Unit 4

Air Conditioning Systems and Application
HVAC:
HVAC - stands for
• Heating,
• Ventilation, and
• Air-Conditioning—three closely related fundamental functions found in homes,
offices, and other building structures.
When it all began:

•The beginning of HVAC is not clear, though as early as second century, a lotof
Roman cities were using a central heating system known as hypocaust.
•This is further popularized during the Industrial Revolution as big factories used it.
•Now most modern buildings that you see have integrated HVAC.
Air Conditioner:
An air conditioner (often referred to as AC or air con.) is an appliance,system,
or machine designed to stabilise the air temperature and humidity within an area (used
for cooling as well as heating depending on the air properties at a given time), typically
using a refrigeration cycle but sometimes using evaporation, commonly for comfort
cooling in buildings and motor vehicles.
Use of HVAC:
The primary use of HVAC is to regulate
• room temperature,
• humidity, and
• air flow, ensuring that such elements remain within their acceptable ranges.
Effective control of such factors minimizes health-related risks.
•A very humid atmosphere impairs the body’s ability to regulate body temperature as it
prevents the evaporation of sweat.
•High humidity also decreases physical strength, which usually leads to fatigue.
•An unhealthy surrounding can also affect people’s thinking abilities.
•Hypothermia, heat stroke, and hyperpyrexia, among others, are some of the illnesses
that may also occur.
Uses of AC from Architects point of view:

It can be broadly divided into comfort and process.
•Comfort applications aim to provide a building indoor environment that remains
relatively constant in a range preferred by humans despite changes in external
weather conditions or in internal heat loads.
•Air conditioning makes deep plan buildings feasible, for otherwise they would have
to be built narrower or with light wells so that inner spaces receive sufficient
outdoor air via natural ventilation.
•Air conditioning also allows buildings to be taller since wind speed increases
significantly with altitude making natural ventilation impractical for very tall
buildings.
Eg), recently, stadiums have been built with air conditioning to allow competition to take
place in summer, such as University of Phoenix Stadium and in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA
World Cup.
Design of HVAC:
The design of an HVAC system is influenced
by many factors, including but not limited to:
• the function,
• size, and
• configuration of the building;
• the selection of building materials and
furnishings;
• construction methods;
• the budgets for HVAC capital
equipment,
• maintenance, and operation;
• the air-quality requirements based on
occupancy and use of the building;
• and the outside environment.
A typical HVAC system has

three basic components,
namely:
(a) outdoor air intake and air
exhaust ducts and controls;
(b) Air handling units (a system
of fans, heating and cooling
coils, air filters, controls,
etc.); and
(c) an air distribution system
(air ducts, diffusers, and
controls; return and exhaust
air collectors; grilles and
registers; return and exhaust
air ducts and plenums)
Multiple functions of HVAC:

HVAC systems perform multiple interdependent functions, including
• heating,
• humidification,
• cooling,
• dehumidification,
• ventilation,
• pressurization, and
• filtration/ cleaning.
• In most systems, several of these functions are performed simultaneously.

• These functions affect the occupants’ exposure to airborne contaminants, including
aerosolized infectious agents.
• In the context of protection from biological attacks, HVAC systems can simultaneously
perform three interdependent functions—ventilation, pressurization, and filtration—
while providing the required temperature and humidity control.
Ventilation
Ventilation is the process of supplying air to or removing air from a space to reduce
contaminant levels and to optimize humidity and temperature of the air within the space.
For commercial and public office buildings, ventilation is usually achieved by exhausting
some of the return air (recaptured indoor air) to the outside environment, replacing it
with outdoor air, and mixing the outdoor air with the portion of return air that is being
recirculated.
After this mixture is filtered, it is conditioned (i.e., heated or cooled, humidified or
dehumidified), and delivered to the occupied space.
Improvements in three aspects of supply air might reduce the indoor concentrations of
particles (including infectious particles that would be released during an attack):
(a) the rate of air exchange (delivery of supply air and exhaust of return air);
(b) the airtightness of the return air system; and
(c) the effectiveness of the filtration and air cleaning processes.
Ventilation is necessary to allow carbon dioxide to go out and oxygen to get in, making
sure that people are inhaling fresh air.
Rate of Air Exchange

There are two types of air exchange rates in HVAC systems:
• the supply air exchange rate, which is primarily determined by the thermal loads in
the spaces, and
• the outdoor air exchange rate, which is primarily determined by the floor area and
maximum number of occupants.
Both of these air exchange rates are important for ventilation control.
If the particulate concentration in the outdoor air is lower than in the indoor air, higher
outdoor air exchange rates reduce the indoor particle concentrations by exhausting more
of the particle-laden return air and diluting the recirculated return air with cleaner
outdoor air. Thus, the indoor particle concentrations are decreased by exhausting and by
diluting the return air; this process is referred to as dilution ventilation.
Dilution ventilation requires that the system have the capacity for conditioning increased
amounts of the outdoor air.
The Return Air System:

The return air system removes a portion
of the supply air from the occupied zones
and returns this air to the airhandling
units for exhaust or recirculation.
One of two methods is used to return air

to the HVAC system:
• the ducted return or
• the plenum return (the plenum is
the space between the finished
ceiling and the floor slab above).
(plenum – a space completely filled

with matter, or the whole of space so
regarded – dictionary meaning)
Ducted returns collect air from each room or zone using return air devices in the ceiling
or walls of the occupied spaces that are directly connected by ductwork to the air-
handling unit .
The plenum return collects air from several rooms or zones through return air devices
that empty into the negatively pressurized plenum.
The air collected in the plenum is then returned to the air-handling unit by ductwork or
structural conduits.
The effectiveness of the return air system plays a key role in indoor air quality since the
HVAC system can only exhaust, filter, or condition indoor air that is returned to the
handling unit.
Regardless of whether the HVAC system has a ducted return or a plenum return,
increasing the seal integrity of the return air system and air-handling units will help to
ensure that more air is returned to and reconditioned by the air-handling unit.
This can be accomplished by improving the seam seals, recoiling and replacing failed
gaskets, and sealing unlined structural conduits. Because return plenums draw air from
openings into building cavities, return plenums are more difficult to seal than ducted
returns.
Pressurization:
•Building pressurization describes the maintenance of a pressure differential between
the inside and the outside of the building or between different areas or zones within a
building.
•Pressurization also can be used to limit the movement of particles into and/or within a
building.
•If the building pressure is negative compared to the outside, or the zone pressure is
negative compared to adjacent zones, particles can enter the building or lower-pressure
zones through any opening.
•The capacity for positive pressurization is controlled by adjusting the difference between
the intake of outdoor air and the exhaust of return air at the air-handling units.
•Creation of a pressure differential between spaces or zones within a building requires
that sources of air leakage be eliminated and that the HVAC system be able to provide
sufficient air to a zone to create a positive pressure relative to its surroundings.
•Plenum air returns make it more difficult to achieve pressurizationcontrol in a zone,
whereas ducted return air systems make it easier to achieve pressurization control in a
zone
A protective effect is achieved by preventing contaminated air movement from an area of

lower pressure into an area of higher pressure.
Positively pressurized spaces reduce entry of airborne particles;
•positive pressure is used in hospitals to protect immune-compromised patients;
•in industrial clean rooms to protect contamination sensitive products and
equipment; and
•in fire escapes and stairwells to prevent smoke from entering escape routes.
It is possible to use negative pressurization to reduce the escape of particles from a

space. For example, clinical diagnostic laboratories or mailrooms use negative pressure
to retain airborne infectious particles and prevent their spread to surrounding
(positively pressurized) parts of a building.
Leakage interferes with pressurization control as air enters through unintended routes
and disrupts the balance of supply and return air. If return and exhaust air flow rates are
not balanced with the supply air rates in a zone, the required positive or negative
pressure in the zone cannot be maintained.
The supply air required for positive pressurization is normally provided by the air-
handling unit. Building leaks therefore affect the sizes of the air-handling unit required to
maintain positive pressure.
Filtration
For the practical purpose of this report, filtration is simply defined as the removal of
particles from air using a filter.
The filtration effectiveness of HVAC systems depends on many factors, including
• the airflow rate through the filter,
• the particulate concentration of the air entering the filter,
• the type of filter,
• the efficiency of the filter,
• the location of filters,
• the filter housing, and
• the filter maintenance schedule.
HVAC system design and building characteristics affect filtration effectiveness.
Key factors in determining filtration effectiveness are

