Innovation in the
Refrigeration, AirConditioning and Heat
Pump Industry
Dr Andy Pearson, CEng, FInstR
President – Institute of Refrigeration
What is innovation?
… the combination of new ideas
with action or implementation
which results in an
improvement, gain or profit
Ernest Gundling
Type C Innovation
Line extension
CUSTOMER NEED
PRODUCT
MODIFICATION
END
USER
Type B Innovation
Changing the basis
CUSTOMER NEED
RESEARCH
ACTIVITY
PRODUCT
MODIFICATION
END
USER
Type A Innovation
New business
CUSTOMER NEED
RESEARCH
ACTIVITY
PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
END
USER
NEW END
USER
What drives innovation?
• Technical
– New materials and production techniques
– New processes
• Legal
– Environmental legislation
– Safety regulations
• Commercial
– Increased competition
• Social
– Consumerism
Technical Drivers
Legal Drivers
Commercial Drivers
Social Drivers
Opportunities for Integration
Waste Heat
s
Lo
t
ea
tH
Raw
Material
Product
Gas
Electric
Water
Scrap
Opportunities for Integration
Waste Heat
s
Lo
t
ea
tH
Raw
Material
On-site generation
Gas
Water
Useful
Heat
Scrap
Ground
Coupling
Pyrolysis
CHP
Trigeneration
Product
What blocks integration?
• Capital cost
– Additional equipment costs extra
– Payback is too long or not clear
• Lack of joined up thinking
– Environmental technologies are in silos
– No interaction with neighbour
• Lack of proven technology
– Each job is “first of it’s kind”
• Lack of will
– We don’t make it hassle-free
– It’s not core business
What about interaction?
• Energy prices in the UK
– Electricity is about 5p/kWh
– Gas is about 1.7p/kWh
• A heat pump is a viable alternative to a
gas boiler if the CoPh is better than 3.0
• Energy prices in Norway
– Electricity is about 3p/kWh
– Gas is about 2.4p/kWh
• A heat pump is a viable alternative to a
gas boiler if the CoPh is better than 1.2
Conclusions
• There are numerous opportunities to
integrate “green” technologies in R, AC&HP
• The imperatives to do so are getting stronger
• We need to focus on the “blocks” in order to
reduce or eliminate them
• Government can play a role in this
• Innovative thinking is required:
– to see the opportunity
– to make it easy for the end user