Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
High-rise building
Heating
Natural Ventilation
Mechanical or forced ventilation
Types of Air conditioning systems
Criteria For Selecting of Airconditioning Systems.
Types of Drawings to be prepared for the airconditioning projects
Detailed Load Calculation for a room.
Approximate method of Load Calculation.
Approximate Tonnage For Different Spaces.
Priliminary Planning For Air Conditioning of a 20000sq Ft Office
AC Systems: Central Vs Floor-By-Floor
Variable refrigerant flow systems & Automation
Indoor Air Quantity Control Of Vav Air Handling Units
Water Supply For Cooling / Air-Conditioning / Humidification Purposes
Stairwell Pressurization
DX AIR CONDITIONING FOR OFFICE BUILDINGS
HOTELS AND AIR CONDITIONING
AIR CONDITIONING OF MULTIPLEXES AND AUDITORIUMS
AIR CONDITIONING IN HOSPITALS
References:
Blue star guide to air conditioning
Environmental control systems –Fuller Moore
Air conditioning - Lulla
2. HEAT PUMP
Terms
1. Air conditioner
2. Air-cooled
3. Ambient temperature
4. Cfm
5. Chilled water system
6. Centralised AC
7. Compressor
8. Condenser
9. Dehumidification
Although the exact definition is immaterial, various bodies have tried to define what 'high-rise'
means:
The International Conference on Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings defined a high-rise
as "any structure where the height can have a serious impact on evacuation"
The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines a high-rise as "a building having
many stories".
Massachusetts General Laws define a high-rise as being higher than 70 feet.
Most building engineers, inspectors, architects and similar professions define a high-
rise as a building that's at least 75 feet.
2. HEATING_________________________________________________
Heating systems may be classified as central or local. Central heating is often used in cold
climates to heat private houses and public buildings. Such a system contains a boiler,
furnace, or heat pump to heat water, steam, or air, all in a central location such as a furnace
room in a home or a mechanical room in a large building.
The system also contains piping or ductwork to distribute the heated fluid, and radiators to
transfer this heat to the air. The term radiator in this context is misleading since most heat
transfer from the heat exchanger is by convection, not radiation. The radiators may be
mounted on walls or buried in the floor to give under-floor heating. When so mounted it is often
referred to as "radiant heating."
sukirtha suresh Page 4
All but the simplest systems have a pump to circulate the water and ensure an equal supply of
heat to all the radiators. The heated water is often fed through another heat exchanger inside
a storage cylinder to provide hot running water.
Forced air systems send air through ductwork. During warm weather the same ductwork can
be reused for air conditioning. The forced air can be filtered or put through air cleaners.
Contrary to fiction most ducts cannot fit a human being as this would require a greater duct-
structural integrity and create a potential security liability.
The heating elements (radiators or vents) should be located in the coldest part of the room
and typically next to the windows to minimize condensation. Popular retail devices that direct
vents away from windows to prevent "wasted" heat defeat this design parameter. Drafts
contribute more to the subjective feeling of coldness than actual room temperature. Therefore,
rather than improving the heating of a room/building, it is often more important to control the
air leaks.
The invention of central heating is often credited to the ancient Romans, who installed a
system of air ducts in walls and floors of public baths and private villas. The ducts were fed
with hot air from a central fire. Generally, these heated by radiation; a better physiologic
approach to heating than conventional forced air convective heating.
3. NATURAL VENTILATION___________________________________
Ventilating of a building results in air exchange between inside &the outside at various rates (5
to 500 air changes per hour)
N atural ventilation is the ventilation of a building with outside air without the use of a fan or
other mechanical system. It can be achieved with operable windows when the spaces to
ventilate are small and the architecture permits. In more complex systems warm air in the
building can be allowed to rise and flow out upper openings to the outside (stack effect) thus
forcing fresh cool air to be drawn into the building naturally though openings in the lower
areas. These systems use very little energy but care must be taken to ensure the occupants'
comfort. In warm or humid months, in many climates, maintaining thermal comfort via solely
natural ventilation may not be possible at times.
If the ducting for the fans traverses unheated space (e.g. an attic) the ducting should be
insulated as well to prevent condensation on the ducting. Direct drive fans are available for
many applications (these save the owner the costs of maintaining/replacing drive belts).
Heat recovery ventilation systems employ heat exchangers to bring the fresh air
temperature to room temperature. Ceiling fans and table/floor fans are very effective in
circulating the air in the room. Paradoxically, because heat rises, ceiling fans may be used to
keep a room warmer.
1. In mechanical Ventilation the air is moved by motor driven fans which may be
a) propeller type or axial flow fans.
b) Impeller type, centrifugal or tangential flow fans.
2. The installations can take the following forms:
a) An exhaust system – removing the used air & letting fresh air find its way
through grilles & openings (room under reduced pressure)
b) A plenum system – supplying air into the space & forcing out used air through
grilles (slight overpressure in room )
c) A balanced system – both supplying & removing air. The most dependable, but
most expensive, system used when combined with warm air heating as it
permits partial recirculation
Mechanical cooling by refrigeration is based on cyclic methods.
1. A large amount of heat must be added to change a liquid into gas.the same amount of
heat (heat of condensation) is released when the gas condenses back into s liquid.
2. The boiling/condensation temperature of any material varies with pressure. When P is
reduced the boiling point/vaporization point is also reduced.
1. This cycle depends on the same 2 phenomena as vapour Comp. refreig. Plus the
following.
2. Some liquids (for eg. Lithium bromide or ammonia) have a strong tendency to absorb
water vapour. Once saturated with water. These absorbers can be regenerated by
heating to evaporate the water.
