GENERATOR HEAT RECOVERY

CONSIDERATIONS IN ARCTIC
VILLAGE APPLICATIONS
LCDR William Fraser, P.E.

Who We Are
Alaska Native Tribal
Health Consortium
Division of
Environmental
Health &
Engineering
June 2011

ANTHC

Non-profit, statewide organization

Provides a range of medical and
community health services for more than
125,000 Alaska Natives.
Part of the Alaska Tribal Health System,
which is owned and managed by the 229
federally recognized tribes in Alaska and
by their respective regional health
organizations.

ANTHC History

1970s-1990s: Regional health

organizations in Alaska
Passage of P.L. 105-83 established
ANTHC, the only THO established by
statute
December 1997: ANTHC incorporated as
non-profit 501(c)(3)
June 1998: Initial contract with IHS.

ANTHC History

October 1998: Contract expanded to

include Environmental Health &
Engineering

October 1998: ANTHC becomes a P.L. 93638 Title III Self-Governance entity,
signing the Alaska Tribal Health Compact

DEHE
Designs and Constructs Health and
Sanitation Facilities
Provides operations support
Monitors & develops standards for
mitigating climate change impacts
Health impact studies
Environmental Grants & training

Water & Sewer- Why?

What does this have to do with

Heat Recovery?
Hospitalizations are 5 times higher in
communities w/o piped water & sewer.
Typical Fuel consumption for an Arctic WTP
w/ piped water & sewer: 8000-25,000 Gal /
Year Fuel Oil
Fuel Prices between $6.00 & $8.00 / Gal.
and rising.
Heat recovery can help make it affordable.

Extreme Climate

High Energy Use

HEAT RECOVERY FROM POWER

PLANTS

2 basic types:
Jacket

recovery
Stack recovery

Small Scale: 50 KW to 3500 KW

Ideal for space heat and process heat
Considered a fuel saver, not a primary
source of heat.

Kwigillingok Generator Facility

ADVANTAGES OF HEAT
RECOVERY
Very green- reduces carbon footprint.
Can dramatically increase the economic
viability of a community water system.
Adds additional redundancy to the building
heating system.

DISADVANTAGES OF HEAT
RECOVERY
Requires an agreement with the power
utility, often with a charge for waste heat.
Usually increases the complexity of the
heating system, especially in Washeterias.
Requires additional maintenance and
coordination between power utility and
building owner.

Other Solutions

SO YOU WANT TO BE GREEN

What do you need to know before you
start?
Estimating available waste heat
Deciding on a heat recovery strategy
Selecting system components

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO KNOW

BEFORE YOU START?
Who owns the generators and what are
their conditions?
Do you have a viable path between the
waste heat source and the building?
What type of building are you serving?
Are there other buildings served by the
waste heat?
What type of monitoring do you want?
Who is going to maintain it?

ESTIMATING AVAILABLE
WASTE HEAT
QA = QGEN QPIPE - QO
QA:

Minimum available waste heat for your building

QGEN:

Average generator output during peak heating season (typically much

less than rated capacity) in BTUs / Hour

QPIPE:

Heat loss from distribution piping during peak heating season. Typically
about 50-60 BTUH / LF

QO:

Heat used by other buildings on the waste heat system (sometimes this is
prioritized by order of connection, so be careful)

HEAT RECOVERY RULES OF

THUMB:

Generator Output: 1/3 Electricity, 1/3 Jacket

heat, 1/3 Stack loss
1300-2000 BTU / KW-Hr (Available Jacket Heat)
100,000 BTU delivered heat = 1 gallon of diesel
Annual Fuel Saved = .3 x Power plant annual
fuel used x 0.6
Pumping Energy Costs <= 10% Fuel Value

BREAK EVEN TEMPERATURE

DIFFERENCE
TBR =

TBR:
PPUMP:
CE:
COIL:
UAHX:
GPM:

PPUMP x CE x 100
COIL x UAHX

PPUMP x CE x 100
900 x GPM x COIL

Break even temperature difference between Generator Heating Supply

and Building Heating Return (Deg F)
Pump power (W)
Electrical cost ($ / kWh)
Fuel cost ($ / Gallon) (80% efficiency assumed)
Heat exchanger U factor multiplied by HX area (BTU/ Hr x Deg F)
Heat exchanger glycol flow rate (GPM)

(This formula only applies in special case of counterflow HX with matching flow rates and
sufficient heating demand to use all of the waste heat)

ESTIMATING WASTE HEAT

DEMAND
QD = QBLG + QPROC
QD:

Waste heat demand (typically does not include dryers)

QBLG:

Building envelope heat losses (must engineer heating system for lower
temperatures than typical heating systems)

QPROC:

Heat required by process systems (includes circulation loops, raw water

heat add, storage tanks, etc. This is where waste heat really shines)

SELECTING A HEAT RECOVERY

STRATEGY

Direct heat add to potable water:

Double

wall shell and tube, independent of boiler

system (Kiana)

Small system with single boiler:

Pipe

heat exchanger in series with boiler (Chenega

Bay)

Large system with multiple boilers:

Pipe

heat exchanger in primary / secondary

arrangement (Kwigillingok)

GENERATOR HEAT
RECOVERY ARRANGEMENT

RECOVERED HEAT INTO

POTABLE WATER

HEAT EXCHANGER IN SERIES

WITH BOILER

PRIMARY / SECONDARY HEAT

EXCHANGER DIAGRAM

Minto Heat Recovery

WASTE HEAT CONTROLLER

Turns on at 8 Deg F
difference
Turns off at 4 Deg F
difference
Built in HOA switch.
Provides 1p/2t switch
which can handle a 1
HP pump.

BTU METER

Plate / Frame Heat Exchanger

Brazed Plate Heat Exchangers

Shell & Tube Heat Exchangers

Typical pumps

AMOT Valve

DESIGN COMMENTS

Use Brazed Plate or Plate / Frame heat exchangers

Provide controls to ensure heat is not transferred back to generator
cooling system.
Provide controls to minimize electric power consumption
Provide BTU monitoring if being billed by local utility
Provide pressure relief on pipeline
Provide strainers on both sides of heat exchanger (reduces cleaning
of heat exchanger).
Provide air separator on pipeline side of system.
Provide glycol system monitoring and makeup.
Provide expansion compensation
Dont use HDPE pipe. Copper, Steel, PEX, Stainless steel.
Monitor pipeline for leaks and pressure.

Questions?