Patent Description:
when operating data center a huge amount of waste heat occurs which has to be removed in an effective and economic manner. Incurring waste heat can effectively be used by transferring the heat of a coolant medium circulating within a primary circuit to a heat receiving medium circulating within a secondary circuit. Especially for use with data centers, a common technique is to install one or more containerized heat recovery units which are capable of being set up near the data center, such as outdoors, not needing any stationary buildings to be provided.

Further it is known that a containerized solution to provide a heat recovery unit is very flexible in finding an optimum between lowest capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenses (OPEX) depending on the customer's needs. Due to its modular and scalable design it is easy to adapt a containerized heat recovery unit and customize its cooling power according to the requirements defined by the customer. A common type of heat exchangers to be used within a heat recovery unit of the above type is a liquid/liquid cooler of the stacked plate type, e.g. However, in principle all kinds of heat exchangers such as gas/air heat exchangers or liquid/gas heat exchangers can be used. During service life heat exchangers need maintenance such as removing fouling or replacing the gaskets fitted between the heat exchanger plates as well as repairing probable leakages that may occur.

<CIT> shows a docking station for cooling an electronics rack of a data center with raised floor layout for providing a supply air plenum and space for accommodating the piping of cooling units.

Resulting from the above there is a need to provide a containerized heat recovery unit offering a minimum effort for servicing of components of the heat recovery unit such as for example maintenance of the one or more heat exchangers. Further, the costs of servicing the heat recovery unit should be minimized and the handling and accessibility of the components, especially of one or more heat exchangers should be simple.

Further it is an object of the invention to provide a heat recovery unit within a container which in total is easy to transport and to relocate.

A further object of the invention is to keep the time span needed for servicing and thus the time span within which the heat recovery unit is not operational as short as possible.

One further object of the invention is to create a design for a heat recovery unit which enables a huge amount of flexibility to adapt the cooling power of the heat recovery unit to the customer's needs by easily changing or upgrading the cooling power of the one or more heat exchangers.

In general, it is an object of the invention to provide a design for a containerized heat recovery unit providing a simple piping inside of the container and to facilitate the service of the heat exchanger preferably outside of the container without noteworthy interrupting the operation of the heat recovery unit. As a containerized heat recovery unit which have to be serviced is usually interchanged by another containerized heat recovery unit the design of at least the outer interfaces should take such a replacement can be done in short time, preferably within a few minutes.

The above objects are achieved by a heat recovery unit according to the invention defined within claim <NUM>. Preferred embodiments are given within the subclaims.

A heat recovery unit according to the invention includes a transport container comprising at least one heat exchanger arranged in the transport container with a lower end portion or a lower end cover in case of a plate heat exchanger, facing a container floor, and an upper end portion, a upper end cover in case of a plate heat exchanger. According to the invention carrying means are arranged in a lower area of the heat exchanger enabling the insertion and extraction of the heat exchanger in a predominantly horizontal direction into and from the container in a sliding manner or in a rolling manner relative to the container. Further the lower end portion or the lower end cover in case of a plate heat exchanger have vertically upwards pointing connections for connecting the heat exchanger with the primary heat exchanging circuit and with the second heat exchanging circuit.

All the technical problems mentioned above are solved with such a heat recovery unit. Especially with the use of a heat exchanger, preferably a plate heat exchanger having end portions or end covers comprising vertically upwards pointing connections, enables a good accessibility for a service person in case that it is necessary to take out the heat exchanger for servicing or replacing the heat exchanger and/or to fix or replace any other component of the heat recovery unit. In particular the upwards pointing connections provide facilitates the release of the connections between the heat exchanger and the piping of the primary heat exchanging circuit and/or the piping of secondary heat exchanging unit. A further advantage is that all the piping connected to the heat exchanger is accessible from the above as all the connections are located on the uppermost side of the heat exchanger and therefore facing the ceiling of the container. Thus, the space in the horizontal vicinity of the heat exchanger can be freed from piping which additionally facilitates the accessibility of the components of the whole heat recovery unit for a service person who can walk and even stand in a very comfortable way during the service work, for example during the separation of the piping from the connecting points.

