Mitsubishi Electric has a proven track record of over a hundred years in fostering relentless technological advancements and ceaseless ingenuity. In today’s world, this dedication pertains to creating holistic solutions to tackle the mounting social and environmental issues our planet faces, with sustainable products playing a key role in this pursuit.
Mitsubishi Electric’s Consultant Sales Engineer, Margaret Rafter, explains how their products have been engineered intended to minimise environmental impact throughout their lifespan, starting from responsible raw material sourcing to energy-efficient manufacturing processes. She underlines that Mitsubishi Electric is committed to delivering technology and products that enhance energy efficiency across homes, businesses, and industry sectors in areas such as heating, cooling, ventilation, and automation, thereby lessening their environmental footprint. Yet, she points out that the company aims to go beyond by integrating and harmonising their broad product portfolio in order to drive greater efficiency and contribute more significantly towards building a sustainable future.
The strategy is to establish a comprehensive platform where mechanical and electrical engineering customers can find solutions for their heating, ventilation, air conditioning and automation requirements. Rafter, in her role, works closely with consultants, assisting them in equipment selection and specification for their projects. With increasing urgencies to meet new legislated sustainability standards, as well as optional green building standards desired by clients, her targeted advice and the company’s high-performance, energy-efficient devices help them to design almost zero-energy buildings (NZEB).
Reflecting upon the growing significance of voluntary green building certifications, Rafter notes that clients’ aspirations are often more progressive than merely meeting regulatory demands. Clients are now reaching for loftier goals and higher standards of performance through certification systems such as the US’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Europe’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). In accordance with these objectives, the team at Mitsubishi Electric assists consultants and their clients in accomplishing these ambitious missions.
JV Tierney & Co’s Joint Managing Director, Stephen Walsh, concurs, noting that at present, sustainability is foremost in clients’ concerns. Their firm extensively accredits buildings’ energy performance to BREEAM and LEED standards, a critical element of companies’ ESG policies, which is becoming more important than ever before. He states that sustainability is no longer a challenging topic of discourse with clients, as it may have been some years back. Recognising the urgency of decarbonisation and addressing climate change, clients are taking proactive action.
He emphasises that nowadays environmental responsibility takes a central place in public work contracts. He acknowledges that assessing the inherent carbon footprint and the prospective upkeep emissions of edifices are now part and parcel of agreements with government agencies. Remarkable strides have been made in the past year and a half or so, with a large portion of projects switching over to sourcing heat and warm water supply from unconventional energy sources, sidestepping non-renewable energy sources.
His engagement with Mitsubishi Electric on green initiatives has been long-standing. He affirms, “My dealings with Mitsubishi have spanned more than three decades and the establishment’s association with them goes beyond that duration.” He commends their commitment to environmental-friendly practices and their dedication to looking into the future by consistently funding R&D. He presents an instance of using equipment consisting of coolant gases. These gases come with ozone degradation potential factors, the higher the digits, the graver the damage to the ozone stratum. Mitsubishi’s efforts are directed towards making the mechanisms more compatible with the ecosystem. They’ve recently rolled out a hybrid fluid temperature adjustment device where the coolant is chiefly restricted to the exterior aspect of the device while the inner part primarily accommodates water. This lowers the coolant necessity and is invariably more beneficial for the environment, concurrently promoting decarbonisation initiatives.
However, Mitsubishi Electric extends beyond just offering sustainable products. It also stands ready to offer guidance and counsel. He states, “As architects of design, we ought to be ahead of the curve in readiness for impending regulations, standards, and market-ready products.” He adds that the capital ventures they are immersed in typically require five or six years from concept design to handing over. The goal is to avoid mid-process design adjustments due to regulatory changes or refreshes in guidelines or orders. It’s vital to perpetually scrutinize prospects and future occurrences with a keen eye. Mitsubishi excels in this regard. They facilitate us with current data on their future product line and R&D initiatives.
“Mitsubishi has the capacity to utilise its expertise in handling various projects, as per Margaret Rafter’s observations. At times, a project may demand an unconventional approach, such as an office infrastructure for a company involving numerous remote workers, obviating the need for constant operational systems. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning constitute a major share of a building’s energy utilisation, nearly 40%. Therefore, by introducing strict controls and deploying passive infrared sensors (PIR’s) that ascertain human presence within a given space, we can curb energy use. If a space is unoccupied, the system automatically powers down, therefore, operating only when necessary. Additionally, CO2 detectors can be incorporated into ventilation systems to trigger the system when the CO2 levels surpass a defined limit, thus facilitating the ventilation unit to modulate between 5% increments and thereby improving efficiency.
Rafter points out the importance of improvements in efficiency, specifically fans. In past years, the industry primarily used belt-driven fans with backward curves which regularly needed replacing. Presently, the industry uses electronically commutated fans which require less maintenance and are more energy efficient. Larger efficiency filters are equally beneficial, as are heat pumps which have become considerably more efficient. In order to assist consultants, Mitsubishi provides them with datasheets and specifications, allowing for the calculation of the energy requirements of all their equipment. By utilising the Mitsubishi Electric embodied carbon information database (EPDs and CIBSE TM65 calculations), project groups can precisely account for the embodied carbon linked to their mechanical plant- a stipulation likely enforced by impending legislation.
JV Tierney also collaborates with Mitsubishi to further the professional development of its engineers. Mitsubishi representatives visit to share the latest updates,” Mr Walsh says. “We reciprocate with visits to their offices where they showcase their latest technologies. Seeing these first hand greatly enhances our understanding. When faced with technical inquiries, we can always approach Mitsubishi Electric. They have proven instrumental to us and as a result, our mutual relationship continues to strengthen.”