Renewable Energy Installer December/January 2017 | Page 38

World ’ s first gas heat pump for domestic use available in UK

ProductNews

New app for cloudbased PV system monitoring

World ’ s first gas heat pump for domestic use available in UK

ESS ( Environmental Site Supplies ) has launched of the world ’ s first gas heat pump for domestic and small commercial use . The Robur K18 is an 18kW mini gas-powered heat pump that offers temperatures up to 65 ° C for heating and up to 70 ° C for domestic hot water . The K18 is aimed at larger or period domestic properties , and is also ideal for small commercial installations , such as schools , church halls and care homes . A hybrid version , with an integrated boiler , offers a 37kW output and is available early in 2017 . The Robur K18 is a high efficiency boiler replacement that provides energy and carbon savings of 38 per cent against a modern condensing boiler . It is a monobloc heat pump that requires no costly fridge work and simply connects to an existing heating main . The K18 has fewer mechanical parts than electric heat pumps and so benefits from exceptionally low noise levels and low maintenance costs . It satisfies demand in properties that are too large for electric heat pumps , or where higher water temperatures are required . Kevin Pacey , Managing Director of ESS , commented : “ It makes complete sense to use our established gas transmission network to deliver the energy we need for heating until such time that adequate renewable power becomes available . Gas heat pumps are straightforward for a gas-qualified plumber to fit and plumb and are similarly priced to an electric heat pump .”
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Zeversolar , a subsidiary company of leading inverter manufacturer SMA , has launched a new app for monitoring PV systems via smartphone . The app accesses cloud-based monitoring portal ZeverCloud , and versions for both Android and iOS are available . No matter where they are , PV system operators can use it to access current and historical yield data for their PV system , as well as information on the CO2 emissions that they have avoided . The location of the systems is automatically shown on a map on the cell phone . The app is suitable for private and commercial users and , like the monitoring system via ZeverCloud , free of charge . It shows daily , monthly , and annual yields clearly in compact diagrams and also provides information about feed-in tariffs generated . New systems are registered quickly and easily when users scan a QR code on their Zeversolar inverter with a smartphone . The inverter is subsequently connected to the internet router via WLAN or a LAN cable . With ZeverCloud , yield losses can be identified partly by the comparison of current and previous yield data . In addition , the software sends error messages by e-mail .