1000 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-

Conditioning

Abstract
This section provides references and very brief guidance for the design of heating,
ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) in office buildings, control rooms, process
buildings, and offshore facilities. It is not a complete design guideline. Full system
design and equipment selection must be engineered on a project basis and based on
current local and national codes.

Contents Page

1010 General 1000-2

1020 Office Buildings 1000-2
1030 Control Houses 1000-3
1040 Specialized Buildings 1000-4
1050 Process Buildings 1000-4
1060 Offshore Facilities 1000-5
1070 Design Precautions 1000-6
1080 References 1000-6

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1000 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning Utilities Manual

1010 General
All HVAC systems are designed with the following in mind:
• Local building codes
• National building codes
• Local climatic conditions
• Building occupancy and usage
• Architectural and landscape constraints
Another consideration to be evaluated in setting the design scope is the need for
HVAC in the event of a general power outage. If some areas need continuous
HVAC to protect critical equipment, computers, people, or to exhaust gases, it may
be necessary to segregate the distribution/return systems and provide emergency
powered backup units sized to serve those areas during power failure. Refer also to
Section 1030.

1020 Office Buildings

Large Buildings. HVAC systems in large buildings are complex and costly. The
design of these systems is generally the responsibility of the architectural or civil
engineering contractor who is designing the building.
The Company usually lets turn-key contracts for large buildings. For some projects
the Company itself acts as the general engineering and architectural firm. The
Chevron Park complex built in San Ramon, California, is an example of a project
successfully undertaken by the Engineering Technology Department. The ETD
Civil, Structural and Buildings Division can be contacted for guidance in devel-
oping design conditions for large building HVAC systems.
Small Buildings. The design of HVAC systems in small office buildings is often
the responsibility of the Operating Company (OPCO) Design and Construction
Group. (ETD will readily act as a consultant if so requested.) Two approaches are
possible.
• The OPCO performs the design, procurement, and construction of the HVAC
system. In this case, the OPCO is responsible for each part of the project from
scope through installation. HVAC retrofits to existing buildings are often
handled directly by OPCO personnel or by supervising a specialist contractor.
• The OPCO lets an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract
for the work to be developed and executed by an architectural or civil engi-
neering contractor, who may also be the building contractor. In this case the
OPCO is responsible for management of the contract, including review of the
proposed designs.
In either case it is beneficial for someone in the OPCO organization to have a
minimum knowledge of HVAC systems. The references in Sub-section 1080 will
provide varying degrees of information.

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Utilities Manual 1000 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning

1030 Control Houses

Control houses are small buildings that have special HVAC requirements because:
• They may or may not be continuously manned.
• They are located close to processing facilities.
• They may have control panels and/or computer systems.
• They may contain small associated laboratories, change and shower rooms,
lunch rooms, warehouses, machine shops, first aid rooms, etc.
Each of these constraints imposes its own requirements on the HVAC system.
The Uniform Building Code (UBC) recommends that small manned buildings be
designed for a minimum of four air changes per hour.
Control Houses Near Process Facilities. The interior of control houses in
hazardous areas must provide clean breathable air, free from process vapors. This is
generally accomplished by slightly pressurizing the control house to maintain a
positive air outflow. Intake air must be obtained at a sufficient elevation (25 feet
above or 10 feet above building eaves) and distance (preferably upwind) to ensure it
is free of hydrocarbons or other contaminants. If dangerous vapors can possibly be
drawn into the building, a gas detection and 100% recirculation system may be
required. See also the Fire Protection Manual.
Computer Systems. Control panels and computers can produce enough heat to
damage themselves and make the control house too warm for comfort. Air-condi-
tioning is generally necessary to keep temperatures down. The recommended
temperature range for computer rooms is 65°F to 85°F, with 75°F preferred.
Computers require air that is contaminant free. Limits should be placed on hydro-
carbons and corrosive substances, such as H2S, which can be filtered. Airborne dust
should be filtered. Dust can be filtered electrostatically or with paper or centrifugal
filters. Relative humidity should be held between 30% and 60%.
Computer rooms should be pressurized.
The limitations on air supply for computer rooms are more fully detailed in Model
Specification ICM-MS-3651 and Section 1100 of the Instrumentation and Control
Manual.
Other Uses. Control houses that contain lunch rooms, shops, labs, etc., may require
additional or modified HVAC systems to cope with increased humidity, cigarette
smoke, heat, or dust in certain areas.
Manning. Buildings that are not continuously manned may not need HVAC
systems as elaborate as those used for 24-hour operations.

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1000 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning Utilities Manual

1040 Specialized Buildings

Many small buildings (or sections of buildings) are used for specialized purposes,
such as tool storage, machine shops, laboratories, material storage, warehouses,
mechanical shops. These varied uses often require different HVAC considerations
and must be designed individually. Refer to Section 1050 for general concerns and
cautions regarding localized HVAC systems.
Air changes. The most important consideration is the number of air changes per
hour or day. A laboratory building where toxic chemicals are used may require
“once-through” ventilation while a warehouse may need only one or two changes
per day.
Consult the UBC for guidance.
The following is recommended for air change design:
# changes/hr
• laboratory (toxic vapors) continuous
fume hood
• laboratory (no toxics) 6
• warehouse 1
• fertilizer storage none(1)
• machine shop 4
(1)
• tool storage none
(1) Normally natural ventilation is sufficient for these areas unless
there are concerns about excess vapors or moisture.

