Q Magazine 2023-1

AWARD-WINNING TECH

QVANTUM WINS FIRST TIME OUT

AFTER 1000’S OF YEARS IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON ”STOP BURNING THINGS”

WE CHANGE THE WAY THE CITIES OF ARE HEATED EUROPE

At Qvantum, the goals are set high: ”Let’s heat the cities of Europe with a new kind of heating system. One that does not burn any fossil fuels at all. One that uses heat pumps in a clever way and harvests excess heat that otherwise goes to waste. A system that cuts energy use by up to 80%. And let’s produce the heat pumps for the system while we’re at it.”

An ambitious task, but Swedish Qvantum is already there.

THE CONCEPT OF GAS BURNERS in every apartment was a great idea when natural gas was cheap and easy to come by, and the climate crisis was just something a few scientists discussed. But things have changed – rapidly – and everybody is looking for clever alternatives.

Except in Scandinavia.

In Scandinavia, very few houses are left that use any kind of fossil fuel. The norm for single-family homes is heat pumps, with more than 60% of the market in Sweden. For apartment buildings, the standard is district heating.

Fredrik Rosenqvist is the CEO and founder of Qvantum: “We were a group of people in management positions in the heat pump and power industries who started talking about this. We soon realized that combining the two methods would be a game-changer for the rest of Europe. It would reduce costs, energy consumption, and CO2 on a big scale.

And it would be perfect for existing developments.

“Everybody in Europe knows there must be a radical change in how buildings are heated. We intend to be a major part of that revolution”, Rosenqvist says.

THE QVANTUM CONCEPT is described in detail on the following pages, but the general idea is to make local low-temperature district heating networks with tens, hundreds or even thousands of connected buildings. New developments or retrofit.

Excess heat in the area is harvested, and each apartment has a small heat pump that can provide both heat and cold. Large heat pumps are installed along the circuit to make sure balance is kept.

“Every apartment or workspace has its own source of heating that can be individually controlled. But every single unit helps the system and is digitally connected

and monitored. Our method uses up to 80% less energy than traditional heating.”

Soon Qvantum had recruited some of the top names in development, production, sales, and system design in the industry. Complete systems, along with brand-new heat pumps, were designed, as well as a new factory.

THE COMPANY ALSO HIRED tech talent from the software sector and set up a “Q-branch” to develop and run its own software. All installed systems are run on cloud based software that is constantly monitored and kept up to date.

“We really do work across the entire value chain. Planning, hardware, and software.

Our first factory is in the south of Sweden, and we have more plants coming up! The demand is enormous, and it is a fantastic feeling to be a part of something that will change so much for so many.”

Fredrik Rosenqvist is the CEO and founder of Qvantum.

Piloting the industry to new solutions

5th generation district heating is already here, and it’s used in several major developments. The next step is to help consultants and installers embrace the technology and make them feel at ease using it. “We should be like pilots who help the ship’s captains navigate in unfamiliar waters, says Michael Moggeridge, who is head of Qvantum in the UK.

“Both heat pumps and 5th Generation energy networks are new to many consultants and installers,“ Michael says. Prior to joining forces with Qvantum Michael worked as an advisor and designer for some of the most talked-about heating systems in the UK and he is one of the country’s most experienced people in the field.

“We must understand that most professionals are unfamiliar with this, and our job is to change that. Not by taking over but by acting as guides or mentors and ensuring that everything is as easy as possible. It is only then we will be able to give them the confidence to make the transition from combustion to sustainable heating.”

“Even when we sell regular heat pumps to installers they get a tailor-made design included in the package from the distributor. Complete with all piping, dimensions, nuts, and bolts. That way they feel confident, and if they have questions, we are there.”

This also applies to the products themselves and the way they are designed.

“I have worked with other heat pumps in sizeable 5th generation developments, but Qvantum is the only company with products that are made for this from the start. All the way from the smallest to the largest. They are so flexible, and whatever your need, they fit right in.”

When there is a disruption in an industry, legacy becomes luggage and a burden. Company A merged with company B and still has to cater to both customer bases. An old factory was made for a different way of making things…

“Qvantum is a true disruptor and has built a brand new business that is made for a brand new way of heating.”

