Of particular interest to laundry operators, according to the seminar organiser for WCL, Ken Cupitt, were the slots on Heat Pumps by Robert Unsworth from GEA and Solar Panel Photovoltaics (solar PV) by Andrew Moore from UKSOL.

Cupitt elaborated: “Robert Unsworth’s paper on heat pumps could be beneficial to laundries. Prior to this presentation I was a bit sceptical about the claims for this sort of technology but he had examples from the food sector and breweries of being able to generate very high temperatures and even steam, which would make boilers in a laundry unnecessary.”

Heat pumps

Robert Unsworth from GEA has decades of global experience in heating and cooling, latley with heat pumpos for decarbonised processing. GEA is everywhere – beer palnts, milk plants, big brand food and drink producers .

Unsworth used an example from another industry of what heat pumps could do for laundry businesses. “innocent (organic juice brand) wanted to build a carbon zero factory, the first genuine one, and we did it,” he says.

In the new-build project, GEA was responsible for the process, refrigeration and heating technology. Early involvement in the design planning phase enabled the company to develop numerous innovative process changes that significantly help innocent on the path to reaching its climate goals. GEA and innocent recently won gold in the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) People’s Choice Award for the smart heat pump design.

“The innocent project is an outstanding example of how we put our purpose of ‘engineering for a better world’ into practice,” said GEA CEO Stefan Klebert. “Not only have we integrated the most resourceefficient technologies, we have also entirely rethought the processes as well as the heating and refrigeration systems. Together with innocent, GEA has pushed the envelope beyond standard beverage production practice.”

Since much of the energy used in production is for heat, GEA worked intensively on in-process energy and resource efficiency in the manufacturing process. During the planning process, the project participants scrutinised every step: Could certain processes run at a lower temperature without impacting quality? Could the water needed for pasteurisation be heated using waste heat from the refrigeration plant? What temperatures are new electric heat pumps capable of producing? Where is steam really necessary as a medium? (In the question and answer session after his presentation Unsworth discussed how steam can be produced and used for cooling, a subject that launderers will find extemely intersting. Please click on the YouTube link at the end of this section.)

 For innocent, GEA broke down the entire juice-making process into its component parts and then rebuilt it from the ground up. The company also applied the sustainable engineering solutions (SEnS) approach. This factors heating and cooling requirements into the systems right at the planning stage, instead of after the fact when corrections are virtually no longer possible.

For example, a GEA heat pump will recover waste heat from the refrigeration systems and reuse it in other process steps. Thus, the pasteurisation temperatures can be lowered from 95°C to 90°C – improving the energy balance by 3%. This makes it possible to fit a heat pump and thaw frozen juices with warm water instead of steam. GEA advised innocent to use two separate heating circuits – one set to 65°C for cleaning and the other to 90°C for pasteurisation and sterilisation. Taking a 360-degree view of the process chain allowed innocent to substantially cut its carbon footprint while massively influencing other parameters such as water consumption and waste generation. https://youtu.be/HDda1_dr1NE

Solar PV

Andrew Moore, UKSOL, reckons solar PV could point the way forward for big laundries with large roof spaces which could use them to enjoy lower electricity prices.

Moore, the founder and CEO of UKSOL, the leading British Solar PV panel producer and exporter has built up a wealth of experience with 15 years in renewable energy and is a solar entrepreneur specialising in emerging global solar markets, including Africa, Asia and South America. Andrew is an Export Champion for the Department of International Trade. His company has supplied solar panels to over 50 countries in five continents. Moore has a vision to build a megawatt solar panel manufacturing plant in Britain as currently there is no large scale solar panel manufacturing in the UK.

Twenty years ago Moore was specialising in software and was looking for a career change. He set up a company to install renewables technology such as heat pumps, solar thermal and wind turbines and then looked at solar VP which to his mind “did what it said on the tin”.

In the developing world, solar PV is “power to the people” he said as it is so much cheaper than building power stations.

“The sun’s rays are beating down every day and going to waste. If it was raining oil we would be out there with buckets collecting it.We need to capture the sun’s power and use it. In Europe we are colder than Africa, of course, but solar PV is actually more efficient at lower temperatures and suits our climate. Solar PV is not a new technology and is currently being used on Mars powering Rovers and has been used to power satellites in space for decades.”

“Solar PV can be deployed for large factories on their roof space. We need good software to calculate the benefits. Ask an installer to generate a report on location (ie., Scotland or south coast?) All can impact on results as can pitch of roof, temperature, shading – shadow form chimneys and trees can dramatically reduce output.

“Why are you buying a system? To save on electricity bills. Also, as a back-up. This is now on the agenda as we could have blackouts and brown outs like back in the 70s. Solar PV can provide a store of energy when you need it.”

Lithium batteries are available but are more expensive than the previous units, but are better and more efficient. However, bear in mind that batteries are expensive and although installers will quote for them in the installation they are optional. The National Grid acts as a battery as any excess production can be harvested and you get reduced bills. “A solar PV system once installed basically plugs into your power supply in the building and you use the power from the panel to run the building.

“The installation should last at least 30 years. Once a system has been installed almost no running costs are incurred as they have no moving parts,” said Moore.

“How does it help your business? You won’t be totally self-sufficient but will really significantly reduce the amount of power you buy from the National Grid. It’s a hedge against rising prices. Other pluses for going the solar PV route, according to Moore, are that it will help in achieving Net Zero, “you can talk to your customers about it and put it in your marketing matter. We don’t know what is going to happen with tax on energy. It could well be helpful there”.

“You can even sell excess power to other people/businesses or back to the National Grid,” Moore said, adding: “Do ask for a report. MCS is the Government body set up to manage renewables installers. You will definitely need an MCS approved installation over 50kw, so do check this.”   https://youtu.be/grmOLlNbUmE