3 ms·

Wouldn't a heat exchanger top out at equalizing the inward and outward bound air at 20F in this case?

• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• gns24 6y ago
  No. Imagine that your heat exchanger is simply two touching pipes running parallel to each other, with flows in opposite directions. Incoming air will gradually warm up as it comes inwards, eventually being warmed by the air which has just left the room. You can get a much better result than just averaging the temperatures.
• kens 6y ago
  The idea is "countercurrent exchange": the incoming air and outgoing air travel in opposite directions through the heat exchanger. The result is that most of the heat gets transferred. At the end of the exchanger, the warmed incoming air is in contact with 70° outgoing air, so it will be at almost 70°. Similarly, the outgoing air will be at almost -10° as it exits. It will probably make more sense if you look at the diagram: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countercurrent_exchange https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countercurrent_exchange
  • robocat 6y ago
    Fun fact: "An example of countercurrent heat exchange occurs in the feet of penguins, in which heat from blood in the arteries supplying the feet is transferred to blood returning to the body's core in veins that lie close to these arteries."