Recycled heat
A report released today by the Institution of Civil Engineers suggests that the UK is missing out on an opportunity to reuse waste heat produced during electricity production.
Waste heat produced by the electricity generation process could be used to warm UK homes and businesses.
The technique, known as combined heat and power (CHP), is currently being studied by Southampton University researchers who believe it could be one way for the UK to cut energy consumption and carbon emissions.
The researchers contributed to a report released today by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) that shows heat production accounted for 49 per cent of all primary energy consumed in the UK. This, they say, is far more than in the production of electricity or that used in the transport sector.
Southampton researcher and civil engineer Patrick James said that a coal-fired power plant such as Kingsnorth in Kent could be retrofitted with technology that captures waste heat and pipes it to local residents via district heating systems.
The Southampton research estimates that the cluster of coal-fired power stations at Kingsnorth wasted 6.55TWh of heat, and heat demand in the local area is 5.91TWh.
Register now to continue reading
Thanks for visiting The Engineer. You’ve now reached your monthly limit of news stories. Register for free to unlock unlimited access to all of our news coverage, as well as premium content including opinion, in-depth features and special reports.
Benefits of registering
-
In-depth insights and coverage of key emerging trends
-
Unrestricted access to special reports throughout the year
-
Daily technology news delivered straight to your inbox
Experts speculate over cause of Iberian power outages
The EU and UK will be moving towards using Grid Forming inverters with Energy Storage that has an inherent ability to act as a source of Infinite...