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Precautionary Steps to be taken Before the Restart of the Heat Pump After Very Long Time Due to Pandemic Situation like COVID 19

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[et_pb_section fb_built=\”1\” _builder_version=\”4.5.3\” _module_preset=\”default\” custom_padding=\”57px|||||\”][et_pb_row _builder_version=\”4.5.3\” _module_preset=\”default\”][et_pb_column type=\”4_4\” _builder_version=\”4.5.3\” _module_preset=\”default\”][et_pb_text _builder_version=\”4.5.3\” _module_preset=\”default\”] Are you using heat pump for hot water application and it is been shut for more than 2 to 3 months  due to current pandemic situation. Let\’s find out the precautionary steps to be taken before the restart of the heat pump.  We are going to talk about The precautionary steps to be taken before the start of the heat pump after very long time.  There are 12 precautionary steps to be followed and this can be  for any heat pump/any model/any capacity, air or water sourced, any form of liquid used, direct or indirect integration. As a first step we have to drain the water which is available in the system,  the water quality of the stagnated water will be very poor and it can damage the system if you restart.  After draining, refill it with very fresh quality water and switch on the circulation system.  Check  for the  air lock in the circulation system.  if not checked it can cause damage to  the coil and also it affects the flow of the system.  As a next step, Check for the strainer choke.  This stagnant water  might have cause the  strainer to get choked. We have to clean the strainer because it will affect the flow of the system. After the strainer, Check for the Plate Heat Exchanger. This also might have choked  because of the stagnated water. Clean the plate heat exchanger. Proper cleaning of the plate heat exchanger will help the proper transfer of heat and the required output will be delivered   After following the first 5 steps, we have to drain the water again,  this drain will helps to flush out all the dust particles sludge that are available in the system while we are cleaning the strainer and plate heat exchanger. Refill again with fresh quality water, can be demineralised water RO water. Also check for the level in the buffer tank which we are using in the system whether it is up to the required level for the heat pump system to work. Then Check for the temperature sensor which is to  be available in the buffer tank. The position of the sensor is very important and it has to be checked if it properly immersed in the buffer tank. After that Check for the electrical supply because  there may have voltage fluctuation, power factor fluctuation, fuses and breaks might have been damaged. All these need to be checked. After following all these precautionary steps, Switch on the Heat pump system. Check for the Leakages. There might be  leakages here and there while we are doing some cleaning activities. Arrest those leakages. After that, Switch on again the Heat pump system. At this pont of time, check for Heat pump display for any errors. Look for sensor readings such as electrical parameter readings with the help of energy meter and CT, flow sensor,and temperature sensor readings. While following all these precautionary steps, Now we are safe with the Proper Restart of the Heat Pump.   Please feel free to call us for any support online or offline anything related to the thermal systems not only Heat pumps, we are also deal with with services and maintenance of Chillers, Hot water generators and Solar thermal systems. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Air Source Heat Pumps and Water Source Heat Pumps – What Are They and How To Choose One?

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[et_pb_section admin_label=\”section\”] [et_pb_row admin_label=\”row\”] [et_pb_column type=\”4_4\”][et_pb_text admin_label=\”Text\”] What are Air-Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) and Water-Source Heat Pumps (WSHPs)? Air-Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) and Water-Source Heat Pumps (WSHPs)follow the same thermodynamic cycle called the ‘Vapour Compression Cycle’. (Please watch our ‘Heat Pump Knowledge Series’ to learn more about the thermodynamic cycle). How To Choose Between Air-Source and Water-Source Heat Pumps? The air source heat pump takes the input of electricity, extracts the heat from the ambient air, and gives hot water up to 90 degrees Celsius. Due to the extraction of heat from the ambient air, the ambient gets cooler. So, if there is a requirement for both hot water and cold air, then the air source heat pump is the solution. Water source heat pump takes the input of electricity, extracts heat from ambient water or process return water from industrial processes, and gives hot water up to 90 degrees Celsius. Due to the extraction of heat from the water, the water gets cooled in the range 7 to 30 degrees Celsius and this temperature is dependent on the temperature required for hot water. If there is a  requirement for both hot water and cold water, then the water source heat pump is the solution. (Click here to find out how the cost of heat pumps compare with the cost of other heating sources) Get Both Heating and Cooling Hot water is generally used in industries for degreasing, for pre-treatment, or for washing machines. In the commercial sector,  it can be used for bathing purposes or in kitchens. Coldwater can be used to reduce the load on chillers and cold air can be used for space cooling where the room temperature has to be brought down. Check out Aspiration Energy\’s heat pump solutions. Environmental and Financial Payback As both the heat pump types run on the same principle, both run with almost the same efficiency. Both the heat pumps are useful to reduce the CO2 emissions and help industries to reduce their energy bills. Return on investment is high if the existing system is an electric heater or a hot water generator. If you replace them with the heat pump, then the payback period will be less than 1.5 years. For more information, you can contact Aspiration Energy at info@aspirationenergy.com [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Case Studies, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

