A three-way partnership between DK Heat Recovery, Creative Retail Solutions and Seckers Refrigeration Engineering resulted in the installation of a 1500 litre vessel with 72kW of BS EN 1717 compliant twin wall internal heat exchangers at Crimple in Harrogate. The system is capable of heating 1300 litres of water per hour to 50degC.

Crimple owner, Graham Watson is delighted with the savings: 'As we invested in a major expansion from a garden centre to a multi-outlet site comprising a large food hall and a bar and kitchen, we were looking for ways to offset the carbon footprint of the development. We concluded that the use of heat recovery to recycle waste heat from the food hall and butchery chill cabinets and eliminate the use of carbon fuels to heat water was a no-brainer.'

The installation was completed after consultations with Mr Watson to ascertain the demand for hot water in minimum and maximum case scenarios. 'Calculations also included sizing the capacity of the storage tank for accumulation of heat overnight and a steady rate of regeneration during the day. The target was to have on-demand water, at minimum hand hot, at all times and the capability of raising the temperature to 65degC for a regular legionella kill,' says DK Heat Recovery's engineering manager, David Haughton, who oversaw the project.

'This is a very repeatable project, either in the design phase or as a retrofit, and in some circumstances can be designed for upgrading at a later stage if additional demand is required. This is a useful capability for future-proofing the customer's investment,' concludes Mr Houghton.

Based in Beverley, East Yorkshire with a satellite office in Peterborough, DK Heat Recovery is the sole UK agent of DK Kaelteanlagen GmbH's heat recovery systems and is supported by a network of installers and refrigeration engineers nationwide.

DK Heat Recovery's systems are suitable for use in any business that has refrigeration plant and a requirement for hot water or space heating and have been installed in numerous food factories, supermarkets, farm shops, butchers and garden centres over the last decade.