HVAC Course

Dr. Eng. Ahmed Rezk

Assistant professor
Alexandria University

Introduction
Definition: it is the process of altering the air
properties (temperature, humidity, quality and
distribution) to more favorable conditions. Air
conditioning can refer to cooling, heating,
ventilation or disinfection, that modifies the
condition of air.
Atmospheric air always contains water vapor. The
content of water vapor in air also plays an
important role in comfort air-conditioning.
2

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Open discussion
Air
conditioners

Room AC

Evaporative
coolers

Central AC

DX systems

Hydronic
system

Package units

Split units

Using high
wall FCU

Using - AHU

Using - VAV

Using - AHU

Using C - C
FCU

Air properties
Psychrometry: The science which deals
with the study of the behavior of air and
water vapor mixture is known as
psychrometry. The properties of water
vapor and air mixture are known as
psychometric properties.
Dry air: The mixture of nitrogen and
oxygen neglecting the water vapor and
other gases is known as dry air.
4

Air properties
Moist air: It is a mixture of dry air and water vapor. The quantity of
water vapor present in air depends upon the temperature of the air.
Moisture: The water vapor present in the
air is known as moisture and its quantity in
air is an important factor in all airconditioning system.

Air properties
Dry bulb temperature: The temperature of air measured by
ordinary temperature thermometer is known as dry-bulb
temperature.
Wet bulb temperature: The temperature recorded by a
thermometer when its bulb is covered with wet cloth and is
exposed to a current of moving air is known as wet bulb
temperature.
Dew point temperature: it is the temperature at which the air
can no longer "hold" all of the water vapor which is mixed with it,
and some of the water vapor must condense into liquid water.
6

Air properties
Specific humidity (humidity ratio): It is the weight of water vapor present per kg
of dry air.
Relative humidity: It is defined as the ratio of actual weight of water vapor in a
given volume to the weight or water vapor contained in the same volume at the
same temperature when the air is saturated.
Sensible heat of air: The quantity of heat that can be measured by measuring the
dry bulb temperature of the air.
Total heat: The total heat of the humid air is the sum of the sensible heat of the
dry air and latent heat of water vapor associated with dry air.
7

Air properties

Comfort
Zone

Psychrometric processes

Humidification
Heating and humidification
Adiabatic humidification
Sensible heating

Sensible cooling

Adiabatic dehumidification
Cooling and dehumidification
Dehumidification
9

Psychrometric processes
Cooling and dehumidification: It can be achieved by using cooling coil
of surface temperature below dew point temperature. That to allow
water vapor in the air to be condensed.

Room Air
Supply Air

10

Psychrometric processes
Conditioned air production
The supply air can be reconditioned after
removing the space load (all return), it can be
mixed with fresh air to reduce the space air
contamination (mixed), or we can use totally fresh
air in special requirements (all fresh).

11

Outside Air

Room Air
Supply Air

Outside Air

Mixed Air
Room Air
Supply Air
12

Psychrometric processes (humid summer)

1

Cooling coil capacity [ CCC ]

S

Amount of condensate [ mw ]

Sensible heat factor [ SHF ]

Bypass factor [ BPF ]

13

Psychrometric processes
Sensible heating: the heating can be achieved by electrical heaters,
steam, hot water coil or heat pumps.
Sensible cooling: It can be achieved by cooling coil of surface
temperature higher than the dew point temperature (where no water
vapor condensation). The cooling coil could be DX coil or chilled water
coil.
14

Psychrometric processes
Humidification: it can be produced by supplying saturated steam at a
temperature equal to dry bulb temperature of the air.
Adiabatic dehumidification: It is a special process that can be done
DESCICANTS (ex, Silica gel).
Adiabatic cooling: It can be done by direct contact between water
(droplet in air washer or mist in ultrasonic mist maker) and air.
15

Psychrometric processes

16

Comfort requirements not only temperature and

humidity control.
control.
Minimum fresh air requirements.
Lighting density.
Air distribution and velocity.
Noise level (30-55 db).
Furniture and work space layout.

17

Cooling load calculation

The cooling load calculations have to be done very accurate, not to overestimate
or underestimate the required systems capacities. The following parameters are
required for cooling load calculations:

Building drawings including the geographical directions.

Rooms dimensions and applications.
Structure materials.
Windows and doors areas.
Rooms occupancy.
Lighting type and distribution.
Appliances available in the space
Infiltration sources.
18

Cooling load calculation

Methods of cooling load calculations
Using estimated load per surface area based on applications.
Accurate manual calculations.
Using Hourly Analysis Program (HAP).

