A recuperator recovers thermal energy from HVAC systems or industrial processes, improving energy efficiency and reducing costs. It may be called a heat exchanger or heat recovery unit. Recuperators are commonly found in HVAC systems and use different heat recovery designs, with internal cellular structures being the most efficient. They cannot be used year-round in areas with hot summers and cold winters. Recuperators also help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and limit pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
A recuperator is a device used to recover thermal energy from a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system or industrial process. This device helps improve energy efficiency, which can reduce costs associated with heating or manufacturing. Depending on the application, a recuperator may also be called a heat exchanger or heat recovery unit.
These units are commonly found within a building’s HVAC systems. The recuperator is installed inside the duct just before the discharge outlets or grates. A pair of parallel plates inside the unit separate the hot air from the cold air, directing the air to two separate locations. Fresh air is simply expelled from the building through traditional exhaust systems, while warm air is returned to the adduction ducts to be reused within the heating system.
Different types of heat recovery designs can affect the heat recovery capabilities of these systems. Vertical units are the least efficient and consist of vertical plates within a large outer casing. Horizontal units, which are more compact and use horizontal plates, tend to be more efficient. The most efficient units have an internal cellular structure, which recovers up to 99% of the thermal energy.
An HVAC recuperator cannot be used year-round in areas with hot summers and cold winters. Instead, users rely on a series of dampers to bypass the recuperator when it’s not needed. For example, during the summer, the damper will be closed to prevent air from reaching the recuperator. Instead, all of the exhaust air is simply vented outside and there is no need or desire to keep the heat energy circulating inside the building.
A similar technology is used to recover thermal energy in production or industrial plants. Many of these structures are based on a gas turbine engine, which uses a mixture of hot air and fuel to produce a combustion process. Generally, the air must be heated before combustion using an additional heat source. In buildings with recuperators, the hot exhaust air produced by combustion is simply recirculated back into the engine to mix with the fuel and feed the next combustion cycle. This eliminates the need for a second heat source and also helps reduce fuel costs associated with heating.
Repossessions offer many benefits to homeowners, business owners and society as a whole. By improving energy efficiency, they help reduce fuel costs and even improve comfort in a home or commercial building. This improvement in energy efficiency also reduces reliance on fossil fuels such as coal and oil. By limiting dependence on these fuels, heat recovery devices help reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and conserve limited resources.
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