• the method of capture for return air (e.g., ducted or plenum returns),
• the efficacy of the ventilation system, and
• the building’s envelope leakage.
The Future of HVAC

Using PLCs (programmable logic controllers) in HVAC is the trend nowadays.
Companies are adopting wireless technology after they found out that networking HVAC
controllers, which often use sensors, can eventually cut installation and labor costs.
A lot of engineers are also focused on further improving this technology through the use
of mesh wireless setup, which will work for both the wireless sensor and wireless
controller networks.
The only downside of this could probably be the risk of being exposed to RF (radio
frequency) radiation
Air conditioning types:

The application of a particular type of system depends upon a number of factors like
• how large the area is to be cooled,
• the total heat generated inside the enclosed area, etc.
An HVAC designer would consider all the related parameters and suggest the system most
suitable for your space.
Types of Air Conditioners

•Window Air Conditioning System
•Split Air Conditioner System
•Central Air Conditioning Plants
•Packaged Air Conditioners - Types of Packaged AC
Window Air Conditioner

• Window air conditioner is the most commonly used
air conditioner for single rooms, and also the cheapest.
• In this air conditioner all the components, namely

the compressor, condenser, expansion valve or coil,
evaporator and cooling coil are enclosed in a single
box.
• here is also a motor which has shafts on both sides.

On one side of the shaft the blower is connected,
which sucks hot air from the room and blows it over
the cooling coil, thus cooling it and sending it to the
room.
On the other shaft the fan is connected, which blows
the air over Freon gas passing through the condenser.
• This unit is fitted in a slot made in the wall of the room, or often a window sill.
• it is important that there is free air flow over the condenser, hence these units must be
mounted in an external wall of the AC space.
•One of the complaints that window air conditioners have had is that they tend to make
noise inside the room. But this problem has been greatly overcome by the present day
efficient and less noisy rotary compressors, which also consume less electricity.
How to choose the correct model:

• When choosing a Window AC Unit, keep in mind that size is important.
• Window AC Units that are too small run continually but are not cooling the room
effectively.
• Meanwhile, too large Window AC Units for the space operate less effectively than units
in correct size.
• Bigger units cool the room so quickly but they do not remove humidity from the air
which results to frequent turning off and on. The room will then feel soggy, dank and of
course, less comfortable.
• Further, larger units cost more as it uses additional energy while smaller units running
for a longer time use less energy to completely cool a room.
The cooling capacity of a Window AC Unit (and other types of AC) is measured in British
Thermal Units or BTU per hour.
This measurement helps in figuring out the right air conditioning unit size for your room.
So first, measure the room to be cooled and match with the BTU chart.
Here are some tips in relation to finding the correct size of a

Window AC Unit:
However, these sizes may change
• depending upon the number of people occupying the space,
• its alignment with respect to sun, and
• other sources of heat generation inside the room.
(all equipments which generates heat)
* For a room shaded heavily, decrease the BTU capacity by 10%;

* For a very sunny room, raise the BTU capacity by 10%;
• For a room regularly occupied by more than two people, add 600 BTU for each
additional person;
• and for a kitchen, add 4,000 BTU/Hr.
•If your room or office size is about less than 100 sq. ft. a window air conditioner of
about 0.8 ton can be good enough.
• If the size of room is more than 100 sq. ft this but less than 200 sq. ft. your HVAC
designer will recommend a window air conditioner of about 1 ton.
• For rooms of bigger sizes but less than 300 sq. ft. the system of about 1.5 ton is
advisable.
Further,
• when selecting a Window AC Unit, check the unit’s Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) which
is used to estimate the operating cost of the unit.
• You use this to compare it with similar Window AC Unit models.
• The point is for you to choose the one with higher EER because it will cost you less to
operate. Also, see to it that the unit you choose has an Energy Star rating.
• The rating means that the unit utilizes advanced heat transfer technologies which save
energy.
• It also means that the Window AC Unit exceeds by at least 15% the minimum federal
standards for energy consumption.
It is better to consult your HVAC designer to find out the exact size of window air
conditioner suitable for your space.
Parts of the Window Air

Conditioners
•Window air conditioner comprises of the rigid
base on which all the parts of the window air
conditioner are assembled.
•The base is assembled inside the casing which
is fitted into the wall or the window of the room
in which the air conditioner is fitted.
The whole assembly of the window air

conditioner can be divided into two
compartments:
• the room side, which is also the cooling
side and the outdoor side from where the
heat absorbed by the room air is liberated
to the atmosphere.
• The room side and outdoor side are
separated from each other by an insulated
partition enclosed inside the window air
conditioner assembly
In the front of the window air conditioner on the room side there is beautifully
decorated front panel on which the supply and return air grills are fitted (the whole
front panel itself is commonly called as front grill).
The louvers fitted in the supply air grills are adjustable so as to supply the air in desired
direction.
There is also one opening in the grill that allows access to the control panel or
operating panel in front of the window air conditioner.
The various parts of the window air conditioner can be divided into following
categories:
• the refrigeration system,
• air circulation system,
• ventilation system,
• control system, and
• the electrical protection system.
The Refrigeration System of the Window Air Conditioner

The refrigeration system of the window air conditioner comprises of all the important
parts of the refrigeration cycle. These include the compressor, condenser, expansion
valve and the evaporator. The refrigerant used in most of the window air conditioners is
R22.
•The compressor used in the window air conditioners is hermetically sealed type,
which is portable one.
•The condenser is made up of copper tubing and it is cooled by the atmospheric air.
The condenser is covered with the fins to enable faster heat transfer rate from it.
•The capillary tubing made up of various rounds of the copper coil is used as the
expansion valve in the window air conditioners.
•Just before the capillary there is drier filter that filters the refrigerant and also
removes the moisture particles, if present in the refrigerant.
Like condenser, the evaporator is also made up of copper tubing of number of turns and
is covered with the fins.
The evaporator is also called as the cooling coil since the rooms air passes over it and
gets cooled.
Just in front of the evaporator there is air filter fitted in the front panel or front grill.
As the room air is absorbed, it is first passed over the filter so that it gets filtered.
The filtered air is then blown over the cooling coil and the chilled air is passed into the
room.
The refrigerant after leaving the cooling coil enters the accumulator where it is
accumulated and then it is again sucked by the compressor for recirculation over the
whole cycle.
Air Circulation System of the Window Air Conditioner

The air circulation system of the window air conditioner comprises of the following parts
1) Blower:
• This is the small blower that is fitted behind the evaporator or cooling coil inside the
assembly of the window air conditioner system.
• The blower sucks the air from the room which first passes over the air filter and gets
filtered.
• The air then passes over the cooling coil and gets chilled.
• The blower then blows this filtered and chilled air, which passes through the supply
air compartment inside the window air conditioner assembly. This air is then
delivered into the room from the supply air grill of the front panel.
2) Propeller fan or the condenser fan: The condenser fan is the forced draft type of
propeller fan that sucks the atmospheric air and blows it over the condenser.
•The hot refrigerant inside the condenser gives up the heat to the atmospheric air
and its temperature reduces.
3) Fan motor: The motor inside the window air conditioner assembly is located between
the condenser and the evaporator coil.
It has double shaft on one side of which the blower is fitted and on the other side the
condenser fan is fitted. This makes the whole assembly of the blower, the condenser fan
and the motor highly compact.
Control System of the Window Air Conditioners
In front of the window air conditioner there is control panel or the operating panel that
carries various control buttons. This control panel can be easily accessed from the front
panel of the window air conditioner. The three important parameters that are to be
controlled inside the window air conditioner are
• the room air temperature,
• the flow rate of the air and
• the direction of the air.
1) Thermostat for controlling the room air temperature:

