Application
This application for a leading building solutions provider, a large producer of bricks, paving blocks and roof tiles, provided 2 x 80°C air source heat pumps as part of their decarbonisation programme.
The manufacturing process has a significant heating demand resulting from the concrete curing process, which ensures the roof tile’s strength and durability.
The manufacturing site has no Natural Gas connection, so the heat needed to carry out the curing process has historically relied on oil boilers to generate the required thermal capacity. As part of the client’s commitment to decarbonise their operations, this air source heat pump project enabled the curing process to switch from heating oil to Low Carbon Electricity via the Heat Pump system.
‘Air Source Heat pumps are a well-proven technology which is more commonly known for providing low-carbon heating within space heating/HVAC applications,‘ commented Garry Broadbent, Operations Director of Pure Thermal, continuing, ‘This retrofit project demonstrates that industrial heat pumps can be practically utilised within this type of demanding production application which called for high-temperature-capable air source units.’
The single-stage Black 120 units were selected due to the Heat Pumps ability to generate output temperatures as high as 80°C within a single-stage compact system and provide high levels of operational flexibility, which was a key operational requirement within this retrofit decarbonisation project.
The five curing chambers were heated by an Oil Boiler system supplying hot water at a maximum of 80ºC. The existing heating system and controls were modified for the hot water supply to be alternatively supplied by a system of 2 x 62 kW Air Source Heat Pumps and 2 x Thermal Buffer tanks. The system design is the first of its kind in the UK for curing concrete tiles.