Technical Insights March 03, 2020
Does a Chiller Only Chill?
A chiller can repurpose heat discarded by the ventilation system and cooling networks for use elsewhere.
Do you have a facility that needs both heating and cooling year-round? You may be able to take advantage of heat recovery using heat already produced inside your facility. Improving energy efficiency can make a tremendous difference to your bottom line, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring comfort for occupants.
A large-capacity chiller with a heat pump application can repurpose heat discarded by equipment such as the ventilation system and cooling networks. The heat pump recovers wasted energy and can produce low- to medium-grade energy (120°F to 160°F) to heat the building. The recovered heat can be used to offset energy inputs from natural gas.
How does your facility benefit?
- Lower energy bills – repurposing heat reduces the amount of energy the facility requires. Be sure to consult your local electricity rates and verify the amount of potential savings to determine if this strategy will be cost-effective for your site.
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions – by reducing the need to use gas for heating.
- Less strain on the facility’s electrical distribution system – high-performance, up-to-date equipment operates more efficiently overall.
- Redundancy – adding heat recovery will provide a back-up to existing chillers and cooling infrastructure.
Heat recovery is ideal for large-scale systems in buildings that need cooling all year round: hospitals, laboratories, pools, ice rinks, wastewater treatment plants, certain types of industrial facilities, and office buildings with data centers, which produce significant heat from computers.
By looking at all the possibilities for repurposing heat within a facility, you can recover as much heat as possible, and achieve the best energy performance and savings.
