Building-specific heat pumps improve the competitiveness of district heating

KYMI-SOLAR OY HAS DEVELOPED A UNIQUE HEC FLOW HEAT PUMP APPLICATION THAT, UNLIKE OTHER HEAT PUMP SYSTEMS, UTILISES THE RETURN FLOW OF DISTRICT HEAT.

Return flow heat is profitable as cooling the return flow reduces the transmission loss of district heat and improves the efficiency of heat production. In addition, HEC flow is also the only building-specific heat pump application that increases electricity production.

– Our heat pump pays for itself through the savings it generates. Its investment and operating costs are lower than those of geothermal heat, says Ville Terävä, CEO of Kymi-Solar Oy.

The HEC flow heat pump produces all the heating and cooling needed in a building connected to the district heating network. The excess heat generated during the cooling season can be utilised to heat domestic water and produce district heating.

– HEC flow also acts as a demand response component for the electric network and has the potential to generate thousands of euros every year, Terävä says.

Kymi-Solar’s customers include district heating companies and industrial operators looking to utilise waste heat. For example, at energy company Helen’s new bioenergy heating plant in Vuosaari, flue gases are cooled to a temperature as low as 11 degrees using a centralised heat pump. The plant has a stupendous calculated efficiency of 122 per cent.

– Similar results can also be achieved with building-specific HEC flow heat pumps. Unlike centralised solutions, our decentralised model also minimises network heat losses and brings the benefits of combined heating and cooling production to locations where it is not profitable for energy companies to build district cooling networks, Terävä says.

According to Terävä, the district heating network and infrastructure provide the only opportunity for extensively transferring waste heat to end customers, which is why improving its competitiveness is worthwhile.

– We must not allow the existing district heating infrastructure to deteriorate. When districted-heated buildings change their heating method to, say, geothermal heating, their district heating pipes are cut off. This reduces the construction rate of the district heating network and weakens the competitiveness of district heating. I fear this may lead to a negative cycle that cannot be stopped.

Kymi-Solar has applied for patents for its application and is investing in research and product development. In the future, the company will offer its customers more customised solutions.

– We have hired a PhD in energy technology to build a model and simulator of an industrial customer’s energy system utilising artificial intelligence. This will help us optimise energy systems. Utilising return flow as a transfer route for waste heat energy as well as its seasonal storage and use with the help of heat pumps are all interesting questions. We look forward to having answers soon, Terävä says.