2014/07/23

No. 10 on the list of the Greatest Engineering

Achievements of the 20th Century
These cooling technologies have altered our
lifestyles completely:
Buildings are climate-controlled & comfortable
Fresh foods & milk are kept in
refrigerators/freezers
Food can be transported over long distances
without spoiling
Building designs - changed completely
Environment for industrial processes are
controlled

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Definitions
Space Conditioning
Applied to processes by which air in occupied
spaces is maintained at acceptable conditions
(temp, humidity and freshness)
HVAC
Heating
Ventilating
Air Conditioning
Air Conditioning
Refers to all process used in changing states of
conditioned air in an HVAC system
Often used to describe just the cooling and
dehumidification aspects of overall HVAC system

Fields

of refrigeration and air conditioning are

interconnected

Heating,
humidifying and
air quality control

Industrial
Refrigeration, incl
food preservation,
chemical and
process industries

Cooling and
Dehumidifying operations
in air Conditioning

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Largest application of refrigeration process of

cooling (used for air-conditioning)
Additionally used frequently in industrial
applications (food preservation, food processing,
heat removal in chemical plants etc)
Air conditioning needs more than a cooling
process

Confort Air-conditioning:
The process of treating air to control simultaneously its
temperature, humidity, cleanliness, and distribution to meet
comfort requirements of the occupants of the conditioned space

Thus AC includes the entire heating operation, as

well as velocity regulation, thermal radiation and
air quality (incl removal of vapors and foreign
particles)

HVAC Broad Field, available engineering focus on space

conditioning but there are numerous other applications
General Commercial Sector
Office Buildings
Retail Facilities (Stores, Shopping
Malls)
Places of Assembly
Educational Facilities
Health Facilities

Speciality Areas
Automotive
Truck
Aircraft
Ships

Human Comfort criteria for

each of these applications are
similar
But differences in levels of
acceptable temperature and
outdoor ventilation required
Same basic equipment may
be used in different
applications
Control Techniques
specialized
Performance criteria different
for each system

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Air

treatment also required

Each area has special and different
needs

Industrial Facilities
INDUSTRY

REQUIREMENT

Chemical/Painting

Large amounts of outdoor air

Paper Industry

Drying Systems (produces very humid air)

Plastics Plant

Dry and Tightly Controlled Conditions

required

Food Industry

Freezing, Drying, Preserving foods requires air

treatment (correct temp and humidity
required)

A/C of Medium/Large Buildings

Summer

cooling systems standard in

large buildings
Also needed to remove heat generated
by people, lights, equipment etc
Some form of central system serves building
One or more water-chilling plant/heater (boiler)
Conditioned spaces served by one or more air-supply/return
system
Hot water may be piped to HE in conditioned space

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Single Storey Commercial Buildings

Often served by rooftop units

Simple to install
Various duct lengths can be used
Incorporates filter, supply fan, heater (gasfired/electric), ventilation dampers and controls

Hospitals

Special Requirements:
100% outdoor air must be used
Humidity levels are limited in ORs to avoid static
electricity
Design of an energy efficient system meeting all
the requirements quite a challenge

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Industrial Air Conditioning

Providing a certain
level of comfort for
workers in hostile
environments, but
also control air
conditions to be
favourable for
specific industrial
processes

Spot
Heating/Cooling

Environmental
Laboratories

Printing

Textiles

Precision Parts
and Clean
Rooms

Photographic
Products

Residential Air Conditioning

Usually a DX system
Central/Unitary system compressor and condenser is
located outdoors (called a condensing unit), and
evaporator coil in the interior air ducts
Combined heating and cooling Heat Pumps (cycle
can be reversed evaporator becomes condenser)

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Food Industry
Freezing

Air blast Freezing

Contact Freezing
Immersion Freezing

Storage

Fruits and Vegetables should be frozen quickly after

harvesting
Refrigerated Warehouses (-20 to -23C

Distribution

Food moves from Refrigeration Warehouses to food markets

Refrigerated Display Cases (3-5C) for dairy products
-20 for frozen products and ice cream

Food
Processing
Beverages

Milk,ice cream and cheese

Concentrated fruit juices, beer and wine
Freeze Drying (product is frozen and water removed by
sublimation)

Special Applications
Drinking
Fountains

Dehumidifiers

Ice Makers

Ice Skating
Rinks

Construction

Desalting of
Seawater

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Typical
Air Distribution System
HVAC System

Continuously
circulates air
through building

Pollutants generated by
Occupants and processes
removed thruogh air exchange
with outside (exhaust duct and
dampers)

Cooling mode air

supplied to building is cool
and dry (must remove heat
and moisture)

