Johnson Controls, Milwaukee, Wis., introduced a new technology in China designed to meet the growing demand for central heating that does not emit harmful pollutants.

The York Dual Steam Turbine (YDST) heat pump recycles surplus heat from industrial or power plants into higher temperature hot water that can be used to operate large central heating plants. Compared to traditional boiler heating, the YDST can reduce coal consumption by up to 30% while supplying the same amount of heat. 

“Urbanization and the government’s efforts to promote sustainable development are driving demand in China for more energy efficient technologies and solutions,” says Soren Bjerg, vice president and managing director of Johnson Controls Building Efficiency, Asia. “This is a real opportunity for us to expand our presence in an important market, and use our expertise and innovation to address a growing need to reduce emissions.”

This technology is an important innovation for the Chinese market where the government has made a major commitment in its 5-year plan to reduce pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. The plan uses industrial surplus heat as a major source of urban heating.

The capacity and versatility of the YDST make it ideal for large-scale central heating plants, and it is said to be the first centrifugal heat pump driven by a steam turbine, not electric that supplies over 100 megawatts of heat per heat pump system, doubling the current capacity available.

It can accept waste hot water as low as 50-120^oF and increase the temperature up to 140-200^oF.

Recently, the company opened a $35 million expansion of its manufacturing and research and development center in Wuxi, China. The campus and its engineering center is now one of Johnson Controls’ largest research and development centers in the world for building solutions for heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, as well as industrial refrigeration solutions. The campus will spearhead continuing innovation on heat recovery for the global market.