On the other hand the arrangement of the connections pointing vertically upwards allows to mount the heat exchanger in the heat recovery unit container in a horizontal position and not in a standing position as it known in relevant art. In the art the connections of the heat exchangers are oriented horizontal facing to inner of the container. Thereby usually two connections are on floor level of the container and the other connections in uppermost area of the heat exchanger, in many cases just below the container ceiling, which often requires a ladder to reach the bolts for connecting or disconnecting the piping. By arranging the at least one heat exchanger horizontally not only improves the accessibility to the piping connecting points since also the handling when moving the heat exchanger inside and outside of the container, because the center of gravity (CoG) of the heat exchanger is lowered leading to a higher stability during movement of the heat exchanger itself as well as when moving the heat recovery unit as a whole, i.e. during transportation of the heat recovery unit container.

Additionally to lay down the heat exchanger for an improved accessibility and handling, the provision of carrying means arranged in a lower area of the heat exchanger further facilitates the movement of the heat exchanger in the case the heat exchanger has to be taken out of the container, e.g. in case of a necessity to replace the heat exchanger with a new one, or in case of removing the heat exchanger from the container for example for servicing or replacing the pumps and/or cleaning the heat exchanger itself. With the help of the carrying means the insertion and extraction of the heat exchanger can be done easily and in a predominantly horizontal direction which enables to input and extract a heat exchanger preferably through a side wall of the container more preferable through the door side of the container. This enables the use of relatively simple transport means such as forklifts. No complicated and expensive lifting means are needed such as cranes or truck cranes lifting the heat exchanger with ropes or chains which are attached to hooks usually provided for lifting purposes at the heat exchangers known in the art. This enables a simpler design for heat exchangers which can be used in the heat recovery unit according to the invention, as theses heat exchanger do not need an additional supporting structure allowing the lifting inside the container. As a further consequence, according to the invention a plurality of heat exchanging units can be arranged in the heat recovery container in a very close manner to each other as no auxiliary means and accessibility to them is needed in order to lift a heat exchanger in the container before extracting it.

The provision of carrying means facilitates the insertion as well the extraction of a heat exchanger from the heat recovery unit container as this can be done in a rolling manner by simply pushing or pulling the heat exchanger. There is no lifting of the heat exchanger inside container needed to move the heat exchanger. This reduces the service time for a heat recovery unit significantly.

According to another embodiment of the invention the carrying means are attached to the lower end portion/cover of the heat exchanger or the heat exchanger is supported by the carrying means. Preferably the carrying means comprises rolling or sliding means which are guided in the predominantly horizontal direction by means of guiding bars mounted fixedly to the container floor.

It is preferred to attach the carrying means of the heat exchanger to a lower end portion/cover of the heat exchanger which enables a compact design. By means of the carrying and or sliding means together with the guiding bars which are fixedly mounted to the container floor a defined guidance of the movement of the heat exchanger can be achieved. Especially in case of inserting the heat exchanger into the container, guiding the sliding motion or the rolling motion simplifies the proper positioning of the heat exchanger such that the desired positions of the connecting points with respect to the piping can easily be reached. This further helps to simplify the servicing process. A further effect of this guided slidable or rollable movement of the heat exchanger is that the extraction and insertion of a heat exchanger can be achieved in an easy cartridge-like manner.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the heat exchanger and/or the carrying means are lockable to the container when the heat exchanger is at its operating position and/or when the heat recovery unit should be transported. This measurement improves the safety of transport of the containerized heat recovery unit. Further, even during normal operation of the heat recovery unit blocking the movability of the heat exchanger minimizes the shearing forces that may occur between the connections of the heat exchanger and the piping in case that the heat exchanger is moved unintended.

According to a further embodiment of the invention at least one of the upper end portion and/or the lower end portion is an upper end plate/cover and/or a lower end plate/cover. Especially in the case of using a heat exchanger of a stacked plate type it is preferable to use plates for the upper end portion and the lower end portion which offer a solid basis for attaching connections (upper plate) and/or a solid basis for attaching the carrying means (lower plate).

According to another preferable embodiment of the invention, in the operable state of the heat recovery unit, the heat exchanger is positioned next to an openable side wall of the container, e.g. adjacent to the container door(s). By doing this the insertion of the heat exchanger and its positioning to its correct location is facilitated. During the extraction of the heat exchanger from the container the necessary ranges of movement are very small.

