HVAC SYSTEM

HVAC
They are the engineering systems that help to
control and maintain the conditions of indoor
built environment
Also known as:
1. Environmental control systems (ECS)
2. Heating, ventilating, air-conditioning and
refrigerating (HVAC&R) systems
3. Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC)
4. Mechanical ventilating and air-conditioning
(MVAC)
5. Air conditioning and refrigeration (AC&R)
Understand the purpose of HVAC design
To provide adequate indoor air quality by
removing and/or diluting indoor pollutants
To provide adequate ventilation for processes
To remove heat & maintain thermal comfort
To control humidity& prevent condensation
Understand the climate
1. Summer: cooling design & dehumidification
2. Winter: heating design
 Introduction of HVAC
What is HVAC?
HVAC mostly used to control of temperature, moisture
in the air (humidity), supply of outside air for
ventilation, filtration of airborne particles, and air
movement in the occupied space. There are different
processes required to achieve full air conditioning .
The processes are:
1. Heating
2. Ventilation
3. Air-Conditioning
4. Humidifying
5. De humidifying
6. Cleaning
 Heating:- the process of adding thermal energy (heat) to the
conditioned space for the purposes of raising or maintaining
the temperature of the space.
Cooling:- the process of removing thermal energy (heat)
from the conditioned space for the purposes of lowering or
maintaining the temperature of the space.
Ventilating:- the process of exchanging air between the
outdoors and the conditioned space for the purposes of
diluting the gaseous contaminants in the air and improving
or maintaining air quality, composition and freshness.
Ventilation can be achieved either through natural
ventilation or mechanical ventilation. Natural ventilation is
driven by natural draft, like when you open a window.
Mechanical ventilation can be achieved by using fans to
draw air in from outside or by fans that exhaust air from the
space to outside.
 Humidifyingthe process of adding water vapor
(moisture) to the air in the conditioned space for
the purposes of raising or maintaining the
moisture content of the air.
Dehumidifyingthe process of removing water
vapor (moisture) from the air in the conditioned
space for the purposes of lowering or maintaining
the moisture content of the air.
Cleaningthe process of removing particulates,
(dust etc.,) and biological contaminants, (insects,
pollen etc.,) from the air delivered to the
conditioned space for the purposes of improving
or maintaining the air quality.
 AIR PROPERTIES:
specific heat
ratio of specific heats
dynamic viscosity
Thermal conductivity
Density
Kinematic viscosity
Thermal diffusivity
specific heat :
Specific heat is another physical property of
matter. All matter has a temperature
associated with it. The temperature of matter
is a direct measure of the motion of the
molecules:
 Ratio of specific heats:
In thermal physics and thermodynamics, the heat capacity
ratio or adiabatic index or ratio of specific heats or Poisson
constant, is the ratio of the heat capacity at constant
pressure to heat capacity at constant volume.
 dynamic viscosity & kinematic viscosity
The viscous forces in liquids are equivalent to friction
forces in solids.
The dynamic viscosity is involved in the relation
between stress and strain tensors.
The kinematic viscosity is equal to the ratio of the
dynamic viscosity by the density.
If you are particularly interested in the interaction
between molecules that can be interpreted in terms of
mechanical stress, the dynamic viscosity is more
appropriate. Nevertheless, the kinematic viscosity is
recommended when you are interested in fluid motion
and velocity field. It can inform us about the
propagation of the movement by friction.
 Density
Air density, like air pressure, decreases with increasing
altitude. It also changes with variation in temperature or
humidity. At sea level and at 15 C air has a density of
approximately 1.225 kg/m3 (0.001225 g/cm3, 0.0023769
slug/ft3, 0.0765 lbm/ft3) according to ISA (International
Standard Atmosphere).
 Thermal conductivity
Thermal conductivity, is the property of a material's ability
to conduct heat. It appears primarily in Fourier's Law for
heat conduction. Thermal conductivity is measured in watts
per Kelvin-meter.
