AIR CONDITIONING Principles and Concepts Air conditioning is the process whereby the condition of Air, as defined by its

temperature and moisture content, is changed. In practice other factors must als o be taken into account especially cleanliness; odor; velocity & distribution pa ttern. Principles of Air- Conditioning: Human comfort Inevitably 'comfort' is a very subjective matter. The Engineer aims to ensure 'comfort' for most people fo und from statistical surveys .Most people (90%) are comfortable when the air tem perature is between 18-22C and the %sat is between 40-65%. This zone can be shown on the psychometric chart. And is known as the comfort zone.

Outside air is quite likely to be at a different condition from the required com fort zone condition. In order to bring its condition to within the comfort zone we may need to do one or more of the following:-heat it; cool it; dehumidify it; humidify it; or mix it. Dry air mass flow In order to use the psychometric chart for air-conditioning wo rk we need to find & use dry air mass flows. However, in practice air-flows are frequently measured in terms of volume flow. In order to find dry air mass flow we need to use the specific volume of the air. Specific volume = volume/mass The specific volume of the air is given from the Psychometric chart in m/kg of dry a ir, therefore the Mass flow will be in terms of dry air mass flow. Obviously the condition of the air must be known (Typically d.b. temp. & %sat) in order to fi nd the specific Volume. Air heating The heating process can be illustrated on the psychometric chart thu s:

Cooling/Dehumidification In the case of cooling, the mixture will firstly be sen sibly cooled to the point of saturation (called the dew point) then liquid water will precipitate if we cool further. Because moisture is removed dehumidificati on is achieved. The cooling/dehumidification process can be illustrated on the p sychometric chart thus:

Humidification The process of humidification allows the air to mix with extra water. A sufficie nt contact time between the air and water will normally result in the air reachi ng 100%Saturation. The process is very close to the evaporation from a wet bulb. It therefore follows a line of constant wet bulb Temperature. Mixing Often, instead of exhausting 'stale' air completely some of it is filtere d, deodorized and mixed with fresh incoming air. This conserves energy and narro ws the operating conditions for the air-conditioning system.

Heat Transfer Heat is a form of energy. Every object on earth has some heat ener gy. The less heat an object has, the colder we say it is. Cooling is the process of transferring heat from one object to another. When an air-conditioning syste m cools, it is actually removing heat and transferring it somewhere else. This c an be demonstrated by turning on a Spot Cooler and placing one hand in front of the cold air nozzle and the other over the warm air exhaust. You will feel the a ction of the transfer of heat. Sensible and Latent Heat There are two forms of heat energy: sensible heat and l atent heat. Sensible heat is the form of heat energy which is most commonly unde rstood because it is sensed by touch or measured directly with a thermometer. Wh en weather reporters say it will be 90 degrees, they are referring to sensible h eat. Latent heat cannot be sensed by touch or measured with a thermometer. Laten t heat causes an object to change its properties. For example, when enough laten t heat is removed from water vapor (steam or humidity), it condenses into water (liquid). If enough latent heat is removed from water (liquid), it will eventual ly freeze. This process is reversed when latent heat is added. Change of State An object that changes from a solid to a liquid or liquid to vap or is referred to as a change of state. When an object changes state, it transfe rs heat rapidly. Humidity Moisture in the air is called humidity. The ability of air to hold moisture directly relates to its temperature. The warmer air is, th e more moisture it is capable of holding. Relative humidity is the percentage of moisture in the air compared to the amount of moisture it can hold. A moisture content of 70F air with 50% relative humidity is lower than 80F air with 50% relat ive humidity.

When the humidity is low, sweat evaporates from your body more quickly. This all ows you to cool off faster. High humidity conditions do not allow sweat to evapo rate as well because the air is at its maximum capacity. Humidity is also a form of latent heat. When air contains more humidity, it has more latent heat. REFRIGERANT Refrigerants are substances used by air conditioners to transfer hea t and create a cooling effect. Air-conditioning systems use specially formulated refrigerants designed to change state at specific temperatures providing optimu m cooling. Portables use a refrigerant called R-22 or HCFC-22. HCFC stands for h ydrochlorofluorocarbon.This is currently the most common refrigerant used by air -conditioning systems. REFRIGERANT PHASE-OUT Many of the current forms of refrigerants used today are b eing phased out based on concern for depletion of the ozone layer. Portables use R-22, which has been deemed acceptable for use by the EPA until the year 2010. By that time, an ozone-friendly refrigerant that can be easily substituted for R -22 will be readily available.

PSYCHOMETRIC CHART Psychometric Chart The principles of psychometric chart apply to any physical system consisting of gas-vapor mixtures. The most common system of interest, however, are mixtures of water vapor and air because of its application in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning and meteorology. Psychometric ratio The psychometric ratio is an im portant property in the area of psychometrics as it relates the absolute humidit y and saturation humidity to the difference between the dry bulb temperature and the adiabatic saturation temperature. Mixtures of air and water vapor are the m ost common systems encountered in psychometric. The psychometric ratio of air-wa ter vapor mixtures is approximately unity which implies that the difference betw een the adiabatic

saturation temperature and wet bulb temperature of air-water vapor mixtures is s mall. This property of air-water vapor systems simplifies drying and cooling cal culations often performed using psychometric relationships. A psychometric chart is a graph of the physical properties of moist air at a constant pressure (ofte n equated to an elevation relative to sea level). The chart graphically expresse s how various properties relate to each other, and is thus a graphical equation of state. The thermo physical properties found on most psychometric charts are: Dry-bulb temperature (DBT) is that of an air sample, as determined by an ordinar y thermometer, the thermometer's bulb being dry. It is typically the abscissa, o r horizontal axis of the graph. The SI units for temperature are Celsius; other units are Fahrenheit. Wet-bulb temperature (WBT) is that of an air sample after it has passed through a constant-pressure, ideal, adiabatic saturation process, that is, after the air has passed over a large surface of liquid water in an ins ulated channel. In practice, this is the reading of a thermometer whose sensing bulb is covered with a wet sock evaporating into a rapid stream of the sample ai r. The WBT is the same as the DBT when the air sample is saturated with water. T he slope of the line of constant WBT reflects the heat of vaporization of the wa ter required to saturate the air of a given relative humidity. Dew point tempera ture (DPT) is that temperature at which a moist air sample at the same pressure would reach water vapor saturation. At this saturation point, water vapor would begin to condense into liquid water fog or (if below freezing) solid hoarfrost, as heat is removed. The dew point temperature is measured easily and provides us eful information, but is normally not considered an independent property. It dup licates information available via other humidity properties and the saturation c urve. Relative Humidity (RH) is the ratio of the mole fraction of water vapor to the mole fraction of saturated moist air at the same temperature and pressure. RH is dimensionless, and is usually expressed as a percentage. Lines of constant RH

reflect the physics of air and water: they are determined via experimental measu rement. Note: the notion that air "holds" moisture, or that moisture dissolves i n dry air and saturates the solution at some proportion, is an erroneous (albeit widespread) concept Humidity Ratio (also known as Moisture Content, Mixing Rati o, or Specific Humidity) is the proportion of mass of water vapor per unit mass of dry air at the given conditions (DBT, WBT, DPT, RH, etc.). It is typically th e ordinate or vertical axis of the graph. For a given DBT there will be a partic ular humidity ratio for which the air sample is at 100% relative humidity: the r elationship reflects the physics of water and air and must be measured. Humidity Ratio is dimensionless, but is sometimes expressed as grams of water per kilogr am of dry air or grains of water per pound of air. Specific Enthalpy symbolized by h, also called heat content per unit mass, is the sum of the internal (heat) energy of the moist air in question, including the heat of the air and water vap or within. In the approximation of ideal gasses, lines of constant enthalpy are parallel to lines of constant WBT. Enthalpy is given in (SI) Joules per kilogram of air or BTU per pound of air. Specific Volume, also called Inverse Density, i s the volume per unit mass of the air sample. The SI units are cubic meters per kilogram of air; other units are cubic feet per pound of dry air. The versatilit y of the psychometric chart lies in the fact that by knowing three independent p roperties of some moist air (one of which is the pressure), the other properties can be determined. Changes in state, such as when two air streams mix, can be m odeled easily and somewhat graphically using the correct psychometric chart for the location's air pressure or elevation relative to sea level. For locations at or below 2000 ft (600 m), a common assumption is to use the sea level psychomet ric chart.

How to read the chart The most common chart used by practitioners and students a like is the "-t" (omega-t) chart in which the Dry Bulb Temperature (DBT) appears horizontally as the abscissa and the humidity ratios () appear as the ordinates. In order to use a particular chart, for a given air pressure or elevation, at le ast two of the six independent properties must be known (DBT, WBT, RH, Humidity Ratio, Specific Enthalpy, and Specific Volume). This gives rise to 15 possible c ombinations. DBT : This can be determined from the abscissa DPT : Follow the horizontal line from the point where the line from the horizontal axis arrives at 100% RH, also known as the saturation curve. WBT : Line inclined to the horizontal and interse cts saturation curve at DBT point. RH : Hyperbolic lines drawn asymptotically wi th respect to the saturation curve which corresponds to 100% RH. Humidity Ratio : Marked on Ordinate axis. Specific Enthalpy : lines of equal values, or hash ma rks for, slope from the upper left to the lower right. Specific Volume : Equally spaced parallel family of lines.

