Recently, Wanhe's gas water heater, which uses a heat exchanger made of "aluminum-titanium alloy" material, has encountered skepticism from its peers. It has been accused of “the use of lower-cost aluminum to replace copper in order to reduce the cost of raw materials,†thereby hurting the interests of consumers.
The reporter noted that as a key component of air conditioners, refrigerators, gas water heaters and other products, the "aluminum substitute copper" material for heat exchanger materials has been in dispute as early as in 2007, and the focus is that aluminum substitute copper is a means of technological upgrading and innovation in the end. It is also a kind of jerry-building and cutting-off behavior that companies use to reduce costs.
Zhao Yue, a senior engineer at the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, stated that the aluminum-based copper technology will not only affect the original performance of the product, but also avoid some disadvantages of the copper material and improve the heat exchange efficiency of the product. This kind of technological innovation, the current use of aluminum substitute copper home appliances, not only has been a large number of popular applications, but also achieved bulk exports.
Wan He: Just because we have patents to face some doubts from the market and its peers, Li Huizhen, the head of Brand Management Department of Wanhe Group, told this reporter that aluminum substitute copper technology is not a simple enterprise to reduce costs. The result is actually ours and Hisense. Long, Xi'an Jiaotong University launched a comprehensive technological innovation as early as 2007.
The reporter saw the "New Notice on the Cooperation of Production, Education and Research Cooperation (Tendering Part) of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2007 issued by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The new energy-saving heat exchange material for white goods was reported by the Foshan Science and Technology Bureau. And System" won a special fund of 2 million yuan. The project was jointly tendered by Hisense Kelon, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Wanhe Group and Shenling Air Conditioning.
Li Huizhen introduced that the current application of this new material for gas water heaters has been on the market for several months, and feedback has been very good. Due to the adoption of new materials, the prices of the products in the market are also very competitive.
After investigation, the reporter found that the current domestic market, gas water heaters using aluminum substitute copper materials, only Wanhe. No other company, such as MACRO, has such products. According to Li Huizhen, this is mainly because Wanhe owns the patented technology of this material, and he has mastered the complete product development and manufacturing process. Because of this, after Wanhe’s launch of this product, it was once attacked by his opponents. Some consumers who did not understand the situation were also misled and thought Wanhe was cutting corners.
It is understood that Wan He had previously stated on this new material technology that although Wanhe owns the patent right of this technology, he is willing to share intellectual property rights with his counterparts on this technology. Currently, some companies have already cooperated with Wanhe. The purpose of the contact is to promote the wide application and popularization of this new material as soon as possible so as to produce a better product at a lower cost, and finally obtain the benefit of the consumer. Others, in turn, turned to question the aluminum-based copper technology in the market.
Experts: Aluminum substitute copper should not be misunderstood. China is a typical area where copper resources are scarce, but the consumption and use of copper is very large. Most of them rely on imports. As early as 2001, some home appliances companies began research and innovation on aluminum-based copper materials and process methods.
Zhao Yue told reporters that the research and development of aluminum substitute copper is by no means simply replacing aluminum with aluminum. In fact, it also includes related post-processing manufacturing processes, in particular through corrosion prevention, anti-leakage, pressure resistance, welding tests, etc. After a series of reliability studies, the treated and remanufactured aluminum performs very well.
At present, the heat exchangers of the refrigerators are all aluminum-based copper materials, and even steel substitutes for aluminum produce heat exchangers. The heat exchangers in automotive air conditioners used aluminum alloys many years ago. Domestic air conditioner companies have been promoting the use and promotion of aluminum substitute copper products, and even aluminum heat exchangers have appeared.
The reporter was informed that the national standard for heat exchangers is that the material should be corrosion-resistant, have a melting point of more than 500°C, and a thickness of not less than 0.3 mm. Copper and aluminum are not specified. Moreover, all Wanhe Aluminum alloy heat exchanger products currently on the market have passed the qualified testing of the national authorities.
