A-Expansion valve

B-Compressor
C-Heat Exchanger
D-Chilled water to the building

Cooling Towers

In all of the systems described earlier, air is used to dissipate the heat from the outside coil. In
large systems, the efficiency can be improved significantly by using a cooling tower. The cooling
tower creates a stream of lower- temperature water. This water runs through a heat exchanger
and cools the hot coils of the air conditioner unit. It costs more to buy the system initially, but the
energy savings can be significant over time (especially in areas with low humidity), so the
system pays for itself fairly quickly.

Cooling towers come in all shapes and sizes. They all work on the same
principle:

• Generally, the water trickles through a thick sheet of open plastic mesh.

• Air blows through the mesh at right angles to the water flow.

• The evaporation cools the stream of water.

• Because some of the water is lost to evaporation, the cooling tower

constantly adds water to the system to make up the difference

Air-Distribution Systems
There are various types of air-distribution systems, like fans, filters, ductwork,
outlets, dampers etc.
HVAC

HVAC is an initialism/acronym that stands for "heating, ventilating, and air conditioning".
HVAC is sometimes referred to as "climate control" and is particularly important in the design of
medium to large industrial and office buildings such as sky scrapers and in marine environments
such as aquariums, where humidity and temperature must all be closely regulated whilst
maintaining safe and healthy conditions within.

Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning is based on the basic principles of

thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer The invention of the components of HVAC
systems goes hand-in-hand with the industrial revolution, and new methods of modernization,
higher efficiency, and system control are constantly introduced by companies and inventors all
over the world.

The three functions of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning are closely interrelated. All seek
to provide thermal comfort, acceptable indoor air quality, and reasonable installation, operation,
and maintenance costs. HVAC systems can provide ventilation, reduce air infiltration, and
maintain pressure relationships between spaces. How air is delivered to, and removed from
spaces is known as room air distribution.

In modern buildings the design, installation, and control systems of these functions are integrated
into one or more HVAC systems. For very small buildings, contractors normally "size" and
select HVAC systems and equipment. For larger buildings where required by law, "building
services" designers and engineers, such as mechanical, architectural, or building services
engineers analyze, design, and specify the HVAC systems, and specialty mechanical contractors
build and commission them. In all buildings, building permits for, and code-compliance
inspections of the installations are the norm.

HVAC systems use ventilation air ducts installed throughout a building that supply
conditioned air to a room through rectangular or round outlet vents, called
"diffusers"; and ducts that remove air through return-air "grilles.

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 heat.

In boiler fed or radiant heating systems, 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 can also be fed
through another heat exchanger inside a storage cylinder to provide hot running water.

Forced air systems send heated air through ductwork. During warm weather the same ductwork
can be reused for air conditioning. The forced air can also be filtered or put through air cleaners.
Most ducts cannot fit a human being (as they do in many films) since this would require a greater
duct-structural integrity and create a potential security liability.
Heating can also be provided from electric, or resistance heating using a filament
that glows hot when you cause electricity to pass through it. This type of heat can

be found in electric baseboard heaters, portable electric heaters, and as backup

or supplemental heating for heat pump (or reverse heating) system.

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 called "hypocaust" in the 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.

Ventilating

Ventilating is the process of "changing" or replacing of air in any space to remove moisture,
odors, smoke, heat, dust and airborne bacteria. Ventilation includes both the exchange of air to
the outside as well as circulation of air within the building. It is one of the most important factors
for maintaining acceptable indoor air quality in buildings. Methods for ventilating a building
may be divided into mechanical/forced and natural types. Ventilation is used to remove
unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduce outside air, and to keep interior building air
circulating, to prevent stagnation of the interior air.

ahu
HVAC Systems Design and Safety
Heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can play several roles to reduce the
environmental impact of buildings. The primary function of HVAC systems is to provide healthy
and comfortable interior conditions for occupants. Well-designed, efficient systems do this with
minimal non-renewable energy and air and water pollutant emissions. Cooling equipment that
avoids chlorofluorocarbons and hydro chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and HCFCs) may eliminate a
major cause of damage to the ozone layer.