• For controlling the temperature inside the room there is thermostat.
• The thermostat sensor is connected directly to the cooling coil to sense its
temperature.
• The thermostat is also connected to the switch in control panel and it has the
knob for setting the temperature.
• The person inside the room can easily set the temperature required by rotating
this knob.
• In the modern window air conditioners, there is printed circuit board (PCB) to
which the thermostat is connected.
• This PCB has remote sensor so the setting of the thermostat can be easily
changed by the remote control.
2) Air flow rate inside the room:
•The motor connected to the blower is of multispeed type, so one can change the
speed of the motor.
•As the speed of the motor changes the amount of air sucked by it and blown by it
also changes and so the amount of air delivered in the room also changes.
•The speed of the motor can be changed by the knob provided in the control panel
or by the remote control if the air conditioner has PCB fitted into it.
3) Direction of the air flow inside the room:

•In front panel of the window air conditioner there are horizontal lovers.
•Additionally, in front of the air conditioner body and attached to it arethe vertical
louvers.
•The chilled air from blown by the blower passes into the room through these louvers.
•The horizontal louvers in the front panel enable changing the vertical motion direction
of the air inside the room.
•The position of these lovers can be changed manually.
•The vertical louvers enable changing the horizontal motion of the air inside the room.
These louvers are connected to the small motor.
•The vertical louvers can be kept moving in the vertical directionso that the air flows
throughout the room uniformly or they can be kept in the fixed direction so that the air
flows in particular desired direction only.
•The operation of the motor of the vertical lovers can be controlled by the small
button on the control panel of the window air conditioner
In case of the automatic window air conditioner with PCB, the motion of the vertical
lovers can be controlled by the remote. The horizontal louvers in the front panel and
the vertical louvers enable fine control of the distribution of air inside the room.
Front Panel of the Window Air Conditioner

The very front covering of the window air conditioner
assembly that is visible to the person is the front
panel (many times called as the front grill).
These days lots of importance is being given to the

aesthetics of the front panel so the window air
conditioner also serves as the decorative item inside
the room.
The front panel has two important compartments:

return air and supply air compartments.
1) Return air compartment: The return air

compartment of the front panel comprises of the
return air grill and the air filter.
When the blower sucks the air, it is first over the

return air grill and then over the air filter.
Since the return air from the room comes inside the
air conditioner via this part of the front panel, it is
called as return air compartment of the grill.
2) Supply air compartment:

The supply air compartment of the front panel
comprises of the horizontal louvers as described
above.
The horizontal louvers help changing the vertical

direction of air inside the room and their position
can be changed manually as per the requirement.
There is another opening in the front panel that

provides access to the control panel of the window
air conditioner.
The front panel of the window air conditioner can be
removed easily for carrying out the maintenance
works.
If you want to remove the filter from the front panel,
one can easily slide it out from the side without
removing the whole panel.
Drainage System of the Window Air Conditioner

•When the room air is chilled by the cooling coil the dew from the air is accumulated on
the coil.
•This dew drops in the bottom base of the window air conditioner and it has to be
removed by some system else the water will leak inside the room.
•For collecting the dew, the window air conditioned isinstalled with slightly tilted angle
toward outside due to which all the dew water gets collected towards the back.
•There is small opening at the end for the drainage of this water.
•This opening can be left open or it can be connected to the small drain pan and the
piping so that the water is drained out easily.
Electrical Protection System

•The hermetically sealed compressor has motor fitted insideit.
•The compressor is the most important part of the air conditioning system so the motor
connected to it should be protected against getting overheated and burning.
•Due to running of the air conditioner for long time, sometimes the winding gets
overheated.
•To prevent the burning of the coil there is thermostat that senses the temperature of
the coil.
•When the coil temperature reaches certain level, it trips the compressor and stops it
until it gets cooled and restarts only after certain lower limit of the temperature is
attained.
Air Filter
Functions - which is cleaning of the air.
The air cleaner is fitted in the front of the air conditioner in the front panel.
The room air first passes over the air filter and then over the cooling coil. Thus the
filtered and chilled air is passed to the room.
For proper working of the window air conditioner system cleaning the air filter once
every two weeks is very important.
How To Maintain A Window AC Unit

For you to easily maintain a Window AC Unit, select the unit that has a slide out
filter because they are easy to manage during cleaning of the filter.
Keep in mind that cleaning the filter helps in saving energy and money. It also
helps the air to stay fresher.
Other features to look for that will help you economize in the long run are a
compressor switch so that it does not operate continuously, three-speed fan
controls that allow adjustment of the amount of cool air and noise, time setter,
and digital thermostats.
Another feature to look for when purchasing a Window AC Unit, is a remote

control, this really comes in handy when you need to change the temperature
or turn the unit off.
Split Air Conditioner

The split air conditioner comprises of two parts:
• the outdoor unit and
• the indoor unit.
The outdoor unit, fitted outside the room, houses components like the compressor,
condenser and expansion valve.
The indoor unit comprises the evaporator or cooling coil and the cooling fan.
For this unit you don’t have to make any slot in the wall of the room.
Further, the present day split units have aesthetic looks and add to the beauty of the
room.
The split air conditioner can be used to cool one or two rooms.
In some applications, if the room to be air-conditioned does not have an external wall
then one can use a split unit.
For good performance, the distance between the two equipment should not exceed
5m. The evaporator can also be hung from the ceiling in different configurations.
•The distinct advantage of a split AC unit is that it may be used to cool a room during
summer season and also to heat a room during winter.
•This means that split air condition units are not such an item which are used in one
season and have no use in other season.
•The size of a split AC unit is generally small as compared to a conventional window air
conditioner.
•The great thing with these is that they do not make use of much power.
•The cooling capacity of the split air conditions unit is a significant aspect and is
measured in terms of tones. This actually refers to the total ability to cool.
•The energy efficiency ratio value makes a comparison between the cooling efficiency of
the split air conditioner to the quantity of power which the unit uses. This means that
the machines with higher EERs will ultimately save more power.
•The split unit can also eliminate moisture from the room while it cools the air. The
removal of moisture is measured in liters/hour. This feature is also very crucial since it
reduces the humidity of the room.
•This is the major reason why split AC units are mostly used in humid regions as opposed
to air coolers which are preferred mainly in drier regions.
The two main components of a split air conditioning system have different functions.
The unit situated outdoors, called a compressor, cools the air and handles
condensation. This saves the trouble of having to find a way to drain the water created
from the air conditioning process indoors.
The inside unit, called the blower, is responsible for distributing the air to the rest of the
house. This is done through a forced-air system, usually using a fan and a series of ducts
that distribute cool air to each room in the home with a vent. An intake vent will return
air to the unit.
These units tend to run more efficiently than window air conditioners, but they do cost
more to buy initially.
A miniature system works by installing an air handling piece in the room of choice. Two
lines are then connected to an outside unit. While this will require drilling through an
outside wall, it will not require the cutting needed for air conditioning units with ducts.
• One line will deliver coolant to the inside component.
• The other line will take away condensation.
For those who need multiple rooms cooled, several inside components can be installed to
one outdoor component.
•No matter which type of split air conditioning unit is chosen, it is important to make sure
you are choosing a unit that is capable of handling the needs of your home.
•Units that are too powerful will cut on and off too much, thus possibly leading
to humidity problems.
•Units not powerful enough will always be on, and run the risk of burning out, or at least
using more electricity than they need to.
Wall Mounted Indoor Unit:

It is the indoor unit that produces the cooling effect inside the room. The indoor unit of
the split air conditioner is a box type housing in which all the important parts of the air
conditioner are enclosed.
The most common type of the indoor unit is the
•wall mounted type though
•other types like ceiling mounted and
•floor mounted are also used.
Most used – wall mounted

