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Cork Farm is Milking Lpg’s Efficiency with Rinnai Infinity Water Heaters

By Chris Goggin, operations manager, Rinnai UK.

Rinnai Infinity continuous flow water heaters combined with clean lpg fuel give end users, such as farmers, an unrivalled energy efficient and environmentally friendly solution.

Rinnai, the award winning manufacturer of the world’s number one selling brand of on demand lpg fired continuous flow water heaters, has a range of product that is engineered to produce a never ending source of hot water while producing the highest efficiencies. Lp gas is one of the cleanest energy sources and, as such, is the ideal fuel for water heating applications in rural areas that are off-grid.

With a Rinnai Infinity continuous flow system, the only time you are using energy is when there is a demand – in other words, it is only burning lpg gas when a tap is turned on and therefore hot water storage costs are totally eliminated.

Rinnai continuous flow units have recently been installed at Kilmurry Lodge dairy farm in Cork, Ireland, where farmer James Walsh has upgraded the milking sheds from 10 units to 35, and now milks up to 220 cows an hour.

The expansion meant an investment in a new water heating system to replace the old electric one in order to guarantee a plentiful supply of hot water – amounting to 600 litres a day at an unwavering 85°C to manage hygiene in the dairy and control the total bacteria count (TBC) of the milk produced. Hot water is also required for washing the milk lines and the bulk milk storage tank.

James, a Calor Gas customer, had previously visited a similar operation in New Zealand that relied on lp gas fired continuous flow hot water heaters and was impressed by its efficiency. Subsequently, milking equipment specialist De Leval recommended the installation of four lpg-powered Infinity Rinnai water heaters, each rated at 69kW to deal with the increased demand. Multiple Infinity units can be linked via a manifold arrangement to provide never-ending supplies of heated water.

Rinnai Infinity HDC 1500E lpg gas fired water heaters feature outputs up to 58kW, and water can be delivered at high volume and, importantly, with very precise temperature control. The smart digital control regulates to within +/- 1ºC without any variation of temperature should other water draw offs be made.

The Rinnai Infinity external hot water system is capable of delivering 300 litres of water at 85˚C in just seven minutes. With four appliances manifolded for the dairy installation, this is more than sufficient for any eventuality.

The temperature can be electronically monitored 150 times a second as the water leaves the appliance, whereas a storage system is reliant on an electromechanical thermostat, normally with its capillary placed within a dry pocket on the side of the unit. All models have full electronic ignition with no pilot light and operate on demand only, consuming no lp gas when not in use.

The use of water heaters in conjunction with lpg can really make a difference to running costs, but step up to a condensing system with a secondary steel heat exchanger and that is where you really see the big efficiencies. The condensing process translates to significant energy savings when compared to standard tankless water heaters.

Using high efficiency Rinnai HDC 1500E condensing water heaters with clean lpg gas fuel delivers 105 per cent. Rinnai’s unique condensing technology incorporates two heat exchangers to achieve optimum water heating generated from every cubic metre of lp gas.

The other advantage of a condensing unit is that there is a higher modulation range, as these units will modulate down from 59.5kW input to as low as 2.83kW input. For even greater savings, the linking of a renewable energy source to a direct system is very easy to accomplish.

The flow of domestic hot water is heated by the renewable energy source and is then fed through the water heater, the idea being that the water unit is preset to a temperature of 65-70º then, if the renewable energy source does not get to this temperature, the water heater makes it up. The reason for the high temperature is to get the most from the renewable source.

FUTURE OF RURAL ENERGY IN EUROPE

According to the Future of Rural Energy in Europe (FREE), the use of lp gas can make a positive contribution to air quality improvement compared to diesel, heating oil and solid fuels. Looking at its carbon footprint, lpg gas is one of the cleanest conventional fuels available. Rinnai is committed to support the FREE solution initiative focused on providing better fuels (lpg) for rural communities.

Using Rinnai products in conjunction with lp gas in rural areas is the perfect solution in terms of operating efficiencies, low emissions and sustainability. With a choice of models, there is a solution for any eventuality and Rinnai products really lend themselves to bespoke system design.

Contact Rinnai UK on 01928 531870 www.rinnaiuk.com

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