REFRIGERANTS
The first air conditioners and refrigerators employed toxic gases like ammonia and methyl
chloride, which could result in fatal accidents when they leaked. Thomas Midgley, Jr.
created the first chlorofluorocarbon gas, Freon, in 1928. The refrigerant was much safer for
humans but was later found to be harmful to the atmosphere's ozone layer. "Freon" is a trade
name of Dupont for any CFC, HCFC, or HFC refrigerant, the name of each including a number
indicating molecular composition (R-11, R-12, R-22, R-134). The blend most used in direct-
expansion comfort cooling is an HCFC known as R-22. It is to be phased out for use in new
equipment by 2010 and completely discontinued by 2020. R-11 and R-12 are no longer
manufactured in the US, the only source for purchase being the cleaned and purified gas
recovered from other air conditioner systems. Several ozone-friendly refrigerants have been
developed as alternatives, including R-410A, known by the brand name "Puron".
The following types of drawings are required to be prepared for the airconditioning projects
• HVAC ducting, designing & lay out
• Piping schematics, design & layout
• Plant room layout
• Electrical SLD drawings, layout & GA Drawings
• Process & Instrumentation diagrams
• BAS/BMS (Building Management System) & Instrumentation circuit diagrams & wiring
diagrams based on system logic
• Well integrated shop drawings.
coordination of HVAC requirements with other services and utilities like
• Civil/structural drawings including 3D related functionalities
• Architectural drawings
• Interior layouts including lighting layout, reflected ceiling plans etc.
• Equipment layouts
• Other mechanical & electrical & coordination services. For example
coordination with different agencies which can be super imposed on the basic
drawings. For example drawings for civil/piping/fire alarms etc.
Having said that, good quality water in plenty is not exactly our strength in most parts of the
country. Hence, practical difficulties may force the use of an air-cooled condenser.
Besides, water-cooled Packaged ACs require more real-estate to house external components
like the cooling tower and pumps, while the air-cooled condenser requires very little space and
is easy to install. The external components also increase the initial investments on water-
cooled systems. It must be added, however, that this investment is amortised very quickly, due
to the enhanced efficiency of the water-cooled system.
7. PACKAGED AC OR CENTRAL PLANT__________________________________
Advantage of Packaged AC
No operator required .Comparatively short installation time Do not require large roof spaces as
in Central Plant .Multiple units can be used for different floors of a building giving better
control. Investment can also be made in phases / storey by storey.
Advantage of Central Plant / Where to use Central Plant
Life of Central Plant is higher .Where the control points are more than 50 eg. For hotels
Central Plant is ideal solution. When close control environment is required When uneven loads
are required like 65% humidity etc. Central chilled plants are economical beyond 80 TR(282
KW) capacity. Central DX Plants for capacities larger than 20 TR.
Step 1
Heat loss due to conduction ,Qc = U1A1 X ∆ T + U2A2 X Ts
=(5X1.5X4.48X6) + ( 5X1 X1.35 x (49.2-20))
=398.7 Watts.
Step 2
V=ventilation of air in m. cube /sec
Volumetric specific heat of air =1300 watts
Heat loss due to ventilation /convection, Q v = 1300 X V X ∆ T
= 1300 X ( 3X 5X5X2.5) X 6 /3600
= 406.25 Watts
Step 3
Heat gain due to solar radiation ,Qs = QS1 + Q S2
Step 6
Qi + Qs +Qc + Qv + Qm + Qe =0
860 + 3262.5 + 328.7 + 406.25= - Qm
Qm = - 4927.45 Watts approx =-5 KWatts
The air conditioning should be capable of removing 5 KW.
Use a central DX Plant with 2 independent 50 TR condensing units. Each condensing unit to
have an independent cooling coil in a common 100 TR AHU or 2 X 50 TR AHU’s
The total air quantity for the 100 TR =100 X 400 cfm
= 40 000 cfm
VS FLOOR-BY-FLOOR______
Modern office buildings come in all
shapes and sizes. Two sided,
pyramid shaped, round,
rectangular, tall like the 452 meter
Petronas Towers in Malaysia or our
own shorter 107 meter World Trade
Centre in Mumbai. But all of them
have one common feature HVAC
systems, which are also available
in a wide variety such as chilled
water, direct expansion, ice
storage, packaged, air cooled,
water cooled, constant air volume,
variable air volume, central, floor-
by-floor centrifugal, screw, absorption or reciprocating.
CENTRAL PLANT
Plant room: A central plant will require plant room space on the ground floor or in the
basement to house water chilling machines, condenser water pumps, chilled water pumps,
condenser/chilled water piping and electric panels. The plant room size will depend on the size
of the plant. These plant rooms require a minimum clear height of 4.3 to 4.9 m to accomodate
equipment, pipe headers and cable trays. If the system has ice/chilled water thermal storage,
huge tanks are required to be accommodated. A direct fired absorption system will require fuel
storage tanks and space to accomodate fuel handling equipment. A steam fired absorption
machine will require space to accommodate the boiler.
AHU: In addition, each floor has to house the air handling system consisting of fan section,
cooling/heating coil section, filter sections and electrical panels. These AHU room sizes can
vary from a room of 3 x 3 m to 6 x 4 m depending in the size of the plant. A shaft is needed to
house chilled water piping, condenser water piping (if cooling tower is on the terrace) and
power/control cables. Each AHU room must be provided with drainage and fresh air
intake.The air handling capacity of the AHU which will depend on the floor area and the
cooling load to be handled, will determine the duct size leaving the fan outlet. If this size is too
large to permit a reasonable false ceiling height it may be desirable to consider two smaller
AHUs on each floor, provided, a second shaft can be fitted into the floor layout.
Owner's Needs –
single or multiple
A multiple owner facility requires a system which provides individual energy billing for which
a floor-by-floor air conditioning system using packaged units or split units is most suited.
Another important requirement is the normal working hours of the user/users. Some users
may have different timings. Some areas such as computer rooms may need 24 hour air
conditioning. Due to such multiple requirements many engineers prefer a combination of a
Standby of Redundancy
An office complex generally requires a standby cooling machine to ensure that air conditioning
is always available. A central plant system can easily accommodate a standby packaged
chiller with pumps in the same plant room. Air handling units are normally not provided as
standby, as the breakdown rates are insignificant. In a floor-by-floor air conditioning system
using packaged units and splits it is not always possible to provide a non-working standby unit.
