Your choices:
1 Process heat (> 1000 °C); 2 Water; Electricity
| What is your resource? | What do you want to deliver? | What is the service the customer wants? |
| Biomass (digestible sludge) | District cooling | Comfortable indoor climate |
| Biomass (fermentable sludge) | District heating | Electricity |
| Biomass (solid) | Electricity | Process cooling (< 0 °C) |
| Geothermal | Fuel: Gaseous | Process heat/steam (50 - 150 °C) |
| Sunshine | Fuel: Liquid | Process heat (150 - 1000 °C) |
| 2 Water | Fuel: Solid | 1 Process heat (> 1000 °C) |
| Wind | Local cooling (ind. house) | Transport |
| Residual oils/fats etc | Local heating (ind. house) |
If water is the selected energy source, then electricity is the only energy carrier to choose from. However, electricity should be used for process heat only in such cases when the process really demands it like when the ease and precision of process control or similar overrides the thermodynamical arguments against it.
Electricity shall in the first instance be used for
- Mechanical work such as needed for lawn-mowing, pumping, fanning, compressing as well as evacuating or to run escalators, lifts and alike. In the longer run, this will also include transportation.
- Illumination.
- Operation of home electronics, computers, for communication devices and such.
- To obtain cryogenic/freezing as well as extremely high temperatures.
- For electrochemical operations such as electrolytic plating and alike.
- For operations and processes where the added value from the cleanliness, the simplicity and the precision of process control can be judged to override the thermodynamic arguments against it.
The supply of hydropower may be guaranteed by a micro-hydropower installation or simply by contracting the electricity delivery to be 100% hydropower.