How Much Is ‘Not Replacing The Diesel Boiler In Your Hotel’ Costing You Every Day? This Case of a 4-Star Hotel Has The Answer!

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[et_pb_section admin_label=\”section\”] [et_pb_row admin_label=\”row\”] [et_pb_column type=\”4_4\”][et_pb_text admin_label=\”Text\”] A heat pump is considered as a passive solar thermal system that can save up to half of what you usually spend for the diesel boiler. Let us consider this very simple example. A 4-star hotel was using a diesel boiler that consumed 40 liters of diesel, running  8 hours a day for the generation of hot water at 80 degrees centigrade. Now, let\’s see what difference it would make if we replace the diesel boiler with a heat pump. Calculating Boiler Capacity Installed First of all, we will calculate the heating capacity of a diesel boiler installed in the hotel using the formula where m is the fuel consumption rate. i.e., 40 liters for 8 hours a day CV is the calorific value of the diesel. i.e., 9500 kilocalories per liter n is the efficiency of diesel boiler i.e., 80%, calculating which gives the value of installed capacity of the boiler as 44 kilowatts. Calculating Heat Pump Capacity Needed The next step is the selection of heat pumps. If we use our standard model of 28-kilowatt heat pump, whose power input is 10 kilowatts, we should select two numbers to get the desired heating output of 44 kilowatts. In addition to this, we have to add the auxiliary load consumption by the circulation pumps which usually ranges from 1 to 1.5 kilowatts. So, the total power input could be 20 kilowatts + 1.5 kilowatts which is 21.5 kilowatts. Now let’s move to the savings part. Comparing Running Costs of Diesel Boiler With Heat Pump First of all, we will calculate the operating cost of the diesel boiler for one day. i.e., 40 liters of diesel used per day x cost of diesel per liter i.e., 70 rupees, which gives the value of 2800 rupees. Now calculating the operating cost of heat pump for one day i.e 21.5 kilowatts x  8 hours of operation x 8.5 rupees i.e, the unit cost of electricity, which gives a value of 1460 rupees. The difference between these two values, i.e, 1340 rupees, is our savings per day! Payback Period, Financial and Environmental Savings If you calculate the savings for one year by multiplying it with 360 days, their annual saving would be 4,82,400 rupees. Finally, if they start using heat pumps right now, the return of investment would be 1.5 to 2 years. By using a heat pump, they not only save the money but also reduce the emission of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Contact Us to Get Started Thank you. As always, if you are looking for a contractor who can help you with replacing your diesel boiler and installing energy-efficient heat pumps, give us a call at 96777 63170 or email us on info@aspirationenergy.com [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Case Studies, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Will Heat Pumps perform better for Automobile Engine Head Washing?