According to the invention external ports for connecting the primary circuit and the secondary circuit to a heat source and/or heat sink are located on one or more side walls of the container, preferable on the lateral or longitudinal side walls which are not openable. This allows to easily attach the containerized heat recovery unit external piping's to the cooling /heating circuitry of, e.g., the data center. Especially if the external ports of the primary circuit and the external ports of the secondary circuit are located on opposite side walls of the container it is easy for service personal to install and establish the fluid connection to an external heat sink or source.

According to a further embodiment of the invention all components of the heat recovery unit are accommodated within the container in such a manner that the weight of the heat recovery unit is balanced with respect to a longitudinal direction L and with respect to a width direction W of the container, and, preferably, such that the center of gravity (CoG) of the heat recovery unit is located in lower vertical half of the container. These features ensure a balanced and therefore easier transport of the heat recovery unit according to the invention. Especially in case of transporting the container on a truck it is very useful to achieve the location of the center of gravity as near to the floor of the container as possible.

According to a further embodiment of the invention one or more pumps of the primary circuit and one or more pumps of the secondary circuit are accommodated in an operating area of the container. By doing this it is achieved that a modular structure of the heat recovery unit is obtained as all the main components such as pumps are concentrated within a separate area of the container. Consequently, the electrical wiring of the pumps as well as the piping to and from the pumps can be simplified.

In another implementation of the invention showing the modularity of the invention, one or n-pairs of heat exchangers are arranged in the container at the two longitudinal end regions and symmetrically to a longitudinal center, wherein the operating area for accommodating one or more pumps and/or a control unit is located in the longitudinal center area of the container. Especially in case of using pairs of heat exchangers it is preferable to locate the operating area of the container in a longitudinal center of the container and/or in the center of the container in the width direction to achieve a balanced weight distribution for a simplified transportability of the heat recovery unit according to the invention.

In a further embodiment of the invention a piping of the primary circuit and a piping of the secondary circuit each comprises a distribution line for incoming fluid and a collection line for outgoing fluid, wherein the distribution line and the collection line are located vertically above the upper end portion/cover of the at least one heat exchanger. In this context the term "located vertically above" is to be understood that the piping's are located within a region of the container that is located vertically above the upper end portions/cover of the heat exchangers. That means that the piping may be located beside and/or directly vertically above the heat exchangers, e.g. arranging the longitudinal pipes as close as possible to the upper corners or to the ceiling of the heat recovery unit container. Such an arrangement enables to provide headroom for service personal in case that they have to enter the container in order to do service work. Further with the piping vertically above the heat exchangers the fluid connection of the heat exchangers at the connections with the piping is simplified.

Preferably all connections of the heat exchanger to the primary circuit and secondary circuit are located within an area of an average standing working height of a service person. By doing so it is more comfortable for the service person to release and mount the connections in the service case of the heat exchanger(s). Further preferred, in a top view to the container floor a service area around at least two sides, preferably three or all four sides of the heat exchanger is kept free of heat recovery components. This also helps to improve the accessibility of all mountings for the service personal. Additionally the danger of unintended touching a piece of hot piping is also minimized as well as unintentional hitting components with the head.

A further embodiment of the invention shows a rolling or a sliding plane positioned on the container floor such that the carrying means can slide/roll flush onto a pallet, placeable in front of the openable side wall outside of the container for facilitating the insertion and extraction of the heat exchanger. In this way it is easy to create a plane surface for moving the heat exchanger outside the container and thus to facilitate the extraction and the insertion of such a heat exchanger. Therewith it is easy to, e.g. to disconnect the heat exchanger in the container and to push it outside onto such a plane or support without the help of lifting means and, depending on the size and weight of the heat exchanger, only by pushing manually. In the case the support or plane outside the container is a palette the heat exchanger can be transported together with the palette to another location for service or the like.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the external inlet ports and the external outlet ports of each of the primary circuit and the secondary circuit are located at least partially in the vertically lower half of the container, particularly on a vertical level of an inlet or outlet of one of the pumps. With this arrangement of the external inlet ports and the external outlet ports the internal inlets and outlets of the piping in the container can be located in the close of the operational area of the heat recovery unit in which the pumps are located. Wherein the pumps due to their weight are also located on the container floor as usually.

