Heat recovery ventilation

Heat recovery ventilation (HRV), also known as mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR) is a ventilation system that recovers energy by operating between two air sources at different temperatures. It is used to reduce the heating and cooling demands of buildings. By recovering the residual heat in the exhaust gas, the fresh air introduced into the air conditioning system is preheated (or pre-cooled) before it enters the room, or the air cooler of the air conditioning unit performs heat and moisture treatment. A typical heat recovery system in buildings comprises a core unit, channels for fresh and exhaust air, and blower fans. Building exhaust air is used as either a heat source or heat sink, depending on the climate conditions, time of year, and requirements of the building. Heat recovery systems typically recover about 60–95% of the heat in the exhaust air and have significantly improved the energy efficiency of buildings. Energy recovery ventilation (ERV) is the energy recovery process in residential and commercial HVAC systems that exchanges the energy contained in normally exhausted air of a building or conditioned space, using it to treat (precondition) the incoming outdoor ventilation air. The specific equipment involved may be called an Energy Recovery Ventilator, also commonly referred to simply as an ERV. An ERV is a type of air-to-air heat exchanger that transfers latent heat as well as sensible heat. Because both temperature and moisture are transferred, ERVs are described as total enthalpic devices. In contrast, a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) can only transfer sensible heat. HRVs can be considered sensible only devices because they only exchange sensible heat. In other words, all ERVs are HRVs, but not all HRVs are ERVs. It is incorrect to use the terms HRV, AAHX (air-to-air heat exchanger), and ERV interchangeably. During the warmer seasons, an ERV system pre-cools and dehumidifies; during cooler seasons the system humidifies and pre-heats. An ERV system helps HVAC design meet ventilation and energy standards (e.g., ASHRAE), improves indoor air quality and reduces total HVAC equipment capacity, thereby reducing energy consumption. ERV systems enable an HVAC system to maintain a 40-50% indoor relative humidity, essentially in all conditions. ERV's must use power for a blower to overcome the pressure drop in the system, hence incurring a slight energy demand.

Working principle A heat recovery system is designed to supply conditioned air to the occupied space to maintain a certain temperature. A heat recovery system helps keep a house ventilated while recovering heat being emitted from the inside environment. The purpose of heat recovery systems is to transfer the thermal energy from one fluid to another fluid, from one fluid to a solid, or from a solid surface to a fluid at different temperatures and in thermal contact. There is no direct interaction between fluid and fluid or fluid and solid in most heat recovery systems. In some heat recovery systems, fluid leakage is observed due to pressure differences between fluids, resulting in a mixture of the two fluids.The purpose of an energy recovery system is to reduce the energy required for heating, cooling, or ventilating the space by repurposing the exhaust air's energy.

Types

Thermal wheel

Fixed plate heat exchanger

Fixed plate heat exchangers have no moving parts, and consist of alternating layers of plates that are separated and sealed. Typical flow is cross current and since the majority of plates are solid and non permeable, sensible only transfer is the result. The tempering of incoming fresh air is done by a heat or energy recovery core. In this case, the core is made of aluminum or plastic plates. Humidity levels are adjusted through the transferring of water vapor. This is done with a rotating wheel either containing a desiccant material or permeable plates. Enthalpy plates were introduced in 2006 by Paul, a special company for ventilation systems for passive houses. A crosscurrent countercurrent air-to-air heat exchanger built with a humidity permeable material. Polymer fixed-plate countercurrent energy recovery ventilators were introduced in 1998 by Building Performance Equipment (BPE), a residential, commercial, and industrial air-to-air energy recovery manufacturer. These heat exchangers can be both introduced as a retrofit for increased energy savings and fresh air as well as an alternative to new construction. In new construction situations, energy recovery will effectively reduce the required heating/cooling capacity of the system. The percentage of the total energy saved will depend on the efficiency of the device (up to 90% sensible) and the latitude of the building. Due to the need to use multiple sections, fixed plate energy exchangers are often associated with high pressure drop and larger footprints. Due to their inability to offer a high amount of latent energy transfer these systems also have a high chance of frosting in colder climates. The technology patented by Finnish company RecyclingEnergy Int. Corp. is based on a regenerative plate heat exchanger taking advantage of humidity of air by cyclical condensation and evaporation, e.g. latent heat, enabling not only high annual thermal efficiency but also microbe-free plates due to self-cleaning/washing method. Therefore, the unit is called an enthalpy recovery ventilator rather than heat or energy recovery ventilator. Company's patented LatentHeatPump is based on its enthalpy recovery ventilator having COP of 33 in the summer and 15 in the winter. Fixed plate heat exchangers are the most commonly used type of heat exchanger and have been developed for 40 years. Thin metal plates are stacked with a small spacing between plates. Two different air streams pass through these spaces, adjacent to each other. Heat transfer occurs as the temperature transfers through the plate from one air stream to the other. The efficiency of these devices has reached 90% sensible heat efficiency in transferring sensible heat from one air stream to another. The high levels of efficiency are attributed to the high heat transfer coefficients of the materials used, operational pressure and temperature range.

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