Heat regenerators transfer heat from one gas to another, with an intermediate storage in solids. The heat transfer surface for gas flow application should provide at the same time high surface area and low friction factor. Three geometries of heat transfer surface, monolith, stack of woven screens and bed of spheres, have been compared. Their performance was evaluated from the pressure drop of the heat regenerator working at a given heat transfer efficiency. The comparison was performed using numerical simulation and published measurements of heat transfer and flow friction characteristics. By adjusting the length and the period of the exchanger, it is possible to obtain the same heat transfer efficiency with the three geometries. Beds of spheres give very short and compact heat regenerators, working, at high pressure drop. At the opposite, monoliths form long regenerators working at low pressure drop. Stacks of woven screens cover a wide range of performance: low porosity woven screen give high heat transfer efficiency and high pressure drop, while high porosity woven screens offer performance similar to that of the monoliths. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.