PRODUCTS & SERVICES Products of the month Lochinvar goes for heat pump power Low carbon heating and hot-water equipment manufacturer Lochinvar has launched the UKs most powerful heat pump water heater L ochinvar has launched the Amicus Aquastore, a new heat pump water heater, with an output of 8kW and 455 litres of hot-water storage capacity in a compact monobloc package, combining both a heat pump and storage vessel. Up to 65C hot water can be delivered when in efficiency and hybrid modes and, in peak hours, up to 490 litres can be provided with a 50C temperature rise. The new product is aimed at the burgeoning low carbon replacement market for gas-fired water heaters in commercial buildings. It has been designed to minimise disruption by avoiding the need for wholesale changes to existing heating and hot-water systems. Its space-saving monobloc construction means that it is easy to manoeuvre into position and offers plenty of options for positioning, another very important consideration for replacement projects. It is also a straightforward plug and play process to set up and commission. Water heater replacements are often distress purchases, which means the end user needs something relatively easy and quick to install, said Lochinvars heat pump technology manager, James Cooper. The beauty of the Amicus Aquastore is that we can offer that quick response, but also provide a solution that dramatically reduces the customers energy usage and carbon footprint without the need for a more complex, disruptive and expensive installation. To support the rapidly growing demand for projects that require heat pumps, Lochinvar is holding generous stock of the units. It also offers comprehensive technical advice to ease the design and installation process. The Aquastore is the latest addition to the extensive Amicus range of air source heat pumps (ASHPs), which has models delivering domestic hot-water capacities from 7.7kW up to 210kW for a wide range of projects, including large residential, medium and large commercial, and industrial applications. To improve output and efficiency, the Amicus heat pump range employs the innovative principle of enhanced vapour injection (EVI). EVI is a two-stage compression process with inter-cooling that produces a superheated vapour that boosts capacity and efficiency. As a result, Amicus units can achieve a 56 March 2023 www.cibsejournal.com The company is seeing increased demand for hybrid systems where heat pumps are combined with high-efficiency conventional technologies, such as gas-fired boilers and water heaters coefficient of performance (COP) up to 4.4 and are 25% more efficient than standard scroll compressor-driven systems. They are also capable of operating in outside temperatures as low as -20C. Amicus heat pumps can be used as standalone replacements for conventional heating products or as part of an integrated system, providing pre-heated feed water to gas-fired condensing boilers, water heaters and thermal stores in buildings with large heating or hot-water demands. Heat pumps are playing an increasingly important role in helping the UK transition to low carbon heating and the Amicus Aquastore is just the latest in a line of innovations designed to make the technology available to the widest possible range of users, said Cooper. As well as our onsite support and technical backup, Lochinvar can offer all the components needed to provide a complete low carbon system with heat pump technology at its heart. This considerably simplifies the specification, design, and installation process, he added. Lochinvar traces its history to 1919, and its products have been supplied in the UK since 1976, when the Knight and Charger water heater ranges were among the first products of their type. Since then, it has expanded its offering to include a wide range of high-efficiency heating and hot-water solutions for commercial and industrial applications. Today, the company is seeing increased demand for hybrid systems where heat pumps are combined with high-efficiency conventional technologies, such as gasfired boilers and water heaters, to improve operating performance where a fully renewable system may not be an option, either for financial or technical reasons. This hybrid or integrated approach is proving particularly effective in retrofit projects, because it avoids the potentially disruptive and costly process of replacing other system components. Lochinvar has recently expanded its Oxfordshire office and warehousing space to keep in step with growing demand, and its sales and product management teams cover the whole of the UK and Ireland. Visit www.lochinvar.ltd.uk Tel: 020 7880 6245 Email: cibsedirectory@redactive.co.uk