Excess heat recovery reduces companies’ energy costs, lowers emissions and improves energy self-sufficiency. In practice, it means reusing thermal energy that has already been produced instead of letting it go to waste.
For industrial operators, using excess heat offers a concrete way to build competitiveness in an environment where businesses are expected to achieve cost-efficiency, emission reductions and improved security of supply.
“Reusing energy that has already been produced lowers both energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions,” summarises Juho Ylönen, Concept Manager at Nevel.
Excess heat has long been used in various forms in industry and real estate. However, the solution is now more profitable than before, both economically and environmentally.
Heat pump technology has become more reliable and efficient, and the refrigerants used are increasingly environmentally friendly. At the same time, volatility in energy prices and the rising cost of fossil fuels, have made previously unused energy streams increasingly interesting from an economic perspective.
“Utilising excess heat has become increasingly profitable with the rise in fuel prices. With heat recovery, companies can achieve clear cost savings while reducing emissions at the same time,” says Ylönen.
With the help of new technology, excess heat can be processed into water with temperatures of up to 90 degrees Celsius, opening up a variety of uses even in highly demanding applications.
“Thanks to the development of heat pump technology, low-temperature energy that was previously difficult to utilise can now be processed into heat suitable for heating buildings and hot water, industrial processes or district heating networks,” says Ylönen.
In addition, excess heat can now be recovered from an increasing number of sources, including refrigeration systems, industrial cooling processes and hot gas streams.
Excess heat recovery is suitable for sites where excess heat is generated continuously and can be used effectively. In practice, this typically means locations where both cooling and heating are needed at the same time.
“For the solution to be profitable, firstly the site must have sufficient amount of usable excess heat. Secondly, it is important that the heat can be used either in the site’s own processes or through the district heating network,” says Ylönen.
Excess heat recovery is suitable for a wide range of sites, from small local shops to large industrial plants. Nevel utilises excess heat from industry, for example, in greenhouses operated by RegEnergy Frövi in Sweden and at Solina’s Puljonki factory in Finland.
“The key factor is not the size of the company, but whether the site generates enough usable excess heat and whether there is a meaningful use for it,” Ylönen points out.
With Nevel’s service model, excess heat recovery does not require large investments or special expertise from the customer. Nevel designs, invests in, builds and operates the entire solution so the customer does not need to own or manage it.
“The customer can focus on their own core business while we take care of everything related to cooling and heating production,” says Ylönen.
The work begins with mapping energy flows: Nevel identifies where heat is generated and how it can be utilised. The solution is designed based on this assessment and then built and brought into operation in the desired way. For example, at the Puljonki factory in Finland, excess heat from the refrigeration system is used to heat the factory and support other process requirements.
“The goal is a care-free solution that starts to deliver benefits from day one. In many locations, there are significant amounts of excess heat available: it is estimated that up to 20–30% of industrial excess heat can be recovered,” Ylönen concludes.
Contact us and let’s discover together how you can make use of excess heat at your site.
Excess heat recovery is based on a simple principle: heat generated in processes is recovered and reused instead of being released into the environment. The solution usually complements an existing energy system.