REFRIGERATION CYCLE Refrigerant Refrigerants are substances used by air conditio ners to transfer heat and create a cooling effect. Air-conditioning systems use specially formulated refrigerants designed to change state at specific temperatu res providing optimum cooling. Portables use a refrigerant called R-22 or HCFC-2 2. HCFC stands for hydrochlorofluorocarbon.This is currently the most common ref rigerant used by air-conditioning systems. Refrigerant Phase-Out Many of the cur rent forms of refrigerants used today are being phased out based on concern for depletion of the ozone layer. Portables use R-22, which has been deemed acceptab le for use by the EPA until the year 2010. By that time, an ozone-friendly refri gerant that can be easily substituted for R-22 will be readily available. In the refrigeration cycle, a heat pump transfers heat from a lower temperature heat s ource into a higher temperature heat sink. Heat would naturally flow in the oppo site direction. This is the most common type of air conditioning. A refrigerator works in much the same way, as it pumps the heat out of the interior into the r oom in which it stands.This cycle takes advantage of the universal gas law PV = nRT, where P is pressure, V is volume, R is the universal gas constant, T is tem perature, and n is the number of moles of gas (1 mole = 6.0221023 molecules). In the refrigerator, the cycle is continuous. In the following example, provided th at the refrigerant being used is pure ammonia, which boils at -27 degrees F. Thi s is what happens to keep the refrigerator cool: The compressor compresses the a mmonia gas. The compressed gas heats up as it is pressurized (orange). The coils on the back of the refrigerator let the hot ammonia gas dissipate its heat. The ammonia gas condenses into ammonia liquid (dark blue) at high pressure. The hig h-pressure ammonia liquid flows through the expansion valve. Expansion valve can be considered as a small hole. On one side of the hole

is high-pressure ammonia liquid. On the other side of the hole is a lowpressure area (because the compressor is sucking gas out of that side). The liquid ammoni a immediately boils and vaporizes (light blue), its temperature dropping to -27 F. This makes the inside of the refrigerator cold. The cold ammonia gas is sucke d up by the compressor, and the cycle repeats. The Refrigeration Cycle A=Inside the refrigerator B=Compressor C=Expansion Valve

Heat pump and refrigeration cycle Thermodynamic heat pump and refrigeration cycl es are the models for heat pumps and refrigerators. The difference between the t wo is that heat pumps are intended to keep a place warm and refrigerators design ed to cool it. Technically a refrigerator cycle is also a heat pump cycle. A hea t pump is when heat is removed from a low-temperature space or source and reject ed to a high-temperature sink with the help of external mechanical work. The inv erse of the heat pump cycle is the thermodynamic power cycle. In the power cycle , heat is supplied from a high-temperature source to the heat engine, part of th e heat being used to produce mechanical work and the rest being rejected to a lo w-temperature sink. This satisfies the second law of thermodynamics. A heat pump describes the changes that take place in the refrigerant as it alternately abso rbs and rejects heat as it circulates through a refrigerator. It is also applied to HVACR work, when describing the "process" of refrigerant flow through an HVA CR unit, whether it is a packaged or split system. Heat naturally flows from hot to cold. Work is applied to cool a living space or storage volume by pumping he at from a lower temperature heat source into a higher temperature heat sink. Ins ulation is used to reduce the work and energy required to achieve and maintain a lower temperature in the cooled space. The operating principle of the refrigera tion cycle was described mathematically by Sadi Carnot in 1824 as a heat engine. The most common types of heat pump systems use the reverse-Rankine vaporcompres sion refrigeration cycle although absorption heat pumps are used in a minority o f applications. Heat pump can be classified as: Vapor cycle, Gas cycle, and Stir ling cycle

Vapor cycle refrigeration can be classified as: Vapor compression refrigeration Gas absorption refrigeration Vapor-compression cycle The vapor-compression cycle is used in most household refrigerators as well as in many large commercial and industrial refrigeration systems. The following Figure provides a schematic dia gram of the components of a typical vapor-compression refrigeration system. Ther modynamics of the cycle can be analyzed on a diagram .In this cycle, a circulati ng refrigerant such as Freon enters the compressor as a vapor. From point 1 to p oint 2, the vapor is compressed at constant entropy and exits the compressor sup erheated. From point 2 to point 3 and on to point 4, the superheated vapor trave ls through the condenser which first cools and removes the superheat and then co ndenses the vapor into a liquid by removing additional heat at constant pressure and temperature. Between points 4 and 5, the liquid refrigerant goes through th e expansion valve (also called a throttle valve) where its pressure abruptly dec reases, causing flash evaporation and auto-refrigeration of, typically, less tha n half of the liquid.

That results in a mixture of liquid and vapor at a lower temperature and pressur e as shown at point 5. The cold liquid-vapor mixture then travels through the ev aporator coil or tubes and is completely vaporized by cooling the warm air (from the space being refrigerated) being blown by a fan across the evaporator coil o r tubes. The resulting refrigerant vapor returns to the compressor inlet at poin t 1 to complete the thermodynamic cycle. The above discussion is based on the id eal vapor-compression refrigeration cycle, and does not take into account real-w orld effects like frictional pressure drop in the system, slight thermodynamic i rreversibility during the compression of the refrigerant vapor, or non-ideal gas behavior (if any).

Vapor absorption cycle In the early years of the twentieth century, the vapor ab sorption cycle using water-ammonia systems was popular and widely used but, afte r the development of the vapor compression cycle, it lost much of its importance because of its low coefficient of performance (about one fifth of that of the v apor compression cycle). Nowadays, the vapor absorption cycle is used only where waste heat is available or where heat is derived from solar collectors. The abs orption cycle is similar to the compression cycle, except for the method of rais ing the pressure of the refrigerant vapor. In the absorption system, the compres sor is replaced by an absorber which dissolves the refrigerant in a suitable liq uid, a liquid pump which raises the pressure and a generator which, on heat addi tion, drives off the refrigerant vapor from the high-pressure liquid. Some work is required by the liquid pump but, for a given quantity of refrigerant, it is m uch smaller than needed by the compressor in the vapor compression cycle. In an absorption refrigerator, a suitable combination of refrigerant and absorbent is used. The most common combinations are ammonia (refrigerant) and water (absorben t), and water (refrigerant) and lithium bromide (absorbent). Gas cycle When the working fluid is a gas that is compressed and expanded but do esn't change phase, the refrigeration cycle is called a gas cycle. Air is most o ften this working fluid. As there is no condensation and evaporation intended in a gas cycle, components corresponding to the condenser and evaporator in a vapo r compression cycle are the hot and cold gas-to-gas heat exchangers in gas cycle s. The gas cycle is less efficient than the vapor compression cycle because the gas cycle works on the reverse Brayton cycle instead of the reverse Rankine cycl e. As such the working fluid does not receive and reject heat at constant temper ature. In the gas cycle, the refrigeration effect is equal to the product of the specific heat of the gas and the rise in temperature of the gas in the low temp erature side.

AIR CYCLE Air is by nature the safest and cheapest refrigerant. Environmental co ncerns about ozone depletion, global warming and increasingly stringent legislat ion have renewed interest in alternative refrigeration technologies. Air cycle s ystems have specific advantages that apply to all potential applications: The wo rking fluid (air) is free, environmentally benign, totally safe and nontoxic. Ai r cycle equipment is extremely reliable, thereby reducing maintenance costs and system down-time. The performance of an air cycle unit does not deteriorate as m uch as that of a vapor-compression unit when operating away from its design poin t. When operating in a refrigeration cycle, an air cycle unit can also produce h eat at a useful temperature. The use of air as a refrigerant is based on the pri nciple that when a gas expands isentropically from a given temperature, its fina l temperature at the new pressure is much lower. The resulting cold gas, in this case air, can then be used as a refrigerant, either directly in an open system, or indirectly by means of a heat exchanger in a closed system. The efficiency o f such systems is limited to a great extent by the efficiencies of compression a nd expansion, as well as those of the heat exchangers employed. Originally, slow speed reciprocating compressors and expanders were used. The poor efficiency an d reliability of such machinery were major factors in the replacement of such sy stems with vapor compression equipment. However, the development of rotary compr essors and expanders greatly improved the isentropic efficiency and reliability of the air cycle. Advances in turbine technology, together with the development of air bearings and ceramic component offer further efficiency. Combining this w ith newly available compact heat exchangers with greatly improved heat transfer characteristics makes competition with many existing vapor compression, and cert ainly liquid nitrogen systems, quite feasible.

