Here are the next two posts in our series of 10 ready-made solutions for more energy efficiency.
The practical use of wasted energy is called heat recovery, and there is a vast potential for recovering heat from refrigeration systems.
A small supermarket in Sønderborg, Denmark, achieved annual savings of €30,000 and reduced CO2 emissions by 34% through energy recovery. You read more about it in this case story.
In Germany, where about 1.4% of electrical energy consumption is used for refrigeration in supermarkets, similar measures could lead to final energy savings of 2.6 Mtoe per year, and energy cost savings of €1.8 billion. Payback time for such investments is estimated at 1.5 years.
Recovering heat from district energy networks
District energy is the only way to utilize low-exergy, low-grade waste heat or free cooling sources for end-use in buildings (UNEP). It can use, for example, surplus heat from data centers, industrial processes or even sewage water.
Recovering all of Europe’s waste heat could cover the heating demand of our entire building stock. Read more in the Heat Roadmap Europe.
Let us know in the Comments box below if there’s any particular topic you would like us to cover on this blog. We’re happy to tackle complex issues or just provide ‘good to know’ information. And bookmark this page to make sure you get to read all 10 ready-made energy-efficiency solutions. Here are links to the previous posts.
Authors: Dirk Leinweber, Business Development Manager – Energy Storage, Danfoss, and Sasa Kojic, Global Vertical Business Development Director, Danfoss
