Technical Policy Statement

General Specification for Air Handling Units

Ref . A12

June 2011
Prepared by: Engineering Team Endorsed by: Steve Howe Director of Capital Projects & Planning Nick Roalfe Director of Facilities & Property Management

Support Services
Engineering Team

Technical Policy Statement General Specification for Air Handling Unit

Contents

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0

Introduction Construction Fans Motors Heating Coils Cooling Coils Heat Recovery Filtration Dampers Access Attenuators Eurovent Certification

1.0 Introduction

Technical Policy Statement General Specification for Air Handling Unit

Packaged air handling units shall incorporate all the components necessary to provide an efficient and effective source of air distribution, i.e. fans, filters, coils, heat recovery etc. Air handling units shall be sized to take into account all key factors including specific fan power, air volume, heating/cooling requirements, humidity control (where applicable), space availability and noise levels. Units shall be selected to provide the required duty at optimum performance and efficiency. 2.0 Construction Air handling unit casings shall generally be of Pentapost type construction, double skinned steel sheet and thermally and acoustically insulated. The external surfaces of air handling units shall be finished in Plastisol type plastic coating or similar. All internal surfaces of AHUs liable to be affected by moisture, i.e. cooling coils, humidifiers etc, shall be treated with an anticorrosion finish. Where units are to be located externally, these shall be fully weatherproofed and shall include raked tops for rain run-off. 3.0 Fans The fan section of air handling units shall normally contain a centrifugal fan/motor, direct drive or belt driven, mounted on an anti-vibration isolated frame. The fan section shall be designed to allow for easy removal of the fan and motor for maintenance/replacement. Fans shall be forward curved, double inlet double width, for total static pressures up to 450pa. Fans shall be backward curved where the total static pressure exceeds this figure. 4.0 Motors Fan motors shall be of high efficiency class EFF2 rating to BS EN 60034.6. Motors shall be compatible with inverter drives.

Technical Policy Statement General Specification for Air Handling Unit

5.0 Heating Coils The air handling units shall normally incorporate a frost coil (see also IC Technical Policy Statement A8), and a main or re-heater coil. Where low temperature hot water is the heating source the heating coils shall be constructed from solid drawn copper tube expanded into continuous plate type fins of either aluminium or copper. Where steam is the heating medium then coils shall be constructed from mild steel tubes with mild steel fins and protected from corrosion. Steam heating coils should be rated to operate at a pressure no greater than 2.0bar. Where steam heater batteries are installed in air handling units these shall be split construction to avoid water hammer. (Refer to TPS P6a Steam Traps for further details). Heating coils shall have a face velocity not exceeding 4 m/s. Note:- Electric heater batteries shall only be used as a last resort where it is found not possible to source a LTHW constant temperature supply. Where an electric heater battery is considered to be necessary, an Exception Report shall be submitted to the Engineering Manager/Maintenance Manager for approval. 6.0 Cooling Coils AHU cooling coils shall be constructed from solid drawn copper tube expanded into continuous plate type fins of either aluminium or copper. Sealing devices shall be provided at the tops and bottoms of coils to minimise air by-pass and water carry over. Eliminators shall also be incorporated to prevent water carry over. The face velocity across the cooling coils shall not exceed 2.5 m/s. 7.0 Heat Recovery Air handling units are high energy users and it is a requirement that some form of heat recovery system is incorporated. Alternatively it shall be demonstrated by the designer that heat recovery has not been included due to:
4

Plant space restrictions System efficiency/payback period does not support its use

Technical Policy Statement General Specification for Air Handling Unit

The main types of heat recovery systems that are currently commercially available are: Thermal wheel Plate heat exchanger (recuperator) Run-around coil system

Where thermal wheels are selected as the chosen method for heat recovery these should be controlled by the Building Energy Management System via a Trend inverter. Sufficient access should be allowed for in the design of the air handling unit for ease of cleaning and maintenance of the heat recovery systems. 8.0 Air Filtration Air handling unit air filter types and efficiencies shall be as required to meet the necessary design criteria. 9.0 Dampers Dampers used in sections of air handling plant shall be of the multi-leaf type. The damper blades shall be constructed to ensure rigidity and prevent distortion and jamming in operation. The blades shall be securely fixed. Manually and automatically operated dampers shall include a means for indicating externally the position of damper blades. Air leakage through dampers when in the closed position shall not exceed 5% maximum design. 10.0 Access Doors

Air handling units shall be provided with readily removable panels with air seals to facilitate access to upstream and downstream faces and internal parts of all sections of the plant. Access doors will be 300mm or 600mm wide depending on the size of the AHU and sections to be accessed. Viewing ports and internal lighting shall be provided wherever practical, i.e. in larger air handling units.

Technical Policy Statement General Specification for Air Handling Unit

11.0 Attenuators

Where attenuators are required to be fitted directly to the air handling unit, these shall be sized to achieve the necessary sound level reduction as advised by the acoustic consultant/specialist. 12.0 Eurovent Certification

Air handling units shall only be selected from the Imperial College London approved list of suppliers. Any deviation from this shall require an Exception Report. All submissions for alternative manufacturers of AHUs will be rejected if they have not been Eurovent certified.

Related Documents All other relevant ICL Technical Policy Statements, ICL Component Standards, Building Regulations Part L etc.