Ton of refrigeration: A ton of refrigeration (commonly abbreviated as TR) is a

unit of power used to describe the heat-extraction capacity of refrigeration and
air conditioning equipment.
1 TR = 3.517 kW = 12,000 BTU/h

19

Cooling load calculation (Manually)

Load components
Transmission load through walls, celling and roof.
Solar heat gain.
Heat gain through windows, and doors.
Occupants heat gain (sensible, latent).
Appliances heat gain (sensible and latent).
Light heat gain.
Ventilation load (sensible and latent).
Infiltration load (sensible and latent).
20

Cooling load calculation (Manually)

Outside design conditions
You can get the information from the ASHRAE or using Weather Underground
website. ([Link]

Inside design conditions.

Inside dry bulb temperature and relative humidity are depend on the
application.

residential (24C / 50%)

Textile (24C / 65%)
Printing (27C / 45%)
Sweets (25C / 33%)
Leather (32C / 75%)
21

)Cooling load calculation (Manually

Transmission load through walls, celling, roof and doors.

 =  
1
1

1
=
+ +




10

22

6.7/

34

3.4/

23

Cooling load calculation (Manually)

K

0.72

Transmission load through walls,

celling and roof.
U= overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2k)
K= thermal conductivity (W/mk)
h= convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)

Material
(Common brick)

1.30

(Face brick)

1.72

(concrete)

1.10

(Tiles)

1.80

(Stone)

0.72

(Cement plaster)

0.80

(Gypsum plaster)

0.16

(Hard wood)

0.12

(Soft wood)

1.72

(Sand)

0.036

(Cork)

0.036

(Glass wool)

0.040

(Polystyrene)

0.023

(Polyurethane)

0.79

(Glass)

23

Cooling load calculation (Manually)

Solar heat gain
Solar heat gain is due to solar radiation.
Part of the solar radiation will be absorbed and the other will be reflected.

 =  



=


0.7 0.55

0.5 0.4

0.5 0.3

0.65

0.9

0.9 0.8

I= max solar radiation intensity based on wall direction (tabulated)

= surface solar radiation absorptivity.
24

Cooling load calculation (Manually)

Heat transmission through glasses
Glass Load Factor (GLF) method.

 =   !" #$%#
GLF based on window type and direction (ASHRAE)

25

Cooling load calculation (Manually)

Heat transmission through glasses
Normal method.

 = &'   
For shade coefficient (SC) and Ug (ASHRAE)

26

)Cooling load calculation (Manually

Occupants heat gain: Heat gain due to people activities.

(, = *+
/+

W
W
W

66

31

97

72

45

117

73

59

132

73

59

132

73

73

146

81

81

162

81

139

229

110

183

293

88

204

292

170

255

425

170

255

425

27

(,- = *+
-/+

)Cooling load calculation (Manually

) Lighting load (sensible only

 . = /0  0% 102 3""$ $%#

28

60

45

40

20

17

15

)Cooling load calculation (Manually

) Appliances heat gain (sensible and latent

150

515

220

930

525

290

1050

700

350

2190

2190

875

200

0.60

375 750

0.70

1 4

0.80

15

0.85

15

0.88

29

For equipment with electric motor.

4 54 = 67 8"0"$ 9"%$

)Cooling load calculation (Manually

)(m2

) Ventilation load (sensible and latent

.
; 
:4, = 8

.
; 
:4,4 54 = 8
 
.
; 
:4,4 = 8


)(L/S/m2

)(

1.4

1.5

1.8

2.8

3.7

4.6
6.7

5
7

8.3

10

11

30

Air flow rate

Air change method
Floor area method
Person requirements method

)Cooling load calculation (Manually

Ventilation rate L/s/person

31

9.5
7.5

12

15

2.5

3.5

3.5

12

14

12

14

14

24

12

7.5

12.5

7.5

10

3.5

2.5

)Cooling load calculation (Manually

Infiltration load

.
; 
=, = 8

.
; 
=,4 54 = 8
 
.
; 
=,4 = 8

) Infiltration rate through cracks (L/s/m

)(m/s
5
2

0.19

10

0.70

2.87

0.16

0.82

15

:
32

1.4

2.8

1.4

5.7

)Cooling load calculation (Manually

) Infiltration rate based on application (ACH
)(

1.8 1.2

0.9 0.6

1.2

0.6

1.2

0.6

0.75

0.5

1.5

0.75

33

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Air conditioning systems
Package
units

Roof top
ducted

Vertical
ducted

Split
units

Decorative Ducted
ductless Terminals

AHU

VRV

Decorative Ducted
FCU
ductless

Hydronic

AHU

Decorative
Ductless

Air control = VAV or CAV

34

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Package unit, Roof top ducted
Cooling capacity (420 TR)
Applications
Banks
Small administrative buildings

