HEAT PUMPS
The rise of heat pumps for decarbonisation and effi ciency
Interest in heat pumps has traditionally centred around reducing operating costs. But with rising customer expectations, looming government deadlines and growing environmental concern, reducing emissions is now one of the main drivers for the growth in this technology as this report from GEA explains.
Environ- mentally friendly and economical heating is supplied to 1,350 homes, a school and two leisure centres in Islington
H
eating – mostly produced from the combustion of fossil fuels – accounts for more than half of global energy consumption, according to the International
Energy Agency (IEA). If the ambitious targets being set by governments around the world are to be achieved, technologies like heat pumps will need to play a greater role.
Heat pumps and sustainability Heat pumps capture, boost and reuse what would otherwise
be waste heat. This upcycling can signifi cantly bring down heating costs and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. When applied at scale, in the food and beverage industries for example, considerable fi nancial and ecological advantages can be achieved. Kenneth Hoff man, heat pump product manager for GEA
Heating and Refrigeration Technologies, explains: “Think about how much heat is required for a simple task like boiling a kettle. Traditional methods of heat generation (for example a gas boiler) use up to 10 times as much electricity as a modern heat pump. Now extrapolate that to a massive factory generating tonnes of processed food every day or several thousand homes and public buildings in a district heating network and suddenly the sheer potential is clear.”
The natural approach The type of refrigerant used in a heat pump is an important
consideration. Traditional synthetic refrigerants like HFCs are known to be polluting to the environment and are currently being phased out. The naturally occurring refrigerant ammonia, on the other hand, has a negligible impact on the environment. It is also one of the cheapest refrigerants, so it remains energy effi cient for many years. A number of high-profi le manufacturers have installed ammonia-based heat pumps in recent years and are achieving signifi cant results. Mars Inc., the leading confectionary manufacturer, has installed a heat pump solution at its facility in Veghel, the Netherlands, one of the largest chocolate factories in the world. The amount of heat recycled saves
about 26 terajoules in gas and approximately 1,000 t CO2 emissions per year. Similarly, Aurivo, Ireland’s second largest milk processor, has cut carbon dioxide emissions at its Killygordon site by 80 percent, thanks to a multimillion-euro upgrade that includes new liquid processing systems and energy-saving refrigeration and heat pump systems. The project has been awarded Excellence in Energy Effi ciency Design (EXEED) certifi cation from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
Warming up to district heating In terms of heat pumps for district heating, modern systems 22 December 2024 •
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