INTRODUCTION

TO
HVAC

Industry
Overview

Technical Development Program

 Technical Development Programs (TDP) are modules of technical training on HVAC theory,
system design, equipment selection and application topics. They are targeted at engineers and
designers who wish to develop their knowledge in this field to effectively design, specify, sell or
apply HVAC equipment in commercial applications.
Although TDP topics have been developed as stand-alone modules, there are logical group-
ings of topics. The modules within each group begin at an introductory level and progress to
advanced levels. The breadth of this offering allows for customization into a complete HVAC
curriculum – from a complete HVAC design course at an introductory-level or to an advanced-
level design course. Advanced-level modules assume prerequisite knowledge and do not review
basic concepts.

This TDP provides a general overview of the commercial HVAC industry, providing an
awareness of: the design process; participants in the design and construction process; documents
involved in construction; a typical timeline of activities in the design and construction process;
and how these activities are influenced by the different participants in the process. This industry
is also influenced by regulatory agencies and legal concerns that are important to designers of
HVAC systems.

© 2005 Carrier Corporation. All rights reserved.

The information in this manual is offered as a general guide for the use of industry and consulting engineers in designing systems.
Judgment is required for application of this information to specific installations and design applications. Carrier is not responsible
for any uses made of this information and assumes no responsibility for the performance or desirability of any resulting system
design.
The information in this publication is subject to change without notice. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmit-
ted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Carrier
Corporation.

Printed in Syracuse, NY
CARRIER CORPORATION
Carrier Parkway
Syracuse, NY 13221, U.S.A.
 Table of Contents
Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1
Participants....................................................................................................................................... 3
Equipment Supplier Organizations .................................................................................................. 5
Industry Associations....................................................................................................................... 6
Legal Concerns ................................................................................................................................ 7
Delivery Methods .......................................................................................................................... 10
Plans and Specifications (Plan and Spec) .................................................................................. 11
Design-Build (D-B) ................................................................................................................... 12
Construction Management (CM) ............................................................................................... 13
Performance Contracting ........................................................................................................... 13
Typical Projects ............................................................................................................................. 13
HVAC Systems.............................................................................................................................. 15
HVAC Products ............................................................................................................................. 17
Summary........................................................................................................................................ 18
Work Session ................................................................................................................................. 19
Work Session Answers .................................................................................................................. 25
Glossary ..................................................................................................................................... 27
References.................................................................................................................................. 30
 INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

Introduction
The HVAC (Heating, Table 1
Ventilating, Air Condition- Number of Buildings and Floorspace by
ing) industry is a large and Principal Building Activity, 2003
mature industry that serves Number of Total
% of % of
many markets. In fact, based Buildings
Total
Floorspace
Total
2
on the Commercial Buildings (thousands) (million ft )
Energy Consumption Survey All Buildings 4,859 - 71,658 -
(CBECS) it is estimated that Education 386 8.0 9,874 13.7
there were 4,859,000 com- Food Sales 226 4.7 1,255 1.8
mercial buildings with 71.6 Food Service 297 6.0 1,654 2.3
billion square feet of floor Health Care 129 2.7 3,163 4.4
space in the United States in Lodging 142 2.9 5,096 7.1
2003. Table 1 summarizes Mercantile 657 13.5 11,192 15.6
the number of buildings and Office 824 17.0 12,208 17
floorspace based on market Public Assembly 277 5.7 3,939 5.5
segment. Public Order and Safety 71 1.5 1,090 1.5
Religious Worship 370 7.6 3,754 5.2
Service 622 12.8 4,050 5.7
Warehouse and Storage 597 12.3 10,078 14.0
Other 79 1.6 1,738 2.40
Vacant 182 3.7 2567 3.8

Table 2 further describes Table 2

these 4.9 million buildings by Number of Buildings and Floorspace
size. Looking at the table, we by Size of Building, 2003 (Preliminary)
can see that over 50 percent Number of Total
% of % of
of the buildings are between Buildings
Total
Floorspace
Total
2
1,000 and 5,000 square feet (thousands) (million ft )
and only 1.5 percent are All Buildings 4,859 - 71,658 -
above 100,000 square feet. 1,001 to 5,000 2,585 53.2 6,922 9.7
5,001 to 10,000 948 19.5 7,033 9.8
10,001 to 25,000 810 16.7 12,659 17.7
25,001 to 50,000 261 5.4 9,382 13.1
50,001 to 100,000 147 3.0 10,291 14.4
100,001 to 200,000 74 1.5 10,217 14.3
200,001 to 500,000 26 0.5 7,494 10.5
Over 500,000 8 0.1 7,660 10.7

Introduction to HVAC
1
INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

The HVAC market can be looked

at or segmented in different ways.
This review can be based on the age
of the building, the use of the build-
ing, the type of equipment or system,
or the contracting arrangement. The
existing building market is typically
two to three times the size of the new
construction market.

Figure 1
By Building Age

The new construction market consists of projects in which the HVAC system is installed
when the building is originally constructed. This market includes projects in which the shell of
the building is constructed separately, with the HVAC system and other finish work installed later
under separate contracts after the tenants and their specific needs are identified.
The existing construction market
is usually identified as the renovation
or replacement market. It includes
system replacement projects, in
which the air conditioning system re-
places a previously installed system,
and equipment replacement projects
in which some or all of the major
equipment is replaced. This market
also includes projects in which the air
conditioning system is installed many
years after the building is constructed
and no specific provisions were made
for its installation.
Figure 2
By Scope of Work

Introduction to HVAC
2