A heat recovery wheel for a heat exchanger includes a wheel rim defining an outer perimeter of the heat recovery wheel, and a plurality of wheel passages located between the wheel rim and the wheel axis, the plurality of wheel passages arranged in a plurality of layers relative to a wheel central axis. One or more parting elements are located between adjacent layers of the plurality of layers, each of parting elements a strip having a strip width less than an axial length of the plurality of layers. The plurality of wheel passages are configured for flow of a first airflow and a second airflow therethrough for thermal energy exchange between the first airflow and the second airflow.