The heat recovery unit according to the invention is particularly suitable for use with a data center. However a heat recovery unit according to the invention can also be used with any other waste heat process to lead away heat or to provide a necessary cooling. the heat recovery unit according to the invention can also be used as mobile heating system with an integrated heat pump. A person skilled in the relevant art will find multiple usage for a heat recovery unit according to the invention which are all covered by the gist of the invention. As the heat recovery unit according to the invention comprises a primary circuit and a secondary circuit all imaginable heating and cooling systems can be equipped by the heat recovery unit according to the invention. Thereby the flexibility of adapting the cooling or heating power can easily be improved by increasing the thermal capacity of the at least one heat exchanger or by enlarging the number of containerized heat exchangers or even heat recovery units. It is not necessary to provide large stationary buildings for this purpose.

With the help of the enclosed drawings preferred embodiments of heat recovery units according to the invention are explained in more detail in order to enhance the understanding of the basic idea of the invention. The present embodiments do not limit the scope of the idea of the invention, but only represent possible design alternatives, to which within the knowledge of a person with skills in the relevant art modifications can be made without leaving the scope of the invention. Therefore, all those modifications and changes are covered by the claimed invention. In the drawings it is shown in:.

With the help of <FIG> and <FIG> a first embodiment of a heat recovery unit <NUM> according to the invention will be described. The heat recovery unit <NUM> includes a container <NUM> within which technical components of the heat recovery unit <NUM> such as at least one pump <NUM>, at least one heat exchanger <NUM>, a piping <NUM>, at least one control valve <NUM>, at least one stainer <NUM>, at least one actuator <NUM> a at least one a control unit <NUM> as well as at least one compensator <NUM> are accommodated. Further necessary components of a heat recovery unit <NUM> which are neither shown nor described may be included.

In order to connect the heat recovery unit <NUM> to a heat source for example to a waste heat source of a data center the heat recovery unit <NUM> comprises an external outlet port 2a and an external inlet port 3a which belong to a primary circuit <NUM>. The primary circuit <NUM> is intended to be connected to the waste heat source (not shown) for example of a data center. The waste heat may be transported by a medium entering the primary circuit <NUM> of the heat recovery unit <NUM> at the external inlet port 3a and is carried within the piping <NUM> of the primary circuit <NUM> in the form of a liquid or gaseous fluid. The piping <NUM> of the primary circuit <NUM> is connected via connecting points 34a with a respective hot end of the heat exchanger <NUM>, wherein the piping <NUM> of the secondary circuit <NUM> is connected to the connecting point 34b. The heat exchanger <NUM> used in this embodiment can be a countercurrent heat exchanger or any other heat exchanger concept commonly known.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the heat recovery unit <NUM> may not comprise any fluid pumps <NUM>. This is useful especially in case that the primary circuit <NUM> and the secondary circuit <NUM> respectively the fluids circulating therein are pumped via external pumps (not shown). In the embodiment shown the heat recovery unit according to the invention provides a passive heat recovery unit <NUM> in which the primary circuit <NUM> and the secondary circuit <NUM> are driven by pumps located elsewhere within the primary and secondary circuits <NUM> and <NUM>. Alternatively, it is also possible that only one of the primary and secondary circuit <NUM> or <NUM> is provided with a pump <NUM>.

In order to connect the heat recovery unit <NUM> to a heat sink which is intended to receive the waste heat, the heat recovery unit <NUM> comprises an external outlet port 2b and an external inlet port 3b which belong to a secondary circuit <NUM>. The secondary circuit <NUM> is intended to be connected to the waste heat sink (not shown). The waste heat may be received by a medium carried within the piping <NUM> of the secondary circuit <NUM> in the form of a liquid fluid or gaseous fluid. The piping <NUM> of the secondary circuit <NUM> is connected via connecting points 34b with a respective cold end of the heat exchanger <NUM>.

The heat exchanger <NUM> may for example be a heat exchanger of a liquid-liquid - type or of a gas-liquid- type or of a liquid-gas- type.