35

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Package unit, Vertical ducted
Cooling capacity (420 TR)
Applications
Banks
Small administrative buildings

36

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Package unit, decorative ductless
Cooling capacity (Up to 2 TR)
Residential applications
Easy to install
Easy maintenance
Noisy

37

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Split unit, Decorative ductless
Cooling capacity (Up to 2 TR)
Residential applications
Easy to install
Easy maintenance

38

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Decorative ductless split and package units
Less expensive to operate than central units.
Their efficiency is generally lower than that of central air conditioners.
Does not need special electrical current specifications.
Its maintenance cost is very low compared by central or mini central.
Split units is more preferable than window units in term of noise and
shape.
Capacities up to 2TR.
39

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Split unit, Ducted terminal (small capacity, mini central)
The outdoor metal cabinet contains the condenser and compressor,
and an indoor cabinet contains the evaporator
Capacity of (1.5-5 TR)
Its common name is (ceiling concealed ducted CCD)
Applications

Banks
Residential (villas)
Small administrative building
Retails
40

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Return air could be free
return or ducted return

41

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)

42

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Split unit, AHU
Used in special air requirement.

Clean rooms.
Special industrial applications.
Comfort applications of special requirement.
Cooling capacity depends on the manufacturer.

43

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
VRF system
Multi-split system turn on / off based on master controller.
VRF continually adjust the refrigerant flow to each indoor evaporator.

44

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
VRF system
The modern VRF technology uses an inverter-driven scroll compressor
and permits as many as 48 or more indoor units to operate from one
outdoor unit.
The inverter scroll compressors are capable of changing the speed to
follow the variations in the total cooling load as determined by the
suction gas pressure measured on the condensing unit.
45

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)

46

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)

47

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Chilled water system

48

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)
Chilled water system, Ducted FCU
Chilled water system, AHU
Chilled water system, Decorative ductless.

Air cooled chiller

Water cooled chiller

49

Air conditioning systems (HVAC

(HVAC)
AC)

50

Variable air volume (VAV) system

51

Variable air volume (VAV) system

52

Variable air volume (VAV) system

A traditional VAV system consists of
a VAV box with a damper to control
the volume of air delivered to a
space. When the space approaches
design conditions, the damper may
close to provide only 15% of the
design cfm.
53

Variable air volume (VAV) system

Fan Powered VAV: The addition of a fan to a VAV box improves air
movement at times when a space is near its design temperature and
supply air volumes are low
Advantages:
High efficient and not very high initial cost.
Independent thermostat base space control.
High grade of flexibility.

Disadvantages
VAV box needs space.
Inefficient in different space applications.
54

Notes
Air has to be conditioned in most cases for us to be comfortable.
Equipment includes cooling coil, heating device, device to add
humidity, and device to clean air.
Air systems use the same room air over and over again.
Fresh air enters the structure by infiltration or by mechanical means.
Different spaces require different air quantities.
Same structure may have several different cooling requirements.
55

Air distribution

56

Air outlets

Perforated diffuser
Jet diffuser

Round diffuser

2 way square diffuser

Round twist diffuser 3 way square diffuser

57

Air outlet selection

58

Air outlet distribution and distances

100
cfm

200
cfm

50
cfm

100 cfm

100 cfm

50 cfm

Living Room

100
cfm

200 cfm

300 cfm
59

Supply duct system

Distributes air to the terminal units, diffusers in the conditioned space
Duct systems
Plenum system
Extended plenum system
Reducing plenum system
Perimeter loop

60

Plenum system
Suited for a job where the room outlets are all close to the unit.
Supply plenum
Branch
ducts

Return duct

61

Extended plenum (trunk duct) system

Can be applied to a

50 cfm
100 cfm

200

cfm

100 cfm
100 cfm

long structure.
50 cfm

This system takes the

plenum closer to the
farthest point.
Low

noise

100 cfm

level

Living Room 9,000 btu

(cooling) 18,000 btu (heating)
300 cfm

200 cfm

applications.
62

Reducing plenum system

Reduces the trunk
duct size as branch
ducts are added
Has the advantage
of saving material
and keeping the
same pressure from
one end of the duct
system to the other

200 cfm

50 cfm

100 cfm

100 cfm

100 cfm

50 cfm

Living Room 9,000 btu

(cooling) 18,000 btu (heating)
300 cfm
100 cfm

200 cfm

63

Perimeter loop system

100
cfm

200
cfm

50
cfm

Living Room
9,000 btu (cooling)
18,000 btu (heating)
300