For the current "Al-Copper" controversy on the market of gas water heaters, science should be treated with a scientific attitude. Experts pointed out that companies should make greater efforts to improve product quality and meet consumer demand. They should not be tempted to whine, and they should not use marketing as their purpose. They can confuse consumers and disrupt the healthy development of the entire industry. (Source: China Enterprise News)
The reporter noted that as a key component of air conditioners, refrigerators, gas water heaters and other products, the "aluminum substitute copper" material for heat exchanger materials has been in dispute as early as in 2007, and the focus is that aluminum substitute copper is a means of technological upgrading and innovation in the end. It is also a kind of jerry-building and cutting-off behavior that companies use to reduce costs.
Zhao Yue, a senior engineer at the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, stated that the aluminum-based copper technology will not only affect the original performance of the product, but also avoid some disadvantages of the copper material and improve the heat exchange efficiency of the product. This kind of technological innovation, the current use of aluminum substitute copper home appliances, not only has been a large number of popular applications, but also achieved bulk exports.
Wan He: Just because we have patents to face some doubts from the market and its peers, Li Huizhen, the head of Brand Management Department of Wanhe Group, told this reporter that aluminum substitute copper technology is not a simple enterprise to reduce costs. The result is actually ours and Hisense. Long, Xi'an Jiaotong University launched a comprehensive technological innovation as early as 2007.
The reporter saw the "New Notice on the Cooperation of Production, Education and Research Cooperation (Tendering Part) of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2007 issued by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance and the Ministry of Science and Technology. The new energy-saving heat exchange material for white goods was reported by the Foshan Science and Technology Bureau. And System" won a special fund of 2 million yuan. The project was jointly tendered by Hisense Kelon, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Wanhe Group and Shenling Air Conditioning.
Li Huizhen introduced that the current application of this new material for gas water heaters has been on the market for several months, and feedback has been very good. Due to the adoption of new materials, the prices of the products in the market are also very competitive.
After investigation, the reporter found that the current domestic market, gas water heaters using aluminum substitute copper materials, only Wanhe. No other company, such as MACRO, has such products. According to Li Huizhen, this is mainly because Wanhe owns the patented technology of this material, and he has mastered the complete product development and manufacturing process. Because of this, after Wanhe’s launch of this product, it was once attacked by his opponents. Some consumers who did not understand the situation were also misled and thought Wanhe was cutting corners.
It is understood that Wan He had previously stated on this new material technology that although Wanhe owns the patent right of this technology, he is willing to share intellectual property rights with his counterparts on this technology. Currently, some companies have already cooperated with Wanhe. The purpose of the contact is to promote the wide application and popularization of this new material as soon as possible so as to produce a better product at a lower cost, and finally obtain the benefit of the consumer. Others, in turn, turned to question the aluminum-based copper technology in the market.
Experts: Aluminum substitute copper should not be misunderstood. China is a typical area where copper resources are scarce, but the consumption and use of copper is very large. Most of them rely on imports. As early as 2001, some home appliances companies began research and innovation on aluminum-based copper materials and process methods.
Zhao Yue told reporters that the research and development of aluminum substitute copper is by no means simply replacing aluminum with aluminum. In fact, it also includes related post-processing manufacturing processes, in particular through corrosion prevention, anti-leakage, pressure resistance, welding tests, etc. After a series of reliability studies, the treated and remanufactured aluminum performs very well.
At present, the heat exchangers of the refrigerators are all aluminum-based copper materials, and even steel substitutes for aluminum produce heat exchangers. The heat exchangers in automotive air conditioners used aluminum alloys many years ago. Domestic air conditioner companies have been promoting the use and promotion of aluminum substitute copper products, and even aluminum heat exchangers have appeared.
The reporter was informed that the national standard for heat exchangers is that the material should be corrosion-resistant, have a melting point of more than 500°C, and a thickness of not less than 0.3 mm. Copper and aluminum are not specified. Moreover, all Wanhe Aluminum alloy heat exchanger products currently on the market have passed the qualified testing of the national authorities.
For the current "Al-Copper" controversy on the market of gas water heaters, science should be treated with a scientific attitude. Experts pointed out that companies should make greater efforts to improve product quality and meet consumer demand. They should not be tempted to whine, and they should not use marketing as their purpose. They can confuse consumers and disrupt the healthy development of the entire industry. (Source: China Enterprise News)