Sanitary hot water
Indicative useful range: 60–90°C- Building domestic hot water
- Washing and cleaning
- Process hot-water needs
HOT WATER • STEAM • POWER GENERATION
Turn waste heat into useful energy for the site.
Cremation furnaces, incinerators and other thermal processes reject a significant quantity of energy in their flue gases. CFI Systems studies how to capture this heat and reuse it in the form that creates the most value on site: hot water, steam or electricity generation.
Heat recovery is designed together with the process, flue-gas treatment and site energy profile, taking into account pressure losses, fouling, corrosion, annual availability and actual consumption needs.
Hot water • Steam
ORC • Self-consumption
New build • Retrofit
Energy valorisation
01Quantify available heat
02Match temperature level to the use
03Integrate with flue-gas treatment
04Recover useful heat or electricity
05Control performance over time
Real available energyMeasured thermal power, temperature, flow rate and operating hours
Priority useChoose between direct heat, steam, electricity or a combination according to site needs
Flue-gas integrationCool to the right level without compromising filtration, draught or availability
Verifiable gainsThermal and electrical metering to track real performance after commissioning
Potential
Before choosing a technology, quantify what the site can really recover.
Recovering energy is only meaningful if the available thermal power, the annual operating profile and the energy demand of the site are consistent with each other.
The study therefore begins with flue-gas flow, temperature, operating hours, useful energy demand, available utilities and the practical conditions for connecting the recovery system.
01Available thermal power and temperature level
02Operating hours and load profile over the year
03Hot water, steam or electricity demand on site
04Fouling, corrosion and maintenance constraints
05Real payback rather than theoretical peak output
Temperature cascade
Use each temperature level where it creates the most value.
Not all recovered heat has the same value. High-temperature heat can support steam generation or electricity production, while lower-temperature heat may be more useful for hot water, building needs or process support.
CFI Systems studies the temperature cascade so that the chosen use matches the real thermal level and the site’s operating requirements.
High temperatureSteam, thermal process integration or a route to electricity generation where justified.
Medium temperatureHot water loops, preheating and certain utility needs.
Low temperatureBuilding heating, domestic hot water or other uses compatible with the available level.
Priority logicSelect the most useful recovery route before seeking the maximum theoretical heat extraction.
Energy uses
Hot water, steam or electricity depending on the site profile.
Waste heat can be turned into useful energy in several forms. The right choice depends on temperature level, continuity of operation, the site’s utility demand and the overall energy balance.
1
Hot water production
Useful for internal circuits, building services or local heat demand when the temperature level is suitable.
2
Steam generation
Studied when the site requires steam and when the thermal level and operating conditions justify it.
3
Electricity generation
Relevant when a sufficiently stable thermal source exists for enough hours and when the site can use the electricity produced.
4
Heat network or internal loads
Recovered energy can be directed to site utilities, a local network or other structured internal uses.
Engineering perspective • crematoria
Waste heat recovery in crematoria: real potential, but only when the operating case makes sense.
The technical perspective behind CFI Systems has been shaped by previous work with innovative startups and specialist pioneers in waste-heat recovery for thermal processes. Those projects show that the technologies are real and mature enough to create value — but their relevance depends first on the characteristics of each installation.
A cremator does not operate like a continuously fired waste incinerator. Daily cremation volume, shutdown periods, thermal-load variations and the site’s actual energy demand directly affect the quantity of heat that can be recovered and, more importantly, the quantity that can be usefully valorised.
Building heating and domestic hot water remain among the most straightforward recovery routes. District heating, absorption cooling and electricity generation can also be relevant, but only where the local demand, temperature level, annual operating profile and project economics are aligned.
The question is no longer whether waste heat can be recovered from a crematorium. The real question is under which conditions that recovery creates genuine value for the operator.
That value must be measured technically, environmentally and economically — including maintenance, availability and return on investment.
01Recoverable thermal power
02Annual operating hours
03Simultaneous energy demand
04Useful annual energy
05Maintenance + actual ROI
Crematorium heat recovery • practical uses
What can a crematorium actually do with recovered heat?
Hot flue gases leaving a cremation furnace can contain a significant amount of recoverable thermal energy. The useful question is not only how much heat can be captured, but which demand can absorb it reliably throughout the year.
