The energy expenditure of a house has become a very important aspect within the same and is that having a high consumption, can make the amount of our bill soar. As a result, many people are looking for ways to reduce their heating costs for the winter.
In this regard, we should know that many systems on the market allow us to improve the energy efficiency of our house, such as heat exchangers. But what is a heat exchanger, and how do these systems work? Below we explain in detail what they consist of.
What is a heat recovery unit, and how does it work?
When we talk about heat recovery devices, we refer to devices that allow us to recover part of the energy of the air-conditioned in a room through the mechanical ventilation system of the air with the consequent energy savings that this means for our home.
Thus, during the winter, this system works by heating the cold air that enters from outside, while it performs the reverse operation in the summer. So, as you can see, we can use it throughout the year.
What this type of system does is to use an exchanger to bring the indoor air that is extracted into contact with the outdoor air that is introduced without mixing the two circuits. In addition, they incorporate a series of filters that help us to reduce dirt and pollutants, improving the quality of the air we breathe.
How much can I save using a heat recovery unit?
As you have seen, this system allows you to recover part of your home’s energy. But how much can we save if we use a heat recovery unit?
We are talking about this device that will allow us to recover up to 60% of the heat that is usually lost with a mechanical ventilation system. Therefore, the energy savings we can achieve would be 40% over traditional air conditioning systems.
However, we must consider that there are different types of heat exchangers with different efficiencies. We summarize it for you:
- Cross flow. They have an efficiency ranging from 50 to 85%.
- Parallel flow. In this case, it is the most efficient heat exchanger, reaching up to 90% efficiency.
- Rotary flow. Finally, the approximate efficiency of this model is 70%.
Choosing one or the other will depend, as always, on the characteristics of your home, but you must know all of them before making a final decision. And, in any case, think that the minimum savings your home will experience will be around 50%.
Advantages of using heat recovery units
Finally, all that remains is to learn more about the advantages of using this type of device. Take note:
- Economic savings. One of the advantages that most interests us today is that this type of system will allow us to save money on our electricity bill. Mainly because of the energy savings we will achieve by implementing it in our home.
- Increased energy efficiency. On the other hand, we are talking about a system that allows us to recover part of the heated air of our home, so that much of its heat is not wasted. This allows us to obtain the same results but invest much less energy than we have used.
- Useful throughout the year. As mentioned above, this device can be used both in summer and winter, so the profitability we get with it is much higher.
- Compatible with renewable energies. Another great advantage of this system is that it can be combined with other renewable energy systems to make it even more profitable, such as aerothermal or geothermal energy.
- Profitable in the short term. Contrary to what may happen with other systems, these devices are not too expensive so that we can recover the investment made in them quickly.
- Keeps the air clean. Heat recovery units have filters that keep the air clean by controlling the passage of dirt through the air.
As you can see, these types of systems can help us improve our home’s energy efficiency to achieve energy savings reflected in our utility bills. We hope that this article has helped you to learn a little more about heat recovery units.
