District heating with HiRef, another step towards decarbonisation

Ensuring constant energy in a reliable and sustainable manner to cities is becoming increasingly crucial within the European energy landscape. That's why one of the leading companies in the energy sector has chosen HiRef to ensure high thermal performance for its district heating network.

How to optimize the use of electric energy to produce hot water at high temperatures for citizens' homes?

HiRef has developed the KVW heat pump specifically for this purpose.
This water-to-water unit uses the R1234ze refrigerant with very low GWP, double-stage compression screw compressors with inverter technology, and flooded spray tube bundle evaporators, enabling high thermodynamic efficiencies in producing water at temperatures up to 90°C.

The KVW is equipped with flow meters, network analyzers, and temperature sensors for instant calculation of the thermal power, which can reach up to 1300 kWt and is modulated by inverters. Additionally, the unit is connected to external monitoring systems, allowing the operator to have real-time information on the heat pump's status.

Despite a very cold groundwater source, the KVW ensures a constant production of water at 90°C; thus, the heat pump is capable of meeting the working temperatures required by the district heating network without the need for integration with conventional heat generators that have a greater environmental impact.

What about the installation?

Typically, water-to-water solutions are placed inside buildings, but in this specific application, there was not enough space in the thermal plant.

Thanks to the strategic partnership with Smitt s.r.l., a company specialized in providing containment structures for the insulation of technological equipment, HiRef was able to provide the customer with an outdoor, complete, and reliable solution.

The containment box, in fact, ensures protection from any weather conditions and a significant reduction in acoustic emissions for the KVW heat pump.