MECH3005 Building Services

http://www.hku.hk/bse/mech3005/

Air Conditioning & Refrigeration:

Air-side Systems
Dr. Sam C M Hui
Department of Mechanical Engineering
The University of Hong Kong
E-mail: cmhui@hku.hk
Contents

Fundamental HVAC Concepts

Air Handling Units
Air System Basics
Fan-duct systems
Fan modulation & combinations
Year-round operation & economizers
Fan energy use & outdoor air
Fundamental HVAC Concepts

Five subsystems or loops of HVAC

Air-side
Chilled water
Refrigeration equipment
Heat rejection
Controls
 33 oC, 28 oC

33 oC 27 oC

25 oC

Conditioned space
 33 oC, 28 oC

33 oC 27 oC

25 oC

13 oC 13 oC

Air side system

 33 oC, 28 oC
Chilled water
system
33 oC 27 oC

12 oC
25 oC
12 oC

oC
7 oC
7

13 oC 13 oC
 33 oC, 28 oC
Refrigeration
equipment
33 oC 27 oC

12 oC 10 oC
25 oC
12 oC 49 oC

oC
7 oC oC
38 oC
7 3

13 oC 13 oC
 33 oC, 28 oC

Heat rejection
33 oC 27 oC

12 oC 10 oC
25 oC
12 oC 49 oC 35 oC
35 oC

7 oC 38 oC 29 oC
7 oC 3 oC 29 oC

13 oC 13 oC
 33 oC, 28 oC Control Loop

33 oC 27 oC

12 oC 10 oC
25 oC
12 oC 49 oC 35 oC
35 oC

7 oC 38 oC 29 oC
7 oC 3 oC 29 oC

13 oC 13 oC
Individual room air-conditioning system
Primary air fan coil unit system
What type of air conditioning system it is?

Dual duct system

Air Handling Units

Terminal unit or device

Such as fan coil units, VAV boxes
Air handling unit (AHU)
Primary equipment of the air system
Handle & condition the air, control it to a required
state, and transport it
Basic components:
Supply fan, water cooling coil, filters, mixing box,
dampers, controls & outer casing
A return or relief fan is optional, so as a humidifier
Air Handling Units

Types of AHUs:
Horizontal or vertical
Draw-through or blow through
Factory-fabricated and field built-up
Rooftop and indoor
Make-up (primary) air
Recirculating
Air Handling Units

Package units
A self-contained air conditioner
Equipped with a DX (direct expansion) coil
Air handler: the portion inside that handles air
Rooftop package units
Gas heating / electric cooling
Electric heating / electric cooling
Heat pump system
Air Handling Units

Indoor package units

Factory-assembly unit installed in a fan room or
machinery room
Floor-mounted or ceiling-mounted
Cooling, cooling/heating, heat pump
Heat rejection:
Connected to an air-cooled condenser, OR
Water-cooled condenser
Split package units
Indoor air handler + outdoor condensing unit
Air Handling Units

Rating conditions & minimum performance

ARI and ASHRAE standards
Rating indices:
Energy efficiency ratio (EER)
Seasonal EER
Integrated part-load value (IPLV)
Heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF)
Air Handling Units

Coils
Indirect contact heat exchangers
Heat transfer between air flowing over the coil and
water, refrigerant, steam or brine insider the coil
Fins: extended (secondary) surfaces
Fin spacing and density
Water circuits
Number of water flow passages
Air Handling Units

Direct expansion (DX) coil

Refrigerant is fed (e.g. R-22 and R-134a)
Air and refrigerant flow:
Usually counterflow and cross flow
Typical evaporating temperature = 3-10 oC
Condensate drain pan (to collect condensation)
Performance factors:
Face velocity, heat transfer coefficients, air-side
pressure drop, physical size
Air Handling Units

Water cooling coils - dry-wet coil

Chilled water flowing at 4-10 oC
Brine or glycol-water at 1-4 oC
Temperature rise (typical) = 7-14 oC
Water cooling coils - dry coil
Sensible cooling (dry); no condensation
Poorer heat transfer coefficient
Steam heating coil
Direct expansion (DX) coil

Water cooling coil

Water heating coil

Steam heating coil

Air Handling Units

Air filters
Air cleaning and filtration
Operating performance:
Efficiency or effectiveness of dust removal
Dust holding capacity
Initial & final pressure drop
Service life
Types: low-, medium-, and high-efficiency filters
+ carbon activated filters
Air Handling Units

Test methods of air filters

Weight arrestance test
For low-efficiency air filters
Atmospheric dust spot efficiency
For medium-efficiency air filters
DOP (dioctyl phthalate) penetration and efficiency
test
For high-efficiency air filters
HEPA (high-efficiency particle air)
ULPA (ultra-low penetration air)
HEPA and ULPA filters Activated carbon filter

Low efficiency (panel-type) Medium efficiency (bag-type)

Air Handling Units

Humidifiers
Steam humidifiers
Air washers
Selection of AHUs
Face velocity < 3 m/s to prevent entrained droplets
Proper size of the equipment (energy efficiency)
Medium-efficiency filter >50% dust spot eff.:
improve IAQ, prevent smudging & discoloring
Air economizer: save energy
Steam grid humidifier
Air washer
Air-side Components

