The following article was published in ASHRAE Journal, January 2002.

Copyright 2002 American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers, Inc. It is presented for educational purposes only. This article may not be copied and/or distributed electronically or in paper form without permission of ASHRAE.

Selecting the Right HVAC System

By David M. Elovitz, P .E. Fellow ASHRAE

nly the first 5% to 10% of a designers total effort on the design of an HVAC system is devoted to deciding what type of system to use. Yet, it is probably the most important decision on the entire project. This initial set of decisions establishes about 90% of the system cost and 90% of the users satisfaction. The subsequent decisions are important, but they are just fine-tuning. The system type dictates most of the cost, and determines what performance can be achieved.
Designers cannot make system selection decisions in a vacuum. They cannot pull an answer out of a hat. They do not make a single decision to meet a single requirement but a family of decisions in response to many separate criteria. For the system selection process to be successful, those criteria must represent the owners values and priorities.
System Selection Gating Criteria

Some system selection criteria are yes/no, or gating, criteria. Either the system will meet them or it will not. A system that will not meet the gating criteria cannot be considered for the project unless the owner changes the criteria. Some of the gating criteria are: Performance requirements: One important function of the system selection process is helping the designer and the owner to share the same performance expectations. No matter how attractive other aspects of a possible system might be, you cannot seriously consider a system that will not meet the stated perfor-

mance criteria. However, you can explain to the owner that by accepting these conditions instead of those conditions, the owner will gain that benefit. Capacity Requirements: If it takes x cfm at y temperature to maintain the stated indoor design conditions at the outdoor design conditions, the designer does not have a choice. He must provide a system that can deliver the conditions he says it will deliver. However, different system types may require different total building capacities to achieve the same end results. When the owner asks, Cant we make this system less expensive? he must understand that the system capacity can only be reduced if he is willing to accept less stringent indoor conditions at least part of the time. Zoning is a popular target for reducing first cost. The owner needs to understand that reducing control zoning might make areas uncomfortable for thousands of hours of each year, while reducing peak capacity might make areas uncomfortable for 100 or 200 hours each year.

Spatial Requirements: Simply stated, the recommended system has to fit in the space available in the building. No matter how reliable, how inexpensive to own and operate, how quiet, if it does not fit, you cannot use it. However, it is possible to discuss with the architect and the owner the advantages to the project if more space is made available for the HVAC system, or if the space can be arranged differently to accommodate certain features in the HVAC system.
System Selection Criteria

Not all system selection criteria are yes/no, gating items. Many are comparative. They involve tradeoffs. For instance, the owner may be willing to spend more to install a system that costs less to maintain or uses less energy. Or he might accept higher annual costs to reduce the project investment cost. In the real world, owners do not have unlimited funds. The tradeoffs may be between lower annual operating costs or a fancy lobby that allows him to charge higher rent. Some of the comparative criteria are: First Cost: Spend as much as necessary to achieve the performance, but no more. Easy to say, but difficult to know if you are doing it. First cost is probably the first criterion that comes to mind, and it is
About the Author
David M. Elovitz, P .E., is president of Energy Economics in Natick, Mass. He teaches the ASHRAE short courses and professional development seminars on system selection and report.

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certainly important. For some owners, it might even seem to be the only criterion. But there are other criteria, and some of them will have a bigger effect on total costs over the life of the building than first cost. Operating Cost: Operating cost is made up of many components. Energy, water and sewer, maintenance, repair, equipment replacement, and system modifications are the most common. Many of them will be determined directly by which system is selected. The tradeoff between operating cost and first cost is obvious and familiar. However, operating cost is also affected by less direct factors such as accessibility for maintenance. Reliability: How reliable is reliable enough? Certainly an owner will be much more attuned to avoiding downtime for a mainframe computer room, a network hub, or a clean room than he would be for a restaurant or an apartment building, and rightfully so. Reliability should consider how quickly and easily service can be restored in the event of a failure as well as how frequently failures are likely to occur. The system type affects both. Flexibility: Years ago, office buildings had large spaces with row upon row of desks. People came and went, but the physical arrangement rarely changed. Today, with project teams and rapidly evolving technology, nothing stays the same for long. When the layout changes to accommodate a new tenant or a new department, or when new equipment is installed that needs special conditioning, how easily can the HVAC system be adapted to meet that new need? Maintainability: What will it take to keep the system in good operating condition, and running smoothly and efficiently? Will periodic maintenance entail mechanics working in the occupied space or in a mechanical room? Will someone be climbing on a desktop every few months to change filters? What level of skill will be required to operate and maintain the system? Will the owner need to hire one or more skilled operators, or can the proposed system run effectively unattended?
Selection Goals

Figure 1: Percentage of occupants objecting to drafts in airconditioned room.