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Are heat pumps more cost-effective and efficient than electrical heaters in a hot water application for the manufacturing industry? Case of an Automobile Manufacturer Let\’s talk about a customer – Automobile  Manufacturer. The application they used hot water for is Engine Head Washing and the capacity of operation is around 28 kilowatts. Their temperature requirement is 50 to 60 degrees Celsius and they were running two shifts of operation. Results of the intervention We visited them to understand this application and gave an exact 28 kilowatts heat pump to meet that temperature requirement. You can see the installation photograph (below).   Before the installation of a heat pump, their average electrical consumption per hour was around 24 units. After the installation of the heat pump, it drastically reduced to 12 units per hour and they were able to save 86000 units per year. Not only that, but they were also able to reduce their carbon emissions. So, the heat pumps are not only cost-effective and efficient but also renewable and sustainable. How did heat pump make this achievement possible? How was that drastic reduction in the number of units even possible? The answer to this question lies in the ambient. Yes, the Ambient! A Heat Pump uses ambient temperature heat along with the heat generated with the usage of electricity. It converts that heat and transfers the heat energy from the ambient to the required heat output. So, the 2 kilowatt of ambient heat along with the 1 kilowatt of the electrical unit gives out around 3 to 4 units of heat energy output. So, this is the working principle and in summary, this heat pump is going to save around  5.5 lakh rupees for the customer, for that particular application. Can you achieve the same? If you are using electrical heaters for your hot water application, please feel free to call us on 96777 63170 for a demo of our heat pump. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you.

Aspiration Energy, Blog, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Calculating and Comparing Levelised Cost Of Heat (LCH) Or True Cost of Heat in Rs./kWhth Of Commonly Used Heating Sources