These days the companies give utmost importance to the looks and aesthetics of the
indoor unit.
In the last couple few years the purpose of the indoor unit has changed from being a
mere cooling effect producing devise to a beautiful looking cooling devise adding to
the overall aesthetics of the room.
This is one of the major reasons that the popularity of the split units has increased
tremendously in the last few years.
Let us see the various parts enclosed inside the indoor unit of the
split air conditioner:
Evaporator Coil or the Cooling Coil:
•The cooling coil is a copper coil made of number turns of the copper tubing with
one or more rows depending on the capacity of the air conditioning system.
•The cooling coil is covered with the aluminum fins so that the maximum amount of
heat can be transferred from the coil to the air inside the room.
•The refrigerant from the tubing at very low temperature and very low pressure enters
the cooling coil.
•The blower absorbs the hot room air or the atmospheric air and in doing so the air
passes over the cooling coil which leads to the cooling of the air.
•This air is then blown to the room where the cooling effect has to be produced.
•The air, after producing the cooling effect is again sucked by the blower and the process
of cooling the room continues.
•After absorbing the heat from the room air, the temperature of the refrigerant inside the
cooling coil becomes high and it flows back through the return copper tubing to the
compressor inside the outdoor unit.
•The refrigerant tubing supplying the refrigerant from the outdoor unit to the indoor unit
and that supplying the refrigerant from indoor unit to the outdoor unit are both covered
with the insulation tape.
Air Filter:
•The air filter is very important part of the indoor unit.
•It removes all the dirt particles from the room air and helps supplying clean air to the
room.
•The air filter in the wall mounted type of the indoor unit is placed just before the
cooling coil.
•When the blower sucks the hot room air, it is first passed through the air filter and
then though the cooling coil.
•Thus the clean air at low temperature is supplied into the room by the blower.
Cooling Fan or Blower:

•Inside the indoor unit there is also a long blower that sucks the room air or the
atmospheric air.
•It is an induced type of blower and while is sucks the room air it is passed over the
cooling coil and the filter due to which the temperature of the air reduces and all the dirt
from it is removed.
•The blower sucks the hot and unclean air from the room and supplies cool and clean air
back.
•The shaft of the blower rotates inside the bushes and it is connected to a small multiple
speed motor, thus the speed of the blower can be changed.
•When the fan speed is changed with the remote it is the speed of the blower that
changes.
Drain Pipe:
•Due to the low temperature refrigerant inside the cooling coil, its temperature is very
low, usually much below the dew point temperature of the room air.
•When the room air is passed over the cooling due the suction force of the blower, the
temperature of the air becomes very low and reaches levels below its dew point
temperature.
•Due to this the water vapor present in the air gets condensed and dew or water drops
are formed on the surface of the cooling coil.
•These water drops fall off the cooling coil and are collected in a small space inside the
indoor unit.
•To remove the water from this space the drain pipe is connected from this space
extending to the some external place outside the room where water can be disposed off.
•Thus the drain pipe helps removing dew water collected inside the indoor unit.
•To remove the water efficiently the indoor unit has to be atilted by a very small angle of
about 2 to 3 degrees so that the water can be collected in the space easily and drained
out.
•If this angle is in opposite direction, all the water will get drained inside the room.
•Also, the if the tilt angle is too high, the indoor unit will shabby inside the room.
Louvers or Fins:
•The cool air supplied by the blower is passed into the room through louvers.
•The louvers help changing the angle or direction in which the air needs to be supplied
into the room as per the requirements.
•With louvers one easily change the direction in which the maximum amount of the
cooled air has to be passed.
•There are two types of louvers: horizontal and vertical.
•The horizontal louvers are connected to a small motor and there position can set by the
remote control.
•Once can set a fixed position for the horizontal louvers so that chilled air is passed in a
particular direction only or one can keep it in rotation mode so that the fresh air is
supplied throughout the room.
•The vertical louvers are operated manually and one can easily change their position as
per the requirements.
The horizontal louvers control flow of air in upper and downward directions of the
room, while vertical louvers control movement of air in left and right directions.
How cool:
Human body temperature is 37 deg. Celsius.
A comfortable Room may have temperatures of 21-26 degrees Celcius with 20 to 50%
relative humidity.
The heat removal load of an AC should consider the following:

•Insulation properties of walls, roof and floor Direction of walls (west-facing walls get
hotter than south-facing walls)
•Number of people in the room
•Number of windows,
•type of glass Electric appliances such as lights, fans, TV, refrigerators or Computers
Thumbrule
Typically any normal room with two occupants can be cooled by taking away 50 British
thermal units (BTUs) of heat per hour, per square foot of the room area.
•So, for a 15 ft by 15 ft room, AC capacity is 11250 BTUs/hr (15 ft x 15 ft x 50 BTU/hr)
•If the room is heavily shaded, reduce the cooling required by 10%.
•If it has walls exposed to sunlight, increase the cooling required by 10%
• Add 600 BTU/hr for every additional person in the room.
• Add 1000 BTU/hr for every appliance.
British thermal units (BTU) is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one
pound (0.45 kg) of water 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.56 degrees Celsius). 1 ’’ton’’ = 12,000
BTU
1 KW Kilowatt (1000 watts) = 3400 BTUs per hour

Packaged Air Conditioner

An HVAC designer will suggest this type of air conditioner if you
want to cool more than two rooms or a larger space at your home
or office. (can be used singly or in multiples to air condition up to
about 5000 Sq ft.)
There are two possible arrangements with the package unit.

1. In the first one, all the components, namely the compressor,
condenser (which can be air cooled or water cooled),
expansion valve and evaporator are housed in a single box.
The cooled air is thrown by the high capacity blower,
and it flows through the ducts laid through various rooms.
2. In the second arrangement, the compressor and condenser are

housed in one casing.
The compressed gas passes through individual units,
comprised of the expansion valve and cooling coil, located in
various rooms.
Packaged Air Conditioners

•The window and split air conditioners are usually used for the small air conditioning
capacities up to 5 tons.
•The central air conditioning systems are used for where the cooling loads extend beyond
20 tons.
•The packaged air conditioners are used for the cooling capacities in between these two
extremes.
•The packaged air conditioners are available in the fixed rated capacities of 3, 5, 7, 10
and 15 tons.
•These units are used commonly in places like restaurants, telephone exchanges, homes,
small halls, etc.
•As the name implies, in the packaged air conditioners all the important components of
the air conditioners are enclosed in a single casing like window AC. Thus the compressor,
cooling coil, air handling unit and the air filter are all housed in a single casing and
assembled at the factory location(looks like a steel almirah).
Depending on the type of the cooling system used in these systems, the packaged air
conditioners are divided into two types:
•ones with water cooled condenser and the
•ones with air cooled condensers.
Packaged Air Conditioners with Water Cooled Condenser

•In these packaged air conditions the condenser is cooled by the water.
•The condenser is of shell and tube type, with refrigerant flowing along the tube side
and the cooling water flowing along the shell side.
•The water has to be supplied continuously in these systems to maintain functioning of
the air conditioning system.
The shell and tube type of condenser is compact in shape and it is enclosed in a single
casing along with the compressor, expansion valve, and the air handling unit including
the cooling coil or the evaporator. This whole packaged air conditioning unit externally
looks like a box with the control panel located externally.
•In the packaged units with the water

cooled condenser, the compressor is
located at the bottom along with the
condenser.
•Above these components the

evaporator or the cooling coil is located.
•The air handling unit comprising of the

centrifugal blower and the air filter is
located above the cooling coil.
•The centrifugal blower has the capacity

to handle large volume of air required
for cooling a number of rooms.
•From the top of the package air

conditioners the duct comes out that
extends to the various rooms that are to
be cooled.
•All the components of this package AC are

assembled at the factory site.
•The gas charging is also done at the factory thus
one does not have to perform the complicated
operations of the laying the piping, evacuation,
gas charging, and leak testing at the site.
•Package unit are best installed in small rooms
adjacent to the air-conditioned space.
•The package unit room acts as a return air plenum
and is an integral part of the air conditioned space,
piping connects the package machines to the
cooling tower.
•The cooling tower being located in a freely
ventilated area.
•The unit can be transported very easily to the site
and is installed easily on the plane surface.
•Since all the components are assembled at the
factory, the high quality of the packaged unit is
ensured.
Packaged Air Conditioners with Air Cooled Condensers