Why is the owner planning to install an HVAC system, anyway? Today, it is almost automatically expected, but about 70 years ago it was a rare building that had anything more elaborate than a radiator under each window. When building operators thought temperature control they thought in terms of whether or not to throw a few more shovels of coal into the boiler. We will look at five reasons that owners give for having a modern HVAC system. Comfort: Residential, office, and retail applications nominally have air conditioning to provide human comfort. People may have different ideas about what constitutes normal human comfort conditions, but with the exception of the owners own occupied space do you think an owner spends tens of dollars per square foot just because he is a kindly benefactor who wants people to be happy and think he is a nice person? I think the owner wants to provide comfortable condi-

tions because he can more easily attract good tenants. Those good tenants are willing to pay higher rent because they can attract and keep better employees who spend more time working productively (instead of sitting there thinking about how hot it is), or because the tenant thinks his customers will linger longer and spend more money. Process: Certain production processes, such as color printing and semi-conductor production, require temperature and humidity control. Others, such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, are required by regulations to produce in an aseptic environment. Before World War II, some of the most highly advanced skills in designing sophisticated air-conditioning systems were developed at the Disney Studios. Animated films were drawn on thousands of transparent cels that had to match one to the other exactly. The transparent substrates were extremely hygroscopic. If temperature and humidity were not tightly con-

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trolled, the frame drawn in the morning would not match the background drawn a week ago or even the frame drawn that afternoon. The Disney Studios air-conditioning skills were so highly regarded that the government called on Disney to design the air conditioning for the (then) new B-29 bomber! Preservation: Many materials are so sensitive to changes in temperature and/or humidity that atmospheric conditions can affect how long they last. Thus, many museums and libraries routinely use air conditioning to preserve their collections. Sometimes precision air-conditioning systems are used to maintain constant temperature and humidity for rare books and especially valuable textiles or artwork. There is considerable difference of opinion about what conditions are needed and how constant temperature and humidity must be for optimum preservation. Productivity: Some processes, such as guitar making or textile production, can be carried out without temperature and humidity control but can achieve higher production, reduced scrap rates, and higher quality product when production facilities are air-conditioned. A 1959 General Services Administration study of office workers performing routine filing tasks showed that even among office workers, those in an air-conditioned facility demonstrated significantly higher productivity and a measurable reduction in errors (not to mention greatly

improved morale) compared to workers doing identical tasks in a non-air-conditioned, but otherwise identical, facility. Real Estate Income/Value: Properties that provide conditions that enhance productivity whether for special process needs, or by improving human comfort are more attractive to own or rent so they command higher prices in the marketplace. A survey of commercial tenants some years ago showed that 56% of tenants who complained about temperature at least three times per year do not renew their leases.
Constraints on System Options

There is no one right HVAC system that is the best choice for every job. Nor is there one right HVAC system for every type of project. There is not even any one right system for a specific project. There are systems that will work for the project and systems that wont. Even among the systems that will work, some will work better than others. There is rarely only one system type that makes sense for a given project. The goals of the system selection process are to sort out which could not work, and to compare the merits of those that could work. First, ask yourself, will each possible system type meet the constraints of this particular project? Those constraints are: Calculated Heating and Cooling Loads: The cooling system must be able to remove heat from the space as fast as it

