Lämmönkierrät

Lämmönkierrät, often translated as heat recovery or heat recycling, refers to the process of capturing waste heat from one part of a system and utilizing it elsewhere to reduce overall energy consumption. This principle is widely applied in various fields, from industrial processes to building heating and ventilation. The fundamental idea is to avoid discarding heat that could otherwise be put to productive use.

In industrial settings, waste heat generated by machinery, exhaust gases, or chemical reactions can be captured using heat exchangers. This recovered heat can then be used to preheat incoming raw materials, warm up process water, or even generate electricity through systems like organic Rankine cycles. This not only lowers fuel costs but also reduces the environmental impact by decreasing emissions.

In buildings, heat recovery ventilation (HRV) and energy recovery ventilation (ERV) systems are common. These systems use a heat exchanger to transfer heat from outgoing stale indoor air to incoming fresh outdoor air during colder months. In warmer months, the process can be reversed to pre-cool incoming air. This significantly reduces the energy needed to heat or cool a building, leading to lower energy bills and improved indoor air quality by ensuring continuous ventilation. The effectiveness of lämmönkierrät depends on the temperature difference between the heat source and the heat sink, as well as the efficiency of the heat exchanger used.