Air Side Economizer Operations 10-7-10 Jim Burns

The following information is presented to enlighten the reader into the control methodology for Air Side Economizers for both Roof Top Package Units and Air Handler Units typically used in Commercial Buildings.

What is an Air Side Economizer?

This is a device consisting of Modulated Dampers via an electric motor or pneumatic actuator that when energized will stroke the dampers open to accommodate using the cooler ambient air to provide cooling to a building or area of the building. The benefit of this device is the reduction of energy cost by removing the need for mechanical cooling to maintain the environment within the building or area of the building.

Where is it typically located?

The economizer on a Roof Top unit is located at the Return Air End of the unit. This allows the suction of the supply fan to draw in the outside air when used. On an Indoor Air handler the economizer is typically mounted in the outdoor air ductwork. See examples below

How are Economizers controlled?

A packaged Roof Top unit may have its own economizer controls that are not connected to the Building Automation System or Unitary Controller. These controls can be of two types. One is straight outdoor air temperature control which is the simplest of the control schemes. The other is Enthalpy control; this type of control calculates Dry Bulb Temperature, Humidity and decides if the outdoor conditions will effectively provide cooling under these conditions. The control of the actuator is proportional or incremental if electric and only proportional if pneumatic. The actuator will be designed to maintain a discharge air set point on a packaged roof top, and a mixed air temperature on an air handler. These will be the control points. There is another control scheme that will sometimes override the economizer controls to prevent what is known in the industry as the Sick Building Syndrome. This is typically monitored by a CO2 sensor(s) and it will open the economizer should the level of CO2 rise to an unhealthy level. This opening will be regardless of the outdoor air temperature or the cooling demand on the building or area under its control. More sophisticated controls have been put to use to balance the need for the fresh air and the cooling needs to conserve energy consumption; however the health of the people inside the building will take precedence.

If the control of the economizer is connected to the Unitary Controller of the Building Automation System then a voltage source is supplied to the motor and a drive signal is supplied by the controller through the Analog output terminals. The drive signal can be a milliamp or millivolt signal typically 2 to 8, or 0 to 10VDC. The actuators can be set to be direct or reverse acting depending on the manufacturer and model of the actuator. A single actuator can be used to control the Outdoor air dampers and the mixed air dampers, or a Master/Slave relationship can be set up between two actuators.

The diagrams above come from the product sheets on the JCI portal, there is a typical internal wiring diagram for the M 9100 series actuator the picture on the left is that type of actuator, the second picture gives a little insight into to programming scheme of the controls. The Three pictures directly above are the typical actuators or drive motors used for these applications.

What is the purpose of Exhaust air?

As instructed in an earlier lesson the air pressure in a building can be positive, neutral, or negative depending on the needs of the building. Exhaust air either barometric or mechanical is necessary to maintain the designed air pressure for that building. Think of blowing up a balloon once it is full it is harder to blow into, and if air is continuously introduced it will eventually explode. A building is no different, except they dont usually explode due to the internal pressure build up. However it is very difficult to force air into the spaces if they are over pressurized. The exterior doors if they open out as they should wont close. Interior doors may not open due to the excessive air pressure in the building. None of those scenarios is good for the building or the tenants. Exhaust air is used to maintain that desired pressure. Relief air dampers or Barometric dampers are fitted with springs that are overridden when the return air pressure is greater than the spring pressure. Power Exhaust on an roof top unit are typically designed to energize once the economizer dampers are opened a certain percentage and it is trigger from an end switch on the economizer actuator or on the linkage.