Environmental control in buildings Until recently the use of air cycle has been largely restricted to aircraft cabin air conditioning systems. A recent trial ha s demonstrated the advantages that air cycle technologies can offer to passenger train air conditioning systems. An important conclusion of this trial was that air cycle train air conditioning systems will have lower overall life cycle owne rship costs than comparable vapour compression systems. The successful demonstra tion of these units in Germanys ICE2.2 high speed trains by Normalair-Garrett Ltd . led to the company receiving the Engineering Councils Environmental Award for E ngineers in 1996. Studies carried out by the Buildings Research Establishment (B RE) and frperc have demonstrated that air cycle systems in buildings would have a number of advantages. These include Lamination of the need to use environmentally damaging CFC, HCFC or other altern ative refrigerants in building air conditioning systems Use of high grade heat r ecovery from air cycle cooling systems resulting in lower energy consumption Imp roved reliability and reduced maintenance compared with conventional systems Mai ntenance of near full load efficiency at part load conditions No susceptibility to refrigerant leakage

Food freezing system Currently frperc are working on the design, construction an d installation of an air cycle fluidized bed freezer for food freezing. The air cycle plant will operate with air as the refrigerant delivering it to the freeze r bed at -75C. Fluidized beds have a number of useful characteristics. Heat and m ass transfer rates to and within the bed are high and there is a good uniformity of treatment of the particles to yield high quality individually quick frozen p roducts. Freezing food faster can increase turnover on an existing footprint, re duce the freezing cost and produce a higher quality of frozen food. Freezing foo d with an air cycle refrigeration plant has two advantages; The air can replace toxic, inflammable or environmentally unfriendly refrigerants and replace it wit h a safe and replaceable refrigerant It is capable of producing freezing tempera tures far colder than vapor compression plant for less energy consumption, size and cost. Freezing temperatures as low as those produced by cryogenic refrigerat ion are possible but without the high running costs and energy consumption inher ent in such systems.

CFC free heat pumps The objective of the project is to develop heat pump systems, to be used in exis ting as well as new buildings, using air as the environmentally benign working f luid to improve the primary energy ratio of heating and cooling systems. To impr ove the efficiency of air cycle systems the (isentropic) efficiency of the rotat ing equipment (expanders and compressors) is crucial. High efficiency equipment is available in other application fields such as pressurized air systems and ene rgy recovery systems .

COMFORT COOLING SYSTEMS The need for heating and cooling in buildings: The prime requirement in respect of the indoor climate in a building is that room temperature should be at a comf ortable level, regardless of the weather conditions outside. In addition, the in door air must be acceptably clean, lighting and acoustic conditions must be good etc.Nevertheless, the first and foremost condition for a building to be usable at allies that the indoor temperature inacceptable. As soon as the ambient tempe rature is lower than the Indoor temperature, heat flows out from the building th rough its boundary surfaces (the building envelope). At the same time, the build ing also loses heat through air infiltration, i.e. the inward leakage of outdoor air into the building through gaps and cavities in walls, roofs, doors and wind ows. Bearing in mind the fact that the indoor temperature in most buildings is m aintained at a little over20 C, this means, throughout most of the year, the buil ding is losing heat to its surroundings.

The internal heat generation in commercial premises and some industrial building s, on the other hand, is often relatively great. In combination with the fact th at construction standards have been developed and improved, so that buildings ar e nowadays well insulated and airtight, this means that the heat losses through the building envelope are small. If we consider new office buildings, department stores, hospitals and similar buildings within the commercial premises and indu strial sector, we find that heat deficits usually occur only during the night an d at weekends, while there is nearly always ahead surplus during working hours. Such buildings require only simple heating systems to meet the modest heat defic its, as opposed to the considerably more extensive systems needed in order to de al with the substantial heat surpluses, and to prevent the indoor temperature be coming unacceptably high during working hours. In general terms, the greater the heat surplus, and therefore the greater the capacity of the cooling system, the more difficult it is to produce an indoor climate that is good in all respects. It is therefore always important to attempt to design the building in general s o that there will be only a low heat surplus. Comfort cooling The surplus heat that has to be removed from buildings in order to maintain the indoor temperature below some previously determined maximum perm issible temperature is referred to as the cooling requirement. In other words, t he cooling requirement of the building is exactly the same as its heat.

The climate control system in building has to maintain both the thermal climate and the air quality. Maintaining the thermal climate consists primarily of keepi ng the temperature of the indoor air within given limits. Maintaining the air qu ality consists of controlling the cleanliness of the indoor air by supplying a suf ficient quantity of outdoor air to ventilate the interior of the building. Maint enance of air quality sometimes also includes ensuring that given Concentrations of particles and/or gases are not exceeded. The cooling system must be able to deal with variations in the cooling requirement, whether over the day or over th e year. The two basic types of all-air cooling systems are the constant air flow system and the variable air flow system, Although there are also combinations o f the two methods. The need for comfort cooling arises, therefore, when requirem ents in respect of the thermal climate also include requirements in respect of m aximum permissible indoor temperatures. In general, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation a nd Air-Conditioning) systems used in order actively to cool buildings can be div ided up into three main types: _ all-air cooling systems _ all-water cooling sys tems _ combined systems (With cooling supplied both by air and by water)

All-air cooling systems The design air flow rate in these systems, and thus the necessary sizes of ventilation ducts, is determined by the design cooling requir ement. In other words, it is the thermal requirements, and not the air quality r equirements, that determine the necessary air flow rate. In existing buildings, it is normally both difficult and expensive to replace the ventilation duct syst em. If the existing ducts cannot transport sufficiently large air quantities to meet the cooling requirements, all-water-cooling systems will usually be install ed in connection with Conversion or modernization. Constant air volume systems (CAV systems) In such systems, the temperature of th e air supplied to the building can vary, but the air flow rate is kept constant. Such systems are referred to as Constant Air Volume (CAV) systems. It is the ro oms having the greatest cooling requirement that normally determine the supply a ir temperature delivered by the central air conditioning unit: the air may, if n ecessary, be heated before supplied to other rooms. Although a CAV system suppli es air at a constant flow rate, the fans are sometimes powered by two-speed moto rs, running at the lower speed when the building cooling requirement falls. The air flow rate is then reduced in proportion to the fan speed.

Variable air volume systems (VAV systems) The air flow rate to each room is vari ed as necessary, but with maintenance of a constant supply temperature, i.e. the supply temperature does not change even if the load changes. However, the suppl y air temperature is normally changed in step with the time of year, as a functi on of the ambient temperature. Systems of this type are referred to as Variable Air Volume (VAV) systems. The air flow to each individual room is controlled by dampers in some form of box (VAV-box) in the immediate vicinity of the supply po int to the room, while the central supply and exhaust air fans are controlled by variable inlet vanes or by adjustable speed drive controlled motors, usually of the frequency-inverter type. The control system normally maintains a constant s tatic pressure in the supply air duct. The flow rate varies from a maximum, duri ng the hottest days, down to perhaps 20 % of maximum flow rate during the coldes t days of the year, when the purpose of the air is only to maintain the air qual ity.

All-water cooling systems Systems of this type supply all-water cooling to the i ndividual rooms, with the ventilation system designed purely to maintain the air quality. Systems of this type are often chosen in connection with conversion or renovation projects. There is usually space above the false ceilings to install the water pipes needed for distribution of cold water throughout the building. Combined systems All-air and all-water cooling systems can be combined in many w ays. One such need for a combined system is if all-air cooling is used, but the cooling requirement is so great that an all-air cooling system alone is not capa ble of dealing with it satisfactorily, as such high air flow rates would be requ ired that draughts would be unavoidable. It is also possible to combine all-air cooling systems so that certain parts of the building, or certain rooms, are coo led by a VAV system, while other parts of the building are cooled by a CAV syste m.

Cooling supply devices Cooling can be supplied to a room in a number of differen t ways. The following are brief descriptions of how chilled beams, cooling panel s, fan coil units and induction units operate. Fan coil units and induction unit s are normally positioned below windows in the outside walls. Chilled beams Thes e are units which, by natural convection from a finned heat exchanger, cool the air in the room. They may also be combined with the supply air terminal device i n order to provide both functions and, in many cases, to increase the cooling ca pacity of the baffle. Some chilled beams can also incorporate a heating function . Cooling panels Cooling panels can be hung from the ceiling. Cold water flows t hrough an aluminium plate, which transfers heat from the air to the cold water. The panel cools the warm room air and also cools the room surfaces by low-temper ature radiation. These panels are produced in a number of versions, e.g. for mou nting flat against the ceiling, hanging, or for integration in a false ceiling. Most of their cooling capacity is provided by radiation. Fan coil units These ar e units by which both heating and cooling can be supplied to a room (although no t at the same time). A fan coil unit incorporates a fan which circulates the roo m air through the unit, in which the air is either heated or cooled as required. The two heat exchangers (heating and cooling) are supplied with hot or cold wat er from a central unit in the building. This type of room cooler unit can meet t he highest cooling requirements, but it also has the highest noise level. Induct ion units These are units by which both heating and cooling can be supplied to a room .When in use, the ventilation air for the room is supplied through the ind uction unit. It flows through a nozzle with high velocity, which therefore has t he effect of inducing air from the room through the heating or cooling heat exch angers.

