Electrifying our lives makes sense for households because it is comfortable and saves money. We are used to heatpumps providing heating and cooling to keep the inside of our homes at a temperature we can
But it makes sense for businesses too, especially when they consume gas to make heat.
Heat pumps can supply process heat for all kinds of industrial processes, with the type of heat pump used depending on the heat being recovered and the temperature of delivered heat required.
So businesses are making the change in and around our neighborhood.
Because a heatpump does work to shift heat from the environment to where you want it, you don’t waste heat thrown away in the exhaust of the gas combustion process.
So businesses don’t have to purchase as much energy to get the same result, improving their profitability.
The type of heatpump used depending on the temperature required, but the mechanical heat pump just like a refridgerator is still the most widely used.
Just to recap, the heatpump operating principle is based on compression and expansion of a working fluid, refered to as the called ‘refrigerant’.
- In the evaporator heat is extracted from a heat source buy the expanding refrigerant.
- In the compressor this hot refrigerant is compressed and moved to the side where the heat is wanted.
- In the condenser this heat is delivered to the function where it is used.
Electricity does the work to move the refrigerant through this cycle – no electric energy generates heat, this is harvested from the environment for “free”, so a heatpump delivers much more energy than it uses.
That’s why it is economical than gas, which can only deliver less energy than you pay for.
Lower temperature (less than 120 °C) heatpumps available for some time for applications like food and beverage processing.
Heat recovery and new refrigerants are increasing the temperature range. Now high temperature heat pumps now being developed and tested for high-heat applications industrial applications.
Can your business save money by starting its electrification journey?
Check out Future.heat for case studies, technologies, resources and references to providers