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Do you know it could be more than 3 TIMES CHEAPER to produce the same amount of heat through Heat Pumps than through a Diesel Boiler or an Electric Heater? In this video – in order to make a fair comparison – Levelised Cost of Heat or True Cost of Heat in Rupees per kilowatt-hour thermal (Rs./kWhth) is obtained for a variety of commonly used heating sources. Are you using diesel or LPG for heating water up to 90 degrees C? Now, the government talks about electrification of heat which means replacing diesel or LPG with electricity. But when you are comparing the operating cost of diesel and LPG with electricity, is it even comparable? Let’s find out. kCal vs kWh How do we compare the operating costs of diesel or LPG driven hot water generator and electricity? First of all, we have to understand kCal vs kWh. Are they very different from each other? Both are units of energy. 860 kCal is nothing but 1 kWh from units of energy perspective. Now when you are converting kCal to kWh or kWh into kCal what comes into the picture is nothing but the efficiency. In the case of a generator or a power generator, the efficiency of a generator comes into the picture. That’s why people do not compare kCal and kWh that easily. But in a hot water generator, the kCal is converted into heat and in an electricity generator, the electricity consumed in kWh is consumed into water delivery in terms of kCal and that kCal can be easily converted into kWh just by taking kCal and dividing by 860. This is the first thing that we need to understand. Typical Boiler Efficiency What is boiler efficiency? What goes into the boiler in terms of kCal supplied, in terms of the fuel’s calorific content gets converted into heat by burning and then gets out as kCal output of the hot water, that is being converted from the cold stage to the hot stage. That’s basically what is happening in the boiler. Then, what is efficiency? Efficiency is in the terms of the losses that take place in the flue gases or any other heat losses that are in an enclosure etc. What is the usual efficiency of the boiler? Boiler manufacturers will say 95% or 90% and whatnot. But boiler efficiency usually is in 70% or 75% range. Particularly if you operate the boiler at the low capacity, the boiler efficiency is more in the 50 to 60% range. Then what is the true kCal delivered as hot water from the kCal input as the fuel? Let’s find out! Converting Calorific Values to Cost of Heat So, what are the calorific values of some of the fuels? Here is the table that shows you what are the different calorific values. Now if you take 1 liter of diesel and take the calorific value and divide by 860, that is the number of kWh contained in 1 liter of diesel. Now here is a table that shows what is per kg and per liter calorific value of many of the fuels. Table Comparing True Cost of Heat from Various Fuels Fuel​ Calorific Value​ Litre/kg​ Boiler Efficiency​ kW​ Litre/kg​ Fuel Price​ Cost of Energy Spent per kWh ​(Rs)​ ​ kCal​ kW​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Furnace oil​ 9454.84​ 11.00 ​ per liter​ 60%​ 6.6​ per liter​ 36​ 5.45 ​ Diesel (HSD)​ 9422.3​ 11.00 ​ per liter​ 60%​ 6.6​ per liter​ 63​ 9.55 ​ SKO​ 8833.3​ 10.30 ​ per liter​ 60%​ 6.18​ per liter​ 50​ 8.09 ​ LPG​ 11017.9​ 13.00 ​ per kg​ 60%​ 7.8​ per kg​ 43​ 5.51 ​ Propane​ 12033.7​ 14.00 ​ per kg​ 60%​ 8.4​ per kg​ 42​ 5.00 ​ Coal/Coke​ 5250​ 6.00 ​ per kg​ 60%​ 3.6​ per kg​ 8​ 2.22 ​ Briquettes (Sugarcane husk)​ 3996​ 4.65 ​ per kg​ 60%​ 2.79​ per kg​ 4.5​ 1.61 ​ Electricity​ 860​ 1​ per unit​ 95%​ 0.95​ per unit​ 8​ 8.42 ​ Heat Pump​ 860​ 3​ Per unit​ 300% *​ 3​ Per unit​ 8​ 2.67​ Now to find the true cost of the energy delivered, multiply the calorific values by the efficiency of the boiler. Let’s assume it as 70%, what happens to the cost? What is the cost per kWh so that you can compare it directly? Nothing else but the calorific value of the fuel multiplied by efficiency divided by 860 and multiplied by the cost of fuel will give you the true cost. So, if you take a diesel-based hot water generator, as you can see the table, that the calorific value of 9400 approximately kCal per liter, it delivers about 11 kWh per liter and if you take only the 60% efficiency, every liter will be able to deliver 6.6 kWh. If you take 66 rupees per liter of diesel – the current diesel price is slightly higher than this – you will find that per kWh price of running a diesel-based hot water generator is 10 rupees. Now is your electricity being as expensive as your 10 rupees per kWh, actually may not be. So, it doesn’t make sense for you to run a diesel-based hot water generator even if your electricity price is directly or anything less than 10 rupees per kWh. But look at the last row – heat pumps! How do Heat Pumps compare to others? Heat pumps absorb heat from the atmosphere and deliver more heat for every unit of electricity supplied. For every kWh of electricity supplied, heat pumps are able to deliver up to 3 kWh of heat energy. So, what it means is even if your kWh of electricity, the cost is 10 rupees – since it generates 3 units of energy – per kWh cost of running a heat pump for delivering hot water is less than 3 rupees. So, if you have a diesel boiler, diesel-based hot water generator, or any other fuel, I have made a table that compares all the fuels and their cost per kWh based on these numbers. If you know what your efficiency is, you can work out what is the kWh of delivered heat for your existing hot water generator. We will be happy to help you with this exercise and make a decision on choosing the right hot water source for your business. Please contact us.

Components of a Heat Pump System
Blog, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Heat Pump Knowledge Series Part 2: Components of Heat Pump System