AIR CONDITIONING The term air conditioning most commonly refers to the cooling and dehumidificati on of indoor air for thermal comfort. In a broader sense, the term can refer to any form of cooling, heating, ventilation or disinfection that modifies the cond ition of air.[1] An air conditioner (AC or A/C in North American English, aircon in British and Australian English) is an appliance, system, or mechanism design ed to stabilize the air temperature and humidity within an area (used for coolin g as well as heating depending on the air properties at a given time) , typicall y using a refrigeration cycle but sometimes using evaporation, most commonly for comfort cooling in buildings and transportation vehicles. The concept of air co nditioning is known to have been applied in Ancient Rome, where aqueduct water w as circulated through the walls of certain houses to cool them. Similar techniqu es in medieval Persia involved the use of cisterns and wind towers to cool build ings during the hot season. Modern air conditioning emerged from advances in che mistry during the 19th century, and the first large-scale electrical air conditi oning was invented and used in 1902 by Willis Haviland Carrier. Air conditioning applications: Air conditioning engineers broadly divide air con ditioning applications into comfort and process. Comfort applications aim to pro vide a building indoor environment that remains relatively constant in a range p referred by humans despite changes in external weather conditions or in internal heat loads. The highest performance for tasks performed by people seated in an office is expected to occur at 72 F (22 C) Performance is expected to degrade abou t 1% for every 2 F change in room temperature.[6] The highest performance for tas ks performed while standing is expected to occur at slightly lower temperatures. The highest performance for tasks performed by larger people is expected to occ ur at slightly lower temperatures. The highest performance for tasks performed b y smaller people is expected to occur at slightly higher temperatures. Although

generally accepted, some dispute that thermal comfort enhances worker productivi ty, as is described in the Hawthorne effect. Comfort air conditioning makes deep plan buildings feasible. Without air conditioning, buildings must be built narr ower or with light wells so that inner spaces receive sufficient outdoor air via natural ventilation. Air conditioning also allows buildings to be taller since wind speed increases significantly with altitude making natural ventilation impr actical for very tall buildings. Comfort applications for various building types are quite different and may be categorized as: Low-Rise Residential buildings, including single family houses, duplexes, and small apartment buildings High-Ris e Residential buildings, such as tall dormitories and apartment blocks Commercia l buildings, which are built for commerce, including offices, malls, shopping ce nters, restaurants, etc. Institutional buildings, which includes hospitals, gove rnmental, academic, and so on. Industrial spaces where thermal comfort of worker s is desired. In addition to buildings, air conditioning can be used for comfort in a wide variety of transportation including land vehicles, trains, ships, air craft, and spacecraft. Process applications aim to provide a suitable environment for a process being c arried out, regardless of internal heat and humidity loads and external weather conditions. Although often in the comfort range, it is the needs of the process that determine conditions, not human preference. Process applications include th ese: Hospital operating theatres, in which air is filtered to high levels to red uce infection risk and the humidity controlled to limit patient dehydration. Alt hough temperatures are often in the comfort range, some specialist procedures su ch as open heart surgery require low temperatures (about 18 C, 64 F) and others su ch as neonatal relatively high temperatures (about 28 C, 82 F).

 Clean rooms for the production of integrated circuits, pharmaceuticals, and the like, in which very high levels of air cleanliness and control of temperature an d humidity are required for the success of the process. Facilities for breeding laboratory animals. Since many animals normally only reproduce in spring, holdin g them in rooms at which conditions mirror spring all year can cause them to rep roduce year round. Aircraft air conditioning. Although nominally aimed at provid ing comfort for passengers and cooling of equipment, aircraft air conditioning p resents a special process because of the low air pressure outside the aircraft. Data processing centers Textile factories Physical testing facilities Plants and farm growing areas Nuclear facilities Chemical and biological laboratories Mine s Industrial environments Food cooking and processing areas In both comfort and process applications the objective may be to not only control temperature, but a lso humidity, air quality, air motion, and air movement from space to space. Hum idity control Refrigeration air conditioning equipment usually reduces the humid ity of the air processed by the system. The relatively cold (below the dew point ) evaporator coil condenses water vapor from the processed air, (much like an ic e cold drink will condense water on the outside of a glass), sending the water t o a drain and removing water vapor from the cooled space and lowering the relati ve humidity. Since humans perspire to provide natural cooling by the evaporation of perspiration from the skin, drier air (up to a point) improves the comfort p rovided. The comfort air conditioner is designed to create a 40% to 60% relative humidity in the occupied space. In food retailing establishments large open chil ler cabinets act as highly effective air dehumidifying units.

Some air conditioning units dry the air without cooling it, and are better class ified as dehumidifiers. They work like a normal air conditioner, except that a h eat exchanger is placed between the intake and exhaust. In combination with conv ection fans they achieve a similar level of comfort as an air cooler in humid tr opical climates, but only consume about a third of the electricity. They are als o preferred by those who find the draft created by air coolers discomforting. Energy use It should be noted that in a thermodynamically closed system, any ene rgy input into the system that is being maintained at a set temperature (which i s a standard mode of operation for modern air conditioners) requires that the en ergy removal rate from the air conditioner increase. This increase has the effec t that for each unit of energy input into the system (say to power a light bulb in the closed system) requires the air conditioner to remove that energy. In ord er to do that the air conditioner must increase its consumption by the inverse o f its efficiency times the input unit of energy. As an example presume that insi de the closed system a 100 watt light bulb is activated, and the air conditioner has an efficiency of 200%. The air conditioners energy consumption will increas e by 50 watts to compensate for this, thus making the 100 W light bulbs utilize a total of 150 W of energy. Portable air conditioners A portable air conditioner or portable A/C is an air c onditioner on wheels that can be easily transported inside a home or office. The y are currently available with capacities of about 6,000 to 60,000 BTU/h (1800 t o 18 000 watts output) and with and without electric resistance heaters. Portabl e air conditioners come in three forms, split, and hose and evaporative: A split system has an indoor unit on wheels connected to an outdoor unit via flexible p ipes, similar to a permanently fixed installed unit. Hose systems Air-to-Air and Monoblock are vented to the outside via air ducts. A function of all cooling th at use a compressor, is to create water as it cools the air.

The "monoblock" version collects the water in a bucket or tray and stops when fu ll. The Air-to-Air version re-evaporates the water and discharges it through the ducted hose and can hence run continuously. A single duct unit draws air out of the room to cool its condenser. This air is then replaced by hot air from outsi de or other rooms, thus reducing efficiency. However, modern units run on approx imately 1 to 3 ratio i.e., to produce 3 kW of cooling this will use 1 kW of elec tricity. Air cooled portable air conditioners are compressor-based refrigerant s ystem that uses air to exchange heat, similar to a car or typical household air conditioner. With this type of system the air is dehumidified as it is cooled. E vaporative air conditioners do not have a compressor or condenser. Instead, liqu id water is poured in and released as vapor. Because they do not have a condense r which needs cooling, they do not need hoses or pipes, allowing them to be trul y portable. As a rule of thumb, 400 square feet (37 m) can be cooled per 12,000 B TU/h (3.5 kW or one ton of air conditioning) by a refrigerative air conditioner. However, other factors will affect the total heat load. Evaporative air conditi oners use much less energy. Types of air conditioner equipment Window and through-wall units Many traditiona l air conditioners in homes or other buildings are single rectangular units used to cool an apartment, a house or part of it, or part of a building. For an exam ple, see the photos to the right. Hotels frequently use PTAC systems, which comb ine heating into the same unit. Air conditioner units need to have access to the space they are cooling (the inside) and a heat sink; normally outside air is us ed to cool the condenser section. For this reason, single unit air conditioners are placed in windows or through openings in a wall made for the air conditioner ; the latter type includes portable air conditioners. Window and through-wall un its have vents on both the inside and outside, so inside air to be cooled can be blown in and out by a fan in the unit, and outside air can also be blown in and out by another fan to act as the heat sink. The controls are on the inside.

Evaporation coolers In very dry climates, so-called "swamp coolers" are popular for improving comfort during hot weather. This type of cooler is the dominant co oler used in Iran which has the largest number of units than anywhere else in th e world, hence some referring to "swamp coolers" as Persian coolers. An evaporat ive cooler is a device that draws outside air through a wet pad, such as a large sponge soaked with water. The sensible heat of the incoming air, as measured by a dry bulb thermometer, is reduced. The total heat (sensible heat plus latent h eat) of the entering air is unchanged. Some of the sensible heat of the entering air is converted to latent heat by the evaporation of water in the wet cooler p ads. If the entering air is dry enough, the results can be quite comfortable. Th ese coolers cost less and are mechanically simple to understand and maintain. Th ere is a related, more complex process called absorptive refrigeration which use s heat to produce cooling. In one instance, a three-stage absorptive cooler firs t dehumidifies the air with a spray of salt-water or brine. The brine osmoticall y absorbs water vapor from the air. The second stage sprays water in the air, co oling the air by evaporation. Finally, to control the humidity, the air passes t hrough another brine spray. The brine is reconcentrated by distillation. The sys tem is used in some hospitals because, with filtering, a sufficiently hot regene rative distillation removes airborne organisms. Absorptive chillers Some buildings use gas turbines to generate electricity. The exhausts of these are hot enough to drive an absorptive chiller that produces c old water. The cold water is then run through radiators in air ducts for hydroni c cooling. The dual use of the energy, both to generate electricity and cooling, makes this technology attractive when regional utility and fuel prices are righ t. Producing heat, power, and cooling in one system is known as trigeneration.

Central air conditioning Central air conditioning, commonly referred to as centr al air (US) or air-con (UK), is an air conditioning system which uses ducts to d istribute cooled and/or dehumidified air to more than one room, or uses pipes to distribute chilled water to heat exchangers in more than one room, and which is not plugged into a standard electrical outlet. With a typical split system, the condenser and compressor are located in an outdoor unit; the evaporator is moun ted in the air handling unit (which is often a forced air furnace). With a packa ge system, all components are located in a single outdoor unit that may be locat ed on the ground or roof. Central air conditioning performs like a regular air c onditioner but has several added benefits: When the air handling unit turns on, room air is drawn in from various parts of the house through return-air ducts. T his air is pulled through a filter where airborne particles such as dust and lin t are removed. Sophisticated filters may remove microscopic pollutants as well. The filtered air is routed to air supply ductwork that carries it back to rooms. Whenever the air conditioner is running, this cycle repeats continually. Becaus e the central air conditioning unit is located outside the home, it offers a low er level of noise indoors than a free-standing air conditioning unit.

