We’ve reached the other side of Labor Day and the autumnal equinox, when the sunsets start coming earlier every evening, the wind gets brisker, the NFL season begins, and Halloween decorations start popping up on people’s lawns. It won’t be long until Christmas carols start to play on the radio (it never is), snow starts falling, and people start bundling up.
If you haven’t already started, now is the time to start thinking about the best, most energy-efficient, and most cost-effective ways to keep your building heated and its occupants comfortable through the oncoming winter months. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at how an HRV heat recovery system integrated with your commercial HVAC can minimize waste heat and keep your building not only comfortably heated, but also energy-efficient and sustainable as well.
What Is the Heat Recovery Unit in your HVAC?
Heating and cooling commercial buildings can get very expensive, depending on the size and layout of the building. The bigger the building or the less efficient its floor plan, the more energy your commercial HVAC system needs to push heated or cooled air to the right place and ensure consistent, comfortable temperatures throughout your building. More energy means bigger electricity bills and reduced environmental sustainability.
HVAC systems produce residual waste heat through their normal operation. Normally, this waste heat exits your building. However, heat recovery ventilation (HRV), also known as mechanical ventilation heat recovery (MVHR), captures this waste heat and recirculates it through your building. The result of this waste heat recovery system is that it maximizes how much of the electricity your HVAC consumes actually goes into heating your building. In short, MVHR heat recovery systems help your HVAC do more with less.
How does an HRV system work?
Let’s get a little technical and take a crack at answering the question, “How does a heat recovery ventilator work?”
As your building’s HVAC system runs, it produces exhaust gas. There is a little bit of heat in this exhaust gas—that is your system’s waste heat. A commercial heat recovery ventilation system takes this exhaust gas and extracts the heat from it, then recirculates it through your building. More or less, it is “reduce, reuse, recycle” for your building’s HVAC system.
There are several different mechanisms through which a waste heat recovery system can work:
Thermal Wheels
Also known as rotary heat exchangers, thermal wheels are installed in the supply and exhaust air streams of rooftop HVAC units. The rotating wheel transfers thermal energy from the exhaust air stream to the supply air stream, taking the waste heat that would have left your building and sending it back into your building.
Fixed Plate Heat Exchangers
Unlike thermal wheels, fixed plate heat exchangers, also known as recuperators, don’t have any moving parts. Rather, they rely on alternating layers of metal plates that absorb waste heat from one airstream and transfer it to another. Recuperators are a passive method of HVAC heat recovery.
Heat Pipes
These pipes use a multi-phase process to transfer heat from one air stream to another. An evaporator and condenser within a sealed pipe absorb thermal energy from warm exhaust air and dissipate the heat into the cooler intake air stream.
Run-Around Systems
Run-around systems combine multiple heat recovery technologies such as those discussed above to form larger-scale waste heat recovery systems that can function efficiently even if there is a long distance between the exhaust air and intake air streams. Run-around HRV heat recovery systems are best for larger commercial buildings.
Phase Change Materials
Certain materials can store heat within your building more efficiently and effectively than standard building materials. These phase change materials can capture heat during off-peak times and release it during peak times. Unlike the above, these are not passive or active HVAC heat recovery systems. Rather, they are built into your building to make it more sustainable and energy efficient.
Benefits of Commercial HVAC Heat Recovery
In office buildings, healthcare facilities, and hospitality industry properties, integrating a heat recovery unit into your HVAC performs a vital role in optimizing HVAC infrastructure, reducing energy waste and operational costs, contributing to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification, and ensuring occupant comfort and health.
By reusing waste heat, buildings reduce the energy impact of their heating and cooling operations, shrinking both utility bills and your building’s carbon footprint. Lower energy consumption means reduced operational costs, and HRV heat recovery systems might also make your building eligible for energy efficiency incentives and rebates. In addition, commercial heat recovery ventilation systems ensure more consistent and continuous fresh air circulation, which cuts down on the presence of particulates, pollutants, or pathogens in your air and promotes the health and comfort of your building’s occupants.
- Energy Efficiency
- Lower Operating Costs
- Improved Indoor Air Quality
- Enhanced Sustainability
Integrate Leading HVAC Heat Recovery Systems with Chiller Systems Service
As the metro Denver area and Colorado Front Range’s premier commercial and industrial HVAC solution, Chiller Systems Service is here to help you integrate the right commercial heat recovery ventilation systems into your building. We make it easier—and cheaper—to keep your building warm and your occupants healthy and comfortable through the cold Colorado winters. Reach out to us today to get an energy efficiency analysis and discover your options.