Energy Academy
Pinch Analysis Fundamentals3 / 17

Building Composite Curves

Combining many streams into one hot curve and one cold curve — the graphical heart of pinch analysis.

11 min read · Jacob Willis, Net Zero Lead


A single stream, plotted as temperature against the heat it carries, is just a straight line. The power of pinch analysis comes from combining all the hot streams into one curve, and all the cold streams into another — the composite curves — so you can see the whole process's heating and cooling needs on one picture.