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comes in. The heating system must be able to add heat as fast as it leaks out. That applies to the building as a whole and to each space in the building. That means you need to calculate the peak load for each space and for each system, and not use some square feet per ton or cfm per square foot rule-of-thumb. It also means a 75 ton (264 kW) unit cannot be used if the calculated load is 100 tons (352 kW). Control Zoning: The peak load occurs only a few hours each year, and the peak load on one side of the building occurs at a different time of day, and often in a different month of the year, than on another side of the building. Interior zones need cooling all year, regardless of outdoor weather. The system must be able to deliver the right amount of capacity to each space at the right time to maintain steady temperatures. That means the system must have the ability to vary the capacity delivered to spaces or groups of spaces independently of the capacity delivered to other spaces. Different system types use different methods of varying capacity. Those different methods may have big impacts on system size as well as system operating cost. Heating: The system needs to replace heat lost by transmission through the perimeter walls and the roof. It also needs to heat outside air that enters the building through the system (ventilation) or through leaks in the building fabric (infiltration.) Heat must be introduced where the heat is lost. Heat supplied to an interior area doesnt help offset the heat lost through the glass in a perimeter office. In colder climates, the heating system also has to control drafts off windows or lightly insulated exterior surfaces to keep occupants comfortable. Research reported by F.C. Houghten in the 1938 ASHVE Transactions showed that 20% of the population will find air moving across the ankle at as little as 70 fpm uncomfortable if that air is 4F (2C) cooler than the air in the rest of the room. See Figure 1, from Chapter 32 of 2001 ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals. Ventilation: Occupants need ventilation. Generally, the amount of outside air ventilation should reflect the recommendations in ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62-1999, Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. Many building code ventilation requirements are based on that standard, but some differ. Ventilation is not needed to keep people from suffocating, or even to dilute the carbon dioxide they exhale. Ventilation requirements are based on diluting contaminants generated in the space to an acceptable level. The largest source of contaminants is generally bio-effluents from people, which is why so many ventilation requirements are expressed in cfm per person. However, copiers, fax machines, laser printers, carpet, finish materials, and even outgassing from furniture also generate contaminants. Architectural Constraints: The system has to fit in the available space. Whether a particular system type can be considered may depend on floor-to-floor height, particularly the space available between the bottom of the structure and the ceiling. Other space considerations include space for, and location of duct shafts, and the need for mechanical rooms or equipment closets. Intrusion into the space whether it is physical floor

space for a fan coil unit or acoustical intrusion by noise from a piece of equipment above the ceiling or in an adjacent closet, is an important factor to many owners and most architects. Intrusion can also be visual: if the system cannot be invisible, it should at least not compete with the interior design. Budget is just another word for first-cost. This is sometimes the most intractable constraint, and is paramount to some owners. Although most owners have a finite amount of money for a project, savvy owners recognize that a system with lower energy and maintenance costs is a better investment. Sometimes owners can receive a larger mortgage if they can show lower annual costs on their pro-forma. The system selection report needs to give owners the information that helps convince them of the lower annual costs. Codes and Regulations: Designers have a duty to design systems that comply with applicable codes and regulations. They are responsible not just to the owner, but to the general public as well. Beyond that, it will be necessary to get a permit to construct the project, and that generally involves a plan review process by the authority having jurisdiction (AHJ). Sometimes following the strict language of the code is not the best way to get the job done, and the designer will propose alternative means that require AHJ acceptance. It might be advantageous to resolve those variance issues before formally applying for the permit, and certainly before starting construction. In that connection, the designer should identify all of the authorities that will have jurisdiction and review compliance questions with all who will need to issue approvals.
When Is a Ton Not a Ton?

There are air-conditioning loads and then there are air-conditioning loads. The system selection process must consider different kinds of loads, and what the loads are at different places. Sensible vs. Latent: Cooling loads consist of sensible cooling loads (those that relate to the dry-bulb temperature) and latent loads (those that relate to the moisture content of the air). On the psychrometric chart, sensible heat is represented by horizontal distance and latent heat, or moisture content, by vertical distance. Space vs. Coil: The space has heat transmitted from outdoors, solar heat gain through windows, and heat generated internally. The cooling coil must absorb not only heat gains in the space, but also heat gained in the return (which may include part of the heat from the lights and heat gain through the roof if there is a return plenum), heat and moisture in the outside air for ventilation, and heat from any fan motors upstream of the coil. Thus, the load in the space can be very different from the load on the coil, and the coil load with one kind of system can be different from the coil load with another kind of system. Sensible Heat Ratio: The sensible heat ratio is an important factor in system design. It is the sensible heat divided by the sum of the sensible heat plus the latent heat. The sensible heat ratio for the space will not be the same as the sensible heat ratio

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at the coil. The sensible heat ratio of the space determines the optimum supply air temperature and cfm. The sensible heat ratio of the load on the coil determines the coils performance.
Narrowing the Choice