Normally such units are installed in multiple and are distributed over the air conditioned space.
Therefore whenever a unit suffers a breakdown, air conditioning is inadequate causing user
complaints.
In water cooled systems, the chilled water circuit is normally a closed loop, while the
condenser water circuit is an open loop, due to the use of a cooling tower. When using cooling
towers, operating aspects like maintaining water level in the cooling tower basin, regulating the
bleed-off and controlling make up water quality, call for regular checks. It is also important to
keep the system clean of algae and bacteria.
The air cooled system, on the other hand, consumes 20% to 25% more
power.(appropriate in places like Bangalore where temperatures are moderate.) However, the
heat of the system is rejected to air which is available in abundance. On the whole, air cooled
systems are much easier to operate. Air-cooled condenser coils can be easily cleaned,
periodically, on the air side.
Plant room space in basement with adequate height of 4.3 to 4.9 metres for water
cooled systems, or open space on terrace or ground level for air cooled chillers.
Clear height available above false ceiling for running ductwork.
Space available for installing AHUs near shafts.
Access space above false ceiling of ac area or passages for mounting split unit coolers
and accessible space for condensing units.
Possibility of locating fresh air intakes on building facia above false ceiling level to
facilitate fresh air intakes for split units. (not to be placed near toilets.)
Space for shafts to carry chilled water and condenser water pipes.
Availability of drain lines in peripheral area or core area to facilitate drainage from split
unit coolers.
Where water availability is a problem, air cooled splits can be used. However, the building
design must accommodate:
A two feet high indoor cooling unit with proper access for maintenance.
The unit can be ceiling suspended or sitting on a loft. The floor-by-floor building height
must be adequate for mounting such a unit and still leave enough space below for a
descent false ceiling height. A drain line with proper slope is a must from each unit to a
floor drain.
An outdoor condensing unit with safe and proper space for maintenance.
This unit should be not more than 20 metres horizontally from the indoor unit and vertically not
more than 10 metres higher than the indoor unit. Shorter distances help improve cooling
capacity and longer distances reduce capacity. Figure illustrates a typical air cooled split unit
installation. The largest single piece air cooled split unit available in India today is 8.5 tons
capable of cooling 160 sq.m. approximately. Larger floor areas can use multiple units which
can also help in reducing duct sizes.
The power consumption of water cooled packaged machines can vary from 1.0 kW per ton to
1.2 kW per ton and the power consumption of air cooled splits varies from 1.3 kW to 1.6 kW
per ton. The type of compressors used in these machines are either hermetic reciprocating or
scroll. The part load efficiency of such units is lower than their full load efficiency.
Level of Comfort
Most modern offices have an open-plan concept. The cabins are always laid out in the
peripheral area and the variation of load is always much higher compared to the variation in
the core area. Increasing usage of computers and changing work place also calls for inbuilt
flexibility in design. Such variations in peripheral and core air conditioning load can very well
be handled by a central plant with a VAV system.
As the peak time depends on wall orientation, the sum of the peaks is always higher than the
instantaneous block load. Therefore it is advisable to have a variable air volume system
whenever individual comfort conditions are important. VAV system design is based on block
load calculations, as the VAV units allow the system to borrow air from areas with low load. By
incorporating VAVs with variable speed drive on air handling units, it is possible to achieve
excellent savings in power, which can be as high as 30 - 50% Even though the initial cost of
the plant increases by 7% - 10% due to VAVs and variable speed drives, the pay back is
normally less than 2 years.
It is possible to control indoor air quality in a central plant by designing the main air handling
system to cater for the required outdoor air treatment. Further it is possible to incorporate
strategies which are desirable with increased ventilation rates:
Increased recirculation with high efficiency filters
Heat recovery devices
Automatic carbon dioxide monitoring for improved control.
Improved air distribution.
Combined variable air volume technology and automatic CO2 control enables a system
that already responds dynamically to temperature and humidity to also respond dynamically to
indoor air pollutants.
From the air quality perspective, infiltration only occurs at the bottom and top few floors. In
the center of the building infiltration effects are minimal, and therefore it is advisable to have a
well sealed building and control the air distribution.
In a floor-by-floor unitary system the common practice is to provide fresh air openings
near the equipment. However, to maintain acceptable indoor air quality it would be advisable
to install a separate air unit which can supply treated fresh air to each packaged/split unit.
CASE 1
• Floor to floor height 4.1 m (13.5 ft.) with 2.75 m (9 ft.) false ceiling height.
Installed AC system
CASE 2
Installed AC system
• Air cooled split units with hermetic, recip 50 nos 7.5 Tr split units
These revolutionary airconditioning systems combine the discrete AC products (like high-wall
mounted & cassette indoor units) with the centralized cooling solutions of Central AC plants.In
a variable refrigerant flow ( VRF) system, the central cooling plant is like the outdoor unit of
split AC products, operating as a condensing unit.While in discrete systems each indoor unit is
driven by one compressor & its associated refrigerant circuit, in a VRF system a single
compressor drives multiple indoor units. The refrigerant flows through ‘ smart’ valves to
different units. The valves are automatically controlled so as to allow only the necessary
volume of refrigerant to flow in through each indoor unit. Rooms with less heat load at a point
of time will need less refrigerant flow & hence a lesser load on the system.VRF systems -30%
more efficient than conventional central plant systems.They are more versatile since indoor
units in a VRF system can be a convenient mix of various types – high-wall mounted, cassette
or any other & capacities down to 1 TR in multiples-to suit each room & application ( villas,
offices, hotels & classrooms)
1. Using Temperature
2. Using Carbon Dioxide (CO2) by CO2 Sensing Technology , Using Multipoint CO2
Sensing
3. Fresh Air Damper Control Strategy
A typical office has fixed hours with minimal occupancy outside of those hours. The air
conditioning system is operated for an extended period before and after typical occupancy to
accommodate workers who come in early or leave late. For example, an office may be in
operation from 09.00-17.00 while the air conditioning system operates from 08.00 - 18.30.
