Waste heat is everywhere in commercial operations. Common examples include:
Washing water that goes down the drain
Steam that is vented outdoors
Server rooms that exhaust heat
Boiler rooms that leave the window open
Shower hot water that goes down the drain
Laundry hot water that goes down the drain
Pools that exhaust warm humid air
Dryers that use heat to reduce moisture
Waste Heat Recovery is the process to reclaim energy that was being wasted, and uses it to pre-heat fresh air or water. The result is lower utility expense, less waste, less carbon emmissions, and increased cash flow, especially after the initial investment has paid for itself. Solaris often finds waste heat in less obvious refrigerated places, such as:
Walk in coolers
Freezers
Food display refrigration
Water chillers
Air conditioning units
Heat pumps used for cooling
The opportunity with cold sources is to use the waste compressor heat for hot water or other purpose, achieving $2 energy put to work for $1 cost. Solaris makes and supplies to contractors a variety of products aimed at recapturing heat for energy conservation that are unique.
The Immersion vent was invented and patented by Dr Gravely in the 1970s, to improve the performance and reliability of the Holocene Fluid Handling System. Like drainback, the immersion vent is remarkably simple and effective - we use it with our Solaris tanks made in Germany by Huch, as part of the Solaris Drainback Pro design, and it is included from small residential systems, and is scalable right up to large Institutional installations. If you are planning a commercial or residential solar install, and would like to discuss your project, please contact Solaris and we will be glad to assist.
commercial solar - selecting the right pump
This 2 minute video is a lesson about selecting a high head/low flow pump that is suitable for advanced Drainback Pro design.
Elegant Simplicity and Reliability of Drainback
Water is the best heat transfer fluid, all things equal, a drainback design will collect 20% more heat than a glycol anti-freeze system set up with identical components.
Gravity is reliable. When it comes to protecting a solar system from freezing or boiling, Gravity is 100% reliable, however in a glycol system it relies on a dozen mechanical and electronic devices, plus chemicals, that all deterorate over time. In a power outage, a drainback pump stops, and the water returns safely to the drainback tank.
No maintenance with drainback. We have drainback systems installed in the 1970's that still run All you have to do is add a little water twice a year, which is nothing compared to the expense of glycol removal and recharging - at about $150 every 2-3 years.
Lifecycle is longest. European split tests show identical systems with one half run on glycol and the other on water, resulted in the drainback water systems lasting 30% longer. The reason is glycol changes to an acid under stagnant conditions and over time as the pH buffers are used up, resulting in an acid that can eat through brass, aluminum, copper, and even stainless steel.
If you would like to discuss your project or have some questions, please do not hesitate to contact Solaris.
