate footprint by 99 per cent. The company’s emission-free systems are developed, manufactured and tested in Norway, and can be tailored to user needs.

The company has several large-scale customers in Norway with documented energy savings of more than 75 per cent, thereby earning back their investment after only two or three years.

There are firm targets for phasing out F-gases including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The EU, for example, aims to cut F-gas emissions by two-thirds by 2030 compared with 2014 levels. Meanwhile, rising affluence will increase the demand for hot water.

Moreover, the market for liquid-based cooling for data centres is expected to grow rapidly, with a forecasted growth rate of nearly 16 per cent for the period 2018–2020, according to Technavio.