•In this packaged air conditioners the condenser of the refrigeration system is cooled by
the atmospheric air.
•There is an outdoor unit that comprises of the important components like the
compressor, condenser and in some cases the expansion valve.
•The outdoor unit can be kept on the terrace or any other open place where the free
flow of the atmospheric air is available.
•The fan located inside this unit sucks the outside air and blows it over the condenser
coil cooling it in the process.
•The condenser coil is made up of several turns of the copper tubing and it is finned
externally.
Water cooled equipment – entirely

factory made.
Air cooled package – is of two portions.
it is popularly referred as
Package unit – split type equipment
•The packaged ACs with the air cooled condensers are used more commonly than the
ones with water cooled condensers since air is freely available it is difficult to maintain
continuous flow of the water.
•The cooling unit comprising of the expansion valve, evaporator, the air handling blower
and the filter are located on the floor or hanged to the ceiling.
•The ducts coming from the cooling unit are connected to the various rooms that are to
be cooled.
Compressors and Control System in the Packaged Air Conditioners

•The packaged air conditioners are used for the low to medium tonnage of air conditioning
load ranging from 5 to 20 tons also higher.
•For smaller loads up to 5 tons single compressor is used.
•For the higher load of more than 5 tons two compressor are used in the package air
conditioning system forming two independent refrigeration systems.
•Though the two systems are independent they are housed in the same supporting
framework.
•The evaporator systems of these two systems are entwined together.
•With the two compressors installed in the system there is facility for the capacity control
of the air conditioning plant thus one can run the plant fully or partially as per the heating
load or as per the number of rooms to be cooled.
•At full capacity both the compressors can be kept running, while at the partial load one
of the compressors can be kept off.
•The capacity control can also be done automatically by thermostat.
•The two compressors also ensure that the air conditioning plant won't stop completely
when one of the compressor breaks down, for the system can still keep on running
though on partial capacity.
•The water cooled condenser used with the two compressor system can be single shell
but partitioned inside it for different passages for the refrigerant from the two
compressors.
•There can also be two different water cooled condensers for two different systems.
•If the condenser is of air cooled type, there would be two condensers either placed
side-by-side or entwined together just like the evaporator of the system.
Thermostat Setting for Two Compressor Systems

•For controlling the operation of the two compressor packaged air conditioning system,
two different thermostats can be connected to the two cooling systems.
•This will allow for the capacity control of both the compressors to ensure optimum
running of the plant.
•In many cases the thermostat is connected to the compressor of one cooling system
only.
•In this case one compressors keeps on running at full capacity and the other compressor
remains shut or runs at partial or full capacity depending on the cooling load.
•To ensure that one compressor won't wear and tear at the fast rate, the compressor
running at the full capacity is interchanged from time-to-time.
•The two compressor system is used for the cooling loads between 5 to tons 15 tons, for
higher loads more than two units can be installed as per the requirements.
•There can be multiple air handling units in these systems sending the chilled air to
different parts of the building.
•The compressor and the condenser units are housed in the same location of the
building thus there is one common place for the return air.
•If these units have water cooled condenser, the hot water coming out from them is
cooled in the single cooling tower.
•During the full load all the compressors run at the full capacity, and when the load
reduces one or more compressors are stopped manually or automatically, which makes
the other compressors to run at the full load.
•When the compressor runs at full capacity it runs more efficiently.
•Whether the packaged air conditioner consists of single compressor or the multiple
compressors, most of the components are assembled at the factory site, so the
installation of the package AC is quite easy.
Central Air Conditioning System:

•The central air conditioning system is used for cooling big buildings, houses, offices,
entire hotels, gyms, movie theaters, factories etc.
•If the whole building is to be air conditioned, HVAC engineers find that putting
individual units in each of the rooms is very expensive initially as well in the long run.
The central air conditioning system is comprised of a huge compressor that has the
capacity to produce hundreds of tons of air conditioning.
•Cooling big halls, malls, huge spaces, galleries etc is usually only feasible with central
conditioning units
•The central air conditioning plants or the systems are used when large buildings, hotels,
theaters, airports, shopping malls etc are to be air conditioned completely.
•The window and split air conditioners are used for single rooms or small office spaces.
•If the whole building is to be cooled it is not economically viable to put window or split
air conditioner in each and every room.
•Further, these small units cannot satisfactorily cool the large halls, auditoriums,
receptions areas etc.
In the central air conditioning systems there is a plant room where large compressor,
condenser, thermostatic expansion valve and the evaporator are kept in the large plant
room.
•They perform all the functions as usual similar to a typical refrigeration system.
•However, all these parts are larger in size and have higher capacities.
•The compressor is of open reciprocating type with multiple cylinders and is cooled
by the water just like the automobile engine.
•The condenser is of shell and tube type.
•While in the small air conditioning system capillary is used as the expansion valve,
in the central air conditioning systems thermostatic expansion valve is used.
The chilled is passed via the ducts to all the rooms, halls and other spaces that are to be
air conditioned. Thus in all the rooms there is only the duct passing the chilled air and
there are no individual cooling coils, and other parts of the refrigeration system in the
rooms.
What is we get in each room is the completely silent and highly effective air conditions
system in the room.
Further, the amount of chilled air that is needed in the room can be controlled by the
openings depending on the total heat load inside the room.
The central air conditioning systems are highly sophisticated applications of the air
conditioning systems and many a times they tend to be complicated.
It is due to this reason that there are very few companies in the world that specialize in
these systems.
In the modern era of computerization a number of additional electronic utilities have

been added to the central conditioning systems.
There are two types of central air conditioning plants or systems:
1) Direct expansion or DX central air conditioning plant:

• In this system the huge compressor, and the condenser are housed in the plant
room, while the expansion valve and the evaporator or the cooling coil and the air
handling unit are housed in separate room.
•The cooling coil is fixed in the air handling unit, which also has large blower housed in
it.
•The blower sucks the hot return air from the room via ducts and blows it over the
cooling coil.
•The cooled air is then supplied through various ducts and into the spaces which are to
be cooled.
•This type of system is useful for small buildings.
Direct Expansion (DX) Type of Central Air Conditioning Plant

•In the direct expansion or DX types of air central conditioning plants the air used for
cooling space is directly chilled by the refrigerant in the cooling coil of the air handling
unit.
•Since the air is cooled directly by the refrigerant the cooling efficiency of the DX plants
is higher.
•However, it is not always feasible to carry the refrigerant piping to the large distances
hence, direct expansion or the DX type of central air conditioning system is usually used
for cooling the small buildings or the rooms on the single floor.
There are three main compartments of the DX type of central conditioning systems
(please refer the fig below):
DX Central Air Conditioning Plant
The Plant Room:

•The plant room comprises of the important parts of the refrigeration system, the
compressor and the condenser.
•The compressor can be either semi-hermetically sealed or open type. The semi-
hermetically sealed compressors are cooled by the air, which is blown by the fan, while
open type compressor is water cooled. The open compressor can be driven directly by
motor shaft by coupling or by the belt via pulley arrangement.
•The condenser is of shell and tube type and is cooled by the water.
•The refrigerant flows along the tube side of the condenser and water along the shell
side, which enables faster cooling of the refrigerant. The water used for cooling the
compressor and the condenser is cooled in the cooling tower kept at the top of the plant
room, though it can be kept at other convenient location also.
The Air Handling Unit Room:

