Building heat

An agreement between Manchester-based sustainable-power group Ener-G and Italian manufacturer Robur will make low-carbon gas-absorption technology available to UK consumers.

The Anglo-Italian partnership will work to supply gas absorption heat pump (GAHP) solutions for temperature control within buildings.

The Robur-manufactured system is powered by natural gas or LPG and works by removing heat energy from the air into a pump so that it can heat or cool air or water inside a building.

Andrew Hill, product manager at Ener-G, said: ‘GAHPs harness the properties of refrigerants to change from liquid to gas and back again in order to transfer heat.

‘The technology provides sustainable solutions for a wide range of businesses and households.’

According to Ener-G, this will provide financial benefits through an energy consumption reduction of up to 50 per cent, as well as legislative benefits with the introduction of the new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) and improved Building Energy Certificate ratings.

Hill added: ‘While traditional heat pumps use a compressor to convert the gaseous refrigerant into a liquid state, absorber and generator systems transfer the refrigerant into an absorbing fluid and then liquefy it.

‘This means that only a small supply of energy is required to pump the refrigerant solution around the fan to circulate the air, which substantially lowers both energy costs and CO₂ emissions.’