Recouperative heat exchanger
A recouperative heat exchanger is normally a higher temperature heat exchanger with short exchange periods, the materials used can be metal or plastic. It is a more direct form of heat exchange than a regenerative heat exchanger and therefore more efficient over shorter periods. Flat plate heat exchangers are normally recouperative heat exchangers.
A regenerative heat exchanger is is where heat is exchanged via temporary storage or heat sink, it is therefore more reliant on longer exchange periods but can run at lower temperatures. One substance is absorbed by a heat sink and then passed to the next substance via the heat sink without contact.
In the design and operation of buildings,centralised heat recovery units often use crossflow flat plate exchangers and are therefore recouperative exchangers whereas single room heat recovery extractors are often regenerative, thus using a medium to store and then exchange the heat collected.
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
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