Heating Mode air supplied is

warm to balance heat losses

Air exchange with outside leads to additional heating/cooling

requirements.
From energy perspective recirculate as much as conditioned air as
possible
Mixture of return air ventilation air passes through a series
conditioning equipment:
Filters remove dust and particles
Cooling coils placed after filters to cool and dehumidify the air
Heating coils humidification equipment heat the air and add
moisture in the winter

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Separate

supply and return fans are used in the

main supply and return air ducts
Operated so that building is at a pressure higher
than the outdoor to prevent infiltration.
Introduction of the outside air must be controlled
by the ventilation system

Air-distribution system can serve various zones within a building

Zone: region of a building with its own temperature control,

usually through a local thermostat

This is termed an all-air system space conditioning is provided

ONLY by air processed at a central location and then distributed
Quite common in commercial buildings relatively low cost and
simplicity
All-water systems

used to distribute cold and/or hot water (or steam) to heat

exchangers located in various zones to provide local cooling and
heating
Local Thermostat controls water quantity flowing through heat
exchanger
Ventilation of outside air to each zone is provided locally

Air-water systems

Combination of centrally cooled and ventilated air as in all-air systems,

with hot water coils in each coil for heating

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Equipment
Heating
Depending on requirements
steam or hot water to HEs from a boiler (natural gas,
oil or electricity)
Fuel-fired furnace
Electric resistance heaters in duct
Cooling
Typically a vapour-compression system to chill water
certain cases absorption chillers sometimes used

Direct Expansion (DX)

Evaporator of VC-system is in the supply duct and cools
and dehumidifies air directly
Residential/Small Commercial Applications

Equipment (2)

Large Commercial applications:

Centrally located chiller systems
distributes chilled water to cooling coils
for cooling and dehumidifying air.
Coils may be located centrally (all-air) or locally (allwater)
Heat Rejection Process:
Condenser is used, may transfer heat directly to
ambient air using a evaporative condenser water is
sprayed into air stream before passing over
condenser surfaces
Large systems condenser is water cooled heat
transfer to environment through cooling towers
(water is cooled by evaporation into ambient air)

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DX System

Evaporator located in main supply air duct with a heat

exchanger for a furnace (central air system)
Single thermostat is used to cycle compressor and
furnace on and off to maintain setpoint temperature
Compressor and condenser are located outside
building
When condenser and evaporator are not located in the
same package split system
Packaged system - incorporates all of the VC system in
a single package e.g. rooftop units

Equipment (3)

Chilled water and hot-water/steam equipment often used

in large commercial buildings to serve a number of AHU (air
handling units)
Combination of a fan, filter, heating coil, cooling coil,
humidifier, ventilation dampers and controls
Usually pre-assembled and purchased as built-up air
handling units

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2014/07/23

History

Keeping cool obsession with

humans for centuries
Evaporative cooling:

Dates back to Egyptians (wet

mats over doorways)
Slaves would fan clay jars filled
with water
Native Americans: water trenches
beneath huts
American West wet sheets on
sleeping porches

Some Roman Emperors (Elagabulus)

had snow hauled from the mountains to
cool their summer villa and to chill their
drinks
Middle East wind towers (from
medieval Persia) used to cool buildings.
Small Windows captures gusts of wind
and funnel them downwards
Hand fans (made of feathers, bamboo
or plant fronds) fashion accessory
(Queen Elizabeth I). Imported from
China
Wealthy roman citizens pumped cool
water from aqueducts into villas,
circulated
through pipes
in the walls,
lowering room
temperatures

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2014/07/23

1902 Comfort cooling system installed at the New York Stock Exchange
.
1902 First office building with an air-conditioning system installed
A self-contained mechanical refrigerator is displayed at the St.
1904 Louis World's Fair
1906 First office building specifically designed for air conditioning.
1906 Patent filed for "dew point control" system
Air-conditioning equipment installed in dining and meeting rooms
1907 at Congress Hotel in Chicago
Aircooled, electric, self-contained household refrigerating unit is
1914 marketed
1927 Gas-fired household absorption refrigerators become popular
First refrigerator to be mass produced with a completely sealed
1927 refrigerating system
1930 Smaller air-conditioning units appear on trains
1928 Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants are synthesized
"Hot- Kold" year-round central air-conditioning system for homes
1931 on the market
1931 A heat pump air-conditioning system in Los Angeles office building
1936 Albert Henne synthesizes refrigerant R-134a
More than half of new automobiles are equipped with air
1969 conditioning
1987 Minimum energy efficiency requirements set
1987 The Montreal Protocol
1992 Minimum energy efficiency standards set for commercial buildings

Self-study: Read through chapter 1 in MQuiston

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