However, even the best HVAC equipment and systems cannot compensate for a building design
with inherently high cooling and heating needs. The greatest opportunities to conserve non-
renewable energy are through architectural design that controls solar gain, while taking
advantage of passive heating, day lighting, natural ventilation and cooling opportunities. The
critical factors in mechanical systems' energy consumption - and capital cost - are reducing the
cooling and heating loads they must handle.

Air Change per Hour (ACH)

The number of times per hour that the volume of a specific room or building is
supplied or removed from that space by mechanical and natural ventilation.
Air handler, or air handling unit (AHU)

Central unit consisting of a blower, heating and cooling elements, filter racks or chamber,
dampers, humidifier, and other central equipment in direct contact with the airflow. This does
not include the ductwork through the building.

British thermal unit (BTU)

Any of several units of energy (heat) in the HVAC industry, each slightly more than 1 kJ. One
BTU is the energy required to raise one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit, but the many
different types of BTU are based on different interpretations of this “definition”. In the United
States the power of HVAC systems (the rate of cooling and dehumidifying or heating) is
sometimes expressed in BTU/hour instead of watts.

Chiller

A device that removes heat from a liquid via a vapor-compression or absorption refrigeration
cycle. This cooled liquid flows through pipes in a building and passes through coils in air
handlers, fan-coil units, or other systems, cooling and usually dehumidifying the air in the
building. Chillers are of two types; air-cooled or water-cooled. Air-cooled chillers are usually
outside and consist of condenser coils cooled by fan-driven air. Water-cooled chillers are usually
inside a building, and heat from these chillers is carried by recirculating water to outdoor cooling
towers.

Controller
A device that controls the operation of part or all of a system. It may simply turn a device on and
off, or it may more subtly modulate burners, compressors, pumps, valves, fans, dampers, and the
like. Most controllers are automatic but have user input such as temperature set points, e.g. a
thermostat. Controls may be analog, or digital, or pneumatic, or a combination of these.

Fan-coil unit (FCU)

A small terminal unit that is often composed of only a blower and a heating and/or cooling coil
(heat exchanger), as is often used in hotels, condominiums, or apartments.

Condenser

A component in the basic refrigeration cycle that ejects or removes heat from the system. The
condenser is the hot side of an air conditioner or heat pump. Condensers are heat exchangers, and
can transfer heat to air or to an intermediate fluid (such as water or an aqueous solution of
ethylene glycol) to carry heat to a distant sink, such as ground (earth sink), a body of water, or air
(as with cooling towers).

Constant air volume (CAV)

A system designed to provide a constant air volume per unit time. This term is applied to HVAC
systems that have variable supply-air temperature but constant air flow rates. Most residential
forced-air systems are small CAV systems with on/off control.

Damper
A plate or gate placed in a duct to control air flow by introducing a constriction in
the duct.
Evaporator

A component in the basic refrigeration cycle that absorbs or adds heat to the system. Evaporators
can be used to absorb heat from air (by reducing temperature and by removing water) or from a
liquid. The evaporator is the cold side of an air conditioner or heat pump.

Furnace

A component of an HVAC system that adds heat to air or an intermediate fluid by burning fuel
(natural gas, oil, propane, butane, or other flammable substances) in a heat exchanger.

Fresh air intake (FAI)

An opening through which outside air is drawn into the building. This may be to replace air in
the building that has been exhausted by the ventilation system, or to provide fresh air for
combustion of fuel.

Grille

A facing across a duct opening, usually rectangular is shape, containing multiple parallel slots
through which air may be delivered or withdrawn from a ventilated space.

Heat load, heat loss, or heat gain

Terms for the amount of heating (heat loss) or cooling (heat gain) needed to maintain desired
temperatures and humidities in controlled air. Regardless of how well-insulated and sealed a
building is, buildings gain heat from warm air or sunlight or lose heat to cold air and by
radiation. Engineers use a heat load calculation to determine the HVAC needs of the space being
cooled or heated.

