Energy recovery for air technology

Ventilation, drying and extraction systems often discharge large volumes of heated air into the surrounding environment. As a result, useful heat is lost — even though it is still perfectly usable.

The Callens Group analyzes how warm air streams can be optimally recovered and put back to work. Thanks to a carefully considered combination of air technology solutions, we lower your energy consumption, cut your CO2 emissions and boost the efficiency of your entire installation.

Discuss your energy recovery project

When is energy recovery for air technology worthwhile?

In many industrial production environments, large volumes of heated process or ventilation air simply go to waste. By upgrading this heat, you immediately increase your installation’s efficiency — and, with it, its energy consumption.

The Callens Group examines the complete air and energy balance of your business. We map where heat is lost, how it can be recovered and which technique delivers the greatest added value to your production process.

Why choose energy recovery?

  • To reuse heat from ventilation and extraction air.
  • To lower the energy consumption of air technology installations.
  • To reduce the heating demand of buildings or processes.
  • To structurally reduce CO2 emissions.
  • To get more out of existing air technology installations.
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Your challengeMost suitable solution
Warm extraction air is being lost.Air-to-air heat exchanger
Reusing heat from ventilation air.Heat exchanger or mixing with fresh air
Recovering heat for another production process.Air-to-air or air-to-water heat exchanger
Making the ventilation installation more energy-efficient.Tailor-made solution
Combining several air streams.Integrated recovery strategy

Which form of energy recovery is the most suitable solution?

Warm air streams often still contain a significant amount of usable energy. Yet not every air stream is suited to the same recovery technique. Factors such as temperature, flow rate, moisture content, degree of contamination, operating hours and the available heat consumers determine which solution offers the greatest technical and economic value.

Using our energy ladder, we investigate step by step where heat is lost, how it can be put back to work and which recovery techniques deliver the highest return:

  • Where do warm air streams arise within your production process?
  • What temperature and air flow rate are suitable for recovery?
  • Can the heat be reused directly within the same process or elsewhere on site?
  • Which recovery technique delivers the highest energy return?
  • How does recovery affect energy consumption, CO2 emissions and operating costs?
  • Which combination of techniques offers the best balance between investment, return and operational reliability?

Based on this analysis, we design an energy recovery solution tailored to your production environment. This can range from air-to-air or air-to-water heat exchangers to integrated systems in which recovered heat is put back to work for process heating, ventilation or other heat consumers.

BENEFITS

Benefits of energy recovery for air technology

Warm air often contains more energy than you might think. By putting this heat back to work, the efficiency of your air technology installation increases and the energy consumption of your entire production environment drops.

Lower CO2 emissions

A lower energy consumption directly translates into lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Lower energy costs

Less energy is needed to bring fresh air or production processes back up to temperature.

More return from ventilation air

Available heat is retained as much as possible within your company's energy balance.

Higher energy efficiency

More heat is put to good use without consuming extra primary energy.

Fully tailor-made

Every recovery solution is tailored to your air flow rates, temperatures and production process.

Fast efficiency gains

Many air technology recovery systems already deliver considerable energy savings in the short term.

“Maximizing energy efficiency doesn’t start with choosing a technology, but with mapping out your specific situation.”

Projects for energy recovery for air technology

Callens luchtontvochtiging kartonproducent 1
Air technology Drying Process air +2

Dehumidification with additional air conditioning and heat recovery

Extraction flow 4 x 28,000 m3
Supply air flow 4 x 28,000 m3
Heating capacity4 x 224 kW
FAQ

Questions? We have the answers.

Energy recovery is particularly worthwhile when large volumes of heated air escape from the production process or building. By reusing this heat, energy consumption reduces and the efficiency of the entire air technology installation increases. Discuss the options with our specialists.

Our engineers analyze factors such as air flow rates, temperatures, operating hours, degree of contamination and the available heat consumers. On that basis, we determine which recovery technique delivers the greatest return. Have your installation analyzed by our specialists.

Yes. From analysis and engineering to installation, commissioning and maintenance, the Callens Group takes charge of the entire process. That gives you a single partner responsible for integrating the recovery solution into your existing production environment. You can find more information on the various steps in our workflow here.

In many cases, existing ventilation, drying and extraction systems can be extended with heat recovery systems without major changes to the production process.

That will depend on the amount of available residual heat, the operating hours and the way the recovered heat is put back to work. Thanks to a prior energy analysis, the Callens Group clearly maps the potential energy gain and payback time, so that you can make a properly informed investment decision.