Rooftop Air Handler with Integral Heat RecoveryRooftop Air Handler with Heat Recovery  - This large rooftop air handling unit also has a heat recovery wheel integrated inside the AHU itself. The all-in-one AHU and heat recovery unit saves energy by recovering heat. The heat would otherwise be vented outside in the wintertime. Additionally, in the summer it removes heat from the air that is used for economizer and minimum outside air.

Rooftop Air Handler with Heat Recovery

In the winter the outside air dampers will open to bring fresh air into the building. At the same time, it vents stale air out of the building. The air inside the building contains heat. As the air is passing through the duct to be vented outside it encounters a heat recovery wheel. The air hits the heat recovery wheel and keeps moving past the heat recovery wheel but it leaves some of the heat is contained in the heat recovery wheel.

The desiccant wheel is turning and this heat contained in this wheel (from the old stale air) turns to the duct where the fresh outside air is entering the building. This cold air hits the wheel and absorbs some of the heat that was left there by the old exhaust air that was vented outside.

Energy Savings | Air Handler with Heat Recovery

This saves energy by capturing waste heat in the air that is vented outside and exchanging it to the air coming inside via the heat recovery wheel. In the summertime the sequence works in a reverse manner as above except the wheel is absorbing more humidity and heat from the outside air so the load from the outside air is lessened in both sensible heating load and latent heating load.

Rooftop Air Handler with Integral Heat Recovery

The Enthalpy Wheel Inside the Air Handler

The air coming into the building is cooled by the air leaving the building. This happens through the heat recovery wheel making the energy recovery ideal for saving energy for the owner of the building. Heat recovery units or energy recovery units are not new and have been around for a long time. However, their popularity has been minimal until recent times.

The rise of energy costs and concern for the environment has increased making energy recovery units or heat recovery units a good thing for both saving energy dollars and saving energy. Heat recovery units or energy recovery units (same) can be integrated with the air handler or come as a separate component that is routed by a duct to the air handler.

High Performance HVAC

Rooftop Air Handler with Integral Heat Recovery