Louvers

Blades, sometimes adjustable, placed in ducts or duct entries to control the volume of air flow.
The term may also refer to blades in a rectangular frame placed in doors or walls to permit the
movement of air.

Makeup air unit (MAU)

An air handler that conditions 100% outside air. MAUs are typically used in industrial or
commercial settings, or in once- through (blower sections that only blow air one-way into the
building), low flow (air handling systems that blow air at a low flow rate), or primary-secondary
(air handling systems that have an air handler or rooftop unit connected to an add-on makeup
unit or hood) commercial HVAC systems.

Packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC)

An air conditioner and heater combined into a single, electrically-powered unit,
typically installed through a wall and often found in hotels.
Roof-top unit (RTU)

An air-handling unit, defined as either "recirculating" or "once-through" design, made

specifically for outdoor installation. They most often include, internally, their own heating and
cooling devices. RTUs are very common in some regions, particularly in single-story
commercial buildings.

Variable air volume (VAV) system

An HVAC system that has a stable supply-air temperature, and varies the air flow rate to meet
the temperature requirements. Compared to CAV systems, these systems waste less energy
through unnecessarily-high fan speeds. Most new commercial buildings have VAV systems.

Thermal zone

A single or group of neighboring indoor spaces that the HVAC designer expects will have
similar thermal loads. Building codes may require zoning to save energy in commercial
buildings. Zones are defined in the building to reduce the number of HVAC subsystems, and
thus initial cost. For example, for perimeter offices, rather than one zone for each office, all
offices facing west can be combined into one zone. Small residences typically have only one
conditioned thermal zone, plus unconditioned spaces such as unconditioned garages, attics, and
crawlspaces, and unconditioned basements.

Coils
The selection of hot and chilled water coils will have a substantial impact on the
fan energy use.
Thin coil design

Traditional AHU design specifies coil sizes assuming a face velocity of between 400 and 500
feet per minute. A new design technique called low face velocity, high coolant velocity or
LFV/HCV has been researched at the University of Adelaide, Australia. This technique uses a
"thin" coil design that is roughly half the number of tubes in depth as in conventional designs but
double the coil face area. The net result is a face velocity in the range of 150 to 200 feet per
minute (FPM) with much higher heat transfer efficiency and lower pressure drop than in
conventional designs. Because the coil's pressure loss is proportional to the velocity at a square
rate, face velocity reduction can result in pressure drops of one-fourth or less compared to the
equivalent, traditionally designed coil.

Preheat coils

A preheat coil is commonly used to control condensation inside the HVAC system for
laboratories that use 100 percent outside air or when the outside air temperature falls below
freezing. If a heating coil is used downstream, the preheat coil should become inactive to save
energy when outdoor temperatures reach 45 degrees F. Preheat coils are also used to warm the
outside air stream, assuring better air stream mixing and providing free humidification.

Damper

A damper is a valve or plate that stops or regulates the flow of air inside a duct, chimney, VAV
box, air handler, or other air handling equipment. A damper may be used to cut off central air
conditioning (heating or cooling) to an unused room, or to regulate it for room-by-room
temperature and climate control. Its operation can be manual or automatic. Manual dampers are
turned by a handle on the outside of a duct. Automatic dampers are used to regulate airflow
constantly and are operated by electric or pneumatic motors, in turn controlled by a thermostat or
building automation system.

In a chimney flue, a damper closes off the flue to keep the weather (and birds and other animals)
out and warm or cool air in. This is usually done in the summer, but also sometimes in the winter
between uses. In some cases, the damper may also be partly closed to help control the rate of
combustion. The damper may be accessible only by reaching up into the fireplace by hand or
with a wood poker, or sometimes by a lever or knob that sticks down or out. On a wood burning
stove or similar device, it is usually a handle on the vent duct as in an air conditioning system.
Forgetting to open a damper before beginning a fire can cause serious smoke damage to the
interior of a home, if not a house fire.

