Monday, January 27
Heat Recovery 101
It is no secret that air compressors generate a lot of heat when they are operating. Heat recovery is a great way to save energy and provide efficient power to other areas in your facility. Let’s look at how we can reuse this already generated heat and put it to use elsewhere in your operations:
What is Heat Recovery
When an air compressor operates, a lot of the energy produced turns into heat. In many cases, this heat just gets pushed out into the environment as waste. Compressed air heat waste recovery captures this heat expelled from the air compressor and repurposes it to other useful applications.
How Heat Recovery Works & Necessary Equipment
The generated heat from air compressors generally gets released through cooling systems or cooling towers. Instead of releasing this heat into the atmosphere, a heat recovery system can collect this heat utilizing heat exchangers. More than 90% of the heat generated by compressed air can be recovered, but to remain efficient and cost effective, heat recovery aims to recover between 50% and 80% of generated heat. The captured heat inside of the heat exchanger can then be used towards other processes that rely on thermal energy to work. Heat exchangers can come in different forms for each compressor type. If your unit is water cooled, you will also need a water exchanger for fluid-to-fluid heat exchangers.
How Compressor Cooling Mechanics Play a Role
Air cooled vs water cooled air compressors present differing heat recovery results.
In an air cooled compressor, about 72% of generated heat is able to be recovered. Heat generated from air cooled compressors is most used for space and process heating.
In water cooled compressors, about 50% to 60% of generated heat can be recovered. This heat generated from water cooled units is best suited to heat fluids, since fluid-to-fluid heat exchanging is most efficient. This type of recovered heat is commonly used for process heating.
What Can Recovered Heat Be Used For?
- Space heating: one of the most common uses of recovered heat from air compressors is to heat the environment around the air compressor, whether this is just the compressor room, a larger portion of the facility, or another building entirely.
- Water heating: heating water with the recovered heat from an air compressor is another way to reuse the heat generated. This type of heat recovery use is common in laundries and industrial sanitary facilities.
- Process Heating: another efficient use of recovered compressed air heat is to power various processes within your daily operations such as drying, pasteurization, coloring, melting, cleaning, a handful of refinery processes, and many more.
Benefits of Heat Recovery
Energy Efficiency & Savings
By reusing excess heat that would have otherwise become waste, you are also reducing your overall energy consumption which provides both energy efficiencies and cost savings. The decreased energy consumption means that your utility bills and operational costs decrease.
Lower Carbon Footprint
Utilizing already generated heat can reduce your facilities reliance on other traditional heating methods that utilize more gas emissions. That means, that by recovering heat generated by compressed air, you are lowering your carbon footprint by lowering greenhouse gas emissions that would be produced by other heating sources, thus helping the environment.
Commitment to Sustainability
Utilizing recovered heat instead of relying on traditional heating methods is a sustainable practice that not only helps the environment but enhances your company’s reputation and environmental image. This commitment to sustainability may attract environmentally conscious consumers or partners and encourage other businesses to operate under more sustainable processes.
Short ROI Timeline
While there are some investment costs in purchasing the proper equipment to allow for heat recovery, there is a short payback time that allows for an efficient ROI that generally pays back in less than 1 year.
Zero Risk to Compressor Operations
Since the heat being recovered is collected after the compressor has been working and supplying air, reclaiming this wasted heat has no impact on the compressor’s operations and its air supply to production processes.
ZORN'S PROMISE
Zorn is the Midwest leader of custom, engineered compressed air and vacuum solutions. We provide the best customer experience by understanding your applications and needs and offering an unparalleled commitment to customer satisfaction.
Our comprehensive product and service solutions keep you running 24/7.
- Reliable equipment
- Trusted brands
- Seamless, easy installation
- Post-sales support
- Local, 24/7 service
Our compressed air experts look forward to meeting you to discuss your equipment and support needs. Please contact us directly at (262) 695-7000 with any questions or to schedule service for your system moving forward.
Related Resources
- Zorn Compressor Contractor Brochure
- Air Compressor Applications in Toy Manufacturing
- How Industrial Air Compressors Are Different
- Trick or Treat: How Compressed Air Gives Us Halloween Candy!
- Technical Solutions Group
- Air Blowers 101
- Air Compressor Cooling Systems 101
- What Is a Flow Controller & Do I Need One?
- Compressed Air Leak Detection 101
- Benefits of an Energy Efficient System!