
Placing both fans on the same side results in a large pressure differential
through the rotating heat exc hanger, thus increasing leaks. A parasitic
recirculation rate as large as 40 per cent was measured by the author in such
a unit!
Most rotating heat exchangers are equipped with a purging chamber,
located between inlet and exhaust air ducts, on the warm side of the wheel
(see Chapter 6, ‘Contaminant transport in rotating heat exchangers’).
Glycol heat exchanger
When exhaust and inlet ducts are not side by side, heat can be transported by a
hydraulic circuit with two heat exchangers. The fluid (generally a glycol–water
mix) is heated by the air–liquid heat exchanger located in one of the ducts, then
pumped to the other exchanger to give heat to the cold air.
Heat pump
In exhaust only systems, the recovered heat cannot be given to outdoor air, but
to the hydraulic heating system or to a hot water boiler. For this, the tempera-
ture of the hot side of the recovery system is increased using a heat pump,
whose cold source is the exhaust air.
Heat exchange efficiency
The efficiency of heat recovery exchangers has two aspects: the energy (or
enthalpy) efficiency and the temperature efficiency.
The first is the ratio of the enthalpy flow delivered to the supply air by the
enthalpy flow in exhaust air:
E
¼
H
downwind; supply
H
upwind; supply
H
upwind; exhaust
H
outdoor air
ð5:4Þ
If supplied air upwind of the heat exchanger (inlet air) has the same character-
istics as that of the outdo or air, H
outdoor air
may be replaced by H
upwind; supply
.
The enthalpy of air is determined by its temperature and moisture content
(Equation 5.3). Therefore, measurement of temperature and moisture content
of air upwind and downwind of both sides of the heat exchanger allows the
determination of the enthalpy efficiency of the heat exchanger itself.
Figure 5.6 Relative positio n of fans and rotating heat exchangers
86 Ventilation and Airflow in Buildings
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