An indispensable part of an installation is the heat exchanger. Whether it is for cooling, heating, hot tap water or any other form of heat or cold, by means of a heat exchanger the energy is brought from the source or generation to the off-take points, in the right temperature.
A heat exchanger, called a heat exchanger in Dutch, is the link between the source or generation and the off-take. A simple example is a heat exchanger that converts heat from a central heating boiler to hot tap water. There are numerous applications, such as using industrial waste heat as building heating.
There are many types of heat exchangers, each with specific advantages and disadvantages. For example, there are heat exchangers for central heating (CV), plate heat exchangers, heat exchangers for a wood stove, shell and tube heat exchangers, spiral heat exchangers, special TSA heat exchangers or heat exchangers for water.
A heat exchanger is basically a relatively simple product. Two separate circuits or streams of water are passed through tubes with plates. As a result, the two circuits take on each other’s temperature. The type and size of the exchanger and the speed of the water flow can influence and determine the final heat exchange.
Heat exchangers have many applications, ranging from standard applications for heating, domestic hot water and cooling to industrial processes in which heat flows can be rapidly cooled or warmed up. There are heat exchangers for water-water, but also for water-gas, for low pressure and for high pressure. Plate heat exchangers, which can be fully customised, ensure a controlled process with little pressure loss. Copper brazed exchangers are suitable for gas-liquid and are used, for example, in cooling machines. Tubular heat exchangers are suitable for high pressure and high temperature differences.
The efficiency of a heat exchanger refers to the efficiency with which heat or energy is transferred to the other circuit. In principle, a heat exchanger loses no heat except to the environment. What matters is transferring as much heat as possible from one circuit to the other, within the desired pressures and temperatures. A plate exchanger is ideally suited for this, and can be fully customised to give optimum efficiency.
A heat exchanger may be a relatively simple product, but selecting the right type, size and further specifications makes whether a heat exchanger gives the desired result, with high efficiency. Would you like more information about our products, such as our Cipex HT Shell and Tube Heat Exhangers, Cipex HT Plate Heat Exchangers and our Cipex HT Brazed Heat Exchangers? Or would you like an instant quote to buy a heat exchanger? Then contact us.
FAQ – Frequently asked questions
A heat exchanger is used to transfer energy, in the form of heat, from one circuit to another. This can be water, but also gas. Examples include heating, hot water and cooling machines, where a heat exchanger is used to transfer energy from generation to the off-take points.
A heat exchanger consists of two pipes, through which two flows pass, which are guided past each other. This can be done by connecting the pipes with plates, tubes or by running the pipes inside each other. The water or gas flows remain separate; the energy, in the form of heat, is transferred.