Layer 02/ heat
The boiler,
reinvented.
Heat recovery first, then industrial heat pumps on the duties that can move, then thermal storage so heat is made in the cheapest blocks. The duties that cannot move are named rather than glossed over.
The problem/ as plants actually meet it
A large share of industrial heat is delivered as steam to duties that only need hot water well below 100 °C. Efficiency work on the boiler takes it from about 92% to 95% and then stops — past that, the only way to cut the carbon is to stop burning fuel for those duties. Meanwhile the same site is often rejecting heat to cooling towers.
How it works/ in delivery order
What we
actually do.
Portable heat metering on jacket loops, HVAC reheat and water systems. Most plants know their fuel bill but not their heat demand by duty, and the two are not the same.
Chiller condensers, compressor jackets and effluent are heat sources before they are waste. Recovery raises the heat pump's source temperature, which raises its COP.
Hot water and low-pressure steam for duties inside the range, sized against the metered profile rather than the boiler nameplate.
Heat made when electricity is cheapest and greenest, used when the process needs it — which is what lets heat follow the solar block rather than the shift pattern.
Boundaries/ where this stops
What it
does not do.
120 °C is a practical ceiling
The physics continues above it; the machines, refrigerants and service network get considerably harder. Above roughly 120 °C the duty stays on fuel, or moves to solar thermal or electrode heat. We name those duties rather than quietly including them in a saving.
Cheaper is not cleaner
On the grid emission factor a heat pump cuts fuel cost sharply but barely improves on gas for carbon. The carbon case depends on the electricity it runs on, which is why electricity comes first.
Process change is out of scope
We work in the utility block and the electricity supply, not inside a validated or qualified process. Where change control is involved, that is the client's process and timeline.
What we need/ to start
- Fuel and steam records for twelve months
- Boiler configuration, efficiency and fuel type
- Duty list with delivery temperatures
- Available heat sources: chillers, compressors, effluent
- Space and header access in the utility block
What drives the economics/ the real levers
- Cost per kWh of useful heat, against your fuel at your efficiency
- Temperature lift, which sets the COP
- The price of the electricity the heat pump runs on
- Hours of operation — heat pumps reward continuous duties
- The value of cooling produced at the same time, where it is useful
Questions/ asked most often
Can a heat pump make steam?
What COP should we expect?
Does the boiler get removed?
In short/ Industrial heat
Industrial heat is jouleWise's heat solution: electrify the heat that can move; be explicit about the heat that cannot.
Heat recovery first, then industrial heat pumps on the duties that can move, then thermal storage so heat is made in the cheapest blocks. The duties that cannot move are named rather than glossed over. A large share of industrial heat is delivered as steam to duties that only need hot water well below 100 °C. Efficiency work on the boiler takes it from about 92% to 95% and then stops — past that, the only way to cut the carbon is to stop burning fuel for those duties. Meanwhile the same site is often rejecting heat to cooling towers.
What to take away
- Meter the thermal baseline: Portable heat metering on jacket loops, HVAC reheat and water systems. Most plants know their fuel bill but not their heat demand by duty, and the two are not the same.
- Recover before you generate: Chiller condensers, compressor jackets and effluent are heat sources before they are waste. Recovery raises the heat pump's source temperature, which raises its COP.
- Heat pumps to 120 °C: Hot water and low-pressure steam for duties inside the range, sized against the metered profile rather than the boiler nameplate.
- Thermal storage: Heat made when electricity is cheapest and greenest, used when the process needs it — which is what lets heat follow the solar block rather than the shift pattern.
What it assumes
- 120 °C is a practical ceiling. The physics continues above it; the machines, refrigerants and service network get considerably harder. Above roughly 120 °C the duty stays on fuel, or moves to solar thermal or electrode heat. We name those duties rather than quietly including them in a saving.
- Cheaper is not cleaner. On the grid emission factor a heat pump cuts fuel cost sharply but barely improves on gas for carbon. The carbon case depends on the electricity it runs on, which is why electricity comes first.
- Process change is out of scope. We work in the utility block and the electricity supply, not inside a validated or qualified process. Where change control is involved, that is the client's process and timeline.