Multiplied by a temperature difference (in kelvins, K) and
an area (in square meters, m2), and divided by a thickness
(in meters, m), the thermal conductivity predicts the rate of
energy loss (in watts, W) through a piece of material.
 Psychometric Chart
Many of the air-conditioning processes involve air that is
experiencing energy changes. These changes arise from
changes in the airs temperature and its moisture content.
The relationships between temperature, moisture content,
and energy are most easily understood using a visual aid
called the psychometric chart.
The psychometric chart is an industry-standard tool that is
used to visualize the interrelationships between dry air,
moisture and energy.
If you are responsible for the design or maintenance of any
aspect of air conditioning in buildings, a clear and
comfortable understanding of the chart will make your job
easier.
The psychometric chart is built upon two simple concepts.
1. Indoor air is a mixture of dry air and water vapor.
2. There is a specific amount of energy in the mixture at a
specific temperature and pressure.
Psychometric Chart Concept 1: Indoor Air
is a Mixture of Dry Air and Water Vapor.
The air we live in is a mixture of both dry air and water
vapor. Both are invisible gases. The water vapor in air is
also called moisture or humidity. The quantity of water
vapor in air is expressed as pounds of water vapor per
pound of air. This ratio is called the humidity ratio, .
The exact properties of moist air vary with pressure.
Because pressure reduces as altitude increases, the
properties of moist air change with altitude.
Typically, psychometric charts are printed based on standard
pressure at sea level. For the rest of this course we will
consider pressure as constant. To understand the
relationship between water vapor, air and temperature, we
will consider two conditions:
 First Condition
The temperature is constant, but the quantity of water vapor is
increasing.
If the temperature remains constant, then, as the quantity of water
vapor in the air increases, the humidity increases.
However, at every temperature point, there is a maximum amount
of water vapor that can co-exist with the air. The point at which
this maximum is reached is called the saturation point.
If more water vapor is added after the saturation point is reached,
then an equal amount of water vapor condenses, and takes the
form of either water droplets or ice crystals.
Outdoors, we see water droplets in the air as fog, clouds or rain
and we see ice crystals in the air as snow or hail. The
psychometric chart only considers the conditions up to the
saturation point; therefore, it only considers the effects of water
in the vapor phase, and does not deal with water droplets or ice
crystals.
 Second Condition:
The temperature is dropping, but the quantity of water
vapor is constant.
If the air is cooled sufficiently, it reaches the saturation
line. If it is cooled even more, moisture will condense
out and dew forms.
For example, if a cold canned drink is taken out of the
refrigerator and left for a few minutes, the container
gets damp. This is because the moist air is in contact
with the chilled container. The container cools the air
that it contacts to a temperature that is below saturation,
and dew forms. This temperature, at which the air starts
to produce condensation, is called the dew point
temperature.
Psychometric Chart Concept 2: There is a
specific amount of energy in the air
mixture at a specific temperature and
pressure.
There is a specific amount of energy in the air water-vapor mixture at a
specific temperature. The energy of this mixture is dependent on two
measures:
1. The temperature of the air.
2. The proportion of water vapor in the air.
There is more energy in air at higher temperatures. The addition of heat to
raise the temperature is called adding sensible heat.
There is also more energy when there is more water vapor in the air. The
energy that the water vapor contains is referred to as its latent heat.
The measure of the total energy of both the sensible heat in the air and the
latent heat in the water vapor is commonly called enthalpy. Enthalpy
can be raised by adding energy to the mixture of dry air and water vapor.
This can be accomplished by adding either or both
1. Sensible heat to the air
2. More water vapor, which increases the latent heat of the mixture
 HEAT TRANSFER
Conduction
Convection
Radiation
 Conduction
Thermal conduction is the process of heat transfer from one part of a
body at a higher temperature to another (or between bodies in direct
contact) at a lower temperature. This happens with negligible
movement of the molecules in the body, because the heat is
transferred from one molecule to another in contact with it. Heat can
be conducted through solids, liquids and gases. Some materials
conduct more rapidly than others. The basic equation of heat
conduction is

Q conduction = quantity of heat flow (W)

k = thermal conductivity of the material (W/m-K)
A = area (m2)
L = thickness (m)
Th = temperature of the hot surface (K)
Tc = temperature of the cold surface (K)
 For a given temperature difference, the higher the thermal
conductivity of a material of fixed thickness and cross-
sectional area, the greater is the quantity of heat transferred
presents the values of thermal conductivity, density and
specific heat of some building materials.
