Recuperator with own hands. Recuperator circuit

Hardly anyone will argue with the fact that it is much more pleasant to live in a well ventilated house than in a building where the air stagnates. In addition, regular airing has a positive effect on the health of the owners. However, along with this, a problem may arise: often the heat simply leaves the room through ventilation. To fix this, you can always use such an instrument as an air recuperator. This equipment will provide reliable heating to the entire house and will allow to forget about the problem of heat loss. You can always buy such a mechanism in any specialized store, but to save money, it will be much better to produce a recuperator with your own hands. It is on this process, as well as on the peculiarities of this kind of equipment, that we should dwell in more detail.

The general concept of air recuperation

By itself, the recovery is a mechanism to return some of the energy of heat. And if we talk directly about the air, it means the heating of the cold flow entering the room with the help of a removable warm exhaust. Such designs are very common today. Their full name is a supply-and-exhaust system, or an air-supply recuperator.

It is important to note one point: mixing incoming and outgoing air does not occur. In this case, complete recovery can not be achieved even with the most modern device (the warming index varies from 60 to 80%). As a rule, the optimum parameter for heating the incoming air from outside is a temperature equal to 100 ° C.

The principle of the recuperator

As already mentioned above, this equipment functions due to the exchange of heat fluxes. In simpler terms, in the cold season, the high temperature inside the room directly affects the air coming from the outside, while in summer this process is reversed. To implement such procedures, a special device called a recuperator was created.

The principle of his work is the following:

• The air from the room moves along the square section of the pipe;
• Inflow streams move in a direction transverse to it;
• Mixing hot and cold air does not occur, because between them there are specially designed for this partitions in the form of plates.

Types of air recuperators

In order to properly manufacture the recuperator for the house with their own hands, it is necessary, first of all, to study the types of these devices. The most common of these are the following mechanisms:

• Plate recuperator. Based on the name, you can guess that its design consists of special plates, which are combined into a one-piece cube. Occurring streams of air exchange temperature, while not mixing. This device has compact parameters and is widely distributed due to its simplicity.

• Rotary mechanism. This type of recuperator requires the presence of a source of electrical energy. Its cylinder is equipped with a rotary element, without stopping rotating among the channels of intake and removal of air. The dimensions of this device are very large, as a result of which it was mainly distributed in industrial enterprises. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of his work is very high - about 87%.

• Equipment operating on the principle of water recirculation. In terms of its technical characteristics, it resembles a plate-type model, but the very mechanism of this mechanism is much more complicated, the main difference being that some of its structural details may be in different places. As a coolant circulating exclusively forcibly with the help of electricity, it is either water or antifreeze.

• Roof recuperator. This model is not suitable for living quarters and is operated only for industrial purposes. The coefficient of efficiency is from 55 to 68%, and the device of such mechanisms does not require significant financial costs.

The simplest in operation and connection, and also the least expensive is the plate recuperator, therefore, making it yourself will be the easiest.

Advantages and disadvantages of the plate recuperator

As mentioned earlier, this mechanism will be the best option for own-hand construction. The advantages of a recuperator of this type are as follows:

• High efficiency (40-65%);
• Absence of any complications in the design of the device (the apparatus has no moving elements, which significantly extends its service life);
• The absence of unnecessary monetary costs, since electricity for its operation is not needed.

However, it is almost impossible to find mechanical equipment that would have absolutely no negative sides. So, from the shortcomings of plastic recuperator it is customary to distinguish the following:

• The device is not equipped with a water exchange function, and there is only the possibility of a thermal transfer;
• Equipment is prone to the appearance of ice on it during the cold season. But this problem is solved: in order to prevent frost, the device can either be turned off or equipped with a special valve, called bypass;
• The design of such a recuperator has pipes interconnected;
• It is impossible to avoid installing these elements, and the process itself is rather complicated.