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Ever wondered what\’s inside a heat pump system that makes it efficiently extract and transfer heat for your use? Watch this second video of our \’Heat Pump Knowledge Series\’ to find out what the four essential components of a heat pump are and their roles in heat pump operation. WELCOME TO EPISODE 2 Hello all, Welcome back to the ‘Heat Pump Knowledge Series’ presented to you by Aspiration Energy in collaboration with IIT Madras. In this episode, we will be looking into the heat pump system components and what it takes to build a great heat pump. THE FOUR KEY COMPONENTS OF HEAT PUMP For any good heat pump system, there are four key components that govern the design of the system. The first one is the Compressor which is the heart of the system and there are various choices for compressors which we will look into more detail. The second one is the Condenser from where the heat is removed and delivered to your process. So we will look into the various choices you have and how each one fits into the application that you have in your mind. The third one is, of course, the Expansion valve, which is one of the critical components in the refrigeration cycle and which allows how effective the system is. And the fourth one is your Evaporator. The choice of evaporator depends on what kind of heat pump design you have and the sources of heat. Of course, all of this is governed by a Controller. There are many choices for a controller which we will briefly look in to and see what their differences are. COMPRESSOR AND ITS TYPES When we move on to the Compressor, there are many choices. The first and foremost and the most common one that is used in the heat pump system is the Scroll Compressors. These are available for commercial AC systems which are now being developed for heat pump systems as well. In the range, it is available from 5 tonnes to about 40 tonnes of refrigeration and for heat pumps, single compressor systems are available up to 50 kW of heating and even up to temperatures of 95 degrees C. For this, the second type of compressors we have is Screw Compressors which are typically a large compressor which are available from a 200kW up to an MW in size and the temperatures of 60 degrees C and these systems become very expensive especially when you start looking at small applications. The third is the Reciprocating Compressors which are very commonly available in Refrigerators and are very small systems typically about 100s of Watts but reciprocating compressors are also available in open shaft design. The image that you see here is the Hermetic design which will be also available in open shaft design which can go up to 100s of kilowatts but nevertheless for the kind of application we are dealing with, reciprocating compressors are seldom used because of its complexity and the number of moving parts. And the last one is the Rotary Compressor which is now becoming popular in the refrigeration circles because of its capacity of up to 5 tonnes and its ability to handle temperatures up to 60 degrees C. In the heat pumps, it is not commonly found. Some of the common manufacturers of the system that you know are the Copelon Scroll from Emerson which makes the scroll compressor. They are world leaders in Scroll compressors and in the reciprocating compressors, one of the biggest manufacturers is the Danfoss company which provides from 100s of watts to a couple of kilowatts in size. In the Screw compressor, the screw is typically very complex machine and it is manufactured by very few companies in the world and one of them is Bitzer which has a manufacturing plant in China and it is a German-based company which manufactures the screw compressors and of course, Highly is basically a Hitachi company which manufactures these rotary compressors in Gujarat and this is one of the popular compressors for air conditioning which is currently being evaluated for heat pump applications too. So, we are going into more detail about the selection of compressors for applications, a little later in the video series, but for today, we will look into what the other components of the heat pump system are, to give you a general overview on what makes a good system. CONDENSERS AND ITS TYPES The next in series is the Condenser. Of course, there are various options for the condensers just like you have various options for compressors. The Popular one is called Shell Coil. Because it can be easily built and it is also typically tolerant to a lot of impurities in water. It is typically designed for temperatures less than 60 degrees C just like the Swimming Pool Heat Pumps and also where the direct water is used inside the heat pump system. The second and more popular option for the heat pump, primarily for the high-temperature application and also for handling a low approach temperature to give you the most effect out of the heat pump, is the Tube-in-Tube condenser where the twisted coil is inserted into another tube as shown in the figure here and because of the turbulence inflow you can achieve very very high efficiency in heat transfer. However, these systems are quite expensive and also are prone to clogging. So, they are typically recommended only when the impurities in the water can be controlled but nevertheless compared to the Shell coil – which is very compact – Tube-in-Tube can provide an equivalent amount of heat transfer. So, it is very efficient in terms of footprint. The third kind of heat exchanger which is very common in an industrial process is the Shell and Tube which is maintenance-friendly and it can tolerate all kinds of dirty fluids and it can handle large volumes so it can also act as a buffer tank rather than

