The Client –
Artisan ice cream producer, based in Southern England
The Challenge –
Aging cooling system
The Solution –
Aqua Pro heat recovery chiller
Ice cream and heat don’t usually mix, but for an ice cream manufacturer, turning their waste heat into usable energy resulted in impressive energy savings of over £20,000 a year. By simply replacing their aging unit with a heat recovery chiller, they save money, significantly reduce their carbon impact, and have a temperature control system that future proofs their business.
Situation
Our client has been creating award winning artisan ice cream for almost 40 years. Their business started on a small farm, but today they produce their extensive range of flavours from a state-of the-art production facility in the South of England.
Temperature control plays a vital role within their manufacturing process, with both heating and cooling regularly required. For example, during pasteurisation the mix needs to be heated and then quickly cooled. Heating helps achieve product quality and food safety requirements, whereas cooling helps with the texture and shelf life of the ice cream.
The client was relying on an aging chiller for the cooling side, but it was becoming unreliable and beyond economical repair. It was also struggling with required capacity for their growing business and under sized for their planned expansion. For the heating, they used a gas boiler.
Solution
After a site visit and energy analysis, Aqua supplied a heat recovery chiller from our Aqua Pro range. These units are a fully packaged solution, designed specifically for process applications. Heat recovery is built into the unit by way of a heat exchanger. The unit selected is capable of 80kW of cooling, with a supply temperature of -1º C.
Whilst the Aqua Pro chillers themselves are highly efficient and operate on low GWP refrigerant, it is the addition of heat recovery which has the biggest impact in this scenario.
Heat recovery enables the waste heat from the process – along with some of the chiller input power – to be captured. This heat can then be re-used elsewhere. With this application, the heat is re-used as pre boiler feed. The ice cream manufacturing process requires a constant feed of hot water, by using heat recovery the boiler does not have to work as hard to achieve the required water temperature as it is already warmer than if it was coming direct from the mains supply.
By recovering heat from your process and re distributing it, you reduce your reliance on gas and benefit from the subsequent cost savings. Your boiler works less, extending its lifespan and minimising maintenance costs. Plus, gas is a non-renewable, non-sustainable energy source, so anything that can be done to reduce its use is a positive on all sides.
The heat recovery chiller is also covered by a Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) plan, which gives the customer peace of mind knowing that their service and maintenance is looked after by Aqua for the next three years.
Results
“Our energy analysis estimates the heat recovery chiller will save the client £23,000 a year in gas costs” explains Aqua Sales Director, Owen Hymers.
“This saving means total return on investment will be achieved in less than 11 months, based on the current energy tariff. Then, every subsequent year, they will be able to put that £23,000 saving back onto their bottom line.
“Our heat recovery chillers help customers operate sustainably and are a great option if your process – or facility – has a requirement for process cooling and heating. “
To find out more about how heat recovery could help your business, chat with the team today on 0333 004 4433 or email sales@aquacooling.co.uk