Dampers must be installed in places where airflow needs to be controlled and/or blocked.
Dampers located directly behind an outlet tend to be noisy. A better location is in the final
branch near the connection to the trunk duct. Wherever a balancing or volume damper is located,
it should be accessible. Lay-in ceiling tiles provide good access; in a fixed ceiling, an access door
is needed. Dampers should not be installed in hood exhaust systems even if the exhaust duct
passes through a firewall. Use the UL approved alternative -- a properly supported, heavy-gauge
steel, unobstructed duct.
Dampers have to withstand the maximum static pressure in a system. The maximum static
pressure is the maximum that can be experienced in a system, not simply the pressure introduced
by the fan during normal operation. Maximum static pressure usually occurs when all dampers in
a system are closed except those on one flow path.

Automated zone dampers

A zone damper (also known as a Volume Control Damper or VCD) is a specific type of damper
used to control the flow of air in an HVAC heating or cooling system. In order to improve
efficiency and occupant comfort, HVAC systems are commonly divided up into multiple zones.
For example, in a house, the main floor may be served by one heating zone while the upstairs
bedrooms are served by another. In this way, the heat can be directed principally to the main
floor during the day and principally to the bedrooms at night, allowing the unoccupied areas to
cool down. Zone dampers as used in home HVAC systems are usually electrically powered. In
large commercial installations, vacuum or compressed air may be used instead. In either case, the
motor is usually connected to the damper via a mechanical coupling.

Advantages:
• Cost.
• Power consumption.

Disadvantages:
• Zone dampers are not 100% reliable. The motor-to-open/motor-to-closed

style of electrically operated zone dampers aren't "fail safe" (that is, they do not fail to the open
condition). However, zone dampers that are of the "Normally Open" type are fail-safe, in that
they will fail to the open condition.

• No inherent redundancy for the furnace. A system with zone dampers is

dependent upon a single furnace. If it fails, the system becomes completely
inoperable.
• The system can be harder to design, requiring both “SPDT” thermostats
(and relays) and the ability of the system to withstand the fault condition
whereby all zone dampers are closed simultaneously.
Fire dampers

Fire dampers are fitted where ductwork passes through fire compartment walls / fire curtains as
part of a fire control strategy. In normal circumstances, these dampers are held open by means of
fusible links. When subjected to heat, these links fracture and allow the damper to close under
the influence of the integral closing spring. The links are attached to the damper such that the
dampers can be released manually for testing purposes. The damper is provided with an access
door in the adjacent ductwork for the purpose of inspection and resetting in the event of closure.
Ducts

Ducts are used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to deliver and remove air.
These needed airflows include, for example, supply air, return air, and exhaust air. Ducts also
deliver, most commonly as part of the supply air, ventilation air. As such, air ducts are one
method of ensuring acceptable indoor air quality as well as thermal comfort.

A duct system is often called ductwork. Planning ('laying out'), sizing, optimizing, detailing, and
finding the pressure losses through a duct system is called duct design.

Duct materials

Like modern steel food cans, at one time air ducts were often made of tin, like 'tin cans' were
made for food. Tin is more corrosion resistant than plain steel, but is also more expensive. With
improvements in mild steel production, and its galvanization to resist rust, steel 'sheet metal' has
replaced tin in ducts as well as food cans..

Galvanized steel

Ducts are still most often made of galvanized steel. Various fittings allow transitioning between
the various shapes and sizes. A "tee" connection, for example, is where the air flow can be
divided into two or more downstream branches. Many factory-made shapes and sizes are
available but galvanized steel can easily be cut and bent to form additional shapes when required.
Steel ducts are commonly wrapped or lined with fiberglass thermal insulation, both to reduce
heat loss or gain through the duct walls and water vapor from condensing on the exterior of the
duct when the duct is carrying cooled air. Insulation, particularly duct liner, also reduces duct-
borne noise. Both types of insulation reduce 'breakout' noise through the ducts' sidewalls.