Blog, Heat Pumps, Webinar

Heat Pump Knowledge Series: Part 1 – Fundamentals of Thermodynamics

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Welcome to our ‘Heat Pump Knowledge Series’, a 5-part series on heat pump essentials, with new episodes releasing on every Monday! This series is delivered by Dr.Satyanarayanan Seshadri, Chief Technology Officer at Aspiration Energy, and the Director of Energy and Emissions Lab at IIT Madras. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments and we will get them answered by Dr.Satyanarayanan. WELCOME TO THE SERIES! Fundamentals of thermodynamics We welcome you to explore this series along with us starting from the fundamentals of Thermodynamics all the way to the complete system design. In Episode 1, we will focus on the basic thermodynamics of a heat pump. WHY HEAT PUMP? To understand a heat pump, let’s look at the situation here. We want to move heat from a cold reservoir to a hot reservoir and it is schematically represented here. This is not a spontaneous process. If it does happen spontaneously, it violates Thermodynamics. So, how can this be accomplished? It is typically accomplished by adding external work. And that external work is in the form of a compressor. The electrical energy that is fed into the compressor enables you to move heat from a cold reservoir to a hot reservoir. Just how you would move water from an underground sump to an overhead tank, this moves heat from a low potential zone to a high potential zone. So, we know that we need to do external work to achieve this benefit. However, we also know that there are no systems where the benefit – the output – is more than the input. And if it does so, it will violate the fundamental second law of thermodynamics. HOW DOES A HEAT PUMP WORK? So, how does a heat pump work? We have known people tell us that the heat pump system is capable of achieving efficiencies above 300%… and sometimes even above 700%. How can that be possible? We know that the electrical heater, which we commonly use, takes in about a unit of electricity and produces output that’s worth about only 90%. So, does the heat pump violate the second law? Is it possible that it is a perpetual motion machine? Of course not! The fundamental operating principle of a heat pump is that it is boosting heat which essentially means it is recovering heat from a zone, adding some amount of external energy that is provided and rejecting the heat. So, the sum total energy you put into the heat pump is rejected so there is no violation of the second law. And this is also the reason why heat pump efficiencies can be higher. COMPARING HEAT PUMP TO A REFRIGERATOR AND AN AC So, are there systems that you are familiar with that do the same thing? Of course! You have them in your house. You have the refrigeration and the air conditioner both of which do the same job. A refrigerator keeps the space conditioned inside so that all your produce can be fresh. It removes the heat from the cold zone and rejects it to the hot zone i.e outside the refrigerator by utilizing the work input to the compressor. Similarly, the air conditioner keeps the room cool by removing the heat from the conditioned zone and rejecting it in the hot ambient. So, these are two devices that we very commonly utilize and we know that an air conditioner which is a 1 TON system, which is about 3.56 kW, can consume about 0.75 to 1 kW of input power and deliver that kind of output. So, essentially it is working at an efficiency of 350%. How is that possible? It has to do with the way we define the efficiency and it also has to do with a little bit of thermodynamics. THE THERMODYNAMIC CYCLE EXPLAINED So, here we have the cycle… the thermodynamic cycle on which a heat pump operates. The first step is generally the compression, where the vapor is taken and the electricity is provided to the compressor to compress it to a high-pressure superheated vapor (1 to 2). The next step (2 to 3) is to remove the heat in that vapor and then condense it to a high-pressure liquid. So, these two processes actually reject heat to the ambient in case of a refrigerator or an air conditioner and this is the heat that we want to utilize for our process heating in a heat pump. So, once that heat is removed and the vapor becomes a completely saturated liquid (3 to 4), the next process is called expansion where you throttle from high pressure to low pressure (4 to 5) and in the process, the temperature decreases and point 5 in the figure are tuned so that you can remove heat from whichever conditioned environment. For example, if you want to remove heat from a refrigerator, it is tuned in such a way that it maintains the temperature of a refrigerator. For an air conditioner, say, it is tuned to such that you can maintain 15 or 16 degrees in an air-conditioned room. So, that is depending on the application and once it is tuned there, it absorbs heat from conditioned space or from the ambient and it comes to saturated vapor, the cycle continues again. HOW TO EXPRESS EFFICIENCY AND WHAT’S A COP? So now, how do we express efficiency? We generally express efficiencies by the useful work done (divided) by the energy supplied or the input provided. In this case for us, the useful work is the heat that we received from the condenser. So, (efficiency is) the heat delivered by the condenser to the work input to the compressor. This combines and gives us total efficiency. And now you can see why the efficiency can be beyond a hundred because heat delivered by the condenser combines all the energy input to the system including the ambient heat. So, we also talked about heat pumps and air conditioners being related. How is it related? COP of an air conditioner is basically heat absorbed by the evaporator divided by the work input to the compressor which is nothing but useful work for us by the air conditioner is how much cooling that it does to a room that is useful work and to do that how much energy needs to be supplied to the compressor and they are related by a simple arithmetic expression that you see here. So,

