[Products for Japanese market only]
Only for reference. This press release is for Japan market only.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. (CEO: Franz Cerwinka) is pleased to announce that the “Stainless Clean Shirokuma-kun” Premium X Series room air conditioners (a total of 33 models including the RAS-X40H2) ^(*1) were recognized in the Product / Business Model Category at the 2017 Energy Conservation Awards hosted by the Energy Conservation Center, Japan, winning the Energy Conservation Center Chairman’s Award. This was the second consecutive year that Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning Co., Ltd. has won an award ^(*2) at the Energy Conservation Awards for room air conditioner.

These products are the first ^(*3) air conditioners in Japan to incorporate the “Frost Wash” technology used to freeze and then thaw the heat exchangers in room air conditioners in order to wash away ^(*4) dirt, mold and grease. The “Frost Wash” cleanses the interior of the unit, preventing the deterioration in air conditioning performance that results from blockages. This innovation not only cleans the inside of the unit, but also reduces unnecessary spending on electricity. Furthermore, the X Premium Series air-conditioners have compact indoor units with a width of below 800 mm, at the same time as achieving enhanced energy conservation performance through improvements to internal components. The award recognizes these advances.

Johnson Controls-Hitachi is actively involved in the development of energy-saving products, contributing to the protection of the global environment through the supply of reliable high-performance domestic and industrial air-conditioners to clients in Japan and overseas.

The Energy Conservation Award ceremony will be held on February 14 (Wed.) at the Tokyo Big Sight (Koto-ku, Tokyo). The award-winning products will be introduced on panels in the section set aside for award winners at the ENEX 2018 exhibition, which is scheduled for Tokyo Big Sight from February 14 (Wed.) through February 16 (Fri.).
In addition, the award-winning products will also be on display at the Hitachi Booth at the 40th HVAC&R Japan 2018 Exhibition, to be held between February 27 (Tues.) and March 2 (Fri.) at Makuhari Messe (Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture).

Product Characteristics
“Stainless Clean Shirokuma-kun” Premium X Series Room Air Conditioners

The “Frost Wash” process automatically cleans the heat exchanger, which is difficult to clean by hand, at regular intervals throughout the year, keeping the inside of the air-conditioning unit hygienic and producing a fresh airflow ^(*5). The coating used for the previous air conditioner ^(*6) was washed using water produced during cooling and dehumidifying, but this method was insufficient to remove stubborn greasy dirt. The “Frost Wash” washes away this stubborn grease, maintaining the cleanliness of the inside of the air conditioner while also reducing electricity bills. In addition, the air-conditioners include Kurashi Camera AI ^(*7) technology capable of recognizing the room environment and each person in a room and predicting the extent of contamination to the inside of the air conditioner and intelligently control washing frequency. The unit automatically implements the washing cycle at a time when no one is present in the room.

The compact indoor units with a width of below 800 mm, make the products suitable for meeting replace demand of air-conditioners. While maintaining this compact size, performance has also been improved, particularly through modifications to the compressor, the internal component using the largest amounts of electricity. These improvements have produced, in comparison to existing units, improvements of between 1.3% and 5.9% in APF at a rated cooling capacity of 3.6kW to 9.0kW. In the case of the RAS-X40H2, which has a cooling capacity of 4.0 kW, annual energy consumption efficiency (APF) reaches 7.7 ^(*8), which represents superior energy conservation performance.

(*1) Details of the prize-winning products are available on the Hitachi room air conditioners website (http://kadenfan.hitachi.co.jp/ra/).
(*2) For details of Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning’s success at the 2016 Energy Conservation Awards, refer to the website below.
https://www.jci-hitachi.com/about/news/energy-conservation-award-2016
(*3) This technology does not remove 100% of all dirt, mold and other contamination.
(*4) As of the product launch on September 6, 2017
(*5) “Frost Wash” may not operate under some environments. The phrase “fresh airflow” does not mean that the air in the room is drawn into and cleansed inside the air-conditioning unit.
(*6) The coating is used on the company’s previous X Series models launched in 2016
(*7) AI is an abbreviation of Artificial Intelligence.
(*8) Annual Performance Factor (annual energy consumption efficiency) in accordance with JIS C 9612:2013.

■ Customer inquiries
Customer Center
TEL 0120-3121-11 (toll free) *When calling from mobile phones and PHS call 050-3155-1111(toll applies)
Open 9:00-17:30 (Mon. – Sat.), 9:00-17:00 (Sun., public holidays)
* Excluding year-end and New Year period.

■Hitachi Room Air Conditioning System website
http://kadenfan.hitachi.co.jp/ra/

The information in this press release (including information concerning product prices, product specifications, service details, launch dates, contact details, website addresses and other information) is correct at the time of publication. As this information may change without warning, please understand that the information in this release may not apply if the release is referred to at a later date.