The examples below are practical recovery routes to evaluate case by case according to the site, operating schedule, local demand and return on investment.
Cremation furnace
Hot flue gases — typically around 850–1,000°C at the thermal-process outlet, depending on the installation.
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Heat exchanger
Transfers useful thermal energy to a controlled secondary circuit while preserving the required downstream flue-gas treatment conditions.
Heating the crematorium or nearby buildings
Indicative useful range: 40–70°C- Space heating
- Underfloor heating
- Air-handling units
Local or district heat network
Indicative useful range: 40–90°C- District-heating network
- Public buildings
- Swimming pools, greenhouses or industrial users
Power generation
Where source temperature, power and annual hours justify it- ORC turbine / expander
- Steam micro-turbine where relevant
- Cogeneration where technically justified
Cooling from recovered heat
Absorption-chiller output typically around 5–10°C- Building cooling
- Summer comfort
- Processes requiring chilled water
Compressed air or pneumatic uses
Project-specific conversion route- Pneumatic controls
- Automation auxiliaries
- Blowing and instrumentation
Five points to check before selecting the recovery route
- Real site energy demand: identify who can use the heat, when and at what temperature.
- Intermittent cremator operation: recovery must follow the actual daily and annual operating profile.
- Technical and economic balance: useful annual energy matters more than theoretical peak recovery.
- Primary-energy and CO₂ reduction: quantify the energy genuinely displaced by the recovered heat.
- Maintenance, reliability and availability: the recovery system must not compromise cremator or filtration operation.
CFI Systems principle: the solution is selected case by case according to energy demand, site constraints and expected return on investment. Heat recovery only creates value when the recovered energy has a real and recurring use.
European reference cases
Different sites, different uses of recovered heat.
These examples illustrate why there is no single standard solution. The useful outlet depends on what exists around the crematorium and on the local energy infrastructure.
District heating from crematorium flue-gas cooling
The Aalborg crematorium has supplied excess heat to the local district-heating network since 2010. The published ReUseHeat case reports flue gas around 800°C, two 550 kW cremators and roughly 530 MWh/year of recovered heat production, with part used internally and the remainder exported to the network.
Operational referenceEuropean Smart Cities Marketplace case study ↗
Recovered heat used to heat a swimming pool
Redditch Borough Council implemented an energy-recovery scheme linking the crematorium to the nearby Abbey Stadium Leisure Centre. Council and project sources confirm that heat from the crematorium is used to heat the swimming pool and has delivered ongoing financial savings.
Operational referenceRedditch Borough Council ↗
Electric cremators with heat recovery for the building and glasshouses
Huntingdon Crematorium states that excess energy from its electric cremators is recycled to heat the crematorium building and adjacent glasshouses used to grow flowers and bedding plants for the estate and town.
Operational referenceHuntingdon Crematorium ↗
District-heating integration studied as an engineering and business case
Hovdestalund is useful as a different kind of reference: published work examined the technical and economic feasibility of recovering crematorium flue-gas heat and connecting the site as both a producer and consumer of Västerås district heating. Contemporary Swedish reporting described the project as planned rather than already operational.
Feasibility / planned referenceSveriges Radio project context ↗
Why the distinction matters: operational references demonstrate realised use cases, while feasibility studies demonstrate technical and economic potential. CFI Systems keeps these two categories separate when assessing precedent for a new project.
Heat exchangers
The heat exchanger is the interface between flue gas and energy recovery.
The exchanger must capture useful heat without creating unacceptable pressure losses, fouling issues or operating instability for the furnace and flue-gas line.
CFI Systems can study water-tube or smoke-tube / fire-tube architectures according to duty, footprint, maintenance access, corrosion risk and the target energy use.
Water-tube heat exchangers
Studied where thermal duty, response and operating architecture make water-tube design the most relevant option.
Smoke-tube / fire-tube exchangers
Selected where their architecture matches the duty, maintenance strategy and required level of heat recovery.
Fouling & cleaning
Design takes deposits, cleaning access and maintainability into account from the outset.
Corrosion & materials
Material selection and operating temperatures are aligned with flue-gas composition and the expected dew-point risk.
Electricity generation
Turn waste heat into electricity when the operating profile supports it.