Michael and his colleagues have designed heating concepts for large projects such as Dolphin Square, One Waterloo and the new Euston Station in London, as well as Birmingham Womens and Childrens Hospital.

“Many forget the fact that replacing combustion heating with heat pumps not only reduce CO2 on a global level. It will also completely eliminate NOx directly improving air quality in the surrounding area not to mention the much reduced energy costs.”

The heating system for the hospitals in Birmingham is a great example of the latter. During planning, it was discovered that the hospitals were located on top of an extensive underground water reservoir. The water in the reservoir had a temperature that allowed for the harvesting of excess heat, as that heat was automatically recovered from the surrounding ground and rainfall. This underground resource is available for much of the city of Birmingham to use for low carbon heating solutions.

“In order to find things like this, you need to consult a geologist, and most heating consultants might not think of that when they are new to this kind of heating.”

“Our goal is to make the whole industry as familiar with the new way of heating as we are. When that happens sustainable heating will take over completely.“

Birmingham Women’s Hospital (NHS) gets the energy for its heat pumps from a natural underground water reservoir.

The heating of the new Euston Station will be with 5th generation district heating.

HOW IT WORKS

5th generation district heating is a way of changing from fossil fuel heating to highly-efficient carbon-free climate control in urban environments. This is done using serial heat pumps and harvesting excess heat – and excess cold – that otherwise would go to waste. All in all, creating a circular heating and cooling system that makes it possible to switch from fossil in all kinds of urban developments.

But – how does it really work? Qvantum’s Sofia Akhlagi has a long experience of low-temperature networks, and she gives you the rundown:

1. LOW-TEMPERATURE HEATING CIRCUIT

5th generation district heating systems typically run at temperatures of about 10 – 20° C. When used as an energy source for heat pumps, it is, therefore, possible to use them both for heating and cooling – as they can do both things. When used for heating, they return cooler water. And when used for cooling, they return warmer water. So one person’s warm water becomes another person’s cool breeze and vice versa.

The low temperature also reduces the need for wide insulated pipes in deep trenches, as the energy loss is low at these temperatures since they are not very different from the temperatures in the surrounding ground.

2. NARROW PIPING IN BUILDINGS

The circuit is led to and through each connected building. In each building, the circuits are connected to each apartment or workspace. As the pipes are so narrow, installers can often use existing holes.

3. SMALL IN-APARTMENT HEAT PUMPS

In each apartment, small 4-6 kW heat pumps, connected to the circuit, replace gas burners. The heat pump reduces the temperature of the circuit water when it heats the radiators. And it warms the circuit water when it is used for cooling via fan convectors or underfloor cooling. So, heating the shower water in one apartment balances the cooling of another.

4. COLLECTING EXHAUST HEAT

Excess heat is often generated from the ventilation of buildings, underground transport, or garages. Food stores also generate a lot of exhaust heat from cooling equipment. All this is harvested on the circuit, aiding in keeping the temperature at the desired level.

Large centrally located heat pumps (up to 1,5 MW) collect energy from ambient air, closed loop and/or open loop boreholes. They balance the temperatures and ensure the water in the circuit always holds the right temperature.

Boreholes connected to central heat pumps are used for thermal energy storage. That means that they can store large quantities of heat or cold. In the winter, when the heat pumps use the heat in the ground, the ground is cooled down. In summer when the heat pumps are used for cooling, the rejected heat warms up the ground.

It takes time to heat a house, and it takes time to cool it down – this is an effect of thermal inertia. Qvantum customers can use this to their favor in dealing with power companies. As they can control all heat pumps in their circuit, they can offer the power companies to ”charge up” when

there is little demand for power. In return the customer can lower their energy cost. Moving peak-hour need an hour or two can reduce costs by up to 50%.

8.

By using Qvantum heat pumps in low temperature systems, users generally get more than 5 kWh of heat for every 1 kWh of electricity. Making every solar panel or windmill generate five times more than they would have if the power was used in a traditional way. In the Scandinavian countries, heat pumps have been the prima ry heating source for private homes for the last 20 years. Now we combine it with new tech and bring it to the cities of Europe.

