Mine water utilization as a secondary heat source and heat storage in a smart local heating and cooling distribution system

Mine water has been gaining increasing attention in recent years as a potential source for heat recovery and storage. This is due to its unique properties that make it an ideal medium for capturing and storing large amounts of thermal energy. Mine water is naturally heated by the earth's geothermal energy and typically has a constant temperature throughout the year, making it an excellent source of renewable energy. Additionally, the water's high thermal conductivity and large volumes provide an effective means for storing and transferring heat. With the increasing demand for sustainable energy sources and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the utilization of mine water for heat recovery and storage has become an attractive option for many industries and communities. In this project, we will explore the benefits of using mine water for heat recovery and storage, as well as some of the risks and challenges that need to be overcome to fully realize its potential as a renewable energy source

A Case Study of the Integration of Mine water into Smart Cooling and Heating Network systems

Minewater presents a significant opportunity as an energy source and store in the UK and elsewhere. This research investigates the feasibility and factors necessary to successfully integrate minewater into smart cooling and heating network systems that can support acceleration towards the UK’s net zero target. Heat recovery from minewater offers a lowcarbon source of energy for either heating or cooling and can provide thermal storage, potentially valuable for inter-seasonal demand. The work builds on a feasibility study in Barnsley, Yorkshire, which explored the design of a heat network that integrates heat, power, and mobility and uses waste heat from a glass factory. This work focusses on analyzing the subsurface factors including flowrate, yield, mine void volume, and interconnectivity, which affect the flow and consequently thermal behavior of the available minewater. A 3D model using Petrel and Groundhog have been created combining data from the available boreholes and Coal Authority maps to characterise the subsurface conditions

Heat Recovery Opportunities from Electrical Substation Transformers

The transformation of voltages in electrical substations leads to energy losses in the form of waste heat; the quantity of which depends on transformer size and electrical loading. This paper investigates how a novel waste heat source, namely transformer waste heat could be harvested and distributed via district heating networks. Firstly, the investigation considered nameplate heat loss factors to quantify the theoretical waste heat potential from electrical substation transformers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which varied from 3.0 to 5.4 TWh.a-1, equivalent to between 0.7 and 1.25% of annual heat demand for these countries, depending on loading assumptions. A number of heat recovery approaches which could be integrated with existing transformer cooling systems were then proposed. A spreadsheet model was then developed to simulate heat recovery from a transformer, together with the upgrade of the recovered heat using a heat pump prior to delivery via district heating. The model was used to evaluate the merits of capturing transformer waste heat losses, estimated using industry supplied electrical loading data, to meet different heat network demands based on an existing network, compared to conventional heating technologies. Findings suggest that the system proposed can achieve levelised costs that are up to 17% lower than the running costs of air-source heat pumps, whilst reducing emissions by almost 80% when displacing gas boilers. The methodology hereby described can also be used to evaluate the feasibility of recovering transformer waste heat in other countries

Women working in Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning and Heat Pumps: a Worldwide Survey

The International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) OzonAction undertook a worldwide survey on women in cooling. The aim was to better understand the background, motivation, challenges, and opportunities faced by women working in the in Refrigeration, Air-Conditioning and Heat Pumps (RACHP) sector. In total 810 women replied to the survey. The results indicated a high industry retention rate, with 47% of the women working in the RACHP sector for more than 10 years. The three main challenges identified were: difficulties in managing a healthy work-life balance, lack of career advancement opportunities and stereotypes or prejudice about women from clients or customers. Conversely, the most proud career achievements were earning the respect and confidence of colleagues, developing a new product/service and training/teaching people. The survey identified the challenges and opportunities faced by women working in the RACHP sector providing valuable insight to the development of new policies and initiatives to support women

District Heat Networks: Addressing Categorisation to Unlock Deployment Potential

District heating (DH) consists of substantial energy infrastructures in many urban areas around the world, which offer a significant opportunity for achieving economies of scale and increasing the energy efficiency of the built environment. Heat networks have been identified by the UK Government as an essential mechanism for decarbonising heat. However, different to other European countries, the UK heat network market is minimal, meeting only around 3% of overall heat demand. Many of these networks use Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technologies, often driven by carbon-intensive gas engines. If the UK is to achieve its netzero target, these CHP systems need to be modified or replaced with low-carbon alternatives such as heat pumps. One challenge to the growth of low-carbon heat networks in the UK relates to a lack of clarity when categorising them as either communal or district. These systems have different merits and peculiarities that affect their potential as scalable tools for decarbonisation. This paper aims to address this challenge by proposing new definitions that clearly separate district and communal concepts. This is achieved by analysing the status of heat networks in the UK and London, which is complemented by a review of current definitions available in the literature. The potential implications of misclassification to the development of DH in the UK are then discussed, with a focus on how policy needs to establish clear boundaries in order to guide the transition towards a low-carbon DH market in the UK. By addressing the issue of inconsistent categorisation and improving data accuracy, this paper serves as a foundation for future research and development efforts aimed at overcoming the barriers to the broader deployment of low-carbon heat networks in the UK

Decarbonisation pathways for fossil fuel-based district heating networks using heat pumps

Decarbonising the energy sector is crucial for addressing climate change concerns. Traditional UK district heating networks heavily rely on large, centralised gas-fired plants driven by economies of scale. However, the changing energy landscape necessitates a shift towards low-carbon alternatives in existing heating systems. This study fills a significant knowledge gap by examining strategies to decarbonise district heating networks (HN) through the integration of heat pumps (HPs) at different temperatures. It comprehensively assesses cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and operational carbon emissions. The findings emphasize the seamless integration of HPs into diverse settings, enabling them to extract heat from air, ground, or water sources and resulting in substantial carbon savings. Moreover, harnessing waste heat from the London Underground presents a substantial opportunity for emission reductions. Nevertheless, the viability of biogas is limited in densely populated areas like London. This research makes a noteworthy contribution to UK decarbonisation efforts, offering a practical roadmap for widespread adoption of HPs and a sustainable future

Transport, Industrial and Commercial Refrigeration – A research project

The Climate Change Act commits the UK to reach net zero emissions by 2050, tackling hard to abate areas. A significant energy end use, often overlooked in policy, is refrigeration and there is a gap in our understanding of transport, industrial and commercial refrigeration (TICR) emissions. Essential for multiple applications across the cold chain, this paper assesses the size of TICR emissions, and opportunities for research and innovation. Our initial results suggest that 6% of industrial electricity use is for refrigeration, with large uncertainty in this figure. To address this knowledge gap, we reviewed available data sources to estimate the UK’s carbon emissions and produce a breakdown per application sector. In an industry dominated by SMEs with low-risk appetite and innovations with low readiness levels, we explore ways, which TICR could decarbonise in order to reach the UK’s Net Zero ambitions, through innovation and better data

The Importance of Heat Pump COP in the Economics of 5th Generation District Heating and Cooling Networks

This paper describes the investigation of heat pumps for GreenSCIES, a 5th Generation heat network in Islington, London. The paper describes the GreenSCIES concept integrating Mobility, Power and Heat into a local energy system. At the heart of the system is a 5th generation heat network, which utilises an ambient heat network to capture secondary heat and share heat between different applications. The GreenSCIES network, technology utilised and buildings connected are described. Heat pumps are used to amplify the temperature of the ambient loop to deliver heat at the required temperature in connected buildings. A number of different heat pumps using different refrigerants and configurations were appraised in this study. This considered the performance, safety, environmental impact, operational and capital expenditure point of view. The study shows the importance of heat pump COP on the economics of operating the system and suggests innovative series arrangements in order to improve performance and economics