Polyurethane duct board (Preinsulated aluminum ducts)

While as mentioned above, galvanized steel is still very common, always more rectangular ducts
are being manufactured from “duct board”, thanks to the fact that custom or special shapes and
sizes of ducts can easily be shop or field fabricated. In addition to the fact that ducts made with
“duct board” do not need any further insulation. Among the various types of rigid polyurethane
foam panels available, a new water formulated panel stands out. In this particular panel, the
foaming process is obtained through the use of water instead of the CFC, HCFC, HFC and HC
gasses. The foam panels are then coated with aluminum sheets on either side, with thicknesses
that can vary from 50 micrometres for indoor use to 200 micrometres for external use in order to
guarantee the high mechanical characteristics of the duct. The ducts construction starts with the
plotting of the single pieces on the panel. The pieces are then cut from the panel (with a 45° cut
as explained below), bent if necessary in order to obtain the different fittings, and finally closed
through an operation of gluing, pressing and taping. Having obtained the various duct sections,
they can easily be installed by using an invisible aluminum flange system.

Fiberglass duct board (Preinsulated non metallic ductwork)

Also the fiberglass panels provide built-in thermal insulation and the interior surface absorbs
sound, helping to provide quiet operation of the HVAC system. The duct board is formed by
sliding a specially-designed knife along the board using a straightedge as a guide; the knife
automatically trims out a "valley" with 45° sides; the valley does not quite penetrate the entire
depth of the duct board, providing a thin section that acts as a hinge. The duct board can then be
folded along the valleys to produce 90° folds, making the rectangular duct shape in the
fabricator's desired size. The duct is then closed with staples and special aluminum or similar
'metal-backed' tape. Commonly available duct tape should not be used on air ducts, metal,
fiberglass, or otherwise, that are intended for long-term use; the adhesive on so called 'duct tape'
dries and releases with time.

Flexible tubing

Flexible ducts, known as flex, have a variety of configurations, but for HVAC applications, they
are typically flexible plastic over a metal wire coil to make round, flexible duct. Most often a
layer of fiberglass insulation covers the duct, and then a thin plastic layer protects the insulation.
Flexible duct is very convenient for attaching supply air outlets to the rigid ductwork. However,
the pressure loss through flex is higher than for most other types of ducts. As such, designers and
installers attempt to keep their installed lengths (runs) short, e.g.,

less than 15 feet or so, and to minimize turns. Kinks in flex must be avoided. Flexible duct is
normally not used on the negative pressure portions of HVAC duct systems.

DUCT DESIGN OBJECTIVES

The objectives of good duct design are occupant comfort, proper air distribution, economical
heating and cooling system operation, and economical duct installation. The outcome of the duct
design process will be a duct system (supply and return plenums, ducts, fittings, boots, grilles,
and registers) that

• Provides conditioned air to meet all room heating and cooling loads.
• Is properly sized so that the pressure drop across the air handler is within
manufacturer and design specifications.
• Is sealed to provide proper air flow and to prevent air from entering the house
or duct system from polluted zones.
• Has balanced supply and return air flows to maintain a neutral pressure in the
house.
• Minimizes duct air temperature gains or losses between the air handler and
supply outlets, and between the return register and air handler.
SUPPLY DUCT SYSTEMS

Supply ducts deliver air to the spaces that are to be conditioned. The two most common supply
duct systems for residences are the trunk and branch system and the radial system because of
their versatility, performance, and economy.

The spider and perimeter loop systems are other options.

TRUNK AND BRANCH SYSTEM

In the trunk and branch system, a large main supply trunk is connected directly to the air handler
or its supply plenum and serves as a supply plenum or an extension to the supply plenum.
Smaller branch ducts and run outs are connected to the trunk. The trunk and branch system is
adaptable to most houses, but it has more places where leaks can occur. It provides air flows that
are easily balanced and can be easily designed to be located inside the conditioned space of the
house. There are several variations of the trunk and branch system. An extended plenum system
uses a main supply trunk that is one size and is the simplest and most popular design. The length
of the trunk is usually limited to about 24 feet because otherwise the velocity of the air in the
trunk gets too low and air flow into branches and run outs close to the air handler becomes poor.
Therefore, with a centrally located air handler, this duct system can be installed in homes up to
approximately 50 feet long. A reducing plenum system uses a trunk reduction periodically to
maintain a more uniform pressure and air velocity in the trunk, which improves air flow in
branches and run outs closer to the air handler. Similarly, a reducing trunk system reduces the
cross-sectional area of the trunk after every branch duct or run out, but it is the most complex
system to design.

