Enthalpy refers to the total heat contained in air and comprises two components:
- the heat content of the dry air;
- the heat contained in the airborne moisture.
Klingenburg enthalpy heat exchangers and sorption exchangers allow both heat energy components to be recovered.
Enthalpy heat exchangers feature a special capillary surface, i.e. one that traps moisture, on the rotor matrix. This ensures that a proportion of the humidity in the air leaving a ventilated room does not pass to the outside but is instead fed back into the room with the supply air. This allows the room humidity level to be maintained.
A sorption heat exchanger can transfer even more moisture. The Klingenburg HUgo sorption rotor has a zeolite coating with particle sizes in the order of nanometres. Water vapour in the exhaust air condenses onto these particles and is then fed back into the supply air.
A view of the coated storage mass of the HUgo rotary heat exchanger from Klingenburg.