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- IT power is almost entirely converted to heat. Roughly 1 kW of IT equipment rejects ~1 kW of heat. A modest hall of 100 racks at 5 kW each rejects about 500 kW — most of it carried away by the cooling and ventilation air, not the servers themselves. Make-up air: data centers bring in outdoor air for pressurisation and free cooling. Exhaust: the return airstream leaves warm and, in free-cooling mode, directly to atmosphere. The gap: an energy wheel bridges those two streams.
- Option Effectiveness Notes Rotary energy wheel 70–85% (total) Compact, recovers humidity too; needs purge for separation Run-around coil 40–60% (sensible) No air mixing; pump + piping; good where streams are distant Plate exchanger 60–75% (sensible) No moving parts; simpler but larger footprint For tight plant rooms a rotary wheel is the most effective choice; a plate or run-around coil is preferred where the design forbids any chance of exhaust-to-supply mixing.
- Reheat for VAV terminal boxes in adjacent offices. Preheat of outdoor air for the building HVAC. Domestic water pre-heat in larger campuses. Pair the recovery with our sizing guide and the kitchen recovery playbook — the airflow and temperature logic is the same. Sizing recovery for a data hall? EN159 builds plate, rotary, heat-pipe and counterflow air-to-air exchangers for data-center make-up and exhaust air. Send airflow (m³/h), supply and exhaust temperatures and the available footprint. Request a quote
- Heat Recovery Units · Commercial Kitchen Heat Recovery · Plate Heat Exchanger Guide
Server rooms reject enormous, constant heat. An energy recovery wheel between the exhaust and make-up air streams cuts the cooling load and can redirect that warmth to heat adjacent office space. For data centers chasing PUE, recovery on the ventilation air is a straightforward win.
IT power is almost entirely converted to heat. Roughly 1 kW of IT equipment rejects ~1 kW of heat. A modest hall of 100 racks at 5 kW each rejects about 500 kW — most of it carried away by the cooling and ventilation air, not the servers themselves.
- Make-up air: data centers bring in outdoor air for pressurisation and free cooling.
- Exhaust: the return airstream leaves warm and, in free-cooling mode, directly to atmosphere.
- The gap: an energy wheel bridges those two streams.
| Option | Effectiveness | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rotary energy wheel | 70–85% (total) | Compact, recovers humidity too; needs purge for separation |
| Run-around coil | 40–60% (sensible) | No air mixing; pump + piping; good where streams are distant |
| Plate exchanger | 60–75% (sensible) | No moving parts; simpler but larger footprint |
For tight plant rooms a rotary wheel is the most effective choice; a plate or run-around coil is preferred where the design forbids any chance of exhaust-to-supply mixing.
- Reheat for VAV terminal boxes in adjacent offices.
- Preheat of outdoor air for the building HVAC.
- Domestic water pre-heat in larger campuses.
Pair the recovery with our sizing guide and the kitchen recovery playbook — the airflow and temperature logic is the same.
Sizing recovery for a data hall?
EN159 builds plate, rotary, heat-pipe and counterflow air-to-air exchangers for data-center make-up and exhaust air. Send airflow (m³/h), supply and exhaust temperatures and the available footprint.
Heat Recovery Units ·
Commercial Kitchen Heat Recovery ·
Plate Heat Exchanger Guide