5. CENTRAL HEAT PUMPS

6. THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE

7. POWER COMPANIES LOVE THERMAL INERTIA

TURN ONE SOLAR PANEL INTO FIVE

Sofia Akhlagi is in charge of service and after sales at Qvantum.

Stop burning things!

“EVER SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME, fire has been crucial to the survival of man”, says Jesper Jarnhäll who is responsible for sales and marketing at Qvantum. ”But now it’s time to move on.”

Like Qvantum itself Jesper stems from Sweden, a country where fossil fuel heating of private homes was driven out of the market by heat pumps decades ago. Among other things, this has led to Swedish homeowners not being very affected by the recent natural gas crisis.

“There has been a hike in electricity prices, but since most homes in Sweden are heated with heat pumps or district heating, the actual heating cost is significantly lower than it would have been with gas. And there has never been the fear of a major shortage as there has been in other parts of Europe.

“We want to make a life without dependency on fossil fuels for heating or cooling possible for the many people. Regardless of their wallet sizes. The next-generation commercial and residential heat pump solutions are our way of providing a way for the cities of Europe to combat the climate crisis.

JESPER SEES SEVERAL REASONS why it is time to move on to a new phase in how the cities of Europe are heated: “There are four “Big D” megatrends that cross through all of society now: DECARBONIZATION, DEMOCRATIZATION, DECENTRALIZATION , and DIGITALIZATION . And our systems and products are there to fit right in.

“DECARBONIZATION IS OBVIOUS – we need to stop using fossil fuels, and electrification is the way to go. We design affordable low-carbon energy systems based on our own heat pumps that can rapidly be installed in existing as well as new developments.

DECENTRALIZATION makes society less vulnerable and more flexible. This comes in automatically with an electricity-based heat pump heating system, as you don’t have to depend on one energy supplier. You can negotiate with different power companies and change as often as you want. Or you can invest in wind, solar, and energy storage and become your own power supplier.

JESPER JARNHÄLL: AFTER THOUSANDS OF YEARS IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON

”Fire was for 1,000’s of years the only source of heat available in most parts of the world. But in a digital and electrified era, setting fire to things to heat our homes feels like an anachronism. Like a steam train in a science fiction movie.”

DIGITALIZATION MAKES IT POSSIBLE to use a system to its full potential. We can connect 1000’s of heat pumps and any number of other sources of information and let them exchange information and learn from each other. That way, the heat pumps can optimize how they run with respect to own PV-installations, energy costs, grid power market, frequency control markets e t c reducing both energy consumption and costs.”

DEMOCRATIZATION is as we see it about putting the power of transition in the hands of the many. The consumer of tomorrow

is also a producer – a prosumer – and their power is a very big force. Our system makes it possible for everybody to join in and be part of the transition to a net-zero society. The fact that your heater can also act as your cooler is an interesting twist to this.

ALL IN ALL JESPERS’ VISION IS CLEAR and there is no turning back: “Society needs to stop using fossil fuels, and we have a technology that can play a major role in that transition. And make the chimneys of the European cities obsolete.”

■

EARLY IN JANUARY QVANTUM announced that they had raised €42 million from leading investors. The new capital will support Qvantum’s growth and expansion strategy. The lead investors include Thomas von Koch (Partner and ex CEO of global private equity firm EQT) who invested through his private company and IMAS Foundation who is a part of the IKEA-sphere.

”I AM DEEPLY IMPRESSED by the team behind Qvantum, they possess world leading experience from energy systems, innovative technologies and high-quality production”, says Thomas von Koch.

“We are committed to decarbonisation and look for investments where our capital can make a difference. Energy transition

is an important theme and Qvantum represents an interesting opportunity to support the clean transition for heating“, states Petter Odhnoff, CEO at IMAS Foundation.

OTHER INVESTORS are SEB Greentech, DIG Investment (connected to the H&M Persson family) and Gullspång Invest. Mats Rahmström, CEO of Atlas Copco is also investing through his private company and joins Qvantum as an industrial advisor.

“These are long term owners who not only see this as an investment in a company, but a way of accelerating the transition from fossil fuel dependency to renewable energy on a broader scale. For the benefit of all their other investments as well.”

QVANTUM raised €42 MILLION from investors

”We want to make a life without dependency on fossil fuels for heating or cooling possible for the many people.”

