Daikin and Greater Manchester launch new partnership to retrofit homes

Daikin Europe N.V. has signed a new landmark partnership with the Greater Manchester on 3 February. The partnership will see up to 1,000 homes benefit from low-carbon retrofitting trials. The agreement, which is the first of its kind between a UK city-region and a Japanese firm, will also see Greater Manchester become a test-bed for new net zero technologies and services, with the aim of boosting investment and job creation in the city-region. Through the trials in Greater Manchester, Daikin aims to create exemplary heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigeration (HVAC&R) solutions in the UK. The duration of the partnership is five years until 2027.

The Greater Manchester and Daikin collaborated on a project spearheaded by Japan’s New Energy Development Organization (NEDO) from 2013 to 2017. The project demonstrated the energy-saving effects of heat pump heating and the effectiveness of an aggregation system to regulate electricity demand. Greater Manchester and Daikin have worked together to install hundreds of air source heat pumps in social housing in Wigan, Bury and North Manchester, making this the largest such project in Europe.

Daikin plans to provide HVAC&R solutions to accelerate the decarbonisation of buildings in Greater Manchester. This includes the installation of commercial heating and cooling systems using heat pump technology in public buildings and providing energy-saving control through remote monitoring. Daikin is also address the shortage of human resources for HVAC&R technology and installation in the UK. This includes developing training programmes with schools and re-employment centres in Greater Manchester as well as creating an official qualification system. Other ideas include remote monitoring for HVAC&R equipment and the use of AI-powered wearable devices for workers, to make it easier to repair equipment in a completely different approach to the past.