Toshiba Air Conditioning has won a national UK award for its pioneering total refrigerant management and protection system, which provides peace of mind to building occupants in the unlikely event of a refrigerant leak. Toshiba’s LD2 system was crowned ACR Ancillary Product of the Year in the National ACR Awards 2018. The new Toshiba LD2 builds on the success of the company’s award-winning RD6 refrigerant detection system, which has been redesigned to reduce cost, save space and be even more flexible in application.
David Dunn, managing director of Toshiba Air Conditioning and CIAT UK, said: “We are delighted the LD2 has been recognised by the independent industry judging panel. Toshiba has been a leading innovator in the field of refrigerant detection and management systems for a number of years, and the LD2 is our most advanced solution to date. It gives end users and building occupants total confidence, delivering the same high level of protection and functionality as its predecessor for significantly less cost.” The LD2 unit is 40 per cent smaller than its predecessor, as it’s able to harness the data processing capabilities of the main PCB in the Toshiba VRF air conditioning condensing unit (on both SMMS-e and SHRM-e systems). This now handles all of the information processing and analysis previously carried out by the dedicated board within the RD6 panel.
The new approach enables LD2 to provide all of the functions of RD6 but at a lower cost, and with reduced installation time. The space-saving solution also offers an advantage on sites with restricted plant room space and/or limited access. Onsite installation time is reduced as wiring from refrigerant leak sensors does not need to be connected to the remote panel. Toshiba’s comprehensive range of refrigerant leak detection, concentration sensors and pump back systems provide a solution to potential refrigerant leaks, activating an alarm in the event of a leak (in accordance with EN378, where the refrigerant concentration level exceeds 0.44kg/m3) and automatically initiating mechanical isolation and pump back of refrigerant from the indoor side to the outdoor unit(s).
The system has the ability to isolate the specific section of refrigerant pipework containing the leak, enabling the rest of the system to continue functioning as normal when combined with Toshiba’s LD1. Conventional approaches by other manufacturers shut down the entire system in the event of a leak, impacting occupants throughout a building until the source of the leak can be identified and repaired. Toshiba’s new technology means that only the immediate area served by the compromised circuit suffers loss of service. This latest LD2 system can incorporate both external and internal sensors to monitor and determine the level of refrigerant in the enclosed atmosphere and flowing within the refrigerant piping system.
Toshiba’s ground-breaking leak detection technology was originally designed in the UK to meet the local requirements of end users. The UK version of LD2 incorporates additional features such as a low ambient protection heater, remote indication relay and hinged Perspex protection cover over switches and indicators. This new generation LD2 is also now available across Europe on Toshiba’s SMMS-e and SHRM-e VRF air conditioning systems.