The refrigerant leaving the condenser in the plant room enters the thermostatic
expansion valve and then the air handling unit, which is kept in the separate room.
The air handling unit is a large box type of unit that comprises of the evaporator or the
cooling coil, air filter and the large blower.
After leaving the thermostatic expansion valve the refrigerant enters the cooling coil
where it cools the air that enters the room to be air conditioned.
The evaporator in the air handling unit of the DX central air conditioning system is of coil
type covered with the fins to increasing the heat transfer efficiency from the refrigerant
to the air.
There are two types of ducts connected to the air handling unit:
•for absorbing the hot return air from the rooms and
•for sending the chilled air to the rooms to be air conditioned.
The blower of the air handling unit enables absorbing the hot return air that has absorbed
the heat from the room via the ducts. This air is then passed through the filters and then
over the cooling coil. The blower then passes the chilled air through ducts to the rooms
that are to be air conditioned.
Due to these reasons the DX type central air conditioning systems are used for small air
conditioning systemsof about 5 to 15 tons in small buildings or the number of rooms on a
single floor.
If there are large air conditioning loads, then multiple direct expansion systems can be
installed. In such cases, when there is lesser heat load one of the plants can be shut
down and the other can run at full load.
The DX expansion system runs more efficiently at higher loads. Even in case of the
breakdown of the plants, the other plants can be used for the cooling purpose. The DX
types of central air conditioning plants are less popular than the chilled water type of
central conditioning plants.
Air Conditioned Room:

This is the space that is to be actually cooled. It can be residential room, room of the
hotel, part of the office or any other suitable application.
The ducts from the air handling room are passed to all the rooms that are to be cooled.
The ducts are connected to the grills or diffusers that supply the chilled air to the room.
The air absorbs the heat and gets heated and it passes through another set of the grill
and into the return air duct that ends into the air handling unit room. This air is then re-
circulated by the air handling unit.
Though the efficiency of the DX plants is higher, the air handling units and the refrigerant
piping cannot be kept at very long distance since there will be lots of drop in pressure of
the refrigerant along the way and there will also be cooling losses.
Further, for the long piping, large amounts of refrigerant will be needed which
makes the system very expensive and also prone to the maintenance instance
problems like the leakage of the refrigerant.
2) Chilled water central air conditioning plant:

•This type of system is more useful for large buildings comprising of a number of floors.
•It has the plant room where all the important units like the compressor, condenser,
throttling valve and the evaporator are housed.
•The evaporator is a shell and tube. On the tube side the Freon fluid passes at
extremely low temperature, while on the shell side the brine solution is passed. After
passing through the evaporator, the brine solution gets chilled and is pumped to the
various air handling units installed at different floors of the building.
The air handling units comprise the cooling coil through which the chilled brine flows,
and the blower. The blower sucks hot return air from the room via ducts and blows it
over the cooling coil. The cool air is then supplied to the space to be cooled through the
ducts. The brine solution which has absorbed the room heat comes back to the
evaporator, gets chilled and is again pumped back to the air handling unit.
To operate and maintain central air conditioning systems you need to have good
operators, technicians and engineers. Proper preventative and breakdown maintenance
of these plants is vital.
Chilled Water Central Air Conditioning Plants

The chilled water types of central air conditioning plants are installed in the place where
whole large buildings, shopping mall, airport, hotel, etc, comprising of several floors
are to be air conditioned.
While in the direct expansion type of central air conditioning plants, refrigerant is
directly used to cool the room air; in the chilled water plants the refrigerant
first chills the water, which in turn chills the room air.
In chilled water plants, the ordinary water or brine solution is chilled to very low
temperatures of about 6 to 8 degree Celsius by the refrigeration plant.
This chilled water is pumped to various floors of the building and its different parts.
In each of these parts the air handling units are installed, which comprise of the cooling
coil, blower and the ducts.
The chilled water flows through the cooling coil. The blower absorbs return air from the
air conditioned rooms that are to be cooled via the ducts.
This air passes over the cooling coil and gets cooled and is then passed to the air
conditioned space.
Chilled Central Air Conditioners

Various Parts of the Chilled Water Air
Conditioning Plant
1) Central Air Conditioning Plant Room:
The plant room comprises of all the
important components of the chilled
water air conditioning plant. These
include the compressor, condenser,
thermostatic expansion valve and the
evaporator or the chiller. The
compressor is of open type and can be
driven by the motor directly or by the
belt via pulley arrangement connected
to the motor.
It is cooled by the water just like the
automotive engine.
The condenser and the evaporator

are of shell and tube type. The
condenser is cooled by the water,
with water flowing along the shell
side and refrigerant along the tube
side.
The thermostatic expansion valve is
operated automatically by the
solenoid valve.
The evaporator is also called as the
chiller, because it chills the water.
If the water flows along the shell
side and refrigerant on the tube
side, it is called as the dry
expansion type of chiller. If the
water flows along tube side and
the refrigerant along the shell side,
it is called as the flooded chiller.
The water chilled in the chiller is pumped to various parts of the building that are to be
air conditioned.
It enters the air handling unit, cools the air in cooling coil, absorbs the heat and returns
back to the plant room to get chilled again. The amount of water passing into the
chiller is controlled by the flow switch.
In the central air conditioning plant room all the components, the compressor,
condenser, thermostatic expansion valve, and the chiller are assembled in the structural
steel framework making a complete compact refrigeration plant, known as the chiller
package.
Piping required to connect these parts is also enclosed in this unit making a highly
compact central air conditioning plant.
Air Handling Unit Rooms:

The air handling units are installed in the various parts of the building that are to be air
conditioned, in the place called air handling unit rooms.
The air handling units comprise of the cooling coil, air filter, the blower and the supply
and return air ducts.
The chilled water flows through the cooling coil.
The blower absorbs the return hot air from the air conditioned space and blows it over
the cooling coil thus cooling the air.
This cooled air passes over the air filter and is passed by the supply air ducts into the
space which is to be air conditioned.
The air handling unit and the ducts passing through it are insulated to reduce the loss
of the cooling effect.
Air Conditioned Rooms:

These are the rooms or spaces that are to be air conditioned.
These can be residential or hotel rooms, halls, shops, offices, complete theater, various
parts of the airport etc.
At the top of these rooms the supply and the return air ducts are laid.
The supply air ducts supply the cool air to the room via one set of the diffusers, while
the return air ducts absorbs the hot return air from the room by another set of the
diffusers.
The hot return air enters the air handling unit, gets cooled and again enters the room
via supply duct to produce air conditioning effect.
Cooling Tower:
The cooling tower is used to cool the water that absorbs heat from the compressor and
the condenser. When water flows through these components some water gets
evaporated, to make up this loss some water is also added in the cooling tower. The
cooling tower is of evaporative type. Here the water is cooled by the atmospheric air and
is re-circulated through the compressor and the condenser.
Air conditioning systems for various types of buildings:

• comfort air conditioning systems – applied to enclosures used for many purposes.
• new applications – brought numerous design and development problems.
•AC of room – different from an auditorium, etc.

