Generating heat with cold

A lot of cold is generated in supermarkets – both for the large refrigerated counters and for the separate cold storages. The cold is often generated in compound refrigeration systems, a process that physically generates a lot of waste heat. All too often this heat is simply released into the environment. A principle that is now more than questionable in terms of climate technology and energy efficiency.

A large discounter therefore commissioned Biddle GmbH – a company for innovative climate technology – to develop an overall concept for more energy efficiency in supermarkets. Together with Cube Ingenieurunion GmbH, a heat recovery system was developed with which up to 95 percent of the stores' heating requirements can be covered from the waste heat generated by refrigeration.

The centrepiece of the innovative systems is the WKC45 coaxial condenser from Wieland Thermal Solutions. It is particularly suitable for generating high water temperatures by utilizing the hot refrigerant gas. This is achieved through a particularly efficient counterflow operation: The medium to be cooled and the medium to be heated flow in opposite directions through the jacket and the inner tube. As an additional condenser, the coaxial condenser is therefore integrated into the refrigeration system on the one hand and into the heating system on the other.

In 2012 alone, the supermarket chain equipped almost 200 of its stores with this innovative heat recovery system. And since then, all new buildings have been equipped with the energy-efficient system. The coaxial condensers from Wieland Thermal Solutions are always part of this system, making a valuable contribution to more sustainability and climate protection.

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