Hot Water Heat Exchanger Applications

After domestic heating and cooling, water heating probably consumes maximum energy in every modern American household. Water heating is needed in every home for drinking water supplies in colder regions, providing hot water for washing, for spas and for heating swimming pools. With such a wide array of applications and huge energy consumption, it is imperative to have an efficient heating mechanism that at the same time is cost effective and easy to maintain.

This calls for a brazed plate type domestic hot water heat exchanger. This kind of a hot water heat exchanger can be easily installed in line with an outdoor wood stove type boiler or a conventional propane (or gas) fired boilers. It can also be used effectively with a solar energy powered boiler for transferring heat.

In colder Northern regions wood stove based boilers are quite commonly used. These boilers are surrounded with a jacket of pipes that contain glycol based liquids which have low freezing points. Due to this reason, water from the water tank can’t be directly heated or allowed to mix with fluid in the jacket. A domestic hot water heat exchanger like a brazed plate heat exchanger is used here which is efficient, eats lesser space and is easier to maintain when compared with traditional heat exchangers. The colder water from the water tank or the drinking water supply passes through one end of this heat exchanger and heated fluid from the boiler jacket is passed through the other end. Heat energy exchanges between the two fluids without actual contact within minutes and desired temperature of tank water achieved in a controlled manner without any contamination.

Just like above, a hot water heat exchanger is also essential where a solar energy powered boiler is installed. Again, the tubes of a solar water heater contain specially formulated fluid that prevents or at least minimizes loss of efficiency caused by scaling. Domestic water supply may contain certain dissolved salts, which may damage the tubes of solar water heater and resulting in huge repair bills. A domestic hot water heat exchanger like a brazed plate type heat exchanger is the perfect solution in such a case. Heated fluid from the solar energy based water boiler is sent from one end and the colder water from the water tank flows from the other end. The metallic surface between the two liquids acts as the barrier to physical contact and as facilitator for heat transfer. The heated fluid loses heat and the tank water gains heat. The colder fluid is sent back to the boiler and the process repeats itself until optimum water temperature has been attained.

Domestic hot water heat exchangers have a great role to play in our everyday lives. However, with ever reducing floor areas, increasing work hours and spiraling cost of maintenance of household items it has become all the more important to choose things like heat exchangers wisely. A brazed plate type hot water heat exchanger is not only compact but also highly efficient, quite literally maintenance free and ideal for domestic use.

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