Leading West Midlands air conditioning specialist Weatherite has developed ground-breaking technology it claims helps to reduce overall carbon emissions for industry by up to 90 per cent.
The West Bromwich-based company’s sustainable tri-generation technology uses the UK’s first ADsorption chiller, a ‘greener’ alternative to the absorption chiller, which substantially reduces energy use and carbon emissions. Weatherite has sole manufacturing rights to the ADsorption chiller in Europe.
The trigeneration system installed at Tesco, Colney Hatch, is generating electricity using a sustainable bio-fuel source which simultaneously produces chilled water to power air conditioning and refrigeration systems. The energy saving on fridges alone has been reduced by a third on traditional arrangements, a saving equivalent to the boiling of two million kettles.
The technology was introduced in the UK by experts, including London consultants Scott Wilson, installation specialists Space Engineering Cogenco, and led by Weatherite. This first bio-fuel powered tri-generation plant at Tesco, Colney Hatch is a ground-breaking system designed to incorporate the latest and greenest technology.
Specialist sustainable fuel consultant, Fleetsolve, has been heavily involved in developing the solution. It demonstrates that Tesco is determined to meet the challenges of spiralling energy costs while providing the best sustainable green solution for a typical store.
Weatherite chairman John Whitehouse, who founded the company almost 40 years ago, said: “The government’s recent Stern Review has quite clearly placed the onus on UK business to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent on or before 2010, and we strongly believe that bio-fuel trigeneration technology will definitely provide the clear way forward.
“The ADsorption chiller is a very exciting part of the packaged plant room and can be used in various other applications and across industries. It is a viable alternative to the absorption chiller, which is used in other CCHP systems available on the market. It is more reliable and does not contain lithium bromide or other refrigerants.”
In 2006, Weatherite met a Japanese manufacturer which had been developing the ADsorption chiller since 1986 and recognised the results that had been achieved using the technology. Mr Whitehouse added: “A top priority for industry must be to reduce reliance on the centralised National Grid for its energy supply and to move to local, decentralised energy systems. We want to establish a major market presence in this area of technology and create a leading position on the European stage.”
