{"id":22062,"date":"2023-07-24T09:11:15","date_gmt":"2023-07-24T07:11:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knaufappliances.com\/?p=22062"},"modified":"2025-02-20T09:30:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-20T08:30:42","slug":"heat-recovery-efficiency-with-epp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knauf-industries.com\/en\/blog\/heat-recovery-efficiency-with-epp\/","title":{"rendered":"Maximising heat recovery efficiency with EPP insulation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Consume less, heat more. This is the purpose of heat recovery units, which are essential <\/span>to maintain comfort inside buildings<\/span><\/b> when ventilation equipment is used. But also to meet the <\/span>energy efficiency<\/span> and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets set by the Paris Agreement.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Introduction to heat recovery<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>

Air-conditioned buildings allow us to maintain a comfortable indoor temperature 365 days a year. It doesn’t matter if it’s snowing, raining or there’s a heat wave outside. But buildings are not airtight. In addition to heating or cooling, it is necessary to ventilate to avoid a stuffy atmosphere that can become unbreathable and even toxic for the users.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

And, although not as important from a respiratory health perspective, replacing stale indoor air with fresh outdoor air also eliminates odours and prevents condensation dampness.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

These air circuits can operate 24 hours a day without the users hardly being aware of it at all. This is where the dilemma arises: <\/span>a system is needed to ensure that cold air entering from outside does not reduce the comfortable temperature inside<\/span><\/b>. At the same time, it prevents air that has cost many kilowatts to heat from simply escaping, wasting thousands of euros in energy.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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This is the function of <\/span><\/b>heat recovery systems<\/span><\/b><\/h3>

\"Heat<\/p>

\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>A <\/span>heat recovery unit<\/span> or ventilation system with <\/span>heat recovery technology<\/span> is an HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) unit capable of <\/span>ventilating, air-conditioning and, at the same time, using up to 90% of the heat energy of the stale indoor air<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This air conditioning system <\/span>recovers up to 60% of the heat<\/span><\/b> (which would be lost in a conventional mechanical ventilation system) and <\/span>reduces the energy consumption of <\/span><\/b>HVAC systems<\/span><\/b> by approximately 40%<\/span><\/b>. For this purpose, it has <\/span>separate ducts<\/span><\/b> so that the exhaust and intake air do not mix.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This equipment with energy recovery systems complies with Directive (EU) 2018\/844 and the future <\/span>Energy Performance of Buildings Directive<\/span><\/i><\/a> regarding the thermal insulation of ventilation systems and the <\/span>need for heat recovery ‘from ventilation and cooling’<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

They also count positively in the calculation of the energy efficiency of buildings.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

The requirement for heat recovery in ventilation equipment was expressed by the WHO as early as 2009 in the document<\/span> WHO guidelines for indoor air quality: dampness and mould<\/span><\/i><\/a>. <\/span><\/i>The same report <\/span>recognises that more efficient buildings offer better air quality, higher levels of comfort and better health for their occupants<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Industrial heat recovery systems<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>

Do you remember <\/span>Albert Einstein’s<\/span> “energy is neither created nor destroyed, it is only transformed”? This phrase revolutionised 20th century physics and is still relevant today. Whether it is used equally in all its forms is another matter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\"Industrial<\/p>

Paradoxically, large industrial consumers of energy, such as metallurgy and iron and steel, also generate energy in the course of their processes. Specifically, thermal energy. However, <\/span>this energy is wasted and ends up in the environment <\/span><\/b>in the form of exhaust gases or other fluids.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This is known as <\/span>waste heat<\/span><\/b>. This residual energy accounts for 20-50% of the energy lost in industry.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

To return to Einstein’s famous phrase, waste heat energy is perfectly valid energy. Recovering it <\/span>reduces energy costs for industry and also reduces energy-related greenhouse gas emissions<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

All that is needed are the mechanisms to retrieve and reuse it. This is the purpose of <\/span>waste heat recovery<\/span> systems: equipment designed for the <\/span>recovery of surplus industrial heat<\/span> and its transformation into energy that can be used in other production processes in the industry itself or in other nearby users.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In other words, this heat energy can be used to reheat the raw materials in the same factory where it was generated, or used to supply hot water and heating to nearby homes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This system is increasingly present in European municipalities by linking urban biomass incineration centres to nearby household heating. <\/span>This is how heating networks, also known as district heating, work.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

It goes without saying that having <\/span>heat recovery systems in industrial processes<\/span> is a giant step towards energy circularity and achieving the goal of a decarbonised Europe.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Insulation with EPP: benefits in heat recovery systems<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>

The two major challenges for these units are to efficiently extract the maximum amount of heat energy from the air and to optimally conserve it. This <\/span>efficiency in heat recovery<\/span> requires insulating materials with the highest performance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Expanded polypropylene or EPP has outstanding properties for this function. <\/span>Its closed-cell expanded foam structure with 98% air<\/span><\/b> inside gives it a high thermal insulating capacity.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

But this material also has many other physical properties that make it the best option for optimising the energy efficiency of HVAC equipment. And, in particular, the <\/span>energy savings<\/span> of heat recovery units.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

\"Insultation<\/p>

Incorporating <\/span>EPP insulation<\/span> parts in a <\/span>heat recovery unit<\/span> can provide the following benefits:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Thermal insulation<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>

Being primarily air, EPP is a natural insulator. Incorporating <\/span>EPP insulation<\/span> parts in heat recovery units contributes significantly <\/span>to minimising energy and heat losses<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

From this quality, three derivative benefits can be deduced for its users:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>