Thermostats Thermostats control the operation of HVAC systems, turning on the he ating or cooling systems to bring the building to the set temperature. Typically the heating and cooling systems have separate control systems (even though they may share a thermostat) so that the temperature is only controlled "one-way". T hat is, in winter, a building that is too hot will not be cooled by the thermost at. Thermostats may also be incorporated into facility energy management systems in which the power utility customer may control the overall energy expenditure. In addition, a growing number of power utilities have made available a device w hich, when professionally installed, will control or limit the power to an HVAC system during peak use times in order to avoid necessitating the use of rolling blackouts. Equipment capacity Air conditioner equipment power in the U.S. is oft en described in terms of "tons of refrigeration". A "ton of refrigeration" is de fined as the cooling power of one short ton (2000 pounds or 907 kilograms) of ic e melting in a 24-hour period. This is equal to 12,000 BTU per hour, or 3517 wat ts (http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP811/appenB9.html). Residential "central air" systems are usually from 1 to 5 tons (3 to 20 kW) in capacity. The use of electr ic/compressive air conditioning puts a major demand on the nation's electrical p ower grid in warm weather, when most units are operating under heavy load. Healt h implications Air conditioning has no greater influence on health than heatingth at is to say, very littlealthough poorly maintained air-conditioning systems (esp ecially large, centralized systems) can occasionally promote the growth and spre ad of microorganisms, such as Legionella pneumophila, the infectious agent respo nsible for Legionnaire's disease, or thermophilic actinomycetes.Conversely, air conditioning (including filtration, humidification, cooling, disinfection, etc.) can be used to provide a clean, safe, hypoallergenic atmosphere in hospital ope rating rooms and other environments where an appropriate atmosphere is critical to patient safety and well-being. Air conditioning can have a positive effect on sufferers of allergies and asthma.

In serious heat waves, air conditioning can save the lives of the elderly. Some local authorities even set up public cooling centers for the benefit of those wi thout air conditioning at home. Properly maintained air-conditioning systems do not cause or promote illness, despite superstitions that air-conditioning is unc onditionally dangerous to one's health. As with heating systems, the advantages of air conditioning generally far outweigh the disadvantages. The internal section of the same unit. A modern Americool window airconditioner internal section External section of a typical AC Air Conditioning Units

How Air Conditioners work Air conditioners and refrigerators work the same way. I nstead of cooling just the small, insulated space inside of a refrigerator, an a ir conditioner cools a room, a whole house, or an entire business. Air condition ers use chemicals that easily convert from a gas to a liquid and back again. Thi s chemical is used to transfer heat from the air inside of a home to the outside air. The machine has three main parts. They are a compressor, a condenser and a n evaporator. The compressor and condenser are usually located on the outside ai r portion of the air conditioner. The evaporator is located on the inside the ho use, sometimes as part of a furnace. The working fluid arrives at the compressor as a cool, low-pressure gas called Freon. The compressor squeezes the fluid. Th is packs the molecule of the fluid closer together. The closer the molecules are together, the higher its energy and its temperature. The working fluid leaves t he compressor as a hot, high pressure gas and flows into the condenser. If you l ooked at the air conditioner part outside a house, look for the part that has me tal fins all around. The fins act just like a radiator in a car and help the hea t go away, or dissipate, more quickly. When the working fluid leaves the condens er, its temperature is much cooler and it has changed from a gas to a liquid und er high pressure. The liquid goes into the evaporator through a very tiny, narro w hole. On the other side, the liquid's pressure drops. When it does it begins t o evaporate into a gas. As the liquid changes to gas and evaporates, it extracts heat from the air around it. The heat in the air is needed to separate the mole cules of the fluid from a liquid to a gas. The evaporator also has metal fins to help in exchange the thermal energy with the surrounding air.

 By the time the working fluid leaves the evaporator, it is a cool, low pressure gas. It then returns to the compressor to begin its trip all over again. Connect ed to the evaporator is a fan that circulates the air inside the house to blow a cross the evaporator fins. Hot air is lighter than cold air, so the hot air in t he room rises to the top of a room. There is a vent there where air is sucked in to the air conditioner and goes down ducts. The hot air is used to cool the gas in the evaporator. As the heat is removed from the air, the air is cooled. It is then blown into the house through other ducts usually at the floor level. This continues over and over and over until the room reaches the temperature you want the room cooled to. The thermostat senses that the temperature has reached the right setting and turns off the air conditioner. As the room warms up, the therm ostat turns the air conditioner back on until the room reaches the temperature.

A-Expansion Valve B-Compressor Schematic diagram of an air-conditioner Window AC Units A window air conditioner unit implements a complete air conditio ner in a small space. The units are made small enough to fit into a standard win dow frame. It contains: A compressor An expansion valve A hot coil (on the outsi de) A chilled coil (on the inside) Two fans A control unit.

The fans blow air over the coils to improve their ability to dissipate heat (to the outside air) and cold (to the room being cooled). BTU and EER Most air conditioners have their capacity rated in British thermal u nits (BTU). Generally speaking, a BTU is the amount of heat required to raise th e temperature of one pound (0.45 kg) of water 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.56 degrees Celsius). Specifically, 1 BTU equals 1,055 joules. In heating and cooling terms, 1 "ton" equals 12,000 BTU. A typical window air conditioner might be rated at 1 0,000 BTU. For comparison, a typical 2,000-square-foot (185.8 m2) house might ha ve a 5-ton (60,000-BTU) air conditioning system, implying that you might need pe rhaps 30 BTU per square foot. (Keep in mind that these are rough estimates. To s ize an air conditioner for your specific needs, contact an HVAC contractor.) The energy efficiency rating (EER) of an air conditioner is its BTU rating over its wattage. For example, if a 10,000-BTU air conditioner consumes 1,200 watts, its EER is 8.3 (10,000 BTU/1,200 watts). Obviously, you would like the EER to be as high as possible, but normally a higher EER is accompanied by a higher price. L et's say that you have a choice between two 10,000-BTU units. One has an EER of 8.3 and consumes 1,200 watts, and the other has an EER of 10 and consumes 1,000 watts. Let's also say that the price difference is $100. To understand what the payback period is on the more expensive unit, you need to know: Approximately ho w many hours per year you will be operating the unit How much a kilowatt-hour (k Wh) costs in your area Let's say that you plan to use the air conditioner in the summer (four months a year) and it will be operating about six hours a day. Let 's also imagine that the cost in your area is $0.10/kWh. The difference in energ y consumption between the two units is 200 watts, which means that every five ho urs the less expensive unit will consume 1 additional kWh (and therefore $0.10 m ore) than the more expensive unit. Assuming that there are 30 days in a month, y ou find that during the summer you are operating the air conditioner: 4 mo. x 30 days/mo. x 6 hr/day = 720 hours [(720 hrs x 200 watts) / (1000 watts/kW)] x $0. 10/kWh = $14.40

Split-system AC Units A split-system air conditioner splits the hot side from th e cold side of the system, like this: The cold side, consisting of the expansion valve and the cold coil, is generally placed into a furnace or some other air handler. The air handler blows air thro ugh the coil and routes the air throughout the building using a series of ducts. The hot side, known as the condensing unit, lives outside the building. The uni t consists of a long, spiral coil shaped like a cylinder. Inside the coil is a f an, to blow air through the coil, along with a weather-resistant compressor and some control logic. This approach has evolved over the years because it is low-c ost, and also because it normally results in reduced noise inside the house (at the expense of increased noise outside the house). Besides the fact that the hot and cold sides are split apart and the capacity is higher (making the coils and compressor larger), there is no difference between a split-system and a window air conditioner. In warehouses, businesses, malls, large department stores and t he like, the condensing unit normally lives on the roof and can be quite massive . Alternatively, there may be many smaller units on the roof, each attached insi de to a small air handler that cools a specific zone in the building. In larger buildings and particularly in multi-story buildings, the split-system approach b egins to run into problems. Either running the pipe between the condenser and th e air handler exceeds distance limitations (runs that are too long start to caus e lubrication difficulties in the compressor), or the amount of duct work and th e length of ducts becomes unmanageable.

Chilled-water and Cooling-tower AC Units In a chilled-water system, the entire air conditioner lives on the roof or behin d the building. It cools water to between 40 and 45 F (4.4 and 7.2 C). This chil led water is then piped throughout the building and connected to air handlers as needed. There is no practical limit to the length of a chilled-water pipe if it is well-insulated. A-Expansion valve B-Compressor C-Heat Exchanger D-Chilled water to the building Cooling Towers In all of the systems described earlier, air is used to dissipate the heat from the outside coil. In large systems, the efficiency can be improve d significantly by using a cooling tower. The cooling tower creates a stream of lowertemperature water. This water runs through a heat exchanger and cools the h ot coils of the air conditioner unit. It costs more to buy the system initially, but the energy savings can be significant over time (especially in areas with l ow humidity), so the system pays for itself fairly quickly. Cooling towers come in all shapes and sizes. They all work on the same principle: Generally, the wat er trickles through a thick sheet of open plastic mesh. Air blows through the me sh at right angles to the water flow. The evaporation cools the stream of water. Because some of the water is lost to evaporation, the cooling tower constantly adds water to the system to make up the difference.

