22 February 2002
B5-11 Heat Recovery in Recent Refrigeration Systems in Supermarkets.
Supermarkets are using large amounts of energy. The potential for increased energy efficiency is large and one option is to utilize heat pumping, i.e. heat recovery from condensers for heating of the premises. Obviously this option is only interesting in relatively cold area such as northern Europe, Canada etc.
A computer model that calculates the energy use in a supermarket with the possibility to simulate, and thus compare, different system solutions for the refrigeration system has been developed at the Department of Energy Technology, Division of Applied Thermodynamics and Refrigeration. The software is used in the present study to calculate the potential of heat recovery in Swedish supermarkets. Measurements of different parameters such as temperatures, relative humidity and compressor power have been carried out in a supermarket with heat recovery, and the results from the measurements supplement the theoretical calculations.
The present study shows that heating is readily supplied and additional energy for heating can be avoided completely, at least in theory. Practical experiences show however that installations are less efficient due to poor system solutions and/or control strategies.