1050 Process Buildings

Process buildings generally do not require air-conditioning systems. Process equip-
ment, such as a compressor, usually has its own cooling systems that are adequate
for summer conditions and do not require externally cooled atmospheres.
Motor control centers and switchgear buildings can frequently be considered as if
they were process buildings. Local preference to building style will usually dictate
whether these buildings require a HVAC system or can be designed as a process
building described herein.
Process buildings are frequently ventilated with windows, floor louvers, and roof
ventilators, both winter and summer. In very warm, humid areas, high ceilings
combined with floor level inlet louvers and roof ventilators are usually adequate to
provide a tolerable operating or maintenance environment without opening doors.
Six air changes per hour are recommended. When buildings equipped with combus-
tible gas detectors are ventilated with power ventilators, the ventilators should
respond as follows:
• Continuously operated power ventilators shut down at 0.60 of the lower flam-
mable limit (L.F.L.).

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Utilities Manual 1000 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning

• Intermittently operated power ventilators startup at 0.20 of L.F.L and shut

down at 0.60 of L.F.L.
• Louvers and ventilators should fail to the open position.
Of course, at 20% of L.F.L., alarms should be sounded and then process equipment
shut down at 60%. See Section 5400 of the Fire Protection Manual.
For a further discussion of fugitive emissions and air change calculations see the
Fire Protection Manual and API RP 500B.
Process buildings do require heating systems, especially in cold climates. If the
heating system is fan assisted, the motor should match the area electrical classifica-
tion (never use open motors) and the fan should be nonsparking. Heating may be
accomplished with:
• Electrical baseboard heaters
• Unit heaters with steam, hot oil, or glycol heat media
• Electric/glycol unit heaters (Roughneck or equal)
• Direct fired natural gas heaters (these are not recommended)
• Any combination of the above in conjunction with process equipment waste
heat
Process buildings have special limitations on the types of HVAC equipment that can
be used because most process buildings are classified as Class I Division 2 under
the electrical area classification. Thus all electrical gear must be explosionproof or
otherwise suitable for the area classification.
Process buildings should have sufficient heating equipment to provide a uniform
floor temperature of at least 50°F during a complete process shutdown during the
coldest ambient temperature week expected for the geographic location and with an
average wind blowing. Ambient temperature charts can be found in the building
codes. (Reference 2 or 3.)

1060 Offshore Facilities

Process Areas. Southerly offshore process areas are generally not enclosed and so
do not require ventilation. North Sea, Arctic and North Atlantic locations require
enclosed process areas and should be treated like process buildings.
Living Quarters. Offshore living quarters that are in close proximity to process
equipment should be pressurized similar to control houses to prevent vapor intru-
sion. Living quarters that are on separate structures need ventilation for comfort
only.
Labs and Electrical Spaces. Offshore laboratories, machine shops, and some elec-
trical switchgear spaces may contain ignition sources and should also be pressur-
ized. As a minimum, ventilation should provide 1 CFM/ft2 of floor area. (See
Reference 4.)

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1000 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning Utilities Manual

1070 Design Precautions

Lessons learned from recent projects lead to the following considerations:
1. Consider the total heat load (future and present) in a room or building. For
instance, locating an uninterruptable power supply (UPS) in an electrical room
may generate more heat than anticipated and require air-conditioning rather
than just exhaust fans. Likewise if batteries are present as part of the UPS
system, it may be desirable to place them in a separate room with exhaust to
the outside sized for the fresh air makeup rate to the HVAC system.
2. State-of-the-art proposals by contractors are not necessarily the best. At
Gaviota, the control room air-conditioning supply is through the entire raised
floor system that is needed for the computers. Air enters the rooms through
perforated floor panels and exhausts through evaporator/blowers in three of the
five rooms.
Unfortunately, the system is noisy due to the interior evaporator/blower units
and the extra interroom exhaust fans. The original, conventional system would
have been quieter.
(The Fire Protection Manual has additional discussions of raised floors being
used as HVAC plenums.)

1080 References
1. Instrumentation and Control Manual, Section 1100 and Model Specification
ICM-MS-3651, Installation Requirements for Digital Instrumentation and
Process Computers.
2. Uniform Building Code of The United States.
3. National Building Code of Canada.
4. NFPA 30, Flammable and Combustible Liquids Code, National Fire Protection
Association, Boston, 1981.
5. NFPA 70, National Electric Code, National Fire Protection Association, 1987
Edition.
6. NFPA 75, Protection of Electronic Computer/ Data Equipment, National Fire
Protection Association.
7. Uniform Mechanical Code.
8. API RP 500B, Recommended Practice for Classification for Electrical Installa-
tions at Drilling Rigs and Production Facilities on Land and on Marine Fixed
and Mobile Platforms.
9. Safety in Designs Manual, Section 10, Ventilation.
Discusses local exhaust (hoods and vents) ventilation systems for controlling
airborne contaminants and highlights safety features to consider in design.

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Utilities Manual 1000 Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning

10. Heating, Ventilating and Air-conditioning, IHRDC Production Facility Book-

ware Series.
Discusses HVAC principles and provides an IBM PC computer program for
computing HVAC needs.
11. Fire Protection Manual, Sections 500 and 600, Fire Preparedness in Equip-
ment, and Section 300, Prevention Through Design.

Chevron Corporation 1000-7 December 1989