SEC200 helps The Felix Project turn refrigeration waste heat into hot water
UK – Food redistribution charity The Felix Project is using Beijer Ref’s SEC200 heat recovery technology at its Deptford site to supply hot water from waste heat generated by its refrigeration plant.
Installed as part of a major refrigeration project delivered by KDH Projects, with support from Beijer Ref’s Technical and the HVACR commissioning team, the system now provides hot water for the site’s canteen, utility room, shower room and first-floor toilets.
The Felix Project rescues surplus food and delivers it to community organisations and schools, making refrigeration central to its operations.
Almost zero hot water energy use
William Liggett at KDH Projects said the SEC200 had delivered strong results after several months of continuous operation.
“Performance has been excellent,” he said. “After several months of continuous operation, the data shows almost zero energy consumption for hot water production. The SEC200 is recovering so much waste heat that it’s effectively delivering free hot water. The results match, and in some areas exceed, our expectations.”
Liggett said the system had virtually removed the need for traditional water heating, creating ongoing cost savings.
The Deptford installation follows earlier SEC200 projects for The Felix Project, with the charity now using the technology across new sites.
We now install SEC200s on all our new sites with the confidence in practice and knowledge of both their environmental and economic sustainability
Nick Clifton, The Felix Project
Recovering heat from refrigeration
SEC, or Sustainable Energy Controller, is a standalone heat recovery product that captures heat from refrigeration and air conditioning systems and converts it into hot water.
It is designed for commercial sites with both cooling demand and hot-water or low-temperature heating requirements. When the refrigeration system is running, SEC recovers heat that would otherwise be rejected. When cold rooms are down to temperature, it can continue producing heat by operating the condensing unit as an air-to-water heat pump.
For the Deptford project, the SEC200 was installed alongside Danfoss Optyma condensing units.
Liggett said: “During a major refrigeration build, we identified a strong opportunity to improve sustainability by recovering waste heat from the condensers.
“The SEC200 offered the perfect solution, capturing this waste heat and converting it into free, usable hot water. The energy savings, efficiency gains and environmental benefits made it the obvious choice, especially for a project supporting a UK charity.”
Commissioning support
The first installation was supported by Beijer Ref Technical and the HVACR commissioning team, which helped KDH integrate the system with the wider refrigeration plant and site monitoring.
“There was a learning curve initially, but the support from Beijer Ref Technical and their HVACR commissioning team was great,” said Liggett.
Clair Deighton, Beijer Ref Refrigeration Product Development Manager, said: “KDH Projects consistently focuses on delivering long-term value for its customers, taking a forward-thinking approach to sustainability.
“By integrating multiple SEC units across customer sites, it helps end users reduce energy consumption and operating costs by regenerating waste heat into usable hot water, which in turn lowers both utility bills and carbon emissions.”
To find out more about SEC, download the brochure here.
To find out more about The Felix Project, visit https://felix.org/