For the purpose of the description of the invention the primary circuit <NUM> is defined to carry hot medium which is to be cooled. The secondary circuit <NUM> is defined to carry a cold medium which is intended to receive heat from the hot medium.

Further for a better understanding of the invention illustrated in the Figures a longitudinal direction L corresponding to a horizontal direction H extending parallel to a longer sidewall 24a of the container and a with direction W extending parallel to a shorter sidewall 24b of the container as well as a vertical direction V extending vertically from a container floor <NUM> are indicated in <FIG>.

The container <NUM> may be any suitable container capable of receiving all necessary components of the heat recovery unit <NUM> within the internal space of the container <NUM>. A preferable container <NUM> is for example a <NUM>- foot container or a <NUM>-foot ISO-cube or an ISO-high cube container having a standard height or an enlarged height. These containers are well known as they are widely used for example for transporting goods via container ships. The container <NUM> has at least one smaller sidewall 24b located next to the heat exchanger <NUM> which is openable and closable for example in a door like manner having door wings pivotably mounted around a vertical axis, or in a flap like manner having a flap piece being pivotably mounted around a horizontal axis with respect to the container <NUM>.

Each of the primary circuit <NUM> and the secondary circuit <NUM> comprises a pump <NUM> whereas a pump inlet of the pump <NUM> of the primary circuit <NUM> is connected via the piping <NUM> to the external inlet port 3a of the primary circuit <NUM>. A pump inlet of the pump <NUM> of the secondary circuit <NUM> is connected via the piping <NUM> to the external inlet port 3b of the secondary circuit <NUM>.

A pump outlet of the pump <NUM> of the primary circuit <NUM> is connected via the piping <NUM> to an inlet connecting point 34a of the hot end of the heat exchanger <NUM>. The outlet connecting point 34a of the heat exchanger <NUM> is connected to the external outlet port 2a of the primary circuit <NUM>.

A pump outlet of the pump <NUM> of the secondary circuit <NUM> is connected via the piping <NUM> to an inlet connecting point 34a of the cold end of the heat exchanger <NUM>. The outlet connecting point 34a of the heat exchanger <NUM> is connected to the external outlet port 2b of the secondary circuit <NUM>.

The heat exchanger <NUM> of this embodiment is a heat exchanger <NUM> of the stacked plate type having an upper portion <NUM> facing a ceiling <NUM> of the container <NUM> and having a lower portion <NUM> facing the container floor <NUM>. All the connecting points 34a and34b are located on the upper portion <NUM> of the heat exchanger <NUM> and are also facing the ceiling <NUM>. The upper portion <NUM> of the heat exchanger <NUM> is formed by an upper plate <NUM>. The lower portion <NUM> of the heat exchanger <NUM> is formed by a lower plate <NUM>. The upper plate <NUM> together with the lower plate <NUM> and several studs <NUM> are forming a frame for the heat exchanger <NUM> whereas heat exchanging plates of the stacked plate type heat exchanger <NUM> are located between the upper plate <NUM> and the lower plate <NUM>. The heat exchanging plates are fixed in a sealed manner between the upper plate <NUM> and the lower plate <NUM>.

The pumps <NUM> are concentrated within a pump area 9a which in the embodiment of <FIG>, is located in the vicinity of one of the two shorter sidewalls 24b. A space in the vicinity of the heat exchanger <NUM> is kept free of components and devices such that an operating area <NUM> on the container floor <NUM> is formed on which service personal <NUM> can move around the heat exchanger <NUM> and perform maintenance and service work needed without being boxed in a tight working space.

The heat exchanger <NUM> is provided with carrying means <NUM> having rolling/sliding means <NUM>. Within the embodiment of <FIG> the rolling/sliding means <NUM> are formed as wheels. The rolling/sliding means <NUM> particularly the wheels may be directly attached to the lower plate <NUM> of the heat exchanger <NUM>. A further alternative design is to provide a rolling/sliding carriage <NUM> comprising the rolling/sliding means <NUM> for example the wheels (see also <FIG>). The rolling/sliding carriage <NUM> is supposed to support the heat exchanger <NUM>. According to a further embodiment it may be useful to further provide fixing means (not shown) for fixing the at least one heat exchanger <NUM> or the carrying means <NUM> along a sliding/rolling direction.

