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In most northern European Countries waste heat is put to far better use than it is in the UK. Article 14(5) of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive was transposed in UK and Welsh Law in March 2015. And on the back of this new legislation the Environment Agency are releasing guidance on the use of waste heat that will apply to industrial heat producers over 20 MW.
When building new or refurbishing old facilities, there will be requirement to carry out cost benefit analysis to determine whether connection to a point of heat demand is required, under the terms of the guidance.
The follow installation types will likely be exempt from the guideline requirements for Waste Heat Cost Benefit Assessment
The cost benefit assessments will be performed for new electricity generating plants and new industrial installations outputting waste heat at a useful temperature. Depending on the location 65 degrees Celsius is thought to "useful". Waste heat cost benefit assessments will also be need to be completed if the a facility / installation is likely to be substantially refurbished. It is unlikely this would include regular maintenance procedures, but would probably include swapping out plant for a different system. A numerically value set to define substantial is greater than 50% costs of a new build.
Heating or cooling demand points will have to be considered within a 15 kilometer radius, or less if the plant / installation is under 3.9 MW. All demand points over 100KW for hot water and 500kw for steam will have to be considered. These values et in the guidance were added during the transposition process and do not form part of the original European legislation.
The guidance also considers the decreased dispersal of flu gases as a result of waste heat usage. If the project is shown to be financially viable then the Environment Agency will require that it is implemented.
If you would like SWEL to undertake the your Waste Heat Cost Benefit Assessment Work then please get in touch.
Image: Alan Zomerfeld [CC BY-SA 2.5], via Wikimedia Commons
The below section was written by a machine.
Waste heat is the energy produced by machine tools, industrial processes, or electrical equipment that is not used for a purposeful goal and is instead dissipated into the environment. In the context of industrial sustainability, capturing this thermal energy is a critical step in improving overall energy efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of an operation.
Waste heat is generated across various sectors, often as a byproduct of combustion or mechanical friction:
The technical feasibility of recovering waste heat depends on its temperature (grade) and the proximity of a potential "heat sink". Methods such as heat exchangers, recuperators, and heat pumps allow this energy to be redirected for space heating, pre-heating boiler feed water, or even generating electricity via Organic Rankine Cycles.
By implementing recovery strategies, organizations can significantly lower their primary energy consumption and improve their scores in Sustainability Reports and Energy Efficiency Audits. At Southwest Environmental Limited (SWEL), we integrate thermodynamic principles with environmental policy to help clients identify these marginal gains in efficiency. With over 15 years of experience in technical consultancy, we provide the evidence-based data required to turn waste heat into a valuable resource.