 Convection
The convection is the transfer of heat from one part of a
fluid (gas or liquid) to another part at a lower temperature
by mixing of fluid particles. Heat transfer by convection
takes place at the surfaces of walls, floors and roofs.
Because of the temperature difference between the fluid and
the contact surface, there is a density variation in the fluid,
resulting in buoyancy. This results in heat exchange
between the fluid and the surface and is known as free
convection. However, if the motion of the fluid is due to
external forces (such as wind), it is known as forced
convection. These two processes could occur
simultaneously. The rate of heat transfer (Qconvection) by
convection from a surface of area A, can be written as
 h = heat transfer coefficient (W/m2-K)
Ts = temperature of the surface (K)
Tf = temperature of the fluid (K)
The numerical value of the heat transfer coefficient depends
on the nature of heat flow, velocity of the fluid, physical
properties of the fluid, and the surface orientation.
 Radiation
Radiation is the heat transfer from a body by virtue of its
temperature; it increases as temperature of the body
increases. It does not require any material medium for
propagation. When two or more bodies at different
temperatures exchange heat by radiation, heat will be
emitted, absorbed and reflected by each body. The radiation
exchange between two large parallel plane surfaces (of
equal area A) at uniform temperatures T1 and T2
respectively, can be written as
where Q12 = net radioactive exchange between surfaces (W)
= Stefan-Boltzmann constant ( 5.67x10-8 W/m2-K4)
A = area of surface (m2)
T1 = temperature of surface 1 (K)
T2 = temperature of surface 2 (K)
1 and 2 = emissivity of surfaces 1 and 2 respectively
In case of buildings, external surfaces such as walls and
roofs are always exposed to the atmosphere. So the
radiation exchange (Q radiation) between the exposed parts
of the building and the atmosphere is an important factor
and is given by
 where A = area of the building exposed surface (m2)
= emissivity of the building exposed surface
Ts = temperature of the building exposed surface (K)
T sky = sky temperature (K)

T sky represents the temperature of an equivalent

atmosphere. It considers the fact that the atmosphere is not
at a uniform temperature, and that the atmosphere radiates
only in certain wavelengths. There are many correlations
suggested for expressing sky temperature in terms of
ambient air temperature.
 Effect of heat
Heat energy
Object heated : size increases , expansion
Object cooled : size decrease, Contraction
Expansion and contraction occurs in all three
stages of matter
1. Solid
2. Liquid
3. Gas
 Effect of heat energy in Solid
Expansion and contraction of solids are so small
Different metals expand and contract at different
times by different amounts
Examples
1. Railway tracks will expand on hot days if no gap
very dangerous, train can derail and endanger
passengers.
 Application of heat energy for solid
1. Rivets are used to join two steel plates
together. Hot rivet is driven through the hole
in the plates. One end of the rivet is
hammered to form a new rivet head. When
cool, the rivet will contract and held the two
plates tightly together.
2. Bimetallic strip made of two
different metal like steel , iron
and brass
hotter bend downwards, colder
bend upwards
both metals expand and
contract by different amounts.
Bimetallic strip mostly used in
Refrigerators, ovens, irons
,heaters and Fire alarm.
 Effect of heat energy in liquid
Almost all liquids expand when heated and
contract when cooled.
Drink factories need to allow space when
filling up their bottles or cans.
No allowance will caused the bottles or cans to
burst.
 Application of heat energy in liquid
Liquid in glass thermometer
Mercury or alcohol thermometers
Thermometer is filled with mercury
or alcohol in the bulb.