Introducing extra fresh air ventilation between 08.00 - 09.00 and 17.00 - 18.30 will waste
energy. During this period, the DCVCS can be used to provides the minimal level of fresh air
ventilation based on the actual requirements at that time. If DCVCS is not used, the OBVCS
must assume an occupancy level. Since this assumption must be based on worst-case
conditions, energy will be wasted.
Water supply shall not be used for any heating, cooling or humidification purposes except
with the approval of the Water Authority. Uses of mains (fresh or salt) water may be given
for cooling / air-conditioning / humidification purposes to meet the following requirements:
(a) closed circuit cooling systems for any purpose where operational losses are negligible
and no water is rejected to waste;
(b) cooling systems involving no loss through evaporation and where all the water is re-used
after cooling for an industrial process; (The normal trade requirement must not be less
than that required for air-conditioning/cooling purposes at peak load);
(c) evaporative cooling systems essential to an industrial process, whether this be for
cooling or for air-conditioning purposes and provided that system losses arise from
evaporative only;
(d) evaporative cooling/air-conditioning/humidification systems for essential purposes other
than industrial processes provided that system losses arise from evaporation only;
(e) humidification essential to an industrial process(e.g. the spraying of a fine mist in textile
weaving plants).
The use of mains water in evaporative type plants for essential purposes other than industrial
process is limited to those cases where the cooling / air-conditioning / humidification system
is absolutely necessary. An example of such case is the use of mains water for the
evaporative type air-conditioning system to serve those areas in hospitals, such as the
operating theatres, intensive care units, mortuary etc., where air-conditioning is essential for
operation requirement. Other examples are the provision of evaporative type cooling system
If there is a lobby, that separates the staircase from the accommodation area and the lobby
has doors to lifts and toilets, the lobby should be separately pressurized. The lobby pressure
should be equal to or slightly below the pressure in the staircase, (not below 5 Pa).
In calculating the air supply needed for the pressurization system two major assumptions have
to be made:
That the leakage areas of doors, lift doors, windows that have been used in the
calculation will apply to the components when the building is completed.
That there are no unidentified leakage areas out of the pressurized spaces.
To allow for these assumptions British standard 5588 recommends that an allowance of
25% be added to the calculated value of supply air.
Apart from this, it also recommends to add another 15% to take care of any leakage from
sheet metal ducting.
The fan should be selected accordingly and the total pressure against which the fan has to
work is the summation of resistance of air distribution system and emergency pressurization
level.
In the single injection system the pressurizing air is supplied to the stair tower at one location.
The most common injection point is at the top of the building.
A single injection system can fail when a few doors are open near the air supply injection
point. All of the pressurizing air can be lost through these open doors and the system will than
fail to maintain positives pressure across the doors farthest from the point of injection.
Because of this reason BS 5588 recommends that a single supply entry point is not to be used
unless the building has three floors or less. ASHRAE however suggests that with careful
analysis such system can be used up to eight floors.
Single injection with bottom air entry is prone to failure. Since the exterior door is opened must
of the time, some of the air will short circuit the system by directly flowing out of the open
doorways. The limitation of a single injection system can be overcome by a multiple injection
system. Either the fan can be located at ground level or it can be on roof. The supply air duct
can be located in a separate shaft or it can be routed in the stairwell itself.
In this case care has to be taken that the duct should not interfere with the evacuation
passage. The air supply to the pressurized staircase should be evenly distributed throughout
the whole height of he staircase. The air outlet grilles should be located not more than three
storeys apart. Better would be if the air is injected at each floor. This will present loss of
pressurization through a few open doors.
For a 100 ton system the saving in power when translated into real money value per annum
will be:-
(1.04 - 0.84) x 100 x 0.746 x 10 x 300 x 0.5 x 4/ - Rs. 89,520/-
(Based on 10 hours/day use, 300 working days a year, Rs. 4/- per unit, an annual diversity
figure of 0.5 and ignoring motor efficiency)
Capacity Control
The importance of balancing the system capacity with the systems load cannot be over-
emphasised. Any time the system capacity deviates considerably from the system load,
unsatisfactory operating conditions will result. Good practice requires that the system be
designed to have a capacity equal to or slightly in excess of the average maximum sustained
load. This is done so that the system will have sufficient capacity to maintain the temperature
and humidity at the desired level during periods of peak loading. Obviously, as the cooling
load decreases, there is a tendency for the system to become oversized in relation to the load.
In applications where the changes in the average system load are not great, capacity
control is adequately accomplished by cycling the system on and off. In such a case,
assuming that the cycling controls are properly adjusted, the relative length of on and off
cycles will vary with the load on the system during periods when the load is heavy, "on"
cycles will be long and "off" cycles will be short whereas during periods when the load is
Refrigerant piping
If one were to generalise one might say that vertical lines with refrigerant should not exceed
three or flour floors. Beyond such heights it becomes uneconomical because of loss of
capacity due to pressure drop.
A multiple compressor installation can be piped to have common piping for all the
compressors, say 2 or 3 at the most. While installing a common system with multiple
compressors it is necessary to plan for liberally sized equalizers on the compressors it is
necessary to plan for liberally sized equalizers on the compressor lines to ensure that no
compressor crankcase is starved of oil. Some designers are allergic to putting compressors in
parallel. piping the compressors individually to separate coils - one each for each zone as in
the sketch in Fig. 2 This kind of "cross piping" in a single AHU gives the system the advantage
of being able to follow load variations better and have some flexibility in the case of a
compressor failure.
Vibration
Use of a DX system in an office building pr-supposes that the structure will have generally
more mechanical equipment, and this equipment would be spread out all over the structure
and in most cases it will be adjacent to critical areas.
