Heat Pumps Upgrade Low-Grade Heat
A heat pump moves heat from a low-temperature source to a higher-temperature sink. For district heating, it turns 30 to 50 degrees C waste heat into 70 to 90 degrees C supply water.
Feeding the Loop
Before the heat pump, air-to-air recovery collects low-grade heat from ventilation and process exhaust. Air-source heat recovery can also pre-warm the source stream, raising the coefficient of performance.
Why Isolation Matters
- Exhaust may carry dust, moisture, or odors, so use isolated plate exchangers.
- Never use a rotary wheel where cross-contamination would reach occupied spaces.
- Reserve wheels for clean, same-stream applications only.
Heat pumps make low-grade industrial heat a bankable district resource, and air-to-air recovery is the first, cheapest stage of capture.