Temperature challenge solved with heat pumps
A customised, energy-efficient renovation concept using R290, a natural propane refrigerant. This supermarket-specific solution was designed to meet the attached butcher shop's need for particularly high temperatures and a continuous supply of process water.
Energy-efficient renovation with propane
Not all supermarkets are the same, this is evident not only in their product ranges, but also in their need for energy-efficient refurbishment. Rising energy prices, stricter legal requirements and funding for technologies that reduce environmental and operating costs are pressuring supermarket operators and chains to seek solutions.
Heat pump technology is well suited in this context, as it can be adapted to the individual conditions of each supermarket and customised solutions are also possible. This is an example from northern Germany, of the development of a concept for a supermarket with approximately 1,200 m² of retail space, including an attached butcher's shop.
Challenge: high temperatures
The main challenge lay in the high temperatures required by the butcher's shop. Standard air-to-water heat pumps are suitable for generating low to medium temperatures, for example to heat residential buildings or food markets. If a building requires very high supply temperatures, these standard heat pumps will not be enough. We therefore developed a concept that combines different heat pumps. In addition to air-to-water heat pumps, this concept uses special water-to-water heat pumps, temperature boosters, that generate high water temperatures. These heat pumps operate with an R290 refrigerant, propane, and achieve supply temperatures of up to 75 °C.
Blog: more about temperature boosters
Higher efficiency with propane
The solution combines three consumer circuits with two different temperature levels, one circuit with 40/35 °C for low and medium temperatures, and two circuits with 65/60 °C and 55/50 °C respectively for high temperatures. The 40/35 °C circuit is supplied by a standard air-to-water heat pump and for an efficient operation, a temperature booster is integrated into the return flow of this circuit. It uses the return flow as a source and provides the heating output for the other two "high-temperature" circuits.
Hot water preparation is supported by an interface to the commercial refrigeration heat recovery system. Complete control of the primary side (buffer storage interface), including communication between the heat pumps, is provided by a Swegon system for process measuring and control. Also specially tailored to this concept.
Utilising heat pumps
As usual, different solutions are compared in prior to a renovation in terms of investment costs, space requirements as well as structural and legal requirements. This project shows how flexible heat pump technology can be used today, even in challenging scenarios such as the combination of a supermarket and butcher's shop. The set-up of innovative technology, intelligent control and a natural refrigerant (R290, propane) creates a sustainable solution that is both cost-effective and future-proof.
For the supermarket operator, this means lower operating costs, reduced COâ‚‚ emissions and an opportunity to benefit from governmental subsidy programmes.
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