Hot water

Heat pumps and mechanical vapour recompression (MVR)

Heat pumps and MVRs are used when the temperature of the waste heat stream is too low to be used for heat recovery. Both heat pumps and MVRs raise the temperature of the waste heat, but require an input of electricity or mechanical work (for driving a compressor). However, electrical energy is usually only a fraction, typically 25%, of the amount of heat energy that can be upgraded to higher temperatures.