Consider a counter-flow heat exchanger with the inlet temperatures of two fluids (1 and 2) being \(T_1 = 300\) K and \(T_2 = 350\) K. The heat capacity rates of the two fluids are \(C_1 = 1000\) W/K and \(C_2 = 400\) W/K, and the effectiveness of the heat exchanger is 0.5. The actual heat transfer rate is (in kW)
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Always be careful with units when solving heat capacity problems. Remember:
\[ \text{Watts (W)} \rightarrow \text{kiloWatts (kW)} \text{ divide by } 1000. \]
Crucially, always evaluate \(C_{\text{min}}\) to calculate maximum possible heat transfer, because the fluid with the smaller heat capacity rate will limit the overall heat exchange process by reaching its thermodynamic temperature limit first.