•Private office – different from large general offices.
Importance of Preliminary Planning:

• if architect fails to give consideration to inclusion of air conditioning when he is creating
a building design, the owner may expect early obsolescence.
• consideration of air conditioning is not included when the fundamentals are being
determined, higher costs will result when this feature is added.
• situation will become more acute if the floors or roof do not have sufficient structural
strength to support refrigeration equipment, air handling apparatus, or cooling towers.
• air distribution and zoning are of vital importanceand should be considered at the
outset of the system design.
• Architects – well aware of the requirements of ordinary ventilation, heating by direct

radiation, sprinkler system, etc.
• a similar array of unit figures would be useful for including air conditioning in
the building design, but unfortunately the number of variables introduced by
different occupancies and exposures make such constants unreliable.
• for installations – other than smaller ones, it is always better to analyze each
problems.
• a well considered layout will generally result in lower first costs, lower
operating costs, and better owner satisfaction.
Procedure in analyzing an Air Conditioning Problem:

• A starting point, after the building usage, size and construction are known, is to make
preliminary load calculations from which approximate equipment sizes can be
determined.
• this step should be followed regardless of the type of building (theatre, office, etc)
because of the influence on the final design of the system.
• second step is to study the building from the standpoint of possible capacity variations
likely to be caused by solar radiation or changes in interior heat loads.
• this generally results in a natural segregation of spaces having similar load
characteristics for control purposes.
Apartments and hotel Guest Rooms:

Features:
Multi-room structures include not only apartments and hotels, but also office buildings
and hospitals. Although the treatment varies, somewhat for these applications, the basic
problems are much the same.
• individual control of room temperature is desirable.
• cooling system should also be suitable for winter heating to eliminate duplication.
• unusual heat loads (both sensible and latent heat) from cooking and shower baths
must be considered.
• cross-talk between room through duct work is generally not permitted.
• the diffusion of cooking odours from one tenant space to another or into hall ways is
not accepted.
• the question of maintenance, particularly for smaller building may prove a problem
unless the air conditioning system is simple to operate or unless a competent operating
man is employed.
contrast to a large hotel, for example, where a well trained maintenance staff
is already available.
• equipment, duct work, outlets, and controls located within the occupied spaces must
harmonize with architectural and decorative features.
Practice:
• apartments and hotel rooms are best air-conditioned by chilled water fan coil units.
• one fan coil unit to each room or zone.
• fan coil unit is controlled by an automatic thermostat operating a water line solenoid.
• the thermostat can be set to any desirable limit by individual occupants.
• care should be taken to see that the total refrigeration capacity is met by at least two
independent water chilling machines preferably four.
• in very small applications, unit type, factory made air-conditioners (Window unit) can
be used however the noise level is high and as such units have to be located in an
external wall – this often poses a problem on aesthetics.
• packaged air conditioners have been sometimes used where “cross talk” and “cross
contamination” can be tolerated.
Precautions:
• air distribution system must be properly designated to prevent drafts during any
season of the year.
• for apartments, hotel and hospitals, the air-conditioning system must be designated for
24 hour daily operation.
• the refrigerant cycle should be such as to eliminate any possible hazard from this
source.
• adequate precautions should be taken to eliminate the possibility of fire being
transmitted between different tenants spaces.
Art museums and libraries:

Features:
•These structures are usually massive monumental buildings.
•In addition to providing comfort for the people within such buildings, there is the
requirement of protecting the valuable art collection, books, etc.
So the features influence the design of the AC system are
• the availability of means of reheat or independent dehydration to prevent
excessive relative humidity's when the sensible heat load is low and the latent
heat load high.
• the installation of control devices which limits maximum and minimum
temperature and humidity condition.
• appearance of the system to harmonize with the decorative features.
Practice:
• art museums and libraries of large size (1000 sq ft or above) are best taken care by
central DX systems.
•Refrigeration plant may be made up of two halves to permit flexibility for 24 hour
operation.
• for smaller libraries – packaged units may be used.
• packaged units are to be located in small rooms (preferably one external
wall) adjacent to the air-conditioning space.
• major runs of ducting must be acoustically insulated and the installation planned to
keep noise level down to the minimum.
Precautions:
• plant should be designed for 24 hour daily operation.
• provision should be made to ensure quiet operation as the normal noise level may be
low, and the spaces acoustically reverberant.
• automatic control system should have safety devices to prevent over humidification
under any conditions.
• the system should be provided with effective air cleaning devices in as much as dirt
will damage art objects, books and decorations.
Banks (public space and work spaces):

Features:
• generalizations are difficult to make because of the great number of types of bank
buildings are available.
• small branch banks – similar to small offices
• self contained units are adaptable for some;
• direct expansion unitary systems with duct work for others.
• banks requiring special treatments – larger ones with high windows and high ceilings.
• safety deposit department and vaults also call for special consideration.
• central station air conditioning system are generally used with provision for operation
under low loads when the public space is not occupied but the employees are still in
the building.
• many of the larger banks are monumental buildings – results in establishing the
requirement for concealed ductworks to make the system harmonize with decorative
features.
Practice:
• bank of size about 6000 sq ft and larger – best taken care by central DX plants.
• AHU rooms being adjacent to the air conditioned space and the main plant room being
next to the AHU room.
• the variance in load between peak load and part load makes it preferable to have the
total plant capacity made up of atleast two compressors.
• for smaller banks – package units have been used successfully.
Precautions:
• system should be capable of operating economically under greatly reduced loads due
to the character of occupancy of the building.
• because of costly interior decorations, effective air cleaners should be used.
Broadcasting studios:
Features:
•Most broadcasting studios are designed to prevent extraneous noises from being
transmitted through walls, floors and ceilings and for this reason are generally
windowless.
•This imposes a requirement of extreme quietness on the air-conditioning space.
•Heating is not a difficult problem since the materials used in the studio construction for
sound insulation are also good heat insulations.
•In fact, many studios have a year-around coaling load when occupied.
•Any heating required can readily be supplied by the air-conditioning system.
Practice:
• for large broadcasting studios the necessary of having to locate noisy equipment away
from the air-conditioning space makes the chilled water central plant a natural choice.
• individual AHU rooms are located next to each air-conditioned space.
•AHU rooms, supply air ducting, and return air-ducting are acoustically treated.
•For isolated small studios it becomes necessary to go in for package units with more
care being taken in the design of an elaborate acoustic lining for the air paths.
Precautions:
• satisfactory solution of the sound and vibration problem.
• individual control of each studio and control room is desirable.
• since the internal loads are high variable, the system should be flexible enough to
change itself.
Churches:
Features:
• except for possible greater effect of solar radiation, the load calculations for churches
are similar to those of theatres and auditoriums.
• the chief difference is in the hours of occupancy and duration of peak loads.
• air handling apparatus and air distribution system problems are much the same.
• the refrigeration apparatus can be greatly reduced in size by application of refrigeration
storage to supply the additional capacity necessary for peak loads.
• winter heating can be accomplished by use of the air conditioning system augmented
by direct radiation and converters under any large windows.
Practice:
• churches may be treated just as auditoriums with the essential differences that
sometimes it is economical to use a chilled water central plant with a storage system to
take care of the very in-frequent, small duration, peak loads.
Precautions:
• same as for theatres and auditoriums.
Departmental Stores:
Features:
Here, only with large departmental stores requiring capacities of about 100 tons and
upward.
• the 1st floor usually requires more capacity per sq.ft of floor area because the best
selling merchandise and leaders are located where the public can reach them
without difficulty and also because the people going to upper or lower floors must
pass through lighting and in general heavier lighting loads.
• this of course, imposes a greater load on the air conditioning equipment and
makes it desirable to allow some excess capacity in the original design to provide for
future addition of more lighting.
•The characteristic of the load is such that for the larger stores a diversity factor of
appreciable magnitude may be used when selecting the refrigeration equipment.
• air handling apparatus and air distribution systems, however, must be designed for
peak loads of each spaced conditioned.
• automatic controls should be provided to adjust equipment capacity to the
variable load requirements and to limit operating costs.
Practice:
• central DX systems should take care of large departmental stores.
• all areas served by a common duct system should have common hours of usage for the
large size stores (larger than 1,00,000 sq ft).
• it is preferable to have a central chilled water plant with small AHU’s to handle
smaller zones of the stores.
Precautions:
• the building should be well zoned in order  advantage can be taken of shifting the
refrigeration capacity to where it is needed.
• consideration should be given to the possibility of future increase in light loading if
the stores not already following modern trends in this respect.
• the distribution system should be so designed to allow some flexibility in rearranging
the spaces.
Hospitals (Operating Rooms):

