My husband is a contractor that does all sorts of jobs. There have been times that he has had to turn down a job because he didn't have some of the equipment that he needed to do the job right. Other jobs require that he rents some heavy construction equipment. We have been trying to decide if we should invest in purchasing some of that equipment that he needs or if it is better to continue renting it. Go through our blog to learn about purchasing heavy construction equipment. Here, you will learn the cost of purchasing and maintaining versus renting it.
Although air compressors systems are useful for many residential applications, they are far from energy efficient. In fact, nearly 90% of electrical energy used to power air compressor systems is lost as heat. This heat can be recovered through the implementation of additional parts, like plate heat exchangers and fail-safe heat exchangers, and put to good use when wired with ducts responsible for different applications. If you don't know what to do with the recovered heat, here are 3 uses you might find beneficial.
Heating Up Rooms in Your Home
If you want to reduce your energy bills associated with heating up certain rooms in your home, you can redirect the recovered heat from the air compressor systems through ducts. Heat recovered from the air compressors can be captured and passed through the compressor's aftercooler nd lubricant cooler and directly to the HVAC duct system of your home.
This separate heating system is thermostatically controlled with motorized louver flaps. The flaps are able to sense the current temperature in each room and allow for the heated air recovered to pass through the vents if the temperature of the room has yet to reach the set temperature. The motorized louver flaps are responsible for continuously making adjustments to the air flow of the heated air recovered. If the heated air is not required, it will be redirected outside your home. As a result, cooling costs will be minimal.
Heating Up Water in the Plumbing System
Heated water is expensive; fortunately, on top of being able to heat up rooms, heat recovered from air compressors can also be redirected to heat up water in the plumbing system of your home. In order to accomplish this, the air compressor system of your home must be somehow connected to the plumbing system as well via water-cooled compressors.
Heat exchangers are commonly used to not only recover heat, but also to heat up the water. You can either install plate heat exchangers or fail-safe heat exchangers to get the job done. Plate heat exchangers are generally recommended for heating water that would be used for laundry whereas fail-safe heat exchangers are generally recommended for heating potable water.
Improving Energy Efficiency or Reducing Workload of the Air Compressor System
Recovered heat can also be used to improve overall efficiency of the air compressor system. In particular, many air compressor systems have specific cabinets that are used to channel recovered heat back through the compressor. This heat is then used to power a supplemental fan within the air compressor system. This way, as the air compressor kicks into full gear, so will the supplemental fan. This supplemental fan can be used to eliminate back pressure that the compressor cooling fan would otherwise be subject to.
The recovered heat can also be used in many other applications that would improve the energy efficiency of the air compressor system. The recovered heat can reduce energy costs associated with using the air compressor system and even improve productivity or performance of the air compressor. The type of air compressor system you have, and how it is set up, will ultimately determine how the recovered heat can be used.
Conclusion
Knowing how the different systems, like HVAC and plumbing, in your house functions, as well as where energy is needed, can help you determine what to do with recovered heat. If you're still not sure, you should speak to a professional in order to determine the type of adjustments or changes that may be needed to redirect the recovered heat to different applications. This can help you make a better and more informed decision for your home.
Share9 March 2016
