There is a way - but its not always easy and not always feasible as many factors come into play especially with the building type, size, location etc.
Heat Pumps, Solar PV, Battery Storage, and Solar Hot Water along with other new emerging technology currently being designed by boffins can and will help many businesses transition to Net Zero - especially as all businesses are being scrutinised to demonstrate what they are doing to do their bit!
Lets be honest, Heat Pumps in various guises have been around for ever, I remember when I first got introduced to HVAC systems and heat pumps when I joined Carrier in 1985, but its only recently that people are waking up that modern highly efficient heat pumps can provide a modern office, hotel, leisure and retail facility with an entire heating and hot water requirement. Couple it with Solar and you are starting to see the benefits.
My journey in HVAC continued with other manufacturers, contractors and facilities businesses and its interesting to see the parallels that this US contractor had with me and my journey. Interestingly the article also shows how the US is lagging behind when it comes to the latest tech available. i.e. we have been using hydronic based chilled and hot water systems for many years since the worries about refrigerant gasses.
There is also a fallacy that heat pumps don't work well in lower temperatures - just look at what the Scandinavians have been doing for years, and they constantly have winters down to -15 and below. This article debunks that they work and work well.
This section extracted from an article in MBS Magazine explains a Climate Action Pathway: Net-Zero Cooling – a recently published report by an influential group that includes the Carbon Trust and the University of Oxford - points out: “Cooling is critical for health, prosperity, and the environment. It keeps our vaccines safe and food fresh, ensures we have comfortable buildings to live and work in, and is central to our industrial and transport infrastructure.
“However, cooling is typically energy intensive and highly polluting due to the emissions from the electricity that powers this equipment (generated mostly from carbon intensive sources) and the refrigerants and insulation foam gas used in it (especially if not properly recovered and recycled).”
Climate change mitigation can also embrace designs to reduce or remove the need for mechanical HVAC systems altogether by, for instance, laying out the building in an orientation that decreases solar gain or adapting the space to facilitate natural ventilation and/or using the thermal mass of the building to moderate internal temperatures.
Relentlessly pumping carbon emissions into the atmosphere is at the root of the climate emergency we are experiencing, and cooling is a major cause of this. That’s why the focus has been on creating more sustainable air conditioning systems.
Sustainable cooling
One of the best HFC-free refrigerants is carbon dioxide (CO2). CO2, aka R744, is a natural refrigerant with an ozone-depleting potential of 0 and a global warming potential of just 1.
CO2 offers a high refrigeration capacity and lower pressure drops in pipework and heat exchangers. It is generally non-corrosive, non-flammable, and exhibits low toxicity. Furthermore, it is inexpensive to produce and widely available. Fortunately, there is no legislation currently planned to phase it out.
Solar Heating and Cooling
Two very different technologies, but both can be used in conjunction with Heat Pumps.
Solar PV is the obvious one as the electricity generated can be used directly towards the energy required by the heat pump units. With average heat pump COP's of around 3.5 that means simply that for every 1 kw consumed then it will deliver 3.5kw of heat.
As and example of the solar PV required, if you are retrofitting existing gas boilers with a total heating requirement of 500Kw you will have an energy requirement of approximately 140Kw. You may have sufficient roof space to accommodate solar PV, if not then the grid will have to supplement. Alternatively Solar batteries can also be added to a solar PV system
Solar Cooling
Rather more complicated to explain here however this website explains it well and shows how the different technology can be used - albeit often a more expensive solution.
A global transition towards the best cooling technologies for all new air conditioning units could reduce total electricity demand by 25 to 33% in 2030, achieving cost reductions of US$260 billion (£235bn) and emissions reductions of up to 575 MtCO2, according to the Climate Action Pathway: Net-Zero Cooling report5 (see above).
It adds: “Doubling the energy efficiency of air conditioning by 2050 could save up to US$2.9 trillion in a reduced generation, transmission and distribution costs alone and would reduce the need for 1,300 Gigawatt's of additional generation capacity to meet peak demand, the equivalent of all the coal-fired power generation capacity in China and India in 2018.”
Heat recovery
Another practical idea to help mitigate climate change, while also reducing the carbon emissions that create it, is heat recovery. This can be particularly useful in areas containing facilities that produce a lot of unwanted heat 24 hours a day such as data centres. This could be incorporated into existing data centres.
FYI as of March 2024, the United Kingdom has 514 data centre's, which is the second-largest commercial cluster in the world. The UK's data centre market is concentrated around the M25 in areas like Hayes and Slough, with a second large cluster in Manchester. London alone also has over 170 data centres..
Data Centre Energy Consumption
Data centres are one of the most energy-intensive building types, using 10–50 times more energy per floor area than a typical commercial office building. In 2022, data centres consumed 460 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, which is about 2% of global electricity usage.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that data centre energy consumption could increase to more than 1,000 TWh by 2026, which is equivalent to adding the power consumption of a country like Sweden or Germany
Moving forward rather than building large data centres in cities, one idea is to construct smaller facilities on the edge of towns. These offer significant energy-saving potential because, rather than rejecting the heat, it can be used for a district heating loop or to serve neighbouring properties.
A recent data centre project in Tower Hamlets, London includes a heat recovery loop to serve a residential development adjacent to the data centre. Four-pipe, polyvalent heat pumps allow simultaneous and independent cooling and heating from the same plant, including domestic hot water production. This concurrent production of chilled water and hot water in the heat recovery mode effectively doubles the combined efficiency of the unit.
With data centres so essential to modern life and such voracious users of energy - as much as 40% of the total operational costs for a data centre come from the energy needed to power and cool the colossal amounts of equipment these facilities require - maintaining an equilibrium between the two opposing forces of cooling demand versus environmental concerns, is key.
Retrofitting Data Centre Cooling
There are many options available to improve the energy efficiency of data centres and retrofitting a data centre with modern cooling solutions can significantly reduce energy costs and enhance system reliability.
This type of approach is beneficial to a wider range of buildings, not just data centres. In fact, hundreds of similar smaller heat pump systems have been built in the last 15 years in residential and commercial buildings, offices, industrial complexes, hospitals and hotels. Water temperatures can be boosted locally if required with high-temperature heat pumps, immersion systems or point of use heaters.
Whether heating or cooling, improving the efficiency and reducing the carbon footprint of all of our HVAC processes will contribute positively to the wider issue of increasing temperatures.
Conclusion
Moving away from Gas or Oil Heating to Heat Pumps and if possible with Solar PV, battery storage can help businesses transition to Net Zero without needing to resort to greenwashing.
On a personal note, I'm looking forward to the next technical innovations which will help us all be more sustainable.
Auditel's team of over 110 specialists can help businesses with retrofitting, purchasing , cost reduction as they will often have a small select team to collaborate and assist on projects.
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