Understanding Different Types of Waste Heat Recovery

Options are available in all industries including waste heat recovery where the customers can purchase recovery systems that recover sensible alone or sensible and latent heat together. It is vital that businesses interested in investing in heat recovery have a clear understanding of how and why these systems are different and how each one can maximize the benefits they hope to gain from use of waste heat recovery.

The normal energy savings of a flue gas sensible heat recovery system, such as a coil loop recovery system, is normally 2 to 4%. Flue gas heat recovery systems that recover sensible and latent heat, like condensing economizers, will generate between 10 to 20% energy savings. Waste heat recovery condensing economizer’s for sensible and latent energy bring many benefits to owners of natural gas or LPG boilers or appliances by reducing Carbon Dioxide emissions, conserving energy and water, and saving money.

Sensible and latent heat recovery systems also have a few options; direct and indirect. Direct heat recovery involves a stream of water that is injected directly into the flue gas exhaust. The water that’s used is heavily polluted during this process and becomes unusable. Another expense is often needed as well called a secondary heat exchanger which transfers energy between the streams of water.

The indirect method of flue gas heat recovery injects the waste energy into the waster that needs to be heated. Using this method of heat recovery, the water gets much hotter than what is traditionally possible and can then be used for a variety of other purposes without significant treatment.

Exhaust fans are often needed to push the flue gases from the boiler or appliance to the heat recovery system. Depending on the recovery system design, a fan is not always needed. Product designers have created a low flue gas resistant design that works with the hot flue gases as they rise up through the recovery block, across the aluminum fins, and then into the water. This process creates a natural vacuum that assists the flow, effectively eliminating the need for a fan and wasted energy.

Rising exhaust gases eventually cool to below dew point temperature and create significant amounts of condensation. The condensation drips down across the aluminum fins of the recovery block and self cleans the system. The condensed water then collects in a basin and can be used for a plethora of things from laundry water to pool water.

Companies that would like to reduce their carbon footprint should look to waste heat recovery condensing economizers as one of the solutions based on the endorsement of the US department of energy. The DOE has stated that for every million BTU’s recovered from waste exhaust gases and then put back into energy consumption of the building, 118 lbs of CO2 is not emitted into the air.

Owners of natural gas and LPG boilers and appliances should strongly consider the potential benefits of investing in condensing economizer waste heat recovery technology. The technology will help save your business significant amounts of money and help market yourself as a friend of the environment.

For more information on condensing economizer technology can start working for you check out our website at www.SidelSystems.com. The solution to saving money, reducing CO2, and saving water is waste heat recovery!