Air-Distribution Systems There are various types of air-distribution systems, li ke fans, filters, ductwork, outlets, dampers etc. HVAC HVAC is an initialism/acronym that stands for "heating, ventilating, and air con ditioning". HVAC is sometimes referred to as "climate control" and is particular ly important in the design of medium to large industrial and office buildings su ch as sky scrapers and in marine environments such as aquariums, where humidity and temperature must all be closely regulated whilst maintaining safe and health y conditions within. Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning is based on the basic principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer The inven tion of the components of HVAC systems goes hand-in-hand with the industrial rev olution, and new methods of modernization, higher efficiency, and system control are constantly introduced by companies and inventors all over the world. The th ree functions of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning are closely interrel ated. All seek to provide thermal comfort, acceptable indoor air quality, and re asonable installation, operation, and maintenance costs. HVAC systems can provid e ventilation, reduce air infiltration, and maintain pressure relationships betw een spaces. How air is delivered to, and removed from spaces is known as room ai r distribution. In modern buildings the design, installation, and control system s of these functions are integrated into one or more HVAC systems. For very smal l buildings, contractors normally "size" and select HVAC systems and equipment. For larger buildings where required by law, "building services" designers and en gineers, such as mechanical, architectural, or building services engineers analy ze, design, and specify the HVAC systems, and specialty mechanical contractors b uild and commission them. In all buildings, building permits for, and code-compl iance inspections of the installations are the norm.

HVAC systems use ventilation air ducts installed throughout a building that supp ly conditioned air to a room through rectangular or round outlet vents, called " diffusers"; and ducts that remove air through return-air "grilles. Heating Heating systems may be classified as central or local. Central heating i s often used in cold climates to heat private houses and public buildings. Such a system contains a boiler, furnace, or heat pump to heat water, steam, or air, all in a central location such as a furnace room in a home or a mechanical room in a large building. The system also contains piping or ductwork to distribute t he heated fluid, and radiators to transfer this heat to the air. The term radiat or in this context is misleading since most heat transfer from the heat exchange r is by convection, not radiation. The radiators may be mounted on walls or buri ed in the floor to give under-floor heat. In boiler fed or radiant heating syste ms, all but the simplest systems have a pump to circulate the water and ensure a n equal supply of heat to all the radiators. The heated water can also be fed th rough another heat exchanger inside a storage cylinder to provide hot running wa ter. Forced air systems send heated air through ductwork. During warm weather th e same ductwork can be reused for air conditioning. The forced air can also be f iltered or put through air cleaners. Most ducts cannot fit a human being (as the y do in many films) since this would require a greater duct-structural integrity and create a potential security liability. Heating can also be provided from el ectric, or resistance heating using a filament that glows hot when you cause ele ctricity to pass through it. This type of heat can

be found in electric baseboard heaters, portable electric heaters, and as backup or supplemental heating for heat pump (or reverse heating) system. The heating elements (radiators or vents) should be located in the coldest part of the room and typically next to the windows to minimize condensation. Popular retail devic es that direct vents away from windows to prevent "wasted" heat defeat this desi gn parameter. Drafts contribute more to the subjective feeling of coldness than actual room temperature. Therefore, rather than improving the heating of a room/ building, it is often more important to control the air leaks. The invention of central heating is often credited to the ancient Romans, who installed a system of air ducts called "hypocaust" in the walls and floors of public baths and priv ate villas. The ducts were fed with hot air from a central fire. Generally, thes e heated by radiation; a better physiologic approach to heating than conventiona l forced air convective heating. Ventilating Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing of air in any space to remove moisture, odors, smoke, heat, dust and airborne bacteria. Ventil ation includes both the exchange of air to the outside as well as circulation of air within the building. It is one of the most important factors for maintainin g acceptable indoor air quality in buildings. Methods for ventilating a building may be divided into mechanical/forced and natural types. Ventilation is used to remove unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduce outside air, and to keep interior building air circulating, to prevent stagnation of the interior ai r. Air-Handling unit

HVAC Systems Design and Safety Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can play several roles to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. The primary function of HVAC systems is to provide healthy and comfortable inter ior conditions for occupants. Well-designed, efficient systems do this with mini mal non-renewable energy and air and water pollutant emissions. Cooling equipmen t that avoids chlorofluorocarbons and hydro chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs) may eliminate a major cause of damage to the ozone layer. However, even the bes t HVAC equipment and systems cannot compensate for a building design with inhere ntly high cooling and heating needs. The greatest opportunities to conserve nonrenewable energy are through architectural design that controls solar gain, whil e taking advantage of passive heating, day lighting, natural ventilation and coo ling opportunities. The critical factors in mechanical systems' energy consumpti on - and capital cost - are reducing the cooling and heating loads they must han dle. Air Change per Hour (ACH) The number of times per hour that the volume of a spec ific room or building is supplied or removed from that space by mechanical and n atural ventilation. Air handler, or air handling unit (AHU) Central unit consist ing of a blower, heating and cooling elements, filter racks or chamber, dampers, humidifier, and other central equipment in direct contact with the airflow. Thi s does not include the ductwork through the building. British thermal unit (BTU) Any of several units of energy (heat) in the HVAC industry, each slightly more than 1 kJ. One BTU is the energy required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit, but the many different types of BTU are based on different interpre tations of this definition. In the United States the power of HVAC systems (the ra te of cooling and dehumidifying or heating) is sometimes expressed in BTU/hour i nstead of watts.

Chiller A device that removes heat from a liquid via a vapor-compression or abso rption refrigeration cycle. This cooled liquid flows through pipes in a building and passes through coils in air handlers, fan-coil units, or other systems, coo ling and usually dehumidifying the air in the building. Chillers are of two type s; air-cooled or water-cooled. Air-cooled chillers are usually outside and consi st of condenser coils cooled by fan-driven air. Water-cooled chillers are usuall y inside a building, and heat from these chillers is carried by recirculating wa ter to outdoor cooling towers. Controller A device that controls the operation o f part or all of a system. It may simply turn a device on and off, or it may mor e subtly modulate burners, compressors, pumps, valves, fans, dampers, and the li ke. Most controllers are automatic but have user input such as temperature set p oints, e.g. a thermostat. Controls may be analog, or digital, or pneumatic, or a combination of these. Fan-coil unit (FCU) A small terminal unit that is often c omposed of only a blower and a heating and/or cooling coil (heat exchanger), as is often used in hotels, condominiums, or apartments. Condenser A component in t he basic refrigeration cycle that ejects or removes heat from the system. The co ndenser is the hot side of an air conditioner or heat pump. Condensers are heat exchangers, and can transfer heat to air or to an intermediate fluid (such as wa ter or an aqueous solution of ethylene glycol) to carry heat to a distant sink, such as ground (earth sink), a body of water, or air (as with cooling towers). C onstant air volume (CAV) A system designed to provide a constant air volume per unit time. This term is applied to HVAC systems that have variable supply-air te mperature but constant air flow rates. Most residential forced-air systems are s mall CAV systems with on/off control.

Damper A plate or gate placed in a duct to control air flow by introducing a con striction in the duct. Evaporator A component in the basic refrigeration cycle t hat absorbs or adds heat to the system. Evaporators can be used to absorb heat f rom air (by reducing temperature and by removing water) or from a liquid. The ev aporator is the cold side of an air conditioner or heat pump. Furnace A componen t of an HVAC system that adds heat to air or an intermediate fluid by burning fu el (natural gas, oil, propane, butane, or other flammable substances) in a heat exchanger. Fresh air intake (FAI) An opening through which outside air is drawn into the building. This may be to replace air in the building that has been exha usted by the ventilation system, or to provide fresh air for combustion of fuel. Grille A facing across a duct opening, usually rectangular is shape, containing multiple parallel slots through which air may be delivered or withdrawn from a ventilated space. Heat load, heat loss, or heat gain Terms for the amount of hea ting (heat loss) or cooling (heat gain) needed to maintain desired temperatures and humidities in controlled air. Regardless of how well-insulated and sealed a building is, buildings gain heat from warm air or sunlight or lose heat to cold air and by radiation. Engineers use a heat load calculation to determine the HVA C needs of the space being cooled or heated. Louvers Blades, sometimes adjustabl e, placed in ducts or duct entries to control the volume of air flow. The term m ay also refer to blades in a rectangular frame placed in doors or walls to permi t the movement of air.

Makeup air unit (MAU) An air handler that conditions 100% outside air. MAUs are typically used in industrial or commercial settings, or in once- through (blower sections that only blow air one-way into the building), low flow (air handling systems that blow air at a low flow rate), or primary-secondary (air handling sy stems that have an air handler or rooftop unit connected to an add-on makeup uni t or hood) commercial HVAC systems. Packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) An air conditioner and heater combined into a single, electrically-powered unit, ty pically installed through a wall and often found in hotels. Roof-top unit (RTU) An air-handling unit, defined as either "recirculating" or "once-through" design , made specifically for outdoor installation. They most often include, internall y, their own heating and cooling devices. RTUs are very common in some regions, particularly in single-story commercial buildings. Variable air volume (VAV) sys tem An HVAC system that has a stable supply-air temperature, and varies the air flow rate to meet the temperature requirements. Compared to CAV systems, these s ystems waste less energy through unnecessarily-high fan speeds. Most new commerc ial buildings have VAV systems. Thermal zone A single or group of neighboring in door spaces that the HVAC designer expects will have similar thermal loads. Buil ding codes may require zoning to save energy in commercial buildings. Zones are defined in the building to reduce the number of HVAC subsystems, and thus initia l cost. For example, for perimeter offices, rather than one zone for each office , all offices facing west can be combined into one zone. Small residences typica lly have only one conditioned thermal zone, plus unconditioned spaces such as un conditioned garages, attics, and crawlspaces, and unconditioned basements.

