KOMFOVENT rotary heat exchangers

Rotary heat exchangers – exclusively by KOMFOVENT

The unique feature of KOMFOVENT is the production of the rotary heat exchangers. Only few air handling units manufacturers in Europe produce the rotors themselves. The diameter of the rotors manufactured in the KOMFOVENT factory may vary from 0,3 up to 3 meters, and the air handling units with rotors make the largest part of the production.

KOMFOVENT rotary heat exchangers can be of two types:

• Condensing heat exchanger is made of aluminum foil. It saves the heat effectively and partially regenerates moisture in the winter.
• Sorption (hygroscopic) heat exchanger is made of hygroscopic aluminum foil. It controls the humidity in the most effective way - humidifies the supplied dry air during the winter and prevents excessive humidity in supplied air during the summer, providing better comfort and lower energy consumption.

Another important feature - the rotary heat exchanger does not freeze and perfectly performs even in the very low temperatures (down to -30°C), so it effectively heats and humidifies the fresh air supplied to the premises.

Rotary heat exchanger does not require condensate drainage, which simplifies installation and maintenance. Rotary heat exchangers are very popular in northern Europe - Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and currently - in the Baltic states.

• Summing up - some advantages of rotary heat exchanger:
• High efficiency;
• Low freezing risk;
• Regenerates moisture;
• No drainage needed, installation is simplified;
• Compact - air handling units with rotors take up less space in the premises).

A wave in a rotary heat exchanger

The rotary reel is rolled from aluminum foil. Aluminum foil is corrugated with the waves of the certain height. The lower the wave height, the higher the efficiency, but the greater the air resistance.

Rotor operating principle

The operation of rotary heat exchangers is based on thermal regeneration - when the aluminum reel rotates, it absorbs the heat of the air exhaust from the premises and uses it to heat the supply air.

The rotor is mounted in the air handling unit between the supply air and exhaust air flows, for the heat energy recovering. Rotor heat exchanger efficiency ratio is up to 85%. So, it can be said that it saves about 80% of the energy.

Why rotary heat exchangers?

Contemporary buildings are well insulated and have hermetic windows, the price for heating is constantly rising, so does the demand for comfort, that is why the mechanical ventilation with heat recuperation is used for ventilation of the premises. There can be several types of heat exchangers installed in the ventilation unit.

One of them is a rotary heat exchanger, or rotor. Rotary heat exchanger is an energy recovery device or method. In other words, it is a mechanical ventilation device with regeneration, which replaces the indoor air with an outdoor air, and uses the energy of exhaust air for the heating and humidifying of the supply air.

Nowadays buildings of high energy class are being built, the standards and requirements are tightening. It became impossible to build a public building, individual houses or an apartment without ventilation equipment and recuperation.

Interesting facts

An interesting fact is that the rotary heat exchanger is an invention dating back almost 100 years. The first rotor was patented in Sweden, yet in the year 1930.