When in contact with cold
substances mercury/ alcohol will
contract and the mercury/alcohol
thread will drop
When in contact with hot substances
mercury/ alcohol will expand and the
mercury/alcohol thread to rise.
 Unique quality of water
Water expand when it is being cooled from
4C to 0C.
Water start to contract when it is being heated
from 0C to 4C.
It reaches its minimum volume and maximum
density at 4C.
 Effect of heat energy in gases
Gas expand when heated and contract when
cooled.
Gas expand and contract much more than
solids and liquids of the same volume for same
change in temperature.
Example, we should not pump car tyres to the
maximum pressure on hot days , it may burst.
 Application of heat energy in liquid
1. Hot balloon uses the expansion
of gases.
Filled with heated air
As volume of air increases or
expansion , the density of air
decreases.
Warm air less dense this it rises
the carries the balloon upwards.
2. Baking bread or cake, baking
powder is added
Carbon dioxide gas is released
from the baking powder
expands.
Causing the dough to rise.
 Expansion and contraction
When substances expand or contract , the particles
stay same size.
Only the spaces between the particles changes.
The particles in the solid vibrate more when it is
heated thus take up more room EXPANSION
Similar to liquid and gases when heated
The particles in the solid vibrate less when it is cold
thus take up less space CONTRACTION
Similar to liquid and gases when cooled
 Heating process and application
Central heating often used in cold climates to heat private
houses and public buildings.
Heaters are appliances whose purpose is to generate heat (i.e.
warmth) for the building. This can be done via central heating.
Such a system contains a boiler, furnace, or heat pump to heat
water, steam, or air in a central location such as a furnace room
in a home, or a mechanical room in a large building. The heat
can be transferred by convection, conduction, or radiation.
Piping distributes heated fluid and radiators transfer this heat
to air and structures, e.g. floor heating system.
 Heater
Heaters exist for various types of fuel, including
solid fuels, liquids, and gases. Another type of
heat source is electricity, normally heating ribbons
composed of high resistance wire. This principle
is also used for baseboard heaters and portable
heaters.
Electrical heaters are often used as backup or
supplemental heat for heat pump systems. The
heat pump gained popularity in the 1950s in Japan
and the United States.
Heat pumps can extract heat from various
sources, such as environmental air, exhaust air
from a building, or from the ground.
Initially, heat pump HVAC systems were only
used in moderate climates, but with improvements
in low temperature operation and reduced loads Central heating unit
due to more efficient homes, they are increasing
in popularity in cooler climates.
 Boiler
Boilers are used to heat air (Fig). However, because of the
general increase in the efficiency of HVAC systems, many
simply recover wasted heat produced from the chiller,
another major component in an HVAC system, or use
smaller-scale versions of traditional boilers to generate heat.
 Boilers heat air in the following manner: a fuel (typically
propane or natural gas) is combusted, and the resulting heat
is used to heat water. The hot water or steam is piped
through the building to radiator units where air is forced
over them, moving heated air through the ducts and into the
rooms.
Whether steam or hot water is used as the heat transfer
medium depends on the buildings heating requirements.
Heat transfer is simply the passage of thermal energy from a
hot to a colder body. Hot water systems are usually more
efficient and less susceptible to corrosion than steam
systems. Steam systems are typically used in situations
where large amounts of heat are required, such as
centralized heating plants, but they require much more
maintenance than hot water systems.
 Boilers are available in two main categories:
1. conventional units
2. condensing units.
Conventional boiler units are typically made of materials that
cannot handle the corrosive properties of the condensing gases,
and therefore that heat becomes waste. Conventional boilers can
be retrofitted with a stack gas economizer, a device that captures
some of the exhaust heat from the combustion gases and transfers
it to the incoming water to the boiler, thereby raising the boilers
efficiency.
Condensing units allow the water vapor produced during the
combustion of whatever hydrocarbon fuel is used to produce heat
to condense. Condensing units typically have efficiencies of over
90% and are more energy efficient than conventional units.
Enough heat can be extracted from condensing units that the
exhaust gases are typically cool enough to be pumped through
PVC piping.