Table : Cost Comparison Between 120 ton Central DX and Chilled Water Plant
If one were to capitalize the above saving of Rs. 36,000/- per annum even at an 18% rate -
The answer would be
In other words the DX plant is 5.2 + 2.0 - 7.2 lakhs lower in cost than the chilled water plant.
Some Examples:
THE RESERVE BANK OF INDIA, COCHIN
The compact layout and single owner usage prompted consideration of the central DX system.
A cost analysis of the two ac systems viz., chilled water and DX was made and results are
given in the Table.
Each floor has been divided into tow equal halves and has
four, 5 TR split units, two for the front half and two for the
rear half of each floor. The top floor has its ceiling exposed to
sun and larger fenestration. Additional cooling for the floor
has been installed by using 7 ½ TR units in place of 5 TR
units.
Disadvantages of a DX System
A careful reading of the above would lead one to formulate a listing of the disadvantages
of a DX system. These are:
As the system has a larger spread, the refrigerant pipes traverse long lengths - hence
their pressure testing and protection are critical.
One cannot have a zone within a zone. As an example in a general office, air
conditioned by a DX system - if there is a cabin or two - these cabins cannot have
individual independent controls.
The refrigerant expands directly in the path of the cooling air and hence its choice has
to be limited to those which are benign.
In case there is one small area, say a server room, which needs 24 hour AC then
indifference to this need it becomes necessary to run the full AC system
Newer technology has found ways to combat the above weaknesses if not fully at
least substantially.
Pipe material and fittings selected carefully, laid expertly and tested to a stringent level
reduce the chances of a leak.
Variable air volume components can be fitted on to DX systems thus affording good
control of conditions within a zone. Generally such a fitment on the whole system
means a large increase in cost. In a limited mode, like for instance just one cabin to be
zoned out in a full floor - one can install a VAV diffuser for the cabin. Such a device
has a motorised damper fitted on the air outlet and the damper operates automatically
in response to a thermostat. In other words the diffuser admits or restricts supply air to
the cabin in response to the command of a thermostat. Such devices cost about
Rs.15,000/- for a 400 cfm size diffuser.
For small areas within full scale offices like tele-communication rooms or server /
computer rooms, where it is necessary to have 24 hour air conditioning - it is possible
to have independent split, ancillary AC units exclusively for these areas. These
ancillary units can be switched on after office hours. Today one can buy packaged or
split units which are fitted with high EER scroll compressors and such units can handle
long lengths of piping even upto 100 feet and are fitted with pump in the drain pan so
that disposal of the coil condensate also can be arranged with ease.
Conclusion
There is an increasing demand for office space. Modern offices are smaller, compact and
filled with a lot of service needs when compared to the older, classical office.
Air conditioning is central to the success of such office planning Ducted DX systems are an
economical way of airconditioning such offices. Offices as small as been a thousand sq.ft. Can
use split / packaged units. Such units when used in multiple can air condition offices upto a
few thousand sq.ft. When the total office space to be air conditioned is , say, 15,000 to 20.000
sq.ft. And does not need excess compartmentalisation then one can use a central DX system.
Costs will be nearly comparable to the figure indicated above but the system will be more
rugged and "centralised". In case there are one or two vital rooms in these large spaces which
need air-conditioning over extended hours, then one can use additional ancillary units for air
conditioning such spaces after office hours.
Guest Rooms
A hotel means guest rooms. All other areas are the to support a comfortable say for the guest.
Nearly 60% of the air conditioning goes to guest rooms. The air conditioning needs to provide.
Comfortable room temperature and humidity.
Personalised control over the room environment.
Adequate ventilation for good air quality in the room and also the toilet.
Equipment of low noise level
Easy maintenance.
Comfortable room temperature rules between 20 deg. C to 24 deg. C db and a humidity of anywhere
between 50 to 65% rh. Typically a guest room has large external window which by and large, influences
the room load. The guest room profile displays the overwhelming influence of the east and west facing
rooms. Chopping of the prominent peaks could bring about healthy savings in the cooling load.Human
comfort is not a mere metabolic heat-balance. Even in an otherwise perfectly balanced environment,
some subjects were found complaining and restless because there is no room thermostat to control and
monitor their environment. It is for this reason that a personalised room control thermostat is an
indispensable though psychological element of comfort.
Ventilation to the guest rooms is a much debated design parameter. The minimum requirement is 15 cm
per person to maintain minimum indoor CO--- concentration and odor perceptions of 80% of visitors.
This does not take into account the emission of radon and formaldehyde from building construction
materials. This also does not consider the pollution level of the outside air. These two items are
imponderable. With a profitable occupancy of two persons per room, a ventilation rate of not less than
40 cfm seems to meet the need. The toilet ventilation by way of exhaust needs 6 to 8 air changes, being
a private toilet, and that would be anywhere from 40cfm to 60 cfm. Ventilation air for the room varies
therefore from 40 to 60 cfm. In addition, the guest room corridor is also supplied with pre-conditioned
Public Areas
Public areas can be-divided as shown in the table below
Table Types of Public Areas
24-hour spaces Lobbies, front office, coffee shop
24-hour space
Lobbies are characterised by varying occupancy and outside air ingress. It is always desirable to have
an airlock or a revolving dour to minimize uncontrolled outside air entry. Variation of he ventilation air
according to the occupancy could result in substantial energy savings. This could be through
modulation of he ventilation air damper through an IAQ sensor or a small packaged heat recovery
device. Such steps pay back in 8 to 15 thousand operating hours which means 12-20 months period in
a 24-hour operating hours regime. 24-Hour coffee shop is similar to a lobby without the problems of
outside air ingress.
Food outlets
Food outlets have typically high lighting loads, food odour, (particularly Asian Cuisines) display kitchens
and varying occupancy. Odour control land a display kitchen demand large amount of ventilation air,
even when make-up kitchen hoods are used.Recirculation systems have been found to be wanting in
exercising a desired odour control even with ventilation rates of over 25-30 cfm per person. 100%
outside air circulation with a supply and return fan and an air-to-air heat recovery system would present
a viable and economic alternative. In Russia, such a system is mandatory.