Coils The selection of hot and chilled water coils will have a substantial impac t on the fan energy use. Thin coil design Traditional AHU design specifies coil sizes assuming a face velocity of between 400 and 500 feet per minute. A new des ign technique called low face velocity, high coolant velocity or LFV/HCV has bee n researched at the University of Adelaide, Australia. This technique uses a "th in" coil design that is roughly half the number of tubes in depth as in conventi onal designs but double the coil face area. The net result is a face velocity in the range of 150 to 200 feet per minute (FPM) with much higher heat transfer ef ficiency and lower pressure drop than in conventional designs. Because the coil' s pressure loss is proportional to the velocity at a square rate, face velocity reduction can result in pressure drops of one-fourth or less compared to the equ ivalent, traditionally designed coil. Preheat coils A preheat coil is commonly used to control condensation inside the HVAC system for laboratories that use 100 percent outside air or when the outsi de air temperature falls below freezing. If a heating coil is used downstream, t he preheat coil should become inactive to save energy when outdoor temperatures reach 45 degrees F. Preheat coils are also used to warm the outside air stream, assuring better air stream mixing and providing free humidification.

Damper A damper is a valve or plate that stops or regulates the flow of air insi de a duct, chimney, VAV box, air handler, or other air handling equipment. A dam per may be used to cut off central air conditioning (heating or cooling) to an u nused room, or to regulate it for room-by-room temperature and climate control. Its operation can be manual or automatic. Manual dampers are turned by a handle on the outside of a duct. Automatic dampers are used to regulate airflow constan tly and are operated by electric or pneumatic motors, in turn controlled by a th ermostat or building automation system. In a chimney flue, a damper closes off t he flue to keep the weather (and birds and other animals) out and warm or cool a ir in. This is usually done in the summer, but also sometimes in the winter betw een uses. In some cases, the damper may also be partly closed to help control th e rate of combustion. The damper may be accessible only by reaching up into the fireplace by hand or with a wood poker, or sometimes by a lever or knob that sti cks down or out. On a wood burning stove or similar device, it is usually a hand le on the vent duct as in an air conditioning system. Forgetting to open a dampe r before beginning a fire can cause serious smoke damage to the interior of a ho me, if not a house fire. Opposed blade dampers in a mixing duct

Dampers must be installed in places where airflow needs to be controlled and/or blocked. Dampers located directly behind an outlet tend to be noisy. A better lo cation is in the final branch near the connection to the trunk duct. Wherever a balancing or volume damper is located, it should be accessible. Lay-in ceiling t iles provide good access; in a fixed ceiling, an access door is needed. Dampers should not be installed in hood exhaust systems even if the exhaust duct passes through a firewall. Use the UL approved alternative -- a properly supported, hea vy-gauge steel, unobstructed duct. Dampers have to withstand the maximum static pressure in a system. The maximum static pressure is the maximum that can be exp erienced in a system, not simply the pressure introduced by the fan during norma l operation. Maximum static pressure usually occurs when all dampers in a system are closed except those on one flow path. Automated zone dampers A zone damper (also known as a Volume Control Damper or V CD) is a specific type of damper used to control the flow of air in an HVAC heat ing or cooling system. In order to improve efficiency and occupant comfort, HVAC systems are commonly divided up into multiple zones. For example, in a house, t he main floor may be served by one heating zone while the upstairs bedrooms are served by another. In this way, the heat can be directed principally to the main floor during the day and principally to the bedrooms at night, allowing the uno ccupied areas to cool down. Zone dampers as used in home HVAC systems are usuall y electrically powered. In large commercial installations, vacuum or compressed air may be used instead. In either case, the motor is usually connected to the d amper via a mechanical coupling. Advantages: Cost. Power consumption.

Disadvantages: Zone dampers are not 100% reliable. The motor-to-open/motor-to-cl osed style of electrically operated zone dampers aren't "fail safe" (that is, th ey do not fail to the open condition). However, zone dampers that are of the "No rmally Open" type are fail-safe, in that they will fail to the open condition. N o inherent redundancy for the furnace. A system with zone dampers is dependent u pon a single furnace. If it fails, the system becomes completely inoperable. The system can be harder to design, requiring both SPDT thermostats (and relays) and the ability of the system to withstand the fault condition whereby all zone damp ers are closed simultaneously. Fire dampers Fire dampers are fitted where ductwork passes through fire compartm ent walls / fire curtains as part of a fire control strategy. In normal circumst ances, these dampers are held open by means of fusible links. When subjected to heat, these links fracture and allow the damper to close under the influence of the integral closing spring. The links are attached to the damper such that the dampers can be released manually for testing purposes. The damper is provided wi th an access door in the adjacent ductwork for the purpose of inspection and res etting in the event of closure.

Ducts Ducts are used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to deliver a nd remove air. These needed airflows include, for example, supply air, return ai r, and exhaust air. Ducts also deliver, most commonly as part of the supply air, ventilation air. As such, air ducts are one method of ensuring acceptable indoo r air quality as well as thermal comfort. A duct system is often called ductwork . Planning ('laying out'), sizing, optimizing, detailing, and finding the pressu re losses through a duct system is called duct design. Duct materials Like moder n steel food cans, at one time air ducts were often made of tin, like 'tin cans' were made for food. Tin is more corrosion resistant than plain steel, but is al so more expensive. With improvements in mild steel production, and its galvaniza tion to resist rust, steel 'sheet metal' has replaced tin in ducts as well as fo od cans.. Galvanized steel Ducts are still most often made of galvanized steel. Various fittings allow transitioning between the various shapes and sizes. A "te e" connection, for example, is where the air flow can be divided into two or mor e downstream branches. Many factory-made shapes and sizes are available but galv anized steel can easily be cut and bent to form additional shapes when required. Steel ducts are commonly wrapped or lined with fiberglass thermal insulation, b oth to reduce heat loss or gain through the duct walls and water vapor from cond ensing on the exterior of the duct when the duct is carrying cooled air. Insulat ion, particularly duct liner, also reduces duct-borne noise. Both types of insul ation reduce 'breakout' noise through the ducts' sidewalls. Polyurethane duct bo ard (Preinsulated aluminum ducts) While as mentioned above, galvanized steel is still very common, always more rectangular ducts are being manufactured from duct board, thanks to the fact that custom or special shapes and sizes of ducts can e asily be shop or field

fabricated. In addition to the fact that ducts made with duct board do not need an y further insulation. Among the various types of rigid polyurethane foam panels available, a new water formulated panel stands out. In this particular panel, th e foaming process is obtained through the use of water instead of the CFC, HCFC, HFC and HC gasses. The foam panels are then coated with aluminum sheets on eith er side, with thicknesses that can vary from 50 micrometres for indoor use to 20 0 micrometres for external use in order to guarantee the high mechanical charact eristics of the duct. The ducts construction starts with the plotting of the sin gle pieces on the panel. The pieces are then cut from the panel (with a 45 cut as explained below), bent if necessary in order to obtain the different fittings, and finally closed through an operation of gluing, pressing and taping. Having o btained the various duct sections, they can easily be installed by using an invi sible aluminum flange system. Fiberglass duct board (Preinsulated non metallic d uctwork) Also the fiberglass panels provide built-in thermal insulation and the interior surface absorbs sound, helping to provide quiet operation of the HVAC s ystem. The duct board is formed by sliding a specially-designed knife along the board using a straightedge as a guide; the knife automatically trims out a "vall ey" with 45 sides; the valley does not quite penetrate the entire depth of the du ct board, providing a thin section that acts as a hinge. The duct board can then be folded along the valleys to produce 90 folds, making the rectangular duct sha pe in the fabricator's desired size. The duct is then closed with staples and sp ecial aluminum or similar 'metal-backed' tape. Commonly available duct tape shou ld not be used on air ducts, metal, fiberglass, or otherwise, that are intended for long-term use; the adhesive on so called 'duct tape' dries and releases with time. Flexible tubing Flexible ducts, known as flex, have a variety of configur ations, but for HVAC applications, they are typically flexible plastic over a me tal wire coil to make round, flexible duct. Most often a layer of fiberglass ins ulation covers the duct, and then a thin plastic layer protects the insulation. Flexible duct is very convenient for attaching supply air outlets to the rigid d uctwork. However, the pressure loss through flex is higher than for most other t ypes of ducts. As such, designers and installers attempt to keep their installed lengths (runs) short, e.g.,

