AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS

1 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Objective of this lecture
 To discuss criteria to be used for selection of air

conditioning systems
 To classify air conditioning systems based on the fluid

media used
 To discuss characteristics of:

 All- air systems

 All – water systems

 Air – water systems and

 Unitary refrigerant based systems

2 November 18, 2018
 Objective of this lecture
 At the end of the lecture the students should be able

to:
 List the factors to be considered while selecting

air conditioning system

 Describe major components of air conditioning

system
 Classify air conditioning systems

 Discuss advantages, disadvantages and

3 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018
applications of different types of air conditioning
 Introduction
 In order to maintain required conditions inside the
conditioned space, energy has to be either supplied or
extracted from the conditioned space.
 The energy in the form of sensible as well as latent heat has
to be supplied to the space in winter and extracted from the
conditioned space in case of summer.
 An air conditioning system consists of an air conditioning
plant and a thermal distribution system as shown in the next
fig
 the air conditioning (A/C) plant acts either as a heat source
(in case of winter systems) or as a heat sink (in case of
summer systems).
 Air, water or refrigerant are used as media for transferring
energy from the air conditioning plant to the conditioned
4
space.
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018
 Cont…
 A thermal distribution system is required to circulate the
media between the conditioned space and the A/C plant.
 Another important function of the thermal distribution
system is to introduce the required amount of fresh air
for ventilation (into the conditioned space so that the
required Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) can be maintained)

5 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Selection criteria for air conditioning systems

Selection of a suitable air conditioning system

depends on:
1.Capacity, performance and special requirements
2.Initial and running costs
3.Required system reliability and flexibility
4.Maintainability
5.Architectural constraints .

6 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont….
 The relative importance of the above factors
varies from building owner to owner and may
vary from project to project.

 The typical space requirement for large air

conditioning systems may vary from about 4 - 9
percent of the gross building area, depending
upon the type of the system.

7 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

Classification of air conditioning
systems
 Based on the fluid media used in the thermal
distribution system, air conditioning systems can
be classified as:
1. All air systems

2. All water systems

3. Air- water systems

4. Unitary refrigerant based systems

8 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 All Air Systems
 As the name implies, in an all air system air is used as the
media that transports energy from the conditioned space to
the A/C plant.

 In these systems air is processed in the A/C plant and this

processed air is then conveyed to the conditioned space
through insulated ducts using blowers and fans.

 This air extracts (or supplies in case of winter) the required

amount of sensible and latent heat from the conditioned
space.

 The return air from the conditioned space is conveyed back

to the plant, where it again undergoes the required
9 processing thus
Refrigeration and completing the cycle. No additional
Air Conditioning November 18, 2018
processing of air is required in the conditioned space.
 Cont…
 All air systems can be further classified into:
1. Single path system: can further be classified in to
a. Single duct, single zone, constant volume
b. Single duct ,variable volume
c. Single duct, variable volume induction
d. Single duct zone reheat
2. Dual path system
a. Dual duct (including dual duct , variable
volume)
b. Multi zone

10 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
 Single path systems are those which contain the main
heating and cooling coils in a series flow air path, using
common duct distribution system at common air
temperature to feed all terminal apparatus.

 Dual path systems are those which contain the main

heating and cooling coil in a parallel flow, or series
parallel flow air path using either
 A separate cold and warm air duct or
 A separate supply duct to each zone

11 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
 All-Air System can be adapted to all types of air
conditioning systems for comfort or process work.

 It is applied in offices, schools, universities,

laboratories, hospitals, stores, hotels and ships where
they require individual control of conditions.

12 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
1. Single zone system: simplest form of the all-air system
is a single conditioner serving a single temperature
zone.
 Applied to small department stores, small individual
shops in shopping center, individual class rooms e.t.c
A schematic of the single zone central unit is as shown
below:

13 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
2. Multiple Zone Systems: for large building it is usually
not economical to provide a separate system for each
zone. For such cases the basic control system concept
is expanded to meet the cooling and heating
requirements of the multi zone.

