TEPCO and Others Develop New 'Eco Cute' Water heater for Smaller Families

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), Denso Corporation and Corona Corporation announced on January 23, 2009, that they had jointly developed a compact "Eco Cute" designed for smaller families. "Eco Cute" is a general term used in Japan to refer to a heat-pump water heater utilizing a natural refrigerant (carbon dioxide) that is environmentally safe. The system is also energy efficient because it extracts heat from the atmosphere to heat water.

Conventional Eco Cute units have primarily been introduced into single-family houses that have enough space for installing bulky heat pump units and water storage tanks with capacities ranging from 300 to 460 liters. The newly developed Eco Cute unit has a compact tank of 185 liters, which is suitable for a family of one or two people. The size reduction allows the installation of Eco Cute units into tighter spaces.
The new model is also easier to install in apartments and condominiums for rent, as its water supply and drainage procedure has been simplified to reduce maintenance work by landlords or facility management companies, thereby reducing costs to tenants. The new Eco Cute units will be released onto the market in July 2009 by Corona.

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) official website
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html
Sumitomo Forestry Launches Sales of Solar-Powered, All-Electric Home (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/026870.html

Posted: 2009/05/19 06:00:15 AM