An air handling unit (AHU) conditions outdoor air before it enters a building. Without recovery, that outdoor air must be heated or cooled from scratch every hour. Adding a heat recovery core to the AHU is the single highest-impact energy measure for ventilation systems. Where the Exchanger Sits in an AHU The recovery core is […]
Run-around Coil Heat Recovery Systems
A run-around coil heat recovery system uses two finned coils connected by a closed glycol loop. A pump circulates the fluid between the exhaust coil, where it picks up heat, and the supply coil, where it releases heat into the incoming air. When to Use a Run-around Coil This design is ideal when the supply […]
Heat Pipe Heat Exchanger: Passive Thermal Transfer
A heat pipe heat exchanger uses sealed tubes filled with a working fluid to move heat from one air stream to another. It has no moving parts, requires no external power, and keeps the two streams physically separated. Working Principle Each heat pipe is a sealed tube with an internal wick structure. At the hot […]
Rotary Heat Recovery Wheel: Sensible and Enthalpy Types
A rotary heat recovery wheel is a rotating honeycomb disc that slowly turns between the supply and exhaust air streams. As it rotates, the wheel absorbs heat from the exhaust air and releases it into the incoming fresh air. In enthalpy wheels, moisture is also transferred, making them ideal for humidity control. How It Works […]
Plate Heat Exchanger: Working Principle, Types and Applications
A plate heat exchanger is one of the most efficient ways to recover thermal energy from exhaust air, process gas, or ventilation streams. It consists of multiple thin metal plates separated by gaskets or formed air gaps, creating alternating channels for the hot and cold streams. Heat moves through the plate material without the two […]
Enthalpy Recovery Wheel vs Membrane
Choosing between an enthalpy recovery wheel and a membrane exchanger comes down to contamination risk, maintenance tolerance, and how much latent recovery you need. This comparison distills the trade-offs. Side-by-Side Factor Enthalpy Wheel Membrane Moving parts Yes (motor, seals) No Air cross-contamination Small (seal leakage) None (separate streams) Latent effectiveness 70–85% 60–80% Frost risk (cold […]
High-Temperature Heat Pump Heat Recovery
A high-temperature heat pump (HTHP) upgrades low-grade waste heat to useful process temperatures of 80 to 120°C, replacing steam boilers or direct electric heaters in industry. This article covers selection and integration. How It Differs from a Standard Pump An HTHP uses refrigerants and compression ratios tuned for high lift. The trade-off is lower COP […]
Membrane Air Conditioning Systems
Membrane air conditioning systems separate the sensible and latent cooling loads using a liquid-desiccant loop and a membrane contactor, rather than a single overcooling coil. The result is drier supply air at a higher coil evaporating temperature — which raises the chiller COP. Core Components A typical unit pairs a membrane energy recovery ventilation core […]
Desiccant Dehumidification Heat Recovery
Desiccant dehumidification heat recovery combines moisture removal with energy recycling. A desiccant material (solid wheel or liquid solution) absorbs water vapor from process air; the now-concentrated desiccant is regenerated using low-grade heat, and that regeneration stream's energy is recovered rather than wasted. Why Pair Desiccation with Recovery Conventional cooling-only dehumidification overcools then reheats the air, […]
Membrane Energy Recovery Ventilation
Membrane energy recovery ventilation (MERV) uses a stationary, non-rotating polymer membrane core to transfer both sensible and latent heat between supply and exhaust airstreams. Unlike a rotating energy recovery wheel, a membrane exchanger has no moving parts and physically separates the two airstreams, which eliminates the carryover of moisture, odors, and particulates that can occur […]