Jesper Jarnhäll, CCO at Qvantum.

CLEVER SYSTEMS NEED CLEVERLY DESIGNED HEAT PUMPS

Qvantum is a unique company in many ways. The company designs and plans 5th-generation district heating systems and develops and manufactures the heat pumps that make up the backbone of these systems. And – while at it – a host of other heat pumps as well.

PETER JOCIC AND MICHAEL LINDAHL

are two of the most senior product specialists in the Swedish heat pump industry. Both were given a clear mandate when they came to Qvantum: Design heat pumps for our systems the way you always wanted them to be designed.

The rules were straightforward: We want to be able to use one tech platform from 1 – 100 kW, and we shall be able to build them in our own plant, in large volumes, at a reasonable cost.

Michael Lindahl liked that challenge:

“After all these years it was great fun to sit down with Peter, and a white piece of paper and figure out the smartest way of doing everything. There were no old solutions that we had to take into consideration.”

Very early, it was clear that the path forward was spelled m-o-d-u-l-e-s.

By designing all heat pumps in modules, it was easy to see how many parts could be used across the range. A wide

range of products could be designed using fewer different components than in traditional manufacturing.

“We have both air-to-water, exhaust air, and geothermal heat pumps, and we have them in sizes from the smallest to the biggest on the market,” Peter Jocic says.

“Most of them can now be produced on the same production line. We only keep inventory of the modules and don’t have to decide what kind of heat pump

“There were no old solutions that we had to take into consideration”

Mikael Lindahl, Head of Product Development.

All Qvantum heat pumps are designed using modules. This makes both production and service much more efficient. The Geothermal (Qvantum QG) to the left share many components with the air souce (Qvantum QA) to the right. And many repairs are done replacing entire modules that are then sent back to the factory for service.

to make until the very last minute. This makes us very efficient

More serviceable

The lack of installers and service staff is a problem in large parts of Europe, and it will take time to train as many as are needed. One advantage of the modular system is that it makes for easy installation and service and makes training much easier.

“Anyone who can service a gas burner will be able to service our heat pumps,” says after sales manager Sofia Akhlagi.

“If there is a faulty module, remove it and put in a replacement. The one that needs repair is then sent to us in the same box the relief came in. We will repair it at our shop and send it out the next time the same need occurs.

Ultra-low climate impact

All the newly designed heat pumps from Qvantum have a very high efficiency with a capacity of creating at least 5 kWh of heat for every kWh of electricity put in. In Scandinavian climate, that is …

Another aspect is that they have been designed to use propane (R290) for the refrigeration circuit. Propane is a natural refrigerant with a GWP (Global Warming Potential) of 3, which is so low that it is considered negligible.

“It’s a fantastic refrigerant, and we are proud to be among the first to use it commercially.”

Bigger range than planned

The idea behind Qvantum is primarily the low-temperature local district heating systems for cities. An area where heat pumps are still considered a new idea.

However, as Peter and Michael worked on the design, they realized it would be easy to simultaneously create a range of traditional heat pumps for single homes.

“The market potential across the continent is huge, and in Scandinavia, people are into their 2nd or even 3rd heat pump”, Michael says.

“And we strongly believe we have an excellent offer here. Perhaps the very best in the business.”

HEAT PUMPS FROM 4-192 kW

“OUR IDEA IS TO OFFER A HEATING SOLUTION for any type of home, without having to use fossil fuels” says Peter Jocic, COO of Qvantum. “There are lots of different heat pumps on the market today, however the challenge is to provide affordable solutions for the many people who live in densely populated areas”.

Therefore the Qvantum team has developed a compact and modular product platform as a complement to the company’s existing range of commercial heat pumps.

Now Qvantum offers a wide product range, starting with the 4kW Apartment Heat Pump and ending with the commercial 192kW geothermal unit. The commercial units can be cascaded in lots up to eight heat pumps, resulting in a heating capacity of

as much as 1,5 Megawatt. “Our products are especially suitable for low-temperature circuits and, with the new range, Qvantum offers products for the boiler room as well as individual dwellings” says Jocic.

Using a modular approach enables Qvantum to simultaneous introduce heat pumps for all sources of heat, such as geothermal, air source and exhaust air. The Qvantum heat pumps are equally well suited for single family houses as for cold grids.

