SWEP is involved in several new and upcoming technologies, and we can provide heat exchanger solutions for many different types of combinatory residential heating systems.
Micro-combined heat and power systems
These systems give lower CO2 emissions and higher independence from centrally supplied electricity, the latter being a very valuable benefit in some areas. Micro-combined heat and power systems is the simultaneous production of useful heat and power within the home. Commonly a gas engine unit produces electricity from natural gas. The heat generated in the engine, together with the exhaust gas heat, is then utilized for tap water heating and residential heating. In the long term, however, gas engines might be replaced by residential fuel cell systems. Though these offer higher efficiency and lower noise and emissions, they are currently much more expensive.
Absorption systems
Absorption systems are currently used mainly in large absorption chillers. However, smaller systems focusing on heating premises, known as absorption heat pumps or gas-fired heat pumps, are growing in popularity. When electricity supplies are limited or heat is abundant, absorption heat pumps provide an alternative way to generate heat. They can be driven by any heat source, including solar energy and geothermal hot water, among others. Absorption heat pumps have higher energy efficiency than gas boilers, and can make good use of low-grade ambient heat. They can be made considerably more efficient by using brazed plate heat exchangers as intermediate single-phase heat exchangers. Our brazed plate heat exchangers provide highly efficient heat transfer, which reduces the heat input needed to achieve a particular effect.