By: Brian - Harpoon Engineer Published:
We're always looking to improve our environmental practices and our efficiency. Today, we received the latest piece to our environmental puzzle - our brand new heat and power cogeneration unit! Learn more about it by reading our interview with Harpoon engineer - Brian!
Q: What is it?
A: Combined Heat and Power Cogeneration unit.
Q: What does it do?
A: Burns natural gas (NG) in a converted engine which powers an electrical generator. The coolant or antifreeze used to cool the engine is routed through an additional heat exchanger to cool the exhaust gas and this heated coolant is pumped through another process heat exchanger were the heat is transferred to our hot process water for the brewery.
This allows for over 90% efficiency in converting the energy available in the natural gas to useful energy. To put it into perspective our boiler that we currently make hot water is less than 80% efficient. Power generated at a main power station and transferred to the brewery for use is only about 60% efficient so if you multiple these together the energy efficiency is less than 50%.
Q: How will it affect the energy we use at the brewery?
A: The unit will provide on average 70% of the brewery’s electrical power needs and 90% of the hot water needs.
So there you have it folks!
Love Beer. Love the Enviroment. Harpoon.
By: Liz Melby - Harpoon Helper Published:
I sought a job at Harpoon because I had fallen in love with Harpoon IPA. I figured that a company that made something I loved so dearly must be a wonderful place to work. Maybe it wasn’t the ideal job search method, but thankfully my intuition was correct (phew!). What began for me as a deep appreciation for a company that brews my favorite beer was soon compounded by a great admiration for a company that cares passionately for their community. For me, I’d hit the job mother lode.
Fast forward a few years (give or take a decade), and I feel just as fortunate to work for a company that brews my favorite beer (still IPA) and where I not only have the option, but am encouraged to work alongside my co-workers and friends to do good things within our community. What “things”? Great question!
Earlier this year about 25 of us plunged into the frigid waters of Boston Harbor to help raise money for Save the Harbor Save the Bay. Then a couple months later in May, 100 Harpooners and more than 200 beer-loving volunteers put on a road race at the brewery to raise money for the Angel Fund and ALS research. Most recently about 60 Harpooners and close to 600 volunteers (again, beer-loving) helped decorate homeless shelters and local non-profit organizations for the holidays. That’s just a snippet of some of the “things” you had asked about earlier, but there are many more.
All of the aforementioned events are part of Harpoon Helps, our charitable giving/volunteer program here at the brewery. The Harpoon Helps program came to fruition in 2003. At that point the brewery had been hosting fundraisers, volunteer outings, and donating beer for fundraising efforts as long as anyone here can remember. But the “Harpoon Helps” name put it all under one roof and it enabled us to focus more intently on expanding our role within the community. Titles are good like that sometimes, especially alliterative ones.
Now to get to the point of why I am writing this blog post (finally, I know!)! We are very proud, excited and a little bit dumbfounded to announce that in 2012, the Harpoon Helps program has raised more than $530,000 and contributed close to $300,000 in in-kind donations to support local charitable organizations. That’s $830,000 total! It’s wonderful.
And you can bet we’re going for a million in 2013. Who’s in? I’m in, especially if there’s an IPA in it for me somewhere.
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