text: Classical pinch-analysis primarily calculates the energy costs for the heating and cooling utility. At the pinch point, where the hot and cold streams are the most constrained, large heat exchangers are required to transfer heat between the hot and cold streams. Large heat exchangers entail high investment costs. In order to reduce capital cost, in practice a minimum temperature difference (Δ T) at the pinch point is demanded, e.g., 10 °F.  It is possible to estimate the heat exchanger area and capital cost, and hence the optimal Δ T minimum value. However, the cost curve is quite flat and the optimum may be affected by "topology traps". The pinch method is not always appropriate for simple networks or where severe operating constraints exist.  Kemp (2006) and Kemp and Lim (2019) discuss these aspects in detail.