Heat recovery system

摘要

A heat energy recovery system 10 includes a fluid storage container 14 with heating means 12 and a fluid outlet 36 for extracting fluid from a cold fluid zone of the storage container 14. A heat exchanger 26 is coupled to the fluid outlet. A fluid inlet 38 is coupled to an outlet of the heat exchanger and the storage container to provide a path for fluid out of and into the container through the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger includes means for obtaining heat energy from a separate fluid source 18 such as waste water from a sink 16. The heat exchanger includes separate first and second fluid passage compartments and heat pipes coupled between them. A control unit 50 may control the flow of cold water on the basis of the temperature of waste fluid and the temperature of the cold water. A further aspect relates to a buffer assembly for holding fluid that includes a U-shaped trap.