• space heating
• water heating
• catering
• chp

Natural Gas makes all the difference to the traditional form of space and water heating. The new generation of boiler design enables high operating efficiencies to be achieved over a wide range of outputs, while at the same time these new boilers are smaller, quieter, lighter and designed for more flexible installation.

Heat distribution losses are minimised through multiple point-of-use installations rather than a large centralised plant and fluing systems.

Central heating by hot water circulated from a boiler is the most common form of space heating. There are several different types of boilers available, each offering different advantages to the user. These include sectional, shell, modular and condensing boilers, the latter achieving operating efficiencies of up to 95%.

Warm air heaters provide a well proven and cost effective form of space heating and are ideal for modern, well-scaled industrial and commercial buildings with low air change rates. Warm air heating with natural gas can be direct or indirectly fired depending on the level of ventilation and the nature of the working environment.

Radiant heaters provide instant heat at the point of need, without the necessity of raising the ambient temperature. This makes them suitable for localised heating or for overall heating in areas with high ceilings or high ventilation rates e.g. sports halls and factories. Space heating can also be provided from a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant - either directly or from an associated district heating scheme.

A constant supply of hot water is a necessity for almost all commercial premises, for applications ranging from washing, food preparation, cleaning, laundering and process heating. The main methods of providing hot water supply are conventional boilers, combination boilers and storage water heaters.

Many users may, at present, obtain their water from a combined central system, storing the hot water and also heating their premises. This can be wasteful as large quantities of water may be heated unnecessarily, particularly during the summer months.

The solution to this is to separate the systems and install efficient point-of-use water heating equipment thus saving money as water is heated where and when required. Large or small outputs and fluctuating demands can be catered for with financial and fuel saving systems.

Most professional chefs prefer cooking with gas. From hobs to ovens, steamers to deep fat fryers, natural gas is chosen for its cleanliness, efficiency and economic running costs. For large scale caterers, such as hotels, the running cost of natural gas can be as low as one-third the cost of alternative energy sources.

In addition to their cooking requirements, many caterers have large hot water demands. Natural gas boilers, particularly condensing models and storage water heaters providing high volumes of instant hot water, can be controlled automatically and improve energy efficiency and conservation.

The efficiency of natural gas for cooking is most apparent in the controllability of the heat which is crucial for good cooking. Whether offering haute cuisine, staff meals or special hospital food, natural gas offers the versatility and convenience every chef needs.

What is CHP?

Combined Heat and Power, or CHP as it is more commonly referred to, is the simultaneous generation of electricity and useful heat in a single process. In other words, it utilises the heat produced in electricity generation rather than releasing it wastefully to the atmosphere.

Applications that are generally suitable for CHP or co-generation include hotels, hospitals, industrial processes and commercial buildings, where a continuous demand for heat and power exist.

What are the advantages of CHP?

CHP provides a potentially effective way of servicing the simultaneous heating and electrical demands of commercial and industrial processes.

The main advantages of CHP are as follows:

• reduced energy costs.
• enhanced security of your energy supply.
• reduced CO2 emissions, making a valuable contribution to the environment.
• conservation of valuable fuel resources.

The full advantage of natural gas-fired technology is achieved when the production of power and heat is combined. For this to be technically and economically feasible, it generally requires a simultaneous demand for heat and electricity on the premises for a minimum of 14 hours per day or 5,000 hours per annum.

By using heat produced in generating electricity by engine or turbine prime mover, the combined heat and power production or co-generation becomes much more energy efficient than conventional forms of power generation. By changing from separate systems producing heat and power for industrial processes to combined heat and power production, considerable amounts of energy are saved.

Typically up to 85% of the primary energy is used in industrial CHP or co-generation systems.