less than 15 feet or so, and to minimize turns. Kinks in flex must be avoided. F lexible duct is normally not used on the negative pressure portions of HVAC duct systems. DUCT DESIGN OBJECTIVES The objectives of good duct design are occupant comfort, proper air distribution, economical heating and cooling system operati on, and economical duct installation. The outcome of the duct design process wil l be a duct system (supply and return plenums, ducts, fittings, boots, grilles, and registers) that Provides conditioned air to meet all room heating and coolin g loads. Is properly sized so that the pressure drop across the air handler is w ithin manufacturer and design specifications. Is sealed to provide proper air fl ow and to prevent air from entering the house or duct system from polluted zones . Has balanced supply and return air flows to maintain a neutral pressure in the house. Minimizes duct air temperature gains or losses between the air handler a nd supply outlets, and between the return register and air handler. SUPPLY DUCT SYSTEMS Supply ducts deliver air to the spaces that are to be condit ioned. The two most common supply duct systems for residences are the trunk and branch system and the radial system because of their versatility, performance, a nd economy. The spider and perimeter loop systems are other options. TRUNK AND B RANCH SYSTEM In the trunk and branch system, a large main supply trunk is connec ted directly to the air handler or its supply plenum and serves as a supply plen um or an extension to the supply plenum. Smaller branch ducts and run outs are c onnected to the trunk. The trunk and branch system is adaptable to most houses, but it has more places where leaks can occur. It provides air flows that are eas ily balanced and can be easily designed to be located inside the conditioned spa ce of the house. There are several variations of the trunk and branch system. An extended

plenum system uses a main supply trunk that is one size and is the simplest and most popular design. The length of the trunk is usually limited to about 24 feet because otherwise the velocity of the air in the trunk gets too low and air flo w into branches and run outs close to the air handler becomes poor. Therefore, w ith a centrally located air handler, this duct system can be installed in homes up to approximately 50 feet long. A reducing plenum system uses a trunk reductio n periodically to maintain a more uniform pressure and air velocity in the trunk , which improves air flow in branches and run outs closer to the air handler. Si milarly, a reducing trunk system reduces the cross-sectional area of the trunk a fter every branch duct or run out, but it is the most complex system to design. SPIDER SYSTEM A spider system is a more distinct variation of the trunk and bran ch system. Large supply trunks (usually large-diameter flexible ducts) connect r emote mixing boxes to a small, central supply plenum. Smaller branch ducts or ru n outs take air from the remote mixing boxes to the individual supply outlets. T his system is difficult to locate within the conditioned space of the house. RAD IAL SYSTEM In a radial system, there is no main supply trunk; branch ducts or ru n outs that deliver conditioned air to individual supply outlets are essentially connected directly to the air handler, usually using a small supply plenum. The short, direct duct runs maximize air flow. The radial system is most adaptable to single-story homes. Traditionally, this system is associated with an air hand ler that is centrally located so that ducts are arranged in a radial pattern. Ho wever, symmetry is not mandatory, and designs using parallel runouts can be desi gned so that duct runs remain in the conditioned space (e.g., installed above a dropped ceiling). PERIMETER LOOP SYSTEM A perimeter loop system uses a perimeter duct fed from a central supply plenum using several feeder ducts. This system i s typically limited to houses built on slab in cold climates and is more difficu lt to design and install.

RETURN DUCT SYSTEMS Return ducts remove room air and deliver it back to the heat ing and cooling equipment for filtering and reconditioning. Return duct systems are generally classified as either central or multiple-room return. MULTIPLE-ROO M RETURN SYSTEM A multiple-room return system is designed to return air from eac h room supplied with conditioned air, especially those that can be isolated from the rest of the house (except bathrooms and perhaps kitchens and mechanical roo ms). When properly designed and installed, this is the ultimate return duct syst em because it ensures that air flow is returned from all rooms (even with doors closed), minimizes pressure imbalances, improves privacy, and is quiet. However, design and installation costs of a multi-room return system are generally highe r than costs for a central return system, and higher friction losses can increas e blower requirements. CENTRAL RETURN SYSTEM A central return system consists of one or more large grilles located in central areas of the house (e.g., hallway, under stairway) and often close to the air handler. In multi-story houses, a ce ntral return is often located on each floor. To

ensure proper air flow from all rooms, especially when doors are closed, transfe r grilles or jumper ducts must be installed in each room (undercutting interior doors to provide 1 inch of clearance to the floor is usually not sufficient by i tself). Transfer grilles are through-the-wall vents that are often located above the interior door frames, although they can be installed in a full wall cavity to reduce noise transmission. The wall cavity must be well sealed to prevent air leakage. Jumper ducts are short ducts routed through the ceiling to minimize no ise transfer.

DUCT AND REGISTER LOCATIONS Locating the air handler unit and air distribution s ystem inside the conditioned space of the house is the best way to improve duct system efficiency and is highly recommended. With this design, any duct leakage will be to the inside of the house. It will not significantly affect the energy efficiency of the heating and cooling system because the conditioned air remains inside the house, although air distribution may suffer. Also, ducts located ins ide the conditioned space need minimal insulation (in hot and humid climates), i f any at all. The cost of moving ducts into the conditioned space can be offset by smaller heating and cooling equipment, smaller and less duct work, reduced du ct insulation, and lower operating costs. There are several methods for locating ducts inside the conditioned space. Place the ducts in a furred-down chase belo w the ceiling (e.g., dropped ceiling in a hallway), a chase furred-up in the att ic, or other such chases. These chases must be specially constructed, air-sealed , and insulated to ensure they are not connected to unconditioned spaces. Locate ducts between the floors of a multi-story home (run through the floor trusses o r joists). The exterior walls of these floor cavities must be insulated and seal ed to ensure they are within the conditioned space. Holes in the cavity for wiri ng, plumbing, etc., must be sealed to prevent air exchange with unconditioned sp aces. Locate ducts in a specially-constructed sealed and insulated crawlspace (w here the walls of the crawlspace are insulated rather than the ceiling). Ducts s hould not be run in exterior walls as a means of moving them into the conditione d space because this reduces the amount of insulation that can be applied to the duct and the wall itself. A supply outlet is positioned to mix conditioned air with room air and is responsible for most of the air movement within a room. Occ upant comfort requires that supply register locations be carefully selected for each room. In cold climates, perimeter floor outlets that blanket portions of th e exterior wall (usually windows) with supply air are generally preferred. Howev er, in todays better insulated homes, the need to locate outlets near the perimet er where heat loss occurs is becoming less important. In hot climates, ceiling d iffusers or high wall outlets that discharge air parallel to the ceiling are typ ically installed. In moderate climates, outlet location is less critical. Outlet locations near interior walls can

significantly reduce duct lengths (decreasing costs), thermal losses (if ducts a re located outside the conditioned space), and blower requirements. To prevent s upply air from being swept directly up by kitchen, bathroom, or other exhaust fa ns, the distance between supply registers and exhaust vents should be kept as la rge as possible. The location of the return register has only a secondary effect on room air motion. However, returns can help defeat stratification and improve mixing of room air if they are placed high when cooling is the dominant spaceco nditioning need and low when heating is dominant. In multi-story homes with both heating and cooling, upper-level returns should be placed high and lowerlevel r eturns should be placed low. Otherwise, the location of the return register can be determined by what will minimize duct runs, improve air circulation and mixin g of supply air, and impact other considerations such as aesthetics. DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS AND K E Y D E S I G N E L E M E N T S In designing the ai r distribution the following recommendations before finalizing the design should be considered: Design the air distribution system to be located inside the cond itioned space of the house to the greatest extent possible. Do not locate ducts in exterior walls. The entire air distribution system should be hard ducted, inclu ding returns (i.e., building cavities, closets, raised-floor air handler plenums , platform returns, wall stud spaces, panned floor joists, etc., should not be u sed). In two-story and very large houses, consider using two or more separate he ating and cooling systems, each with its own duct system. In two-story homes, fo r example, upper stories tend to gain more heat in summer and lose more heat in winter, so the best comfort and performance is often achieved by using separate systems for the upper and lower stories. Consider supply outlet locations near i nterior walls to reduce duct lengths. Locate supply outlets as far away from exh aust vents as possible in bathrooms and kitchens to prevent supply air from bein g swept directly up by the exhaust fans. Consider installing volume dampers loca ted at the takeoff end of the duct rather than at the supply register to facilit ate manual balancing of the system after installation. Volume dampers should hav e a means of fixing the position of the damper after the air distribution system is balanced.

 When using a central return system, include (a) a return on each level of a mult istory house, (b) a specification to install transfer grilles or jumper ducts in each room with a door (undercutting interior doors to allow 1 inch of clearance to the floor is usually not sufficient), and (c) if at all possible, a return i n all rooms with doors that require two or more supply ducts. Specify higher duc t insulation levels in ducts located outside the conditioned space than those sp ecified by the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code, especially when vari able-speed air handling equipment is being used. Lower air flows provided by var iable-speed heating and cooling systems to improve operating efficiency increase the resident time of air within the air distribution system, which in turn incr eases thermal losses in the winter and thermal gains in the summer. Attic insula tion placed over ducts helps where it is possible. Specify that all duct joints must be mechanically fastened and sealed prior to insulation to prevent air leak age, preferably with mastic and fiberglass mesh. Consider testing of ducts using a duct blower to ensure that the air distribution system is tight, especially i f ducts are unavoidably located in an unconditioned space. A typical requirement is that duct leakage (measured using a duct blower in units of cubic feet per m inute when the ducts are pressurized to 25 Pascals) should not exceed 5% of the system air flow rate.

CONTENTS Principles of Air-Conditioning. Psychometric Chart Refrigeration Cycle Vapor Com pression cycle Vapor absorption cycle Air cycle Comfort cooling Cooling supply d evices Air conditioning Application Types of AC units Central air-conditioning W indow AC units HVAC Air distribution systems