Electricity generation becomes particularly attractive when a sufficiently stable thermal source is available over a significant number of operating hours and when the site can consume a meaningful share of the power produced itself.
CFI Systems can integrate a conversion technology suited to the available temperature level and power, then coordinate heat exchange, conversion, cooling, electrical connection and supervision.
ORCOrganic Rankine Cycle technology converting a thermal source into mechanical power and then electricity, particularly suited to industrial waste-heat recovery.
Heat-to-powerOther external-heat-engine or thermodynamic-conversion technologies can be studied according to the available temperature and power.
Self-consumptionPriority can be given to the auxiliaries of the furnace, filtration system, building or process in order to reduce the site’s electricity purchases.
CogenerationWhere the architecture allows it, power generation and additional useful-heat recovery can be combined.
ORC — Organic Rankine Cycle
A compact route to producing electricity from industrial heat.
An ORC uses a closed thermodynamic cycle to drive a turbine or expander coupled to a generator. It can be supplied by a hot loop fed by the flue-gas heat exchanger.
Thermal source
The available thermal level and stability determine whether ORC is technically and economically relevant.
Hydraulic & thermal integration
The hot loop, exchanger and conversion skid must be coordinated with the furnace and flue-gas line.
Connection & self-use
The project must define how the electricity is consumed on site, supervised and connected to the electrical network.
Availability & service
ORC performance depends on annual operating hours, maintenance strategy and the stability of the thermal source.
Direct thermal use
Direct thermal recovery often remains the simplest and most efficient route.
Where the site already needs hot water or steam, direct thermal recovery may provide the best balance between technical simplicity, efficiency and return on investment.
CFI Systems therefore compares hot-water, steam and electricity-generation scenarios before selecting the most relevant solution.
01Hot water for internal loops or utilities
02Steam where the site has a real steam demand
03Lower complexity than power generation in many cases
04Higher overall efficiency when heat is directly used
Integration with flue-gas treatment
Recover more heat without leaving the filtration operating window.
Waste-heat recovery cannot be studied independently from flue-gas treatment. Gas temperature must remain compatible with the chemistry and the media used in the treatment system.
CFI Systems therefore coordinates heat recovery with cooling needs, reagent reaction windows, pressure losses and extraction capacity. Explore flue-gas treatment & filtration →
Temperature windowProtect the treatment system and keep neutralisation and filtration effective.
Pressure lossRecovery equipment adds pressure drop that must be accounted for in extraction sizing.
FoulingDeposits and accessibility are part of the operating logic, not an afterthought.
Global balanceUseful recovery must be coordinated with treatment performance and process stability.
Energy retrofit
Add recovery to an existing installation.
An existing furnace or incinerator may already have sufficient untapped thermal potential. The retrofit study checks what can realistically be recovered without compromising treatment performance or availability. Explore retrofit & modernisation →
1
Audit
Measure temperatures, flows, operating hours and current energy use.
2
Check interfaces
Assess treatment line, extraction, space, hydraulic and electrical interfaces.
3
Select the route
Hot water, steam or electricity according to the actual operating context.
4
Integrate
Add exchanger, circuits, controls and safety functions with minimum disturbance to operation.
Performance
Useful recovery is better than maximum theoretical recovery.
The best project is not the one that extracts the most heat on paper, but the one that supplies energy the site can actually use, over a large enough number of hours, with acceptable maintenance and reliability.
CFI Systems therefore evaluates annual useful energy, self-consumption, availability, maintenance and the impact on the thermal process as a whole.
01Annual useful energy rather than peak energy only
02Availability and maintainability of the system
03Impact on furnace and flue-gas treatment operation
04Real site demand and self-consumption profile
05Technical and economic coherence over time
Project method
From thermal survey to commissioning of the energy system.
Waste-heat recovery is a complete engineering package: measurement, thermal balance, exchanger selection, utility integration, electrical interfaces, controls and commissioning.
1
Survey
Measure temperatures, flows, operating profile and current site consumption.
2
Balance
Quantify recoverable heat and compare realistic recovery routes.
3
Design
Define exchangers, circuits, interfaces, controls and protections.
4
Integrate
Coordinate with process, flue-gas treatment, building utilities and electrical systems.
5
Commission
Test, tune and validate the system under real operating conditions.
