Comfort heating accounts for approximately 50% of the world’s energy consumption — mainly from burning gas, oil, and coal. This will have to change and GEA is ready to deliver the renewable heating solution for the future.
District heating
Today, district heating already plays a major role in supplying comfort heating and hot water to households, universities, and hospitals across the world:
- Approximately 13% of Europe’s heat demand is met by district heating
- Approximately 30% of Northern China’s domestic heat demand is met by district heating
- Less than 2% of North America’s heat demand is met by district heating
- Approximately 17% of South Korean households are connected to district heating
Across all regions, there are targets to increase the amount of energy distributed through district heating systems by 100–200% over the coming decades.
Why heat pumps for district heating?
District heating has traditionally been used to distribute harnessed waste heat from electricity production, improving efficiency from around 40% to 80%. But why stop there, when heat pumps can deliver efficiencies of 300–800%?
Heat is distributed through insulated pipes to meet residential and commercial needs and can be sourced from boilers, geothermal energy, cogeneration, biomass, or waste incineration.
As many cities shift to low-carbon solutions, heat pumps are becoming a cornerstone technology on this journey. Used alone or in combination with other low-carbon heating technologies, heat pumps enhance efficiency and reduce carbon emissions — delivering sustainable heat with maximum performance.
How do heat pumps work?
A GEA heat pump upgrades readily available heat source — i.e. air, water, geothermal, and waste heat—into valuable energy. Using a natural refrigerant, it efficiently reaches temperatures up to 90°C for district heating, hot water, process heating, or steam. The cycle repeats seamlessly, cutting energy costs and boosting efficiency.
Boost your energy efficiency from 80% to 400%
Yep — that’s right. For AS Utilitas Tallinn, GEA delivered a substantial boost in energy efficiency — up to an astounding 400%.
No less than 24 megawatts are supplied by GEA’s heat pumps. And because their low electricity consumption is powered by renewable energy, the solution leaves a carbon footprint of zero — saving 20,000 tons of CO₂ emissions per year.
Heat is everywhere
In many district heating networks today, heat is obtained from various sources, including heat-only boiler stations and cogeneration plants that burn fossil fuels, biomass, or waste. A smart move is to look around at the heat that’s already available — and free.
Just imagine the waste heat from a data center cooling hundreds of servers. Or the warm water in an old, flooded mine. What about capturing heat from underground subway tunnels?
Heat is everywhere — ready for you to harness.
Smart cities use smart grids
Municipalities and energy companies are striving for low-carbon energy while facing growing demands from an ever-expanding population. Switching to a system that relies on electricity instead of fossil fuels is an obvious win.
However, that transition — along with the rising number of electric vehicle — could increase total electricity demand by up to 200%, pushing the existing grid beyond its capacity.
GEA heat pumps adjust to available capacity and prioritize the most cost-effective option. They can turn on or off, ramp load up or down, and adapt to any scenario. They even optimize operation based on when electricity is cheapest or supply is limited.
Smart, right?
A proven skillset ready to support many applications
GEA’s district heating solutions build on its long and proven history as a global leader in industrial refrigeration, where compression serves as the core technology.
District heating applications rely on this core expertise. Other industries benefiting from GEA’s technology and sustainability values include food, beverage, dairy, chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, natural gas, and marine.
A bomba de calor RedAstrum da GEA é utilizada em sistemas de aquecimento urbano, bem como em processos industriais.
A Aurivo confia na GEA para criar instalações para leite líquido sustentáveis
Aurivo, o segundo maior processador de leite líquido da Irlanda, cortou as emissões de CO2 em sua unidade de Killygordon em 80%, graças ao sistema integrado de bomba de calor e refrigeração e processamento...
A bomba de calor GEA aprimora o calor residual do metrô de Londres para aquecer casas, dois centros de lazer e uma escola em Islington
O revolucionário Centro de Energia Bunhill 2 - o primeiro deste tipo no mundo - apresenta um modelo para descarbonizar o calor em esquemas potenciais futuros em Londres e no mundo todo, reduzindo as...
A GEA oferece soluções sustentáveis de resfriamento e aquecimento para a nova planta de processamento de aves da Wipasz
A GEA Refrigeration Technologies entregou um projeto europeu multimilionário de instalação de um sistema integrado de bomba de calor e de resfriamento na novíssima instalação da Wipasz em Międzyrzec Podlaski na Polônia, uma das...
Como as bombas de calor GEA estão descarbonizando o aquecimento urbano na Suécia
Leia mais sobre como as soluções de bombas de calor GEA transformam o calor residual das estações de tratamento de esgoto e incineradores de resíduos em valioso aquecimento para as casas de Malmö na...
Solução de bomba de calor com economia energética da GEA para a Mars, Inc.
A Mars reduz o OPEX e a pegada de carbono com as bombas de calor industriais da GEA. Soluções de Engenharia Integral para processamento de alimentos, bebidas e produtos lácteos.
A GEA está cavando fundo para produzir energia limpa a partir da água de mina com a solução de bomba de calor.
As bombas de calor da GEA são cruciais para o Gateshead Mine Water Scheme, o maior esquema de recuperação de calor do seu tipo no país, dedicado a combater as mudanças climáticas por meio da...
Produtos e Tecnologias
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GEA Grasso Maintenance Monitor (GMM)
First class electronic monitoring based on proven developments.
GEA Omni Control Panel
The intuitive touch for machine control technology.
Automação e Controle para Sistemas de Refrigeração e Aquecimento
As soluções inovadoras de controle e monitoração da GEA fornecem recursos para controlar os processos de produção, maximizar a eficiência e reduzir o tempo de inatividade do sistema.
Bombas de calor customizadas da GEA
As bombas de calor customizadas são projetadas para eficiência otimizada e uma ampla faixa de temperaturas e capacidades. Elas servem para todos os usos industriais comuns e de aquecimento urbano. São aplicadas quando as condições ou requisitos especiais ultrapassam os limites de nossas bombas de calor padrão.
We aim to sustain
Being future-proof goes beyond product life cycles and efficiency. In all aspects of our business, we support our company’s maxim: Engineering for a better world. We are driven by a passion for delivering solutions that reduce energy consumption and carbon footprints.
Furthermore, GEA’s commitment to sustainability includes using the most efficient heat pump technology with natural refrigerants such as ammonia (NH₃), which has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of 0.
GEA’s approach to district heating aligns perfectly with our commitment to our customers and our planet.
NEXUS - Soluções Energéticas Holísticas da GEA
Calor para resfriar nosso planeta para as gerações vindouras
Downloads
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GEA RedGenium Heat Pump On the Move
Heat pumps for decarbonizing process and district heating
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