For several years, LVI-Dahl’s Helsinki Hermanni service point has used an innovative hybrid model that breaks with convention in how energy is produced and used.
Biogas replaces district heating
Electricity and heat at the Helsinki Hermanni property are generated by a biogas-powered engine. The solution provides an alternative to district heating and purchased electricity. The system is modular, so solar panels can be added, for example.
“Previously, the whole property used direct electric heating, but we wanted to test this solution. Biogas was an obvious choice for environmental reasons,” LVI-Dahl Technical Specialist and HVAC Salesperson Tuomas Pussinen explains.
The principles of LVI-Dahl and its parent group Saint-Gobain also guided the choice. LVI-Dahl believes responsible environmental management can improve the quality of its operations and reduce costs.
Putting heat to use instead of wasting it
Electricity generated by the gas engine is used in applications including a heat pump, which enables energy to be recovered and minimises purchased electricity. On-site electricity also powers the service point’s shop lighting and ventilation equipment.
LVI-Dahl uses an EC Power micro-CHP system combining a boiler and a small power plant. In this installation, the power source is based on a car engine.
The micro-CHP system produces 20 kW of electrical output and 40 kW of heat from gas for uses including space heating and domestic hot water. Producing electricity alongside heat saves substantial energy and greatly reduces the environmental impacts of production and consumption. Micro-CHP produces electricity at considerably lower cost than ordinary purchased electricity.
Although a Toyota engine runs under the micro-CHP cover, effective sound insulation ensures comfortable operation. The system has its own fire compartmentation, so the plant room does not require special fire-compartment solutions.
Smart solutions bring savings
The solution is particularly suitable for hotels, housing companies, shopping centres and swimming pools, Suomen Kaasuenergia Sales Manager Timo Jokila explains.
“Shopping centres need backup power for outages in any case. This is usually provided by a diesel engine, but this solution would produce both electricity and backup power itself.”
Engine sizes range from a few kilowatts to several megawatts.
Biogas and other solutions in a versatile combination
LVI-Dahl also uses gas to heat the high shop space at its Helsinki Hermanni service point. Spiral fans alongside radiant gas heaters at a height of eight metres distribute warm air throughout the shop in a rotating motion.
The property also recovers heat from wastewater, a solution already used in several properties in Sweden. The system can recover up to 20 per cent of heat from wastewater for heating.
See more in the video
Watch our reference video to see what micro-CHP looks like and, above all, sounds like in full operation. LVI-Dahl’s Tuomas Pussinen and Suomen Kaasuenergia’s Timo Jokila explain the solution in more detail.
LVI-Dahl is a leading service-oriented wholesaler of HVAC products, municipal infrastructure supplies and industrial piping products in the Nordic and Baltic regions. Dahl operates at more than 300 locations in the Nordic countries, Estonia and Lithuania and is part of Saint-Gobain, the world’s leading building products group.
Photo and video: Promedia