CFI Systems approach
Stop seeing flue-gas cooling as a simple loss.
When conditions are right, cooling flue gas can become an opportunity to produce useful energy. The challenge is to do so while preserving treatment performance, process stability and maintainability.
The right energy project is the one the site can actually use.
Heat recovery only creates value when it is matched to the operating profile, site consumption and the realities of maintenance and availability.
01 · Measure
Know the real resource
Temperature, flow, operating hours and variability before selecting a recovery route.
02 · Match
Choose the right use
Hot water, steam or electricity according to the real energy profile of the site.
03 · Integrate
Coordinate with the line
Recovery, filtration, extraction and automation must remain coherent as one system.
04 · Sustain
Operate over time
Fouling, cleaning, corrosion, maintenance and real annual availability are considered from the design stage.
Frequently asked questions
Waste heat recovery & power generation.
The right route depends on the available thermal level, the operating profile and the site’s real energy needs.
Can heat be recovered from a cremation furnace or incinerator?
Yes, provided the flue-gas temperature, operating profile and useful energy demand of the site justify it. Recovery can take the form of hot water, steam or, in some cases, electricity.
What is often the simplest use of waste heat?
Direct thermal recovery in the form of hot water or steam is often simpler and more efficient than electricity generation, provided the site has a real demand for that energy.
When does electricity generation make sense?
It becomes attractive when there is a sufficiently stable thermal source over enough annual operating hours and when the site can use a meaningful share of the electricity produced itself.
What is an ORC?
An Organic Rankine Cycle is a closed thermodynamic cycle that uses a thermal source to produce mechanical power and then electricity. It is often considered for industrial waste-heat recovery.
Can heat recovery be integrated with flue-gas treatment?
Yes, but the temperature window and pressure losses must remain compatible with reagent reaction, filtration media and extraction capacity. Recovery and treatment must be studied together.
Can waste heat be recovered on an existing installation?
Yes. A retrofit study can determine whether an exchanger and the associated utility system can be added without compromising process performance or availability.
What limits a heat-recovery project?
Fouling, corrosion, pressure loss, available footprint, maintenance, annual operating hours and the site’s real ability to use the recovered energy are all key limiting factors.
Are there operational examples of crematorium heat recovery?
Yes. Examples include Aalborg in Denmark, which exports heat to district heating; Redditch in the UK, where recovered heat supports a leisure-centre swimming pool; and Huntingdon in the UK, where recovered energy is used for the crematorium building and adjacent glasshouses. Other sites, such as Hovdestalund in Sweden, have also been studied as district-heating feasibility cases.
Can the electricity generated be self-consumed on site?
Yes. In many cases, on-site self-consumption by process auxiliaries, filtration equipment or building loads is one of the most relevant uses of the electricity generated.
Applications
Waste-heat recovery for cremation, incineration and industrial thermal processes.
The recovery route depends on the operating profile, flue-gas temperature, treatment line and the site’s ability to use the recovered energy.
Cremation systems
Recover useful heat from cremator flue gases while coordinating exchanger duty with cooling, filtration, extraction and site energy demand.
See practical crematorium heat-recovery uses →
Explore cremation systems →
Industrial incinerators
Integrate hot-water, steam or power-generation routes into industrial and healthcare-waste incineration lines.
Existing thermal plants
Assess whether an existing furnace, incinerator or flue-gas line has recoverable thermal potential and suitable interfaces.
CFI Systems
Energy recovery connects the furnace, flue-gas treatment and the site’s energy needs.
CFI Systems links waste-heat recovery with cremation systems, incineration systems, flue-gas treatment and retrofit & modernisation projects.
Explore all our solutions
Energy project
Do you have hot flue gases? Let’s measure what they can produce.
Hot water, steam, electricity generation, exchanger replacement, retrofit, ORC, self-consumption or integration with flue-gas treatment: CFI Systems studies the complete energy chain.
contact@cfi-systems.com
+33 2 38 05 49 33 Centre d’Affaires Giennois – Bureau B9 · 1 rue Antoine de Lavoisier · 45500 Gien · France Describe my project
+33 2 38 05 49 33 Centre d’Affaires Giennois – Bureau B9 · 1 rue Antoine de Lavoisier · 45500 Gien · France Describe my project