“I genuinely believe that we have created a product range for the many people and I’m confident that we will play a significant part in the transition to sustainable heating across Europe” concludes Jocic.

A commitment to low-temperature circuits and 5th-generation district heating is what differs Qvantum from most other heat pump companies. Moreover, Qvantum likely has one of the broadest product ranges in the industry, from ultra-compact heat pumps for small apartments to massive commercial heat pumps for large properties.

Qvantum QG

Apartment Heat Pump 6 kW

Ultra-compact hydro unit with built-in support for active cooling. Combined with a single inverter-controlled compressor module this heat pump offers a complete solution that fits in any apartment, as a replacement for gas boilers. Uses R290 natural refrigerant.

Qvantum QG

Geothermal Heat Pump 6 kW and 12 kW

Geothermal heat pump providing heating, cooling and sanitary hot water. The heat pump is inverter controlled and has an integrated buffer tank. Uses R290 natural refrigerant.

Qvantum QE

Exhaust Air Heat Pump 4 kW and 6 kW

Exhaust air heat pump providing heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot water. The heat pump is inverter controlled and has an integrated buffer tank. The built-in exhaust air unit extracts energy from the outgoing ventilation air. It can be installed as an all-in-one installation or as two separate modules.

Qvantum QA

Air Source Heat Pump 9 kW to 15 kW

Compact-sized hydro unit with built-in support for active cooling. Combined with an outdoor unit, it offers a complete air-to-water heat pump solution. Built-in buffer tank provides sanitary hot water on demand. It also enables avoiding energy peak prices for both heating and hot water. Uses R290 natural refrigerant.

Qvantum Commercial Heat Pumps

32 kW to 192 kW (>1,5 MW cascade coupling)

Heavy-duty heat pumps available both as geothermal units and as air source units in combination with an especially designed dry cooler. Can supply heat up to 74 °C (liquid) or 65 °C (air, down to-20 °C).

Peter Jocic, COO at Qvantum.

The BEST WAY to build a NEW COMPANY is to start with an old one

Qvantum is a young heat pump and heating system company – but one with a more than 30-year long history.

“We didn’t start our journey from scratch; we built it on what might just be the best heat pump competence in Europe,” says CEO Fredrik Rosenqvist.

MATS NILSSON AND HENRIK BERGLUND are two of the most experienced and respected people in the Swedish heat pump industry. When they started Qvantum Energi in the early 90s, they were already veterans in the field.

“I was actually the first ever to use a plate heat exchanger in a heat pump,” Mats says.

“It was in 1985, and we were given prototypes from Alfa Laval

who had just invented a system where the plates were soldered together instead of bolted with rubber gaskets. Before this, it was impossible to use plate heat exchangers with gases.”

WHEN MATS AND HENRIK FIRST MET, heat pumps were still considered a novelty, and many people couldn’t believe that the technology actually worked.

Mats Nilsson and Henrik Berglund are two of the most experienced and respected people in the Swedish heat pump industry.

Mats Nilsson. Henrik Berglund.

“I remember a man whose son told him it was a hoax,” says Henrik. “He said that anybody in their right mind realized that getting three times more out of a device than you put in was impossible …”

TO THIS DAY, HEAT PUMPS ARE not very well known in large parts of the world. And there is doubt among some about their ability to function in cold climates.

“I always ask these people if they have an idea about the climate in Scandinavia, and most do, and they have this image of snow and ice and reindeer. Then I tell them that heat pumps account for about 60 % of all private home heating here. And that the northernmost house in the country – some 350 km north of the polar circle –is heated with one.”

Mats and Henrik eventually decided to set up their own heat pump business – Qvantum Energi. The company soon made itself a name as a manufacturer of bespoke heat pumps for applications where off-the-shelf products wouldn’t do the job. The product range ran up to 190 kW heat pumps, several times more potent than anything competitors could offer.

FREDRIK ROSENQVIST FIRST CAME IN touch with the company when he researched the 5th generation district heating systems of the kind that “New Qvantum” now specializes in.

“Mats and Henrik’s company was the only one that could provide exactly what we needed and without seeing any problems. They understood immediately, went straight to the drawing table, and got to work.”