EcoAdvisor: Energy Trainer for Energy

Managers: HAVC Module 1 [AV 697 E19]
HVAC components
Distribution equipment
Air-side components
Dampers, filters, coils, fans, ducts and plenums, terminal
units, diffusers, humidifiers, dehumidifiers
Air System Basics

Fan-duct systems
Flow resistance
o
R, pressure drop p and volume flow
rate V
p R V 2

Duct sections in series: Rs R1 R2 Rn

Duct sections in parallel:
1 1 1 1

Rp R1 R2 Rn
Air System Basics

Fan-duct systems
Terminology
Primary air (conditioned air or makeup air)
Secondary air (induced space air, plenum air, or
recirculating air)
Transfer air (indoor air that moves from an adjacent area)
System curve: volume flow vs pressure loss
System operating point
Air System Basics

Fan Laws
Speed (n)
Volume flow (V)
Total pressure loss (p )
Air density ()
For air systems that are
geometrically &
dynamically similar:
(D = impeller diameter)
Air System Basics

System effect pts

Its additional total pressure loss caused by uneven
or non-uniform velocity profile at the fan inlet, or
at duct fittings after fan outlet
Due to the actual inlet and outlet connections as
compared with the total pressure loss of the fan test
unit during laboratory ratings

Inlet Outlet
Fan system operating point & system effect
Air System Basics

Modulation of air systems

Constant volume system
Volume flow rate remains constant; supply temperature
is raised during part load
Variable-air-volume (VAV) system
Volume flow rate is reduced to match part load
operation
Modulation curve
Fan modulation curve
Air System Basics

Fan modulation methods

Damper (vary the opening of the air flow passage)
Waste energy
Inlet vanes (opening & angle of inlet vanes)
Low cost; less efficient than following types
Inlet cone (peripheral area of fan impeller)
Inexpensive; for backward curved centrifugal fan
Blade pitch (blade angle of axial fan)
Fan speed (using adjustable frequency drives)
Most energy-efficient; but more expensive
Damper, inlet vanes & fan speed modulation
Air System Basics

Fan combinations in AHUs

Supply and exhaust fan/barometric damper
Used when no return duct or low return pressure loss
Barometric relief damper: to prevent excessive high
space pressure
Suitable for systems w/ no air economizer mode & a
low pressure drop in return system
Supply and exhaust fans
Air System Basics

Fan combinations in AHUs

Supply and relief fan
Relief fan to prevent excessive high space pressure
Usually operated in air economizer mode
Outdoor air damper is fully opened; recirculating
damper closed
Suitable when pressure drop of return system < 75 Pa,
or there is a considerable pressure drop in relief or
exhaust flow passage
Supply and relief fans
Air System Basics

Fan combinations in AHUs

Supply and return fan
Return fan at the upstream of the junction of return,
recirculating and exhaust flow passage (ru)
Has similar characteristics as supply+relief fan, but a
higher total pressure at junction ru
Careful selection of return fan is needed to avoid
excessive pressure in the duct system
Suitable when pressure drop of return system > 150 Pa,
or those requiring a negative space pressure
Supply and return fans
Air System Basics

Year-round operation of a VAV system

Region I: Refrigeration/evaporative cooling
Enthalpy of outdoor > that of recirculating air
Region II: Free cooling & refrigeration
Enthalpy of outdoor that of recirculating air
Region III: Free cooling, evaporative cooling &
refrigeration
Enthalpy of outdoor that of recirculating air
Region VI: Winter heating
Control diagram of a VAV reheat system for year-round operation
Year-round operation
Region I: Refrigeration/evaporative cooling
Region II: Free cooling & refrigeration
Region III: Free cooling, evaporative cooling & refrigeration
Region VI: Winter heating
Air System Basics

Economizer
A device consisting of dampers and control that
uses free cooling capacity of either outdoor air or
evaporatively cooled water from cooling tower
instead of mechanical refrigeration
Air economizer:
Enthalpy-based
Temperature-based
Water economizer
Air System Basics

Fan energy use

For each l/s air W psy

supplied:
l / s 1000 f m

For system using

separate outdoor W psy
(1 RO , S )
ventilation: l/s 1000 f m
Air System Basics

Outdoor ventilation air supply

Aims
Provide acceptable indoor air quality
Achieve energy efficiency in the system
ASHRAE Standard 62-2001 (IAQ standard)
Demand-based outdoor ventilation air control
using CO2 as an indicator
CO2 concentration < 800-1,000 ppm
A specific indoor air contaminant can also be used
Air System Basics

Outdoor ventilation air supply

Minimum outdoor air control
Type I: uses a CO2 or mixed gas sensor + DDC
controller to control the volume flow rate of outdoor air
The best one but can be expensive
Type II: uses a CO2 or mixed gas sensor + DDC
controller to control the ratio of the openings between
outdoor and recirculating dampers
Suitable for VAV system
Air System Basics

Outdoor ventilation air supply

Minimum outdoor air control (contd)
Type III: uses a flow sensor or a pressure sensor + DDC
controller to control the dampers to provide nearly
constant volume outdoor air intake
More complicated & may cause energy waste
Type IV: adjust the opening of outdoor damper
manually to provide constant volume outdoor air
Mainly used for constant-volume systems