The bar is another area where the occupancy is highly varying and where tobacco smoke control is a
demanding design need. A once-thru' systems is an ideal solution. The major problem in adopting such
systems is an ideal solution. The major problem in adopting such systems is the larger air handling unit
space to accommodate a return fan and a heat exchanger and openings for outside air intake and
exhaust.
Function Spaces
Heavy and varying occupancy, very high lighting loads and relative humidity control are the design
characteristics to reckon in banquet halls, ball rooms, board rooms and meeting rooms. Because of
short time occupancy, the ventilation air could be 15 cfm per person to control body odours but it is
desirable to have lower space dry bulb temperature of say 70-72F to offset higher mean radiant
temperature due to dense occupancy and also to reduce latent load.
A system of variable speed drive could be a standard design to cope with varying occupancy. In such a
system, an IAQ sensor should monitor and control the ventilation air quantity.
Health Clubs are very low occupancy areas where a variable volume system will optimize the plant
utilisation. Where a gymnasium form part of the club, it is preferable to have a separate air handling
unit.
Refrigeration Equipment
Electricity is one of the major expenses in a hotel and the specific consumption varies from 50 to 100
kwh per available room. It depends on the location, building envelop, class of service, efficiency of the
plant and machinery and of course the energy management. A median figure is about 60-65 kwh. At the
current average rate of Rs. 4.5/kwh the electricity charges range from 3% to 15% of the room rental
Of the specific consumption, as much as 45-50% is consumed in the air conditioning and allied plant.
Out of this 40 to 50% goes towards the refrigeration plant while the remainder is contributed by, pumps,
cooling towers, air handling unit, etc. It is for this reason that selection of the main refrigeration plant
assumes importance what with the variety of plant now available in the country.With shortage of
electricity and ever increasing tariffs, vapor absorption systems gained ground. These systems also
merited 100% depreciation as they are listed as energy saving equipment. With changes in the rules of
administered price mechanism for hydrocarbons, it has become necessary to assess the plant
selections almost every year.
Almost every hotel has 100% captive generators which rust on their foundations since they are called
upon to run not even 300 hours in year Most of the engines are 2-stroke high speed (1500 rpm)
turbocharged and after cooled units which are cheaper Slower speed engines using cruder oils will be
slightly more expensive but the cost of generation (fuel cost) is much more economical most of the
State Electricity Boards and Public Utilities are eager to allow captive generators to be put to beneficial
use.
Air conditioned movie theatres and auditoriums are characterized by several special considerations in
their system design which include:
Cooling load calculation
System type determination
Air distribution
Foyer air conditioning
Ventilation. 5 cfm / person is an often repeated benchmark for fresh air. The figure has been valid for,
“no smoking” auditoriums for a long time. The latest ASHRAE codes which are driven by IAQ
considerations call for 15 cfm / person. If one were to consider that most auditoriums are never full all
the time then one can take the liberty of saying that 5 cfm / person based on the full seating capacity
does give acceptable IAQ most of the time. This indication must not be read as suggesting that
ASHRAE figures need not be implemented. For prestigious auditoriums designed to international
standards it is imperative to follow ASHRAE standards.If the 15 cfm / person figure is adopted and the
fresh air quantity works out to a figure greater than 2 air changes / hour, then it is advisable to positively
exhaust the air quantity in excess of 1½ air changes / hour and use it for heat recovery from the fresh
air intake to the air conditioning system in order to conserve energy.
It is also advisable to flush the auditorium with 100% fresh air, periodically. To make this possible, fresh
air intakes must be oversized. Flushing can be done at off-peak times or at times when outside ambient
conditions are low.
Solar and Transmission gain. The fabric gain in an auditorium is mostly from the sun-exposed roof
since few auditoriums have windows for natural light and hence solar gain is virtually out of reckoning.
Sunexposed roofs must be insulated – a minimum of 3” thick, foil-faced fibreglass may be applied to get
a value smaller than 0.1 Btu/hour/sq. ft/°F. The attic space, if not used as a return air plenum, must be
sealed and left “hot and stratified”. (This presupposes that the insulation is on the main sun-exposed
roof membrane)
Storage Effect. In general, the mass of the structural elements and furnishings per person is
higher than in most other applications. This is an opportunity to use storage effect to advantage – to
downsize the air conditioning plant.
Based on the above factors the pulldown load is also very high. For plants which are used
infrequently (less than 3 hours at a time) one can select a plant 10% smaller than design and meet the
pulldown needs by operating the plant for 2 hours before usage and lower the temperature to say 1.5°C
below design. During usage, the operating conditions are restored and the precooled mass absorbs
some of the heat load.
Inside Conditions. It is normal to aim at holding inside conditions to 23/24°C and RH between
40% and 60%. With good wide seats, at 900 mm centre lines, which keep the occupants far apart and
with ceiling heights greater than 7.5 m it is often surprising to note that 25°C is also not uncomfortable.
This is perhaps, because the influence of the occupants, around a subject by way of radiation
System Determination
With the cooling load determined one has a fix on the plant capacity. The plant capacity can be met
by various types of systems:
Central chilled water system
Central DX system
Package equipment system
Storage cooling system
Central Chilled Water Systems. In this case the major advantage is that the chilled water plant is
remote located (with only AHUs being close to the hall). This feature reduces noise transmission into
the hall, and allows one to centralize the services of the whole complex. The chilled water system may
be air-cooled or water-cooled. This system is more expensive.
Prime candidates for using such systems would be convention centres like the Vigyan Bhavan at
Delhi or the Raffles Convention Centre at Singapore – structures which house such facilities are
massive, with less external walling when compared to internal floor space. Such structures have internal
service cores which tend to use only small areas – AHU rooms are also located hereabouts, by virtue of
these being small, land locked, away from external walls – making them eminently suitable for a chilled
water system.