 Boilers are also categorized in terms of heating methods:
Fire tube
Water tube
Fire tube boilers transfer heat from combustion gases to the
water using a series of straight tubes surrounded by water.
The hot gases flow through the tubes and transfer heat to the
surrounding water.
Water tube boilers are composed of tubes housing flowing
water surrounded by combustion gases that transfer heat to
the water in the tubes. Water-tube boilers are capable of
achieving higher capacities than fire-tube boilers because
water or steam pressure can be contained within the tubes.
Combined heat and power (CHP) systems are boilers that
provide electricity while also providing heat for a building,
but can be costly to install.
 Cooling process and application
Cooling systems are designed to stabilise the
air temperature and humidity within an area.
Excess heat from the circulating air is usually
removed by a cooling coil that is supplied with
cold water.
To decrease relative humidity the circulating
air needs to be cooled to a temperature below
the dew point and then heated back to meet the
requirement.
 Chiller
Chillers, or air conditioners, utilize heat exchanges and
circulate fluid or gas to cool the air that is passed through
the unit. Chillers are often located in a mechanical area at
ground level, or in a central plant in a campus environment.
Chillers cool air by removing heat using the refrigeration or
vapor compression cycle (also known as the reverse-
Rankine cycle), which consists of compression,
condensation, expansion, and evaporation (Fig).
 A refrigerant in vapor form is initially compressed in a
compressor, reducing its volume and increasing its
temperature. It is then pumped to a condensing unit, where the
refrigerant is cooled and condensed into a liquid. This liquid is
then pumped to the indoor evaporator unit, where it is passed
through evaporator coils that remove heat from the building.
The hot air in the building is passed over the evaporator coils,
adding heat to the refrigerant and removing heat from the air,
which is recirculated back into the building. The added heat
turns the refrigerant to vapor, which is sent back to the
compressor, completing the cycle.
Chiller condensers remove heat from the system via cooling
air, cooling water, and evaporation.
 Air-cooled system
Air-cooled systems are typically found in residential homes
and commercial buildings where the cooling load is less
than 100 tons (Fig). The air-cooled condenser is comprised
of coils that house the flowing refrigerant and maximize
convective surface area (the area for the transfer of heat),
and a forced air source (typically a fan) that uses convection
to extract heat from the refrigerant and remove it from the
system altogether.
 Water-cooled system
Water-cooled systems are used for buildings that require large
cooling loads, and typically have higher efficiencies than air-
cooled systems. (Fig). Instead of using air to remove the heat
from the refrigerant, water is used to extract heat. Once the
heat is extracted the water is then pumped to a cooling tower,
where the heat is rejected back into the atmosphere and the
water is then pumped back to the condenser (Fig). Cooling
towers reject heat by using an air stream to evaporate a
portion of the incoming water, thereby cooling the rest of the
incoming water. The heat transferred to the air causes it to
rise, flowing out of the top of the tower and into the
atmosphere.
 Comparison
Water-cooled chillers have higher efficiencies than air-
cooled chillers because they reject heat at the wet-bulb
temperature (which takes into account humidity and
radiation), rather than the dry-bulb temperature at which air
cooled chillers reject heat. They are also smaller than air-
cooled chillers for the same cooling output because its
condenser requires less surface area and does not use fans,
which also significantly reduces noise levels (Fig).
 Evaporative system
Evaporative condensed chillers operate essentially as a
smaller and more efficient version of a water-cooled
system; they use the same evaporative cooling provided by
a cooling tower. The cooling is achieved using a
recirculating water system, which continuously wets the
condenser tubes while fans blow air over them, evaporating
the water and thereby moving (rejecting) the heat to the
atmosphere.
Video of chillers
 Ventilation and application
The process of changing or replacing air in any
space to control temperature or remove moisture,
smoke, carbon dioxide, etc.
Ventilation includes both the exchange of air to
the outside as well as circulation of air within the
building outside as well as circulation of air
within the building.