Fredrik’s vision of “a new kind of company for a new kind of city heating” soon attracted more like-minded people, and a decision was made to turn it into a business reality. One key aspect was that the company should have its own heat pump production, and in 2021, Fredrik and his partners merged with Qvantum Energi to form what today is known simply as “Qvantum.” The same year another Swedish manufacturer – ETK Heat – were incorporated in Qvantum. They were known to have some of the best exhaust air heat pumps on the market. Since then, more and more key staff from Sweden’s biggest power and heat pump companies have joined Qvantum.

“We are a group of people with a vision,” Rosenqvist says. “To make this vision come true, we must make sure that it is shared by the people who are the best in their respective fields. We can only achieve this if we create a company that these people want to be a part of and where they can grow professionally as well as personally. By creating such a company, we get the best people to work with the best ideas.

And that is why we will succeed.

Qvantum raised €42 million in capital from investors

Qvantum Apartment Heat Pump was awarded

Plus Winner” by ISH

Mats Nilsson installed his first heat pump

Mats Nilsson built what was likely the first heat pump in the world to use a plate heat exchanger

Henrik Berglund designed his first heating system based on heat pumps

Fredrik Rosenqvist implemented his first 5th generation district heating system

A new Qvantum was formed and merged with Qvantum Energi

ETK heat pumps were incorporated with Qvantum

Qvantum’s new range of heat pumps was designed

The first ETK exhaust air heat pump was manufactured Qvantum Energi was founded

– THE MAN THAT MAKES IT LOOK EASY

To call Dr. Mikael Adlers ”Q” is right in so many ways. Just as his namesake at MI6’s Q-branch develops ingenious tools that help James Bond fight bad guys, Mikael Adlers and his team develop tools that will help Qvantum customers fight climate change.

THE OFFICE SPACES WHERE MIKAEL ADLERS work in the university town of Linköping in Sweden are almost conspicuous in how inconspicuous they look. A small Q on the door is all. But then this is the city where Sweden’s unique military aircraft have been developed ever since the 1940’s and some of the members of Qvantums’ very own Q-branch actually have a background in that industry.

Mikael Adlers team is small, but dedicated to one specific mission: To design and create software that makes it so easy to use Qvantum products that anyone can do it intuitively. Mikael worked for a number of years at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, responsible for parts of the map-software.

“One thing I learned at Apple is that the user is the only one who can tell if a software is good or bad. If the user doesn’t understand how to use it, doesn’t want to use it, or doesn’t find the solutions that we have built into it, the software just isn’t good enough.”

“I would say that most industries are quite bad at this. A bunch of engineers create a bunch of functions and then they ask a designer to make it look nice. We have a designer on board from day one. Ease of use and how it feels to use it is everything!”

Mikael tells a story of how a senior officer at Apple who was in charge of more than a thousand engineers was still the one person who made design decisions.

“He would say “why is that button red?” or “are you sure my grandmother will be able to figure out how to use this?.”

Software development has been an integral part of all R&D at Qvantum since the “new start” in 2021. And Mikael Adlers has been in charge of it ever since. There are currently four different software being developed; System Design, Installation, Building Management, and User. All are managed as cloud solutions with full backup and up-time guarantees from Qvantum’s servers.

FROM GEOLOGY TO SHOPPING LIST

“Creating a heating system design tool is about picking the brains of our system designers and making all their knowledge accessible in a digital format, and I feel that we have come very close to that.”

The tool can be used for designing systems from single houses to several thousand. It takes everything into consideration from local geology and climate to the thermal inertia of buildings. The

designer also enters information about where excess heat or cold can be harvested and what materials are used in buildings.

“At the end you basically get a design and a shopping list.”

INSTALLATION TOOLS THAT MAKES WORK MORE EASY AND FUN

James Bond rarely gets any time to try out the new gadgets that Q provide him, but still he can use them perfectly the first time. Mikael Adlers wants it to be the same way for installers.

“We know that heat pumps are new to many, and that many will be installed by people who might have spent years installing gas burners. Our software should be there for them. I envision a screen that starts by saying “Hi Mikael, should we get started?” And then it leads the installer through the process without complicated language or codes. It should feel fun actually.”