A wide variety of combination of duct net work , coil

locations, and
control strategies are in use , but the most common are
a. Constant Volume System
i. Terminal reheat
ii. Dual –duct or multi zone

b. Variable –Volume Systems:

i. Single – purpose cooling or heating
ii. Cooling with reheat
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iii. Dual
Refrigeration duct
and Air variable volume
Conditioning November 18, 2018
 Cont …
i. Terminal reheat: all the air is cooled to a
temperature of perhaps 13oC to assure
dehumidification, and the thermostat in each zone
controls the reheat coil associated with that zone so
that the temperature of the entering air will be such
that the zone temperature is maintained.
 The reheat coil may be hot water or electric.
 Advantages
 Small space occupied by ducts
 Excellent temperature and humidity control
 Disadvantage
 Relative high energy requirement for both heating and
cooling
15 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018
 Schematic diagram of terminal reheat zone

16 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
ii. Dual Duct or Multi-zone System: conditions all the air
in a central apparatus and distributes it to the
conditioned spaces through two parallel mains or
ducts. One duct carries cold air and the other warm air,
thus providing air sources for both heating and cooling
at all times.

 In each conditioned space or zone, a mixing value

responsive to a room thermostat mixes the warm and
cold air in proper proportions to satisfy the prevailing
heat load of the space.

 The dual duct system is very responsive to changes in

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load of the zone and can simultaneously November 18, 2018
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
accommodate heating in some zones and cooling in
others
 Schematic diagram of dual duct system

18 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
b. Variable-air Volume Systems: when air is the medium used
to balance the load, the designer may choose between
varying the supply air temperature constant volume) or
varying the volume variable volume) as the space load
changes.
• Variable air volume system (VAV) may be applied to
interior or perimeter zones with common or separate
fan systems, common or separate air temperature
control, and with or without auxiliary heating devices.
• The variable volume concept may apply to volume
variation in the main system total air stream and/or to
the zones of control.
• Variation of flow under control of a space thermostat
may be accomplished by positioning simple damper or
a volume regulating device in a duct, a pressure
19 reducing
Refrigeration device,
and Air or at the terminal diffuser November
Conditioning or grill.18, 2018
 Cont …
i. Single-Purpose Cooling or Heating:
A single stream of cool air serves all the zones, and a
thermostat in each zone regulates a damper to control
the flow rate of cool air into the zone.
Application : in interior of an office building with no
heating loads and where only cooling loads only prevail.

20 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
The system experiences a problem at very light cooling
loads where the air flow rate drops off so much that
poor air distribution and/or ventilation results.
The heating only VAV system the same structures that
shown above, but a heating coil is used to provide the
source for constant-temperature warm air.
ii. Cooling –Reheat VAV system:
• This system is the same as the above figure except that
the branch lines to each zone contains a reheat coil.
• The control sequence is that as the cooling load drops
off, the damper progressively reduces the flow rate of
air until about 25 to 30% full flow rate . At this point the
air flow rate remains constant and the reheat coil is
activated.
21 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018
 Cont …
 The VAV reheat system overcomes a number of
deficiencies of the cooling only VAV system since it
provides a means of obtaining adequate air distribution
and ventilation without paying the energy penalty incurred
in constant volume reheat applications.

 In the VAV dual duct system, the arrangement is similar to

the conventional dual duct system of the above fig. except
for the flow characteristics of the mixing boxes. Instead of
providing a constant flow rate of mixed air , the dampers
are arranged so that the warm and cool air flow rates drop
appreciably before the other streams begins to supply air.

22 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
 The VAV reheat and dual duct system provide all the
flexibilities of the conventional reheat and dual duct
systems in the sense that a zone can be
accommodated as it switches from heating to cooling
requirements and that some zones on a system can be
provided with heating at the same that the other zones
need cooling.

 There is some thermal bucking in both the VAV reheat

and dual-duct systems but the magnitude of heating
and cooling energy cancellation is modest because the
low air flow rates at which the thermal bucking occurs.