There are a myriad of choices to consider and so many decisions to make in selecting a system that it can seem quite a confusing task. The first five chapters of the ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems and Equipment offer an organized information source. The two major questions in system selection are: 1. Where and how will the cooling or heating be created? 2. How will the cooling or heating be delivered from there to where it is needed? Chapters 4 and 5 outline the choices available for creating heating and cooling. Chapter 4 discusses centralized production, where heating or cooling is produced in a single central location for an entire building, or an entire campus, or even an entire city. Chapter 5 discusses the options for decentralized production, where heating or cooling is produced near the point of use, and often in equipment that incorporates part of the distribution function. Chapters 2 and 3 outline the choices for delivering heating or cooling from where it is produced to where it is needed. Quite often heating and cooling are delivered to the space by

means of air heated or cooled in a piece of equipment outside the space. Chapter 2 (Building Air Distribution) describes the options for this approach. Sometimes the heating or cooling is delivered to the space by means of chilled or heated water (or steam), and one or more pieces of equipment within the space transfers energy to air distributed throughout the space. Chapter 3 describes the options for these in-room terminal systems.
System Comparisons and Report

Project Description/Basis of Design: A solution is not useful unless you know what problem it is solving. So the first step in a System Selection Report is to define the problem: Describe the building and its uses and define the intended performance (indoor and outdoor conditions, summer and winter.) It often helps to include a zoning keyplan showing the room locations and the control zones as part of the project description. System Selection Chart: Just as there is no one system that is right for every project, there is no one right way to present the results of a system selection study. Figure 2 is a sample chart that illustrates one way of presenting a lot of information in a concentrated format. It shows what systems were considered and summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of each for a particular project. For a simple project, a chart like Figure 2 with a cover letter might be the entire report, with compari-

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Figure 2: HVAC system selection chart.

Heat Pump VAV with Radiation Highly Flexible Modulating Least Good No Any Good Partial Everywhere VAV with Fan Boxes Highly Flexible Modulating Quiet Very Good Yes Limited Good Partial Everywhere Dual Duct VAV Multiple Rooftops Fancoils Increments

Comfort Considerations Control Options Control Type Noise Ventilation Overhead Heat Glass Height Filtration Effect of Failure Can Be Flexible On/Off Noticeable Limited Yes Limited Low Total Local Highly Flexible Modulating Least Very Good Yes Limited Good Partial Everywhere Limited On/Off Quiet Good Yes Limited Good Total Local Limited Modulating Quiet Limited Note 3 Note 3 Low Either Note 4 Can Be Flexible On/Off Note 1 Note 2 No Above Unit Only Good/Low Either Note 5

Space Considerations Floorspace Plenum Space Furniture Placement Maintenance Access Roofscape Boiler, Pumps, Storage Tank, MUAU* Shaft Least Fully Flexible Above Ceiling MUAU*, Cooling Tower Shafts, Boiler Shafts, Boiler If Gas Heat If Gas Heat Medium Baseboard, if used On Roof One or Two Large RTUs Medium Fully Flexible On Roof One or Two Large RTUs Shafts Medium Fully Flexible On Roof Two or Three Large RTUs Many Shafts Medium Fully Flexible On Roof Many Smaller RTUs MUAU* Shaft, pumps Least Note 6 Note 7 MUAU*, Maybe Chiler Shafts Medium Least Flexible In Rooms Several RTUs

System Cost Cost to Add Zones Ability to Increase Capacity Smoke Control Moderate Expensive

First Cost Depending on Job and Contractor Specifics, Any of These Systems Can be Competitive Low Inexpensive Adaptable Low Inexpensive Adaptable Low Inexpensive Adaptable Very High Expensive Separate System Low Inexpensive Separate System High Expensive Adaptable

Separate System

Operating Cost 1 = Highest and 5 = Lowest Cost Gas 3 1 2 1 4 2 4 Electric 3 3 4 3 5 4 5 Maintenance Cost Moderate Low Low Low High Low High Free Cooling Adaptable Inherent Inherent Inherent Available Adaptable Available Heat Recovery Inherent Adaptable Inherent Inherent None Adaptable None Inherent means the feature comes with the system automatically and requires no special design considerations to implement. Rooftop Unit Available means the feature is usually available as a standard option at some cost or with some additional engineering. * Makeup Air Unit Adaptable means the feature is not ordinarily part of the system but could be provided at extra cost and additional engineering. Energy Cost