Central DX Systems. This type of system is well suited for such applications as the auditorium is
basically a single zone. By locating the equipment properly and providing for the usual acoustic
attenuation, the noise of the plant can be “kept” within limits. For large auditoriums, it is normal to use
multiple DX systems with each system being, say, a minimum 60 tons. Each system will need to have
two independent refrigeration circuits and each system may have a common AHU with two cooling coils
or ideally two AHUs with a cooling coil each. Generally these systems may have to be water cooled –
so that the heat rejection equipment like cooling towers, can be remote located from the plant. These
systems are not as expensive as the chilled water system, as they do away with the need of chillers,
chiller pumps and chilled water piping.
Prime candidates for using such systems are very large auditoriums, when built in exclusive
buildings. This can be seen in the example of the APTDC auditorium detailed later – where 4 x 80 ton
systems cool the auditorium and each 80 ton system has 2 x 40 ton independent refrigeration circuits.
Large indoor auditoriums calling for, say, 1500 tons of cooling could be economically cooled with 10 x
150 ton plants each with 2 x 75 ton DX circuits.
Packaged Equipment Systems. With large capacity, reliable, factorymade equipment being freely
available at unmatchable costs, one can use such equipment also for this application. Multiple package
units / ductable splits can be used well. Factory-made comfort equipment – with cooling coils which are
only 3 rows deep – theoretically does not meet the “adp” needs of the application, but in practice such
equipment has been used with the ensuing, higher relative humidity never posing any serious problem.
These systems are generally the most economical, particularly, if used properly with limited ducts. Use
of multiple units can be made to bring in an additional advantage of grouping them together to form
“zones” – say one set of equipment for the stage, another set for the front half, yet another set for the
rear half, etc. With this kind of zoning one can operate the stage plant only during rehearsals, likewise
the stage plant and the front half area plant may be run to cool only a partially-filled auditorium.
Prime candidates for using such systems are small 30 / 40 ton capacity halls used by educational
institutions. This, of course, gets stretched, to such systems being used even for large assembly areas
like marriage halls, community centres, etc. Generally one feels comfortable using such systems for
halls which do not have a continued, long-duration occupancy, such as marriage halls.
Storage Cooling Systems. On specific applications, such as temple halls, churches etc. where
one needs cooling only for, say, three hours a day and even that, only once a week, storage systems
can be used. Thermal storage systems can be as simple as the “ice storage” ones, or as sophisticated
Air distribution
With a given set of equipment and layout and a fixed seating arrangement the air distribution
system should aim at the following:-
Draft. There should not be any occupant areas which get greater than 25 fpm air movement –
pockets of “drafty seats” will render maintenance of comfort conditions impossible.
Direction of air flow. Over the anatomy of a person in the seats should ideally be on the face and
neither on the nape of his neck nor his ankles.
Acoustics. The SA and RA outlets should be kept as distant from the mike as possible and they
should also be as far away as possible from the ears of the audience. In such detailing – the source of
noise and the receiver of noise are rendered distant from one another.
Duct velocities. Ideally duct velocities at starting points should not exceed 1200 fpm – but if the
AHU rooms are not very close to the hall and the first SA point is 20 m away from the AHU discharge,
then one can go up to 1500 fpm for performance auditoriums and movie theatres. (Recording stations
are totally different and will not permit velocities higher than 1000 fpm).
Stage cooling. It is not unusual for a stage to have around 500 kW of lighting – the high cfm for
the high load is best discharged from air outlets high above the stage. Small 12” diameter collars
(preferably without diffusers)are the best form of discharge. The centre lines of these or even smaller
diffusers must be, say, a maximum 3 m in both directions. With such a discharge pattern one may have
any number of vertical backdrop screens erected but will still have cooling – behind and in front of any
screen.
Conclusion
This article will have served its purpose if it helps young engineers to understand the various
factors that must be considered in the
design of an air conditioning system
for an auditorium, whether it is part of
a movie theatre, a concert hall or a
school/college. ASHRAE Application
Handbook is a very good source of
further study and an entire chapter is
devoted to air conditioning of places of
assembly. Engineering catalogues of
manufacturers of “Heat exchange
wheels” will facilitate selection of such
equipment to reduce energy
consumption where fresh air quantities
are kept in line with ASHRAE
ventilation standards. Young
engineers are encouraged to
constantly strive to reduce energy
consumption by studying more recent
methods of achieving this by use of CO2 sensors for fresh air damper control and introduction of Ozone
to help reduce fresh air requirements.
provided with matching non standard stringtype supports.
Airborne Pathogens
Pathogens are any disease-causing microorganism, which fall into three major taxonomic groups:
Viruses, bacteria, and fungi. The single most important physical characteristic of airborne pathogens is
their size, as it directly relates to the filtration efficiency and their ability to stay airborne.
Operating Theatres 15 20 20
Intensive Care Unit 6 15 15
Wards (airconditioned) 4 - 15
Isolation Ward (air-conditioned) 6 - 15
For one of the hospitals, the concept of air purging was employed for maintaining IAQ in private air-
conditioned wards. Under this arrangement, once the patient is discharged, the foul air trapped
inside the room is purged by simply opening the windows and stepping-up the speed of the toilet
exhaust fan (2-speed fan). The foul air is extracted out of the room through the toilet and discharged
externally. The room air is completely replaced with clean and fresh air before the next patient
moves in.
During the purging mode, air-conditioning to the room is shut off to avoid condensation. With this
arrangement, IAQ in the room is improved without additional equipment since every attached toilet
and bathroom is provided with a mechanical ventilation system.
There is a direct relationship between the filtration efficiency and the size of pathogens that need to
be arrested.
Proper pressurisation, to prevent exfiltration/ infiltration of pathogens, is an absolutely essential
strategy for many of the critical areas in a hospital.
But, there can be significant energy penalties for increasing ventilation to maintain the required
pressurisation levels.
