December 16, 2024

• qitabankuai

In the 2024 Energy Conservation Grand Prize, the 'Green Building Support Service' received the 'Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Prize,' supporting the enhancement of ESG value in existing buildings.

Overview of Awarded Products

1. Product and Business Model Category: Winner of the "Minister of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Award"
"Existing Building ESG Value Enhancement Solution ‘Green Building Support Service’"

This service supports energy-saving diagnosis of buildings, renovation of air conditioning systems, and subsequent operational improvements, aiming for decarbonization and enhancement of ESG evaluation for existing buildings through five steps: (1) Screening, (2) Green Building Diagnosis, (3) Support for Green Building Renovation, (4) Support for Green Building Certification Acquisition, and (5) Monitoring and Operational Improvement. In a representative case applying this service, energy consumption was reduced by 56% due to energy-saving renovations, followed by an additional reduction of over 5% through subsequent operational improvements.

2. Product and Business Model Category: Winner of the "Chairman of the Energy Conservation Center Award"
"Energy Saving through Air Conditioning Remote Monitoring and Predictive Heat Load Forecasting: 'Air Net Service System'"

This service achieves both reduction in energy consumption and comfort by automatically controlling air conditioning units remotely. AI predicts the heat load for each room using the operating data of air conditioning units and external information such as weather and solar radiation obtained from the cloud, preventing unnecessary operation like overcooling or overheating and maintaining energy-saving and comfort. In 30 verification projects both domestically and internationally, energy consumption was reduced by approximately 20% year-round without compromising comfort.

3. Product and QITABANKUAI model department: Awarded the "Chairman's Award of the Energy Conservation Center".
Air Conditioning Unit for ICT Equipment Contributing to Carbon Neutrality "FMACS-VI (M)".

This product is an annual cooling type air conditioner developed in collaboration with NTT Facilities, designed to cool ICT equipment. It adopts HFC-32, a low global warming coolant, as the first in Japan for air conditioners for ICT equipment and aims to contribute to Carbon Neutrality. Additionally, it is equipped with DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD. Unsponsored ADR's unique high-efficiency turbo fan and IPM motor, and by minimizing air resistance inside the air conditioner using airflow analysis technology, it has achieved approximately a 20% reduction in annual power consumption compared to conventional models.

[Details of the award-winning product]

1. Product and Business Model Division awarded the "Minister of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy Award."
"Existing Building ESG Value Enhancement Solution ‘Green Building Support Service’"

As the promotion of decarbonization in real estate accelerates internationally, there is a demand for improved ESG evaluations of existing buildings in Japan as well, with a focus on obtaining green building certifications. In this context, DAIKIN INDUSTRIES, LTD. Unsponsored ADR has leveraged its strengths as an air conditioning manufacturer to develop a solution service that supports continuous operational improvement from diagnosis to management based on five steps throughout the lifecycle of existing buildings, including design and operational management.

(1) 'Screening'
For existing buildings, using the tool "CRREM" to assess GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions based on the 1.5°C scenario of the Paris Agreement, targets for decarbonization by 2050 are calculated, and the current status towards decarbonization, as well as goals achieved through equipment renovation and operational improvements, are confirmed with the customer.

(2) 'Green Building Diagnosis'
In response to issues identified in the screening, proposals regarding operational improvements and equipment renovations will be made using methods such as building-wide inspections and energy measurements to understand the equipment status.

(3) 'Green Building Renovation Support'
Based on the results of the green building diagnosis, the optimal capacity during equipment renovation will be selected, and the potential for green building transformation will be proposed, along with support for equipment renovations.

(4) 'Support for Obtaining Green Building Certification'
During equipment renovations, surveys will be conducted toward obtaining green building certification for the building, and support for obtaining certifications such as BELS※4 and CASBEE Real Estate※5, as well as proposals for improving evaluations will be provided according to customer needs.

