Diesel engine manufacturer saves €165 000 annually by installing a Heat Pump

The customer operates a compressor room with five units, totaling 7 000 running hours per year. With the long-term objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, they contacted Atlas Copco.

Following an on-site inspection, the Atlas Copco team identified a key opportunity for optimization: the heating process of eight cleaning tanks already installed at the facility. These tanks are used to clean semi-finished products with hot water. 

To improve energy efficiency, the team proposed reusing waste heat from the compressors to support the tank heating process. Air compression naturally generates heat, which is usually diverted to the cooling system and released into the atmosphere. Instead of wasting this thermal energy, it can be recovered and reused. By using Energy Recovery (ER) or Heat Pumps, the heat is captured and repurposed for facility heating, hot water production, or industrial processes.

Three integrated ER units and a high-temperature Heat Pump were installed. This combination transforms waste heat from compressed air into usable energy. 
 

• The ER units alone cannot achieve the required water outlet temperature, but they efficiently preheat the system to 65 °C.
• The Heat Pump elevates the temperature further, delivering water at 85 °C with an impressive Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 4.6. This ensures both sufficient thermal capacity and excellent energy efficiency.

By transforming compressor waste heat into usable energy, the customer saves 1 980 000 kWh per year on boiler fossil fuel, equal to CNY 1 380 000 / EUR 165 000 annually. This means that the payback time for the new installation is approximately 1 year. Additionally, the customer reduces the facility's CO₂ emissions by 890 tons per year, which has the same environmental impact as 48 600 newly planted trees.