SPIDER SYSTEM

A spider system is a more distinct variation of the trunk and branch system. Large supply trunks
(usually large-diameter flexible ducts) connect remote mixing boxes to a small, central supply
plenum. Smaller branch ducts or run outs take air from the remote mixing boxes to the individual
supply outlets. This system is difficult to locate within the conditioned space of the house.

RADIAL SYSTEM

In a radial system, there is no main supply trunk; branch ducts or run outs that deliver
conditioned air to individual supply outlets are essentially connected directly to the air handler,
usually using a small supply plenum. The short, direct duct runs maximize air flow. The radial
system is most adaptable to single-story homes. Traditionally, this system is associated with an
air handler that is centrally located so that ducts are arranged in a radial pattern. However,
symmetry is not mandatory, and designs using parallel runouts can be designed so that duct runs
remain in the conditioned space (e.g., installed above a dropped ceiling).
PERIMETER LOOP SYSTEM

A perimeter loop system uses a perimeter duct fed from a central supply plenum using several
feeder ducts. This system is typically limited to houses built on slab in cold climates and is more
difficult to design and install

RETURN DUCT SYSTEMS

Return ducts remove room air and deliver it back to the heating and cooling equipment for
filtering and reconditioning. Return duct systems are generally classified as either central or
multiple-room return.

MULTIPLE-ROOM RETURN SYSTEM

A multiple-room return system is designed to return air from each room supplied with
conditioned air, especially those that can be isolated from the rest of the house (except bathrooms
and perhaps kitchens and mechanical rooms). When properly designed and installed, this is the
ultimate return duct system because it ensures that air flow is returned from all rooms (even with
doors closed), minimizes pressure imbalances, improves privacy, and is quiet. However, design
and installation costs of a multi-room return system are generally higher than costs for a central
return system, and higher friction losses can increase blower requirements.

CENTRAL RETURN SYSTEM

A central return system consists of one or more large grilles located in central areas of the house
(e.g., hallway, under stairway) and often close to the air handler. In multi-story houses, a central
return is often located on each floor. To
 ensure proper air flow from all rooms, especially when doors are closed, transfer grilles or
jumper ducts must be installed in each room (undercutting interior doors to provide 1 inch of
clearance to the floor is usually not sufficient by itself). Transfer grilles are through-the-wall
vents that are often located above the interior door frames, although they can be installed in a full
wall cavity to reduce noise transmission. The wall cavity must be well sealed to prevent air
leakage. Jumper ducts are short ducts routed through the ceiling to minimize noise transfer.

DUCT AND REGISTER LOCATIONS

Locating the air handler unit and air distribution system inside the conditioned space of the house
is the best way to improve duct system efficiency and is highly recommended. With this design,
any duct leakage will be to the inside of the house. It will not significantly affect the energy
efficiency of the heating and cooling system because the conditioned air remains inside the
house, although air distribution may suffer. Also, ducts located inside the conditioned space need
minimal insulation (in hot and humid climates), if any at all. The cost of moving ducts into the
conditioned space can be offset by smaller heating and cooling equipment, smaller and less duct
work, reduced duct insulation, and lower operating costs.

There are several methods for locating ducts inside the

conditioned space.
• Place the ducts in a furred-down chase below the ceiling (e.g., dropped ceiling in
a hallway), a chase furred-up in the attic, or other such chases. These chases must
be specially constructed, air-sealed, and insulated to ensure they are not
connected to unconditioned spaces.

• Locate ducts between the floors of a multi-story home (run through the floor trusses or joists).
The exterior walls of these floor cavities must be insulated and sealed to ensure they are within
the conditioned space. Holes in the cavity for wiring, plumbing, etc., must be sealed to prevent
air exchange with unconditioned spaces.