The rolling/sliding means <NUM><NUM> and/or the rolling/sliding carriage <NUM> are guided by guiding bars <NUM> mounted on a rolling/sliding plane <NUM>. The rolling/sliding plane <NUM> may be the container floor <NUM> or slightly elevated plane such as an elevated platform.

The rolling/sliding means <NUM> of the carrying means <NUM> allow a basically horizontal movement along a horizontal direction <NUM>. Preferably the horizontal movement of the heat exchanger <NUM> is in parallel to the longitudinal direction L.

In the embodiment of <FIG> all piping <NUM> reaching and leaving the heat exchanger <NUM> is arranged vertically above the upper portion <NUM> of the heat exchanger <NUM>. This ensures that the space in the vicinity of the heat exchanger <NUM>, in particular below the connecting points 34a and 34b is kept free of disturbing piping and a service person <NUM> can perform the maintenance work in a (comfortable) manner.

The connecting points 34a and 34b are preferably formed by compensators <NUM> being intended to compensate probable linear or angular misalignments of the heat exchanger connecting points 34a and 34b with respect to the piping. In order to achieve such a compensation the compensators <NUM> may be corrugated tubes or similar compensating devices capable of compensating positional and/or angular misplacements.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the rolling/sliding carriage <NUM> includes a drain pan <NUM> (see <FIG>) capable of collecting leakage fluid which may occur if the heat exchanger <NUM>, and particular its connection points 34a and 34b to the piping <NUM> are released. This helps to maintain the container floor <NUM> clean and avoids environmental contamination.

A particular advantage of the invention is a low center of gravity (CoG) which facilitates the transport of the heat recovery unit especially when craning and lifting the heat recovery unit. This advantage is particularly achieved by arranging the heat exchanger <NUM> with its connecting points 34a and 34b facing vertically upwards to the ceiling <NUM> of the container <NUM>. Further the balancing of the container is improved when the heat exchanger <NUM> is positioned along a centerline which corresponds to the centerline in the width direction W. By positioning the heat exchanger according to the above described manner, it is particularly easy to arrange most of the piping <NUM> on the ceiling level above the upper portion <NUM> of the heat exchanger.

The horizontal oriented heat exchanger allows a low center of gravity CoG of the heat recovery unit <NUM> and at the same time provides enough space for the operating area <NUM> in order to provide a comfortable working space for a service person <NUM>. Additionally, an easy servicing and maintenance access is achieved by the cartridge like changeability of the heat exchanger <NUM> with the help of the carrying means <NUM> in the horizontal direction H or at least in a predominantly horizontal direction H.

The predominantly horizontal direction H is defined as being a vector direction having a horizontal vector component of a larger magnitude compared to a vertical vector component. In other words, the predominantly horizontal direction H in the sense of the invention also includes inclined rolling/sliding planes <NUM> inclined with respect to the exact horizontal direction H. A ramp-like design of the rolling/sliding plane <NUM> helps to insert and extract the heat exchanger <NUM> into and from the container <NUM> along a downward slope.

The rolling/sliding plane <NUM> may be part of the openable sidewall <NUM> which facilitates the extraction/insertion of the heat exchanger <NUM>. Especially with a flap design of the open side <NUM> of the container <NUM> a ramp functionality can be achieved to facilitate insertion and extraction of the heat exchanger <NUM> without overcoming a step formed by the container floor <NUM>, e.g..

With respect to <FIG> a second embodiment of the heat recovery unit <NUM> of the invention is described. The second embodiment of the heat recovery unit largely corresponds to the first embodiment of the heat recovery unit such that equal or similar components are denoted with the help of same reference numerals. The main difference between the first and second embodiment is that the second embodiment according to <FIG> merely is a mirrored doubled version of the embodiment according to <FIG>. In addition to the first set of pumps <NUM> described in accordance with the first embodiment the second embodiment is provided with a second set of pumps <NUM> in direct vicinity of the first set of pumps <NUM>. The primary circuits <NUM> of the mirrored heat recovery units <NUM> are connected via an inlet distribution line 17a and an outlet collection line 18a to the non-mirrored primary circuit <NUM> to form one common primary circuit <NUM>. An analogous is valid for the secondary circuit <NUM> of the mirrored heat recovery units <NUM>.