Equipment for hand-made manufacture of plastic recuperator

To produce a plastic heat exchanger for your own, you need the following materials:

• 4 m² of roofing iron treated with zinc, or the same amount of sheet aluminum, textolite, copper, getinaksa;
• A technical plug having a thickness of 0.2 cm, performing the function of laying between the plates of the recuperator. For these purposes, you can also use a wooden strip soaked in linseed oil;
• Conventional silicone-based sealant;
• Tin, metal or plywood box, intended for the body of the device;
• 4 flanges made of plastic, corresponding to the parameters of the air pipes;
• A sensor that displays pressure differences;
• Corner for the device racks;
• Insulating material (mineral wool);
• Electric jig saw;
• Hardware.

If you have all this equipment, you can start making the recuperator with your own hands.

The process of creating a recuperator

The algorithm of action is as follows:

1. The material needs to be expanded and cut into square-shaped plates so that the face size is 20-30 cm. In total, about 70 units of such cassettes will need to be manufactured. Cut the material with an electric jigsaw to ensure that the plates are perfectly even.
2. Then you should prepare a cork or wooden slats so that their parameters correspond to the sides of the square. They need to be glued to the opposite sides of each of the blanks except for the last one. After this, it is important to wait for the glue to dry completely.
3. Next, you need to start the process of assembling squares in a cassette. The recuperator circuit involves laying each of the sheets in relation to the previous one at an angle of 90 °. The last part of the design will be a plate, on which nothing has been glued.
4. After that, the future recuperator needs to be tightened with a frame. You need to use the corner.
5. All the cracks should be treated with a silicone sealant that does not cause corrosion of the metal.
6. Next, you need to make fixtures to fix the flanges on the cassette walls. The lower part of the part must be equipped with a special drainage hole, where the condensate-draining tube must enter.
7. On the shell walls are fixed guides made from corners. For carrying out any preventive work, the cassette can always be obtained.
8. The part is mounted inside the housing, the parameters of which completely coincide with the diagonal of the square.
9. By manufacturing the recuperator with their own hands, it is important to remember the laying of the insulating material, which in this case is mineral wool. It is necessary to take a layer of this insulation thickness of 40 mm and fix it from the inside on the shell walls.
10. To get rid of the problem of the appearance of ice, the design should be equipped with a pressure sensor, which must be installed in the place of passage of warm air.
11. The assembly process is completed by installing the finished recuperator in the ventilation system.

As a rule, the efficiency of such self-made mechanisms is approximately 65%, which is quite enough to maintain a favorable microclimate in a residential building.

How to calculate the power of the recuperator?

By assembling such a device as a recuperator with your own hands, it is very important not only to competently perform all measures for its manufacture, but also to correctly calculate the power of this mechanism.

To determine the optimum heat energy index that circulates between the plates, it is customary to take as a basis the following formula: 20 W * xS * dT. S in this case displays the area of the plate, measured in m².

Calculate the power of the equipment can be using the following formula:

P (W) = 0.36 * Q (m³ / sec.) * DT.

Decrypt all variables like this:

1. Q - energy spent for heating or cooling the air flow. This parameter is calculated with the help of the formula 0.335 x L x (t con - t beginning), where:
   • L - air flow, measured in m³ / hour. In accordance with the installation standards, this indicator per person must be 60 m³ / h;
   • T start - the initial temperature indicator;
   • T con is the parameter obtained as a result of heat transfer.
2. DT is the temperature.

Ways to improve ventilation

In order for the equipment to work comfortably, there are some options for improving its functioning. These measures will certainly increase electricity consumption, but efficiency will increase.

To clean the incoming air to the recuperator from dust particles, its channels can be equipped with special filters consisting of aluminum, plastic or fiber. But behind these elements it is necessary to monitor and, if necessary, replace them.

Avoid frost-free construction by periodically turning off the supply air fan. This will lead to the fact that the plates inside the mechanism will be warmed by the outgoing warm air and, as a consequence, thaw.

Compliance with all the above recommendations will create a high-quality and reliable model of the recuperator, and the manufacturing process does not take much time and effort.