Blog, Case Studies, Heat Pumps, Heat Pumps

Heat Pump Over LPG Boiler For Hot Water In Hotels – A Case Study of a 4 Star Hotel

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As hotels across the country are struggling with low occupancy rates and trying hard to reduce their operational expenses, one smart hotel owner figured out a simple solution that saves 70% on their energy bill. Curious about what that solution is? Watch the short video below by our CEO answering just that!  TRANSCRIPT OF THE VIDEO Are Heat Pumps for Hot Water Bathing Applications Really Safer, More Economical and Environmentally Friendly For Hotels? We are talking about a 4-star hotel in Chennai where they were using LPG. They were consuming 35-50 kgs of LPG a day for hot water to cater to the bathing needs of the guests.  The increasing LPG cost was affecting their bottom line and what was more bothersome was the handling of LPG. The found it to be a safety hazard and found it more difficult to handle LPG. What is the solution? We gave a Heat Pump system – a more energy-efficient and safer product.  And we said we don’t need that much modification for the existing system; we integrated with the existing clarifier tank. It was also needing to handle variable heating needs from 40 degrees to 90 degrees Centigrade.  They also wanted a fool-proof system because it was critical to provide hot water at all times to the guests. So they wanted a monitoring mechanism to be an error-free mechanism.  We gave a 28kW Heat Pump system to them; We integrated it; We installed it on the rooftop that was extremely challenging.  We integrated with their existing hot water calorifier. We did it in three days. The integration was direct because the water quality was good. We didn’t need to install an extra heater, heat exchanger, extra circulation pump, or any of that. The cost was very low because of that.  With the 28kW heat pump system, we also gave a thermal energy monitoring system. What we actually did was to give it on the rental because they were not very sure that this heat pump will work for them, will it save for them, will it cater to all their needs, will it be reliable.  So, we gave the Heat Pump on rental to them. They looked at the savings; they monitored the savings using our heat monitoring system. We gave them our monitoring system as well. By looking at the savings they were so happy that they were willing to buy the system and convert the Rental into a CapEx.   The energy system replaced 35 to 50 kgs of LPG per day that cost about Rs.2500 every day for them and replaced it with electricity. Since the COP of the heat pump system was about 3, it consumed 1 unit of electricity to produce 3 units of heat and hence they spend only 900 Rs. a day and get their heating requirement for all their bathing water applications satisfied with only 900 Rs. a day.  Their payback period was less than 16 months.. less than 1 and a half years. This is how the installation looked on their rooftop.  Technically, this was a safer system..easier to operate..easy to monitor and control.  Financially, it saves 70% of their energy costs. They had a payback period of less than 16 months. Environmentally, although they were using a cleaner fuel like LPG, because the consumption was reduced one-third, because the heat pump was absorbing heat from the atmosphere and giving out as heat, the savings on CO2 in terms of environmental damage avoided was also about 11000 kgs over the period of last few months that we have operated the heat pump system. So, not only was it economical this was also ecological. So, overall this heat pump is going to save Rs.6.5 lakhs per annum for the customer.  If you are using any other thing other than a heat pump for heating, for bathing application or washing application in your hotel, we will be happy to suggest a heat pump system which can be safer, more economical, ecological…If you have any questions about whether it will work or not, you can always rent a system..you can try it out for a few months – see if it works for you and then convert into CapEx.  BUY IT AFTER YOU TRY IT!!! We look forward to hearing from you…Thank you. 

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OUR CEO SAYS ‘EN VAZHI THANI VAZHI’, ASKS AUDIENCE TO TREAD THEIR OWN PATH!

