Total Performance Assessment Method for Industrial Process Heat Systems

A combined performance indicator is developed for specific renewable energy technology solutions, such as industrial process heat, with the target of being able to compare different technology scenarios including energy efficiency measures and supply options in a fair and transparent way. The combined indicator is a sum where the individual parts are obtained for each scenario from individual energy simulations, economic cost calculations and calculation of CO2 emissions. The combined performance can be presented as a cost figure in € related to the total heat demand of all processes in the company. This also enables a simple comparison of energy efficiency measures with renewable supply options. Monetarizing energy and environmental performance by giving primary energy consumption external costs and CO2 emission as prize is a country and company specific task because the structure of fuel and electricity has an impact on emissions and external costs. Finally, the financial results can also be related to a production specific value. This leads to benchmarking and is an easy way to show industrial managers the energy and environmental profile of their products. A fictitious example case is presented also to illustrate the methodology.