• Locate ducts in a specially-constructed sealed and insulated crawlspace (where the walls of the
crawlspace are insulated rather than the ceiling). Ducts should not be run in exterior walls as a
means of moving them into the conditioned space because this reduces the amount of insulation
that can be applied to the duct and the wall itself. A supply outlet is positioned to mix
conditioned air with room air and is responsible for most of the air movement within a room.
Occupant comfort requires that supply register locations be carefully selected for each room. In
cold climates, perimeter floor outlets that blanket portions of the exterior wall (usually windows)
with supply air are generally preferred. However, in today’s better insulated homes, the need to
locate outlets near the perimeter where heat loss occurs is becoming less important. In hot
climates, ceiling diffusers or high wall outlets that discharge air parallel to the ceiling are
typically installed. In moderate climates, outlet location is less critical. Outlet locations near
interior walls can

significantly reduce duct lengths (decreasing costs), thermal losses (if ducts are located outside
the conditioned space), and blower requirements. To prevent supply air from being swept
directly up by kitchen, bathroom, or other exhaust fans, the distance between supply registers
and exhaust vents should be kept as large as possible. The location of the return register has only
a secondary effect on room air motion. However, returns can help defeat stratification and
improve mixing of room air if they are placed high when cooling is the dominant space-
conditioning need and low when heating is dominant. In multi-story homes with both heating
and cooling, upper-level returns should be placed high and lower- level returns should be placed
low. Otherwise, the location of the return register can be determined by what will minimize duct
runs, improve air circulation and mixing of supply air, and impact other considerations such as
aesthetics.

DESIGN RECOMMENDATIONS AND K E Y D E S I G N E L E M E N T S

In designing the air distribution the following recommendations before finalizing
the design should be considered:
• Design the air distribution system to be located inside the conditioned space of
the house to the greatest extent possible. Do not locate ducts in exterior walls.
• The entire air distribution system should be “hard” ducted, including returns (i.e., building
cavities, closets, raised-floor air handler plenums, platform returns, wall stud spaces, panned
floor joists, etc., should not be used).

• In two-story and very large houses, consider using two or more separate heating and cooling
systems, each with its own duct system. In two-story homes, for example, upper stories tend to
gain more heat in summer and lose more heat in winter, so the best comfort and performance is
often achieved by using separate systems for the upper and lower stories.

• Consider supply outlet locations near interior walls to reduce duct lengths.

• Locate supply outlets as far away from exhaust vents as possible in bathrooms and kitchens to
prevent supply air from being swept directly up by the exhaust fans.

• Consider installing volume dampers located at the takeoff end of the duct rather than at the
supply register to facilitate manual balancing of the system after installation. Volume dampers
should have a means of fixing the position of the damper after the air distribution system is
balanced.

• When using a central return system, include (a) a return on each level of a multi- story house,
(b) a specification to install transfer grilles or jumper ducts in each room with a door
(undercutting interior doors to allow 1 inch of clearance to the floor is usually not sufficient), and
(c) if at all possible, a return in all rooms with doors that require two or more supply ducts.

• Specify higher duct insulation levels in ducts located outside the conditioned space than those
specified by the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code, especially when variable-speed
air handling equipment is being used. Lower air flows provided by variable-speed heating and
cooling systems to improve operating efficiency increase the resident time of air within the air
distribution system, which in turn increases thermal losses in the winter and thermal gains in the
summer. Attic insulation placed over ducts helps where it is possible.

• Specify that all duct joints must be mechanically fastened and sealed prior to insulation to
prevent air leakage, preferably with mastic and fiberglass mesh. Consider testing of ducts using a
duct blower to ensure that the air distribution system is tight, especially if ducts are unavoidably
located in an unconditioned space. A typical requirement is that duct leakage (measured using a
duct blower in units of cubic feet per minute when the ducts are pressurized to 25 Pascals)
should not exceed 5% of the system air flow rate
CONTENTS
 Principles of Air-Conditioning.

 Psychometric Chart

 Refrigeration Cycle

 Vapor Compression cycle

 Vapor absorption cycle

 Air cycle

 Comfort cooling

 Cooling supply devices

 Air conditioning

• Application

• Types of AC units

• Central air-conditioning

• Window AC units

• HVAC

• Air distribution systems