What is a Pinch Analysis?
Energy Strategy 2050
More than half of the energy consumption in Swiss industry is required in the form of thermal energy. In order to ensure the availability of heat, a lot of CO2 is generated throughout Switzerland. The pinch analysis method is an important part of the Swiss energy strategy in the industrial sector.
Definition
Pinch analysis is a systematic and holistic approach in which thermal energy consumption is critically examined and reduced. It is not applied to individual equipment, production facilities or infrastructure systems, but to the entire system. The aim is to determine all of a company's energy flows and to intelligently link them together so that the heat from material flows that need to be cooled is used to heat other material flows. Experience shows that optimization by linking energy flows in the overall system usually brings a greater increase in efficiency than the often costly improvement in the efficiency of individual components and devices.
In summary, a pinch analysis is as follows:
- Another perspective on production and infrastructure facilities
- Energy Optimization using a system instead of "Trial-and-Error"
- A system-oriented method for determining the optimal use of energy together with system design under the condition of minimal costs (investment and operation)