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With a noble goal of understanding the current necessities and demands of the Indian MSMEs and to take proactive steps to make them globally competent players, the “MSME CEO SUMMIT 2019” was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Chennai on 2nd November. This year’s theme was “Enabling Business Owners for the Future” and among those invited to share their insights were top decision-makers from the government, industry, academia, financial and legal entities across the city.   Speaking to an audience full of business owners at the MSME CEO SUMMIT 2019 held in Chennai, our CEO Mr.Bhoovarahan Thirumalai said how the celebrated dialogue from Super Star Rajinikanth “En Vazhi Thani Vazhi” guided his actions all along in his personal and professional life and asked every entrepreneur to choose their own path. “Hire people better than you and fire yourself”, he said. He also added the importance of continuous learning and how he manages to take at least 30 days of classes in a year. He explained for instance how 40 hours of dance classes he recently attended gave him lessons on management of time, people and his organization. He also emphasized the importance of keeping one\’s network small and limiting the number of meaningful connections to 150 (famously called the Dunbar Number) be it in one\’s office or factory.  Being flexible with the financing model plays a major role in the growth story of any SME let alone Aspiration Energy. For instance, through PAYS (Pay As You Save) payment scheme, customers of Aspiration Energy can pay for the heat pump system installed by paying a percentage of the fuel cost saved (usually through replacement of their diesel boilers) for a pre-agreed period of time. With an assured saving every month and with all the maintenance taken care of by the company, this model frees the customer from any financial risk and creates a positive cash flow from the very first month of operation. After the contract period, the ownership of the heat pump system is transferred to the customer.  The speech from Mr. Bhoovarahan Thirumalai was part of the session titled “Business Growth Stories – Different Journeys from successful MSME business owners” in which Mr.Sethu Madhavan – Managing Director of Tempel Precision Metal Products India Pvt Ltd and Mr. P K Aroomugum – Managing Director of The Chennai Silks were also part of. They shared their unique growth strategies including successes and struggles they faced along the way. Overall, the sessions provided valuable insights on challenges one can expect when starting out in the sector and useful tips for overcoming them. We are eagerly looking forward to the next event.  If you are looking to replace your fossil fuel boilers or electric resistance heaters and move to energy-efficient heat pumps for your industrial hot water needs, we are glad to help. Thanks for reading. 

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How low ambient temperature can affect your Heat pump performance?

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“what is the performance of the heat pump in lower ambient temperature?” It is known that the heat pump operates in certain temperature limits. Most of the heat gained by the heat pump is from ambient air and the compressor boosts this heat to a higher temperature which is utilized for commercial and industrial applications. The performance of the heat pump degrades when the ambient temperature drops low which makes less heat available for the heat pump to boost. As the temperature goes down, the heat pump uses more energy to produce less heat because heat pumps use electricity, this can be expensive! Let’s dig deeper to understand this better. Just think of the heat pump as a hydraulic lift that pumps/move heat from a source (lowered) to a sink (elevated). If the difference between this is low, the heat pump requires less work to deliver the required energy output and temperature. If the difference is high, the heat pumps need to add more work to deliver the required temperature output. Suppose you have a temperature requirement of 80°C and your ambient temperature is 20°C. Let’s consider one of our standard model of heat pump Thermagen2X 8028A. At this temperature condition, the heat pump delivers 28.15 kW of thermal output. What happens if the ambient temperature drops below 20°C? Check the table below to see the heat pump performance for lower temperatures: The heat pump capacity decreases as the ambient temperature decreases. Even at the temperature as low as 5°C, the heat pump still delivers heat energy 1.67 times greater than its input energy. While selecting the heat pump colder areas, one should consider the factor of ambient temperature vs heating capacity and cost-effectiveness compared to the existing heat source. Many heat pump suppliers claim the heat pump will supply the rated heating capacity even in lower ambient temperature. But that is not the case. It is not technically possible. One should be aware of this false claim and want you to make a smart decision in heat pump selection. In Aspiration Energy, our application engineers choose the heat pump considering all these factors with the utmost care and makes your heating system hassle-free. To know more about our heat pumps and various successful case studies of our installation, check our websites or contact our application engineers.

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