Features:
• first consideration should be given to reliability and safety (Check local safety codes).
• generally, 100 % outside air is used, requiring a source of reheat to prevent
overcooling.
• further development of means of sterilizing air may climate this requirement in as
much as use of return and by-pass air would then be permissible.
•Air conditioning units should not be located within the conditioned room and outlets
should not be of a type of that induces a large quantity of secondary air circulations.
• maintenance of humidity at 55 % or above is necessary to prevent formation of static
electricity.
Practice:
• chilled water central type installations are the order of the day,AHU’s for each
operating room with arrangements for humidification where necessary.
• air cleanliness is the prime consideration.
•Usage of purge filter, plenums in the AHU rooms are invariably used for housing pre-
filter and some times the filters themselves.
•Exhaust air from the operating rooms should be let out to the outdoorswith no hazard
to any sterile areas.
Precautions:
• use 100 % outside air at all times.
• the system must not present a hazard of any nature.
• maintenance of relative humidity above 55 % is important to minimize the hazard of
static electricity.
• apparatus and ducts should be accessible for easy cleaning.
• use of effective air cleaning apparatus is essential.
• the air distribution should be carefully designed to prevent drafts.
• use pneumatic or enclosed electric control because of possibility of explosive mixtures.
Hotels (Public spaces – lobbies and ballrooms):

Features:
•No particular problems are involved when conditioning lobbies and general public
space except possible rooms and banquet space have highly variable and intermittent
loads.
• in addition, the latent heat from people may require supplying air at extremely low
dew point temperature (below 35 deg F), if the usual room conditions of 80 deg F and
50 % are to be maintained.
•An alternate method of controlling the conditions accurately is to use higher dew
point air and add reheat to give better balance between sensible and latent loads.
• probably the most practical solution is use of higher relative humidity and lower
temperature to give a condition of equivalent comfort.
Practice:
• small air handling units taking care of each individual small zonesare the best
arrangement.
• these AHUs are invariable on a central chilled water plant.
• the advantage is that diversity is in usage and loads can be made use of to go in for a
small refrigeration plant.
Precautions:
• automatic control systems should be designed to vary equipment capacity quickly as
loads change from one space to another.
Officer:
Features:
• general offices or large open office spaces may be treated somewhat differently with
resultant lower costs per unit of floor area or unit of capacity.
•It should be recognized at the outset that it is impossible to satisfy every occupant of a
general office.
• this does not mean that the system should not be designed with proper capacity or
proper air distribution.
• it does mean, however, that an average condition, satisfactory to the majority of
occupants, should be established and maintained despite inevitable complaints.
Practice:
• the necessity of zoning makes it necessary to go in for a central type chilled water
plant, with AHUs.
• each AHU should be laid out for individual zones.
• the zones themselves being formed after duly considering all aspects like usage, etc.
Precautions:
• aside from proper zoning and giving consideration to control of both heating and
cooling of private offices there are no general problems peculiar to this application of
air conditioning.
Restaurants:
Features:
• restaurants were among the first to realize the advantages of air conditioning.
• it is natural, therefore, to find experience records on many types of systems that have
been applied to such places, loads are variable, requiring equipment which operates
economically at partial capacity.
• in addition to the usual heat loads due to people, lights, and exposure to outside
conditions, some restaurants have heat gains of considerable magnitude from toasters,
grilles, coffee makers, hot tables, etc.
• exhaust systems with proper hoods for such equipment will reduce this load.
• all air exhausted should be supplied by the air conditioning apparatus and provision
should be made in design for this outside air quantity.
Practice:
• small restaurants upto 3000 sq ft can be taken care of by package units.
• larger restaurants however,can have central DX plant, with the refrigeration
equipment being made up of two halves.
• for restaurants which are part of large hotel complexes chilled water air handling unit
can take the place of DX-AHU.
Precautions:
• sufficient outside air should be introduced to dilute food odours (also tobacco smoke)
and provide for exhaust systems. The odour problem is more acute with restaurants
than almost in other applications.
• equipment should be selected to allow economic operation under reduced loads.
• kitchen and other work spaces should have supply and exhaust ventilation systems
independent of the restaurant air conditioning systems.
Theatres and Auditoriums:

Features:
• the theatre industry was the first to recognize and realize on the benefits of comfort
air conditioning.
• application technique has advanced long strides since the time of the first theatre
installation.
• installation costs are now as low as one third to one half of former costs.
• deluxe houses attracting large audiences for several shows per day are grouped in a
class that requires full capacity air conditioning systems.
• small theatres and neighborhood houses constitute a much larger group wherein the
installation of deluxe air conditioning systems is not generally justifiable from an
economic stand point.
• the degree of compromise on capacity or design details will depend upon the nature
of the theatre patronage.
• many very successful (from the view point of the public and owner alike) installations
have only 75 % to 85 % of the capacity required for full load conditions.
• the likelihood of having peak outside conditions simultaneous with 100 % theatre
occupancy is thus discounted.
Practice:
• central DX plants are the most popular usage.
• AHU rooms behind or below stage are of the most practicable locations.
• the main plant room goes next to the AHU room.
• the duct is best run above the false ceiling with return air collected through under
ground trenches from behind the chain grilles.
• alternatively side wall grilles located on the side walls at about 8 feet height have also
been seen with good results.
• duct insulation become necessary for the former arrangement.
Precautions:
• equipment should be selected to allow economic operation under greatly reduced
capacities.
• control system should allow as nearly automatic operation as practical.
• sound treatment may be required to isolate and absorb equipment vibration and
noise.
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Air Conditioning Systems and Application

When it all began:

Uses of AC from Architects point of view:

A typical HVAC system has

Multiple functions of HVAC:

• In most systems, several of these functions are performed simultaneously.

Rate of Air Exchange

The Return Air System:

One of two methods is used to return air

(plenum – a space completely filled

A protective effect is achieved by preventing contaminated air movement from an area of

It is possible to use negative pressurization to reduce the escape of particles from a

HVAC system design and building characteristics affect filtration effectiveness.

Key factors in determining filtration effectiveness are

The Future of HVAC

Air conditioning types:

Types of Air Conditioners

Window Air Conditioner

• In this air conditioner all the components, namely

• here is also a motor which has shafts on both sides.

How to choose the correct model:

Here are some tips in relation to finding the correct size of a

* For a room shaded heavily, decrease the BTU capacity by 10%;

• You use this to compare it with similar Window AC Unit models.

Parts of the Window Air

The whole assembly of the window air

The Refrigeration System of the Window Air Conditioner

Air Circulation System of the Window Air Conditioner

1) Thermostat for controlling the room air temperature:

3) Direction of the air flow inside the room:

Front Panel of the Window Air Conditioner

These days lots of importance is being given to the

The front panel has two important compartments:

1) Return air compartment: The return air

When the blower sucks the air, it is first over the

2) Supply air compartment:

The horizontal louvers help changing the vertical

There is another opening in the front panel that

Drainage System of the Window Air Conditioner

Electrical Protection System

How To Maintain A Window AC Unit

Another feature to look for when purchasing a Window AC Unit, is a remote

Split Air Conditioner

Wall Mounted Indoor Unit:

Most used – wall mounted

Cooling Fan or Blower:

The heat removal load of an AC should consider the following:

•So, for a 15 ft by 15 ft room, AC capacity is 11250 BTUs/hr (15 ft x 15 ft x 50 BTU/hr)

1 KW Kilowatt (1000 watts) = 3400 BTUs per hour

Packaged Air Conditioner

There are two possible arrangements with the package unit.

2. In the second arrangement, the compressor and condenser are

Packaged Air Conditioners

Packaged Air Conditioners with Water Cooled Condenser

•In the packaged units with the water

•Above these components the

•The air handling unit comprising of the

•The centrifugal blower has the capacity

•From the top of the package air

•All the components of this package AC are

Packaged Air Conditioners with Air Cooled Condensers

Water cooled equipment – entirely

Compressors and Control System in the Packaged Air Conditioners

Thermostat Setting for Two Compressor Systems