PROPERTY OWNERS

The ones that have the most to benefit both from the heating systems and the software are of course the property owners.

“We might have 1,000 heat pumps in one development”, Mikael says. “Our system monitors them all and uses every built-in sensor to gather information that can save money and energy. A single unit can foresee a coming problem and request service before it happens. The software can also for example notice that the sun that shone in on the south side of a building will create heat that will keep the building warm for hours. That could mean that starting of the heat pumps in that part of the building can be delayed until power is cheaper later in the day. Balancing power within developments will be crucial for all real estate owners.”

According to Mikael the big issue is not filling a software with bells and whistles but to make sure the functions present themselves when needed.

“Just because something CAN be done doesn’t mean that it SHOULD be done.”

END USERS OF ALL KINDS

At the far end of the chain is the end user software and this might present the biggest challenge.

“The other software we design will be used by people who have some understanding of the kind of systems we work with.

With end users, we must however assume that there is no knowledge what so ever. So when they open their app everything must be totally clear. A bit like when Bond picks up his shooting pen or exploding watch – it just has to be obvious.”

Mikael looks at the Aston Martin that we borrowed for the photo shoot.

“Well - at least at our Q-branch we don’t have to worry about agents smashing up beautiful cars.”

Thanks to Aston Hill in Stockholm for lending us this beautiful DB5…

FOTO: Johan Marklund

QVANTUM WINS

– first time out!

Qvantum’s

brand new Apartment Heat Pump was announced Design Plus Winner at ISH 2023! The award is organized by Messe Frankfurt and the German Design Council and focus on innovative content as well as technical and ecological quality.

COMING TO THE ISH SHOW for the very first time and bringing a brand new product is news in its own right. But having your brand new product win the prestigious Design Plus powered by ISH 2023 award is beyond expectations. Still, this is what happened with the Qvantum Apartment Heat Pump.

“The Apartment Heat Pump is very different, simply because IT IS an apartment heat pump,” says Peter , COO of Qvantum.

“It makes it possible for very many people, even those with limited financial resources, to finally be able to heat their homes with renewable energy.”

HEAT PUMPS HAVE BEEN AROUND for quite a few years, but it’s a technology that has been reserved for those who have their own houses. Most people in Europe live in apartments and have been referred to fossil fuel heating.

Traditional heat pumps have been too large and much too expensive for use in apartments and have often required an outdoor unit that is usually not allowed – or even possible – to install outside an apartment. The development of low-temperature district heating changes all that. Now it is possible to install Apartment Heat Pumps where usually gas-burners would have been the go-to solution. And this can lead to rapid decarbonization of the cities of Europe.

Qvantum’s award winner uses incoming circuit water of typically 10 – 20° C as an energy source. The 4 – 6 kW heat pump transforms that energy to create either heat or

cold. It then returns the water with a lower or higher temperature to the circuit, where 100s or 1000s of other heat pumps help balance the temperature in the circuit. It creates at least 5 kWh of heat for every

kWh of power used and uses a refrigerant (R290) with an ultra-low climate footprint.

Qvantums Apartment Heat Pump is so small that it can fit anywhere where a gas burner or similar would be installed – even under a sink. It can even be mounted on a wall to a stairwell and fitted with a service hatch so that service can be performed from outside the apartment. The heat pump is connected to a warm water tank that also can be mounted in the same space as any traditional water tank. It has been designed with a modular concept, so service and installation come very easily and require very little training.

“The Apartment Heat Pump is the backbone of our approach to low-temperature circuit heating. By combining the small units with bigger ones and using ultra-modern software, our aim is to get the cities of Europe to stop heating houses by burning things. Now it can be done rather easily, and this award shows that the industry understands that.”

ISH 2023 FOCUSES ON SOLUTIONS for a sustainable future. In the heating sector, this refers to innovations that cut energy consumption in buildings, increase energy efficiency and take greater account of renewable energies.

A total of 133 entries were received from 88 companies from 23 countries for the award. The jury of five experts evaluated all the entries in terms of innovation, ecology, and design.

A total of four heating products received the award.

The Apartment Heat Pump (left) from Qvantum measures only 23 x 43 x 41 cm and can even fit under a kitchen sink. The water tank is 50 x 50 x 105 cm.