One of the most important factors for maintaining
acceptable indoor air quality in buildings
Supply air used for ventilation is filtered and
cooled and/or heated inside air handling units
 AHU
Air handling units are used for circulating air
inside a building or a part of a building.
Typically consists of two fans (exhaust and
supply), filters, a heat recovery unit, and one or
more coils for heating/cooling.
To improve air quality circulating air is mixed
with fresh air.
Usually equipped with a heat recovery unit for
energy saving purposes.
Supply air temperature kept constant so that
temperature can be adjusted locally with
thermostats.
 Large AHUs for commercial use contain coils that use
heated water provided by a central boiler and chilled water
from a central chiller.
Small AHUs usually contain a fuel-burning or electrical-
resistance heater and an evaporative chiller that are
integrated in the unit itself.
The AHU draws air in, passes the air over heating and
cooling coils, and then forces it through air ducts.
The AHUs have many of the networked points of the HVAC
control system to manage air flow, heating, cooling and
filtering.
They can serve a building, a single floor on a building, or
multiple floors of a building.
If the AHU is serving multiple zones, each zone typically
gets local control by having its own air premixed at the
AHU. Some AHUs use no ductwork at all, recirculating the
air in the space served.
 FAHU
Fresh air handling units are used for supplying
fresh air inside a building or part of a building.
Indoor air quality is improved as the serving
area is treated with 100% fresh air.
Usually takes more energy to heat/cool fresh
air to target temperature.
Usually equipped with a heat recovery unit for
energy saving purposes.
Can also be used for supplying pre-cooled air
for FCUs.
 Exhaust fans
Used for extracting air from the building or
part of a building.
Ventilated areas are usually toilets, kitchens
and other areas where fumes should be
extracted directly outside.
Parking areas are usually equipped with
exhaust fans that are controlled according to
carbon monoxide measurements or time
schedules.
 Unitary system
A unitary system combines heating, cooling and fan
selections all in one or a few assemblies for simplified
application and are used in most classes of building, from
schools to offices to retail, particularly where low initial
cost and simplified installation are important.
 FCU fan coil units
Smaller AHUs, sometimes called blower coil or fan coil
units (FCUs), can consist of only a coil, fan, and air filter,
and operate using no outside air. Fan coil units are typically
found in places where cooling requirements are small or
on a room-by-room basis, such as hotel rooms and
apartments.
Can either circulate the air inside the serving area or are
supplied with pre cooled air from an air-handling are
supplied with pre cooled air from an air-handling unit.
 MAU-makeup air units
Larger AHUs, known as makeup air units (MAUs),
operate using only outside air. One of the most common
types of AHU is the roof-top unit (RTU), also known as a
unitary air conditioner. The condensing unit for an RTU is
on the roof of the building, with the cooling coils inside the
AHU contained in the building. RTUs are most commonly
used for one-story commercial buildings.
 AIR TERMINAL UNITS
Air terminal units (ATUs) address specific HVAC thermal
loads or zones. Thermal loads in a space can consist of
exterior loads (outside air temperatures increasing or
decreasing) and interior loads (people, lighting,
computers, and other sources).
A thermal zone is a space or group of adjoining spaces in a
building that have similar thermal loads. Defining thermal
zones in a building reduces the amount of HVAC
subsystems needed because a single subsystem can usually
handle an entire thermal zone. ATUs compensate for these
thermal loads and zones by varying the air temperature,
varying the air volume, or doing both.
 CAV and VAV
While constant air volume (CAV) systems provide air
at a variable temperature and constant flow rate,
variable air volume (VAV) systems provide air at a
constant temperature and regulate the room temperature
by changing the flow rate of the air into the room.
VAVs can be pressure independent, where the flow is
maintained constant regardless of the inlet pressure, or
they can be pressure dependent, where the flow rate of
the VAV is dependent on the inlet pressure and,
typically, the position of its damper or speed of a fan.
VAVs are more energy efficient than CAVs. VAVs use
less air volume resulting in less energy used for
heating, cooling, and operation. Most residential HVAC
systems are CAVs, while most new commercial
buildings have VAV systems.