ZVO: Webinar on energy efficiency law and heat recovery
Around 40 participants, primarily from electroplating/coating companies, attended a webinar organized by the German Surface Technology Association (ZVO) in April 2024 to find out about the impact of the new Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) on their business.
The EnEfG came into force at the end of November 2023 and deadlines for the transfer and avoidance of waste heat are now beginning. In surface technology, a large proportion of waste heat is usually centralized in the exhaust air system. The webinar on 22 April 2024 - a ZVO onlineDialog, a free information platform exclusively for ZVO members - explained how the EnEfG is to be applied in electroplating and that heat recovery can be the key to waste heat recovery in electroplating.
Marius Heiland, Calorplast Wärmetechnik, and Frank Fischer, Tribicon, pointed out the obligations and administrative, technological and financial challenges for operators as a result of the new EnEfG. However, it also offers opportunities: heat recovery (HR) can maximize energy efficiency. The technology for waste heat recovery in electroplating is well-known and tried and tested; most new systems are already equipped with a heat recovery system. The thermal situation and operating times are already recorded here and thus provide sufficient information for the required waste heat reporting. Older systems with heat recovery can be retrofitted with more efficient heat exchangers to increase efficiency. Retrofitting a heat recovery system to older systems may require a conversion of the ventilation system, but government subsidies and high savings in energy costs make such measures more attractive.