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Energy Recovery Process
Energy or Heat recovery is a generic term to describe the reclaiming of energy (temperature and moisture) or heat (temperature) from conditioned air that would otherwise be lost.
Sydney Summer condition ERV-IC installation
The ERV-IC in this example is pre-cooling outdoor air.
The stale air in the building (Room Air) is exhausted through the ERV-IC. In the process it transfers its coolness (24C) and dryness to the Outdoor Air entering the room. This transfer of energy and moisture reduces the Outdoor Air temperature from 35C to 26.8C. This cooler air is supplied to the room (Supply Air) and is then cooled by the air conditioner to a comfortable 24C.
The Energy Recovery Process saves the air conditioner 75% of the energy required to cool the outdoor air.
In Winter the outdoor the process is reversed to pre-heat the incoming outdoor air.
Pre-cooling or pre-heating the fresh air reduces the size of the air conditioner by around 40 to 50%, depending on your climatic conditions. The energy saving is greater in hot humid climates than drier cooler climates because the heat exchanger removes part of the moisture in the air which would require additional energy consumption.
The table below shows the savings in the air conditioner size through the pre-heating or pre-cooling of outdoor air in various Australian locations.
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