23 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Advantages of all air systems:
1. All air systems offer the greatest potential for energy
conservation by utilizing the outdoor air effectively.
2. By using high-quality controls it is possible to maintain the
temperature and relative humidity of the conditioned
space within ± 0.15oC (DBT) and ± 0.5%, respectively.
3. Using dual duct systems, it is possible to provide
simultaneous cooling and heating. Changeover from
summer to winter and vice versa is relatively simple in all
air systems.
4. It is possible to provide good room air distribution and
ventilation under all conditions of load.
5. Building pressurization can be achieved easily.
6. The complete air conditioning plant including the supply
and return air fans can be located away from the
24 conditioned space. Due to this it is possible to November
use a wide
18, 2018
variety of air filters and avoid noise in the conditioned
space.
 Disadvantages of all air systems:
1. They occupy more space and thus reduce the available
floor space in the buildings. It could be difficult to
provide air conditioning in high-rise buildings with the
plant on the ground floor or basement due to space
constraints.

2. Retrofitting may not always be possible due to the space

requirement.

3. Balancing of air in large and particularly with variable air

volume systems could be difficult.

25 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Applications of all air systems
 All air systems can be used in both comfort as well as
industrial air conditioning applications.

 They are especially suited to buildings that require

individual control of multiple zones, such as office
buildings, classrooms, laboratories, hospitals, hotels,
ships etc.

 They are also used extensively in applications that require

very close control of the conditions in the conditioned
space such as clean rooms, computer rooms, operation
theatres, research facilities etc.

26 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 AIR-AND -WATER SYSTEMS
 Accomplish space conditioning through the use of both air
and water source that are distributed to terminal units
installed in the habitable space.

 The air and water are cooled or heated in central

mechanical equipment rooms and distributed to the space
in which comfort conditions are being maintained.

 The most common types of terminal used with air and

water systems is the high pressure induction unit. The air
supplied to the induction unit is called primary air. It is
distributed from the central mechanical equipment room at
high velocities between 10 and 24m/sec. the water
distributed to the induction unit is called secondary water.
27 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018
 Cont …
 Air-and-Water systems are primarily applicable to multi
zone type exterior spaces of buildings where wide range
of sensible loads exists and where close control of
humidity is not required.

 Applications: hospitals, schools, apartment houses ,

research laboratories

 Components: central air conditioning equipment, duct

distribution and water distribution systems and a room
terminal

 The air supply is generally constant volume and provides

outside clean air for ventilation
28 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018
 Cont…

29 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont…
 Category : Two-pipe, three-pipe , four-pipe systems. They
are basically similar in function and all incorporate both
cooling and heating capabilities for year round air
conditioning.

 Their name is drive from the water distribution system:

two-pipe: the water distribution consists one supply and
one return pipe
three-pipe: a cold water supply and warm water supply
are combined with a single common return pipe to make
the water distribution system
four-pipe : has cold water supply, cold water return,
warm water supply and warm water return
30 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018
 ALL- WATER SYSTEMS
 Accomplish both sensible and latent space cooling by
circulating chilled water from AC central refrigeration
system through cooling coils in terminal units located
in building occupied spaces.

 Mostcommon terminals: Fan coil units, unit ventilators,

and valence units

 The all-water system usually provides individual room

control, with no cross contamination of recalculated air
from one space to another

31 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont..

32 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
 Advantage:
 Reduced need for building space to the elimination or
reduction of central fan room and duct space
requirements
 The system provides all of the benefits of a central
water chilling and heating plant, while retaining the
ability to positively shut off local terminals in unused
areas
 Disadvantage :
 Requires much more maintenance than central all-air
system and work must be done in the occupied areas
 Each unit requires a condensate pan and drain system
that must be cleaned and flushed periodically.
 It is difficult to clean coils, should this be required.
33 Filters are
 Refrigeration low
and Air in efficiency, small, and requires
Conditioning November 18, 2018
frequent changing
 Duct Design and Fan Performance
 Commercial, residential and, industrial air duct system
design must consider
1. Space air diffusion
2. Space availability
3. Noise level
4. Duct leakage
5. Duct heat gain and losses
6. Balancing
7. Fire and smoke control
8. Initial investment
9. System operating cost

34 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018

 Cont …
 Deficiency in duct design can result in systems that
operate incorrectly or are expensive to own and operate.
 Poor air distribution can cause discomfort, less of
productivity and even adverse health effects
 Lack of sound attenuators may permit objectionable
noise level.
 Poorly designed duct work can result in unbalanced
system

35 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning November 18, 2018