SEC sparks a heat recovery revolution

UK: A leading bar operator is using innovative heat recovery technology from wholesale group Beijer Ref to reduce energy costs and achieve ambitious sustainability targets.

The Revolution Bars Group has selected the Sustainable Energy Controller (SEC)-100 heat recovery system from Beijer Ref company SCM Frigo for its Revolution Leeds venue in the heart of the city’s fashionable Exchange Quarter.

The group currently has 88 venues operating under the Revolution and Revolución de Cuba brands, alongside two new concepts in Playhouse and Founders & Co and the recently acquired Peach Pubs. 

SCM Frigo’s SEC is a standalone heat recovery product that captures heat from refrigeration and air conditioning systems and converts it into hot water. It not only operates when the cooling system is in operation, it also provides a source of energy and when the system stops by manipulating the system into operating as an air-to-water heat pump. 

The Leeds venue has a below-ground cellar, with refrigeration and air conditioning equipment all located together in the first-floor plant room.  

A gas boiler provides heat for the building, with an immersion heater generating the hot water. The SEC unit has been connected to the bar’s existing Marstair beer cellar system and uses rejected and otherwise wasted heat from the cooling equipment to produce hot water.

“The capability to make the fridge system operate as a heat pump when not working to satisfy a hot water demand makes SEC an attractive proposition to any bar operator,” said Beijer Ref’s product development manager Clair Deighton. 

“In a typical restaurant or bar, refrigeration accounts for up to 40% of total energy costs, while heating hot water (potable and wet system) adds 35%. This makes SEC suitable for any business using a refrigeration system, with hospitality venues including cellars and kitchens being the ideal application,” she added.

With a cellar cooling duty of 4.6kW, in addition to the energy generated by the cellar cooling compressor of 1.15kW, and a projected average run time of 14 hours per day, represents 26,444kW/year of recoverable heat.

“Not only has SEC reduced our operational costs but it is also contributing towards our journey of becoming the first net zero bar company before 2030,” said Revolution Bars Group building development manager Matthew Nattrass. “The team at Beijer Ref provided us with energy and carbon saving costs before the installation and the ROI was very appealing. We look forward to seeing the data over the coming months.”