Flat-plate heat exchangers that transfer heat between two hydronic circuits while keeping them hydraulically separate. AHHAC supplies the Hurlcon flat-plate heat exchanger range.
A plate heat exchanger is a compact stack of corrugated stainless plates that passes heat from one water circuit to another without the two ever mixing. In hydronic systems it isolates chlorinated pool water, solar glycol or an older distribution circuit from the heat pump or boiler. AHHAC supplies and installs Hurlcon brazed-plate exchangers, sized to the required kW and approach temperature so a heat pump can still serve underfloor loops at 35–45 °C.
Reviewed by the AHHAC Technical Team — licensed plumbers & hydronic engineers, NSW Lic 262528C.How we write & review
A plate heat exchanger transfers heat between two water circuits without mixing them — essential whenever you need to isolate circuits hydraulically. Common uses: separating a primary boiler/heat-pump circuit from the heating distribution (protecting one from the other's water chemistry), pool heating, solar-thermal transfer, and isolating potable hot water from the heating loop.
AHHAC supplies Hurlcon flat-plate heat exchangers — compact brazed-plate units that pack a large heat-transfer area into a small footprint. The corrugated stainless plates create turbulent flow for highly efficient heat transfer, and the brazed construction needs no gaskets to maintain.
Pool and spa heating — isolates the chlorinated pool water from the boiler/heat-pump circuit so the corrosive pool water never touches your expensive plant. Solar-thermal transfer — moves heat from the glycol collector loop into the storage tank. Circuit separation — protects a sensitive heat source from a large or older distribution system of unknown water quality. AHHAC sizes the exchanger to the required kW transfer and approach temperature.
A plate heat exchanger solves a real problem, keeping two water circuits apart, but it is never free. Heat only moves from the hot side to the cold side if there is a temperature difference across the plates. That difference, the approach temperature, means the heat source has to run a few degrees hotter than it would without the exchanger. With a gas boiler that barely matters. With a heat pump, every extra degree of flow temperature costs efficiency.
An exchanger that is losing performance shows a growing temperature gap between its two sides. That is our cue to check the strainers and descale before the heat source starts working harder to compensate.
We also tell clients when not to use one. If an old radiator system is full of sludge, a thorough flush and water treatment programme is often a better first step than hiding it behind an exchanger, because it keeps the heat pump in direct contact with its emitters. Where isolation is genuinely needed, such as pools, solar glycol loops, or protecting a new hydronic heat pump from an older steel network, the exchanger earns its place. For glycol collector circuits, see our solar hot water systems.
Written from on-site experience by the AHHAC Technical Team.
AHHAC's in-house design and service team — licensed plumbers and hydronic engineers (Lic 262528C) who have designed and installed 2,400+ hydronic heating, cooling and hot water systems across Australia since 1998.
We only specify equipment after a heat-loss and system-compatibility check, then supply, install and commission it with our own licensed plumbers to AS/NZS 3500 (plumbing) and AS/NZS 5601 (gas), register the manufacturer warranty and service it for the life of the system.
"AHHAC delivered our 22-zone underfloor system on time, on budget and to spec. The crew were tidy, the documentation was thorough, and the commissioning was textbook."
"We've worked with AHHAC for 17 years. They've installed and serviced our hot water plant across three commercial buildings — and they pick up the phone on weekends."
"Three mobs quoted us; AHHAC's design was the only one based on a proper heat-loss calculation. The system runs beautifully — the others would've been oversized and expensive."