In addition to ventilation, filtration and pressurisation, air distribution assumes an important criteria
for maintaining the IAQ.
The operating theatres are categorised as 'general' and 'ultraclean'. Ultra-clean OTs, used for
procedures, such as, organ transplant, orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, etc., where bacterial
contamination is relatively more critical.
Table 3 : Design parameters for operating theatres
Design parameters General Ultra-clean
1.Temperature 20±1 °C 20±1 °C
2.RelativeHumidity 55±5% 55±5%
3.Bacterialcount <35 cfu/m3 <10 cfu/m3
4.Supply air velocity at the operating table 0.38 m/s 0.38 m/s
5.Fresh air (no recirculation) 20 air changes/hour 20 air changes/hour
6.Total number of air changes 20 air changes/hour >300 air
7.Pressurisation +25 Pa changes/hour
8.Filtrationefficiency 99.997% at terminal +25 Pa
9. Supply air discharge area 2.4m x 1.8m 99.997% at terminal
2.8m x 2.8m
Table 3 shows basic design parameters for HVAC design of an OT.
Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram for HVAC system for a general OT. The system used is CAV
(constant air volume) type. The fans, both on the supply and exhaust side, however, are provided
with Variable Speed Drive (VSD).
The VSD basically helps to maintain the flows against varying static (filter clogging, etc.) and also
for set back for unoccupied hours. The supply air passes through an energy wheel before treatment
by a dedicated set of AHUs. The treated air is supplied through terminal HEPA (99.997% efficient)
filters.
The return air is collected from the adjacent rooms. In addition, the practice of collecting return air
from the OT itself in the past was prone to infiltration of outside air when the OT doors were
opened for any reason.
OTs are provided with relief dampers for maintaining positive pressure.
The humidity is maintained by using heaters.
Unlike general OT, an ultra-clean OT allows recirculation of air within the OT. The return air for
these OTs passes through 80- 90% efficiency filters before passing through 99.997% efficient
terminal HEPA filters and discharged vertically to provide a laminar downflow pattern. The low
turbulence downward airflow combines the effect of both, air dilution and room air displacement.
Besides operating theatres, the others areas of the hospital, which require similar control of the
aseptic conditions are the postoperative recovery rooms, ICUs, burn wards, isolation units. Other
areas, which require high rates of ventilation and pressurisation control are radiology department,
laboratories, infectious disease and virus laboratories, autopsy rooms and animal quarters.
Energy Recovery
In today's competitive world, saving lives and
providing high quality medical services are not
the only parameters for the success of a
hospital. Energy efficiency is a major factor in
hospital's financial well-being and eventually
its affordability for the patients. Energy
efficiency is a broad term, which includes
strategies such as using efficient chillers
within their most optimum performance zone,
using variable speed drives for pumps and air
handling units, maximising areas with natural
ventilation, etc. One of the strategies,
For the same hospital, it was identified that operating theatres (total 14 in number, 2 ultra clean and rest
general type) alone contributed about 200 TR air-conditioning load, which was slightly less than 10% of
the overall load (2250 TR). Again, it shows that energy recovery from the operating theatres is also an
important area to focus on as part of the overall energy efficiency efforts.
Energy recovery wheel or enthalpy wheel, which can recover both sensible and latent energy, has been
used for the operating theatres. The wheel, installed upstream of supply air AHU, recovers energy by
allowing transfer of heat (sensible and latent) from the outdoor air to the exhaust air. To get an idea of
the performance just in terms of the sensible energy, the outdoor air can be expected to cool from 32°C
to 26°C when passing through the wheel and transferring energy to the exhaust air (typically at about
21°C).
System Reliability
HVAC system reliability in hospital context is a very important issue. Unreliable systems can lead to
highly undesirable situations, such as, cross-contamination, high temperature, high humidity, etc. Apart
from selecting reliable equipment and following proven practices, providing standby HVAC equipment is
a crucial element of the overall system reliability.
While deciding the extent of standby HVAC equipment, one invariably has to strike a balance
between ensuring required level of system reliability and keeping the capital cost down. The following
discussion provides insight on the practices used for ensuring system reliability for chiller plant and air-
handling system for hospitals in Singapore:
Table 4 : Chiller plant configuration for n+1+1 reliability
Item Data
Background Information – 800 bed hospital
– 2 basements, 3 storeys podium and 6 storeys
tower block (total 9 storeys)
– gross floor area: 120,000 sq. m
(approx.)
Key input data/considerations – estimated block load: 2250 TR
– estimated night load: 600 TR
– peak chiller efficiency: at about 70%
– configuration desired: n+1+1
Chiller configuration used – 6 x 750 TR water cooled centrifugal chillers
– 6 sets of matching pumps and cooling towers
Chiller Plant
Chiller plant is the heart of an HVAC system. The configuration adopted for the chiller plant
(chillers, pumps and cooling tower), as elaborated in Table 4, for one of the recently constructed
hospitals in Singapore is n+1+1. The objective behind this arrangement is to ensure 100% system
availability in the event when one piece of equipment (chiller/pump/cooling tower) is under preventive
maintenance and one more piece of equipment is under breakdown.
With the above arrangement, at the most 4 chillers will be working with 2 chillers remaining as
standby.
Labor/Delivery/Recovery - 2 6 (4)
Emergency – Triage/Waiting In 2 12
Radiology – Waiting In 2 12
Procedure Out 3 15
Just like a 5-star hotel, a modern hospital consumes a lot of energy, and both have ‘zonal’ air
conditioning loads. This article addresses three areas where a good HVAC system can be designed to
reduce the energy consumption :
1. Variable chilled water flow
Conclusion
HVAC system design for a hospital is a challenging undertaking. It involves deep appreciation of
the relationship between the performance of HVAC system and the health of patients, care givers and
visitors. So, IAQ is of prime importance. Besides IAQ, energy recovery and system reliability demand
special attention. A well-rounded HVAC design would adopt without compromise all the proven
practices and principles for these three pillars of hospital HVAC design.