Next to both shorter sidewalls 24b, which both are designed to be openable sidewalls <NUM>, a heat exchanger <NUM> is located respectively. Each heat exchanger <NUM> is a heat exchanger of the stacked plate type as described above and is also supported by the carrying means <NUM> as described above in connection with the first embodiment. As a consequence, each heat exchanger <NUM> is slidable along the horizontal direction H in a guided manner by the carrying means <NUM> and the guiding bars <NUM>. The pump area 9a is located in a center with respect to the longitudinal direction L whereas in the vicinity of both heat exchangers <NUM> an obstacle free operating area <NUM> can be provided. The symmetrical design of the embodiment according to <FIG> with respect to the longitudinal direction L results in a central location of the center of gravity (CoG) with respect to the longitudinal direction L. This facilitates transporting and/or lifting of the containerized heat recovery unit <NUM> as it is balanced along the longitudinal direction L. The balance with respect to the width direction W is achieved by the same measurements as pre-described with respect to the first embodiment according to <FIG>. For example, the heat exchangers <NUM> are located in the center of the two longer side wall 24a, i.e. with respect to the width direction W, as well as the pumps <NUM> being arranged also in a symmetrical manner with respect to the width direction W.

<FIG> shows a situation during an insertion or extraction phase of the heat exchanger in which the heat exchanger <NUM> is removed from or installed to the heat recovery unit <NUM> of the invention. The heat exchanger <NUM> is already from or not yet connected to the piping <NUM>. In order to extract or insert the heat exchanger <NUM> it is preferred to position a palette <NUM> next to the open side of the container <NUM>, wherein an upper side of the palette <NUM> is positioned such that it is flush with the rolling/sliding plane <NUM> which may be the container floor <NUM>. When having the heat exchanger <NUM> positioned on the pallet <NUM> completely the heat exchanger <NUM> can be handled together with the palette <NUM> for example by the help of a forklift in a comfortable and easy manner. It may occur that leakage fluid exits the heat exchanger <NUM>. For this the rolling/sliding carriage <NUM> can be equipped with a drain pan <NUM> which collects the leakage fluid and thus avoids contamination of the environment.

In summary the heat recovery unit <NUM> of the invention offers the following advantages with respect to heat recovery units of the prior art:.

Finally, it should be noted that the present embodiments show concepts of the present invention. Definitions of shapes, forms, connections, or numbers are only exemplary and may vary for different applications. However, all modifications within the knowledge of a person skilled in the relevant art are covered as long as said modifications fall within the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims.

Claim 1:
Heat recovery unit (<NUM>) including a transport container (<NUM>) comprising at least one heat exchanger (<NUM>) arranged in the transport container (<NUM>), with a lower end portion (<NUM>) facing a container floor (<NUM>), and an upper end portion (<NUM>), wherein the heat exchanger (<NUM>) is configured to exchange heat between a medium carried within a primary circuit (<NUM>) and a medium carried within a secondary circuit (<NUM>), and wherein carrying means (<NUM>) are arranged in a lower area of the heat exchanger (<NUM>) enabling the insertion and extraction of the heat exchanger (<NUM>) in a predominantly horizontal direction (<NUM>) into and from the container (<NUM>) in a sliding manner or in a rolling manner relative to the container (<NUM>),
characterized in that
external ports (<NUM>; <NUM>) of the primary circuit (<NUM>) and the secondary circuit (<NUM>) are located on one or more side walls (<NUM>) of the transport container (<NUM>);
the piping (<NUM>) of the primary circuit (<NUM>) and the piping (<NUM>) of the secondary circuit (<NUM>) are provided inside of the transport container (<NUM>);
all piping (<NUM>) reaching and leaving the heat exchanger (<NUM>) is arranged vertically above the upper portion (<NUM>) of the heat exchanger (<NUM>); and in that
the upper end portion (<NUM>) has vertically upwards pointing connecting points (<NUM>, <NUM>) for connecting the heat exchanger (<NUM>) with the primary circuit (<NUM>) and with the secondary circuit (<NUM>)