Notes for Selection Chart Note 1: The central (interior zone) portion of the system should be quiet, much like the multiple rooftop unit system. The incremental (exterior zone) portion is likely to be noisy because the compressors are located in the occupied space. Note 2: Ventilation is good on the central portion of the system, but may be only fair on the incremental portion if individual units do not have fresh air connections. Fresh air connections may be difficult to set for the proper air quantity and do not always close tightly when they should. Note 3: If ceiling concealed fancoils are used, glass height is limited because heat is delivered from overhead. If console fancoil units are used in perimeter rooms, glass height is restricted to the space above the fancoil unit. Fairly tall windows can be installed if low-boy style fancoil units are used. Note 4: If the chiller or central pump fails, the entire system will be disabled. If an individual fancoil fails, the shutdown can be limited to one or a group of zones, depending on the nature of the failure. Note 5: If the central unit fails, a large portion of the building will be without cooling or ventilation. If a fancoil or incremental unit fails, only the zone it serves will be affected. Note 6: Furniture placement is unrestricted when a ceiling concealed fancoil unit system is used. Furniture placement is restricted in permeter rooms by the fancoil units, if console or low-boy units are installed in the perimeter rooms. Note 7: Maintenance access will be in the ceiling for concealed fancoils and in the occupied space for console or low-boy style units.

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sons in subjective terms good, better, best. For a large, complex project, the report might be hundreds of pages with system diagrams and calculation tables supplementing descriptive text and quantitative comparisons. Comfort: This section compares the ability of each system to maintain comfortable conditions, including such things as close temperature control, control zoning, noise, delivery of outside air ventilation, ability to heat from overhead and still control drafts from tall glass, the relative effectiveness of available air filtration, and the effect on the occupants if a piece of equipment fails (one limited area is affected or the whole building goes down, for example.) Space: How much floor space does the system need, including duct and pipe shafts as well as mechanical rooms or closets? Where do they have to be? How much ceiling plenum space, and how deep? Does the system limit furniture placement in the space? Where do mechanics have to work to perform maintenance? How does the system affect the buildings appearance indoors and out? From the ground and from an adjacent taller building? First Cost: First cost is not just the HVAC system cost. It is also the impact of different systems on the cost of the electrical system, the cost to provide space for the system, or special structural support and sight screens as well as the cost to make changes in the future to accommodate new layouts or add

special equipment. Some system types can be adapted to provide smoke management where that feature is required. Others require completely separate smoke management systems. Expected equipment life is related to first cost. Will equipment or major components have to be replaced earlier for one type of system than for another? What is the relative cost impact, considering the present value of that future replacement? Operating Cost: We think first of energy cost when we think of operating cost because energy is usually the largest component of operating cost. The ability to do free cooling in cool weather, to incorporate heat recovery techniques for outside air ventilation, or to incorporate load shifting techniques like thermal storage are related to energy cost. Energy cost is not the entire operating cost by any means. Will the system require regular attention from an operating staff, or even a full time operator? How about the relative cost of preventive maintenance and the cost of repairs? The cost of water, water treatment chemicals, and especially sewer charges, can be major cost factors for water cooled systems. Recommendations and Reasons: The report should conclude with the designers recommendation, and the reasons for that recommendation. Some designers may like to place this information up front in an executive summary, and some owners prefer that format. It is important to keep in mind throughout the system selection process is that there are probably factors of which only the owner is aware. Those factors may have important bearing on the relative merits of different systems. Recognize that your recommended system is probably not the only system that will meet the requirements of the project. Therefore, it is important for the report to identify which systems can meet the requirements of the project and which cannot; give the owner all the information on which the recommendation is based; and explain why the designer believes the recommended system is the most advantageous one for this project. Remember: consultants recommend, clients decide.
Summary

Advertisement in the print edition formerly in this space. The system selection report is the most important document you will prepare on the entire project. Everything else in the design process builds on what is in that report. What is important to remember about the system selection process? There is no one right system. Every project is different. System selection is an important decision. It requires and deserves, a lot of work. The owner is entitled to know what you considered and why you recommend what you recommend. It is not your job to make the system decision. Your job is to see that the owner has the information he needs to make the right decision for him. Editors note: For more information, consider enrolling in ASHRAEs short course or Professional Development Seminar: System Selection and Report.

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