※4 BELS: Building Energy Efficiency Performance Display System ※5 CASBEE Real Estate: Environmental Performance Evaluation System for Existing Buildings (such as offices, shops, logistics facilities, etc.)

(5) 'Monitoring and Operational Improvement'
As a sustainable energy-saving and decarbonization effort, energy usage tracking and reduction proposals will be carried out using remote support services ('EneFocus α') and the reevaluation of 'CRREM'. Furthermore, appropriate maintenance proposals will be made to aim for a reduction in the life cycle cost of equipment.

Service that continuously supports energy-saving and CO2 emission reductions by remotely monitoring air conditioning units.

2. Product and Business Model Division 'Energy Saving Center Chairman’s Award' received.
"Energy Saving through Air Conditioning Remote Monitoring and Predictive Heat Load Forecasting: 'Air Net Service System'"

Achieving Carbon Neutrality is regarded as crucial by promoting energy conservation in small and medium-sized buildings, which account for more than half of the total area of domestic buildings. Currently, approximately 80% of small and medium-sized buildings adopt individual distributed methods such as package Air Conditioners. The energy conservation of air conditioning units is important not only by updating the long-used equipment to high-efficiency units but also by energy saving in operations. However, there is a challenge with energy savings during operations due to the limited effective methods available. Our company has developed a new method to realize energy conservation of air conditioning units without compromising comfort by utilizing external information such as weather and solar radiation together with AI.

(1) Automatic learning of thermal load conditions.
Daily operation data of air conditioning units that change according to weather and usage environment are accumulated in the cloud, automatically learning the thermal load conditions of air conditioning units 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and calculating thermal load models for each building.

(2) Prediction of building thermal load.
The weather conditions 10 minutes ahead are predicted, and the thermal load of the building 10 minutes ahead is forecasted using the learned constructed model.

(3) Remote automatic control.
Air conditioning units are controlled remotely and automatically according to the predicted thermal load of the building, reducing unnecessary operation such as over-cooling or over-heating while achieving energy savings and maintaining comfort.

Future Initiatives

With the increasing global awareness of environmental issues, efforts towards Carbon Neutrality are accelerating further. The company will not only focus on this project but will also reflect diverse market needs and customer feedback in product development, challenging the development of new solutions that can cater to various applications.

3. Product and Business Model Division - Recipient of the 'Energy Saving Center President’s Award'
Air Conditioning Unit for ICT Equipment Contributing to Carbon Neutrality "FMACS-VI (M)".

Recently, due to the proliferation of generative AI, the thermal load of ICT equipment such as Datacenters has increased, necessitating more energy-efficient cooling devices. The company has adopted the low-greenhouse-gas Coolant 'R32' and jointly developed an air conditioning unit for ICT equipment with NTT facilities, reducing annual energy consumption by 20% compared to conventional units.

(1) Adoption of Low-Global-Warming Coolant 'R32'

This product uses the environmentally friendly and energy-efficient low-global-warming coolant R32. Additionally, by incorporating an all-Aluminum microchannel heat exchanger in the outdoor unit, the amount of coolant has been reduced by 57% compared to conventional units.

(2) Achieving Energy Savings with Unique High-Efficiency Turbo Fans

To improve the energy efficiency of air conditioners for ICT devices, it is necessary to enhance the operating efficiency of indoor units. DAIKIN has improved energy efficiency by combining its unique high-efficiency turbo fan with IPM motors. The high-efficiency turbo fan minimizes airflow separation around the blades through three-dimensional wing design, significantly reducing energy loss, while also incorporating a diffuser that guides the airflow, thereby achieving uniform wind speed and enhancing energy efficiency. Additionally, by utilizing DAIKIN's proprietary airflow analysis technology, the air resistance within the air conditioner has been minimized, resulting in approximately 20% reduction in annual power consumption compared to conventional units.

Future Initiatives

We will continue to expand the lineup of large-capacity models that allow cooling of high-heat ICT devices and contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society.