Exergia

Anonymous industrial case

Steam-to-Hot-Water Transition

The project replaced historical steam users with a controlled hot water network supplied by recovered heat and hybrid backup.

Signal
Loop temperature: 82/58 C
Signal
COP modeled: 4.2
Signal
CO2 reduction: 1,150 t/y

Context

Several process users required controlled heat below 80 C but were supplied by steam. This made heat recovery impossible.

Architecture

A hot water loop, buffer and recovered heat source were integrated with backup heat. Controls prioritized recovered heat, then heat pump operation, then backup.

Lesson

The largest value came from reducing the required temperature and return temperature, not from the equipment alone.

Engineering FAQs

What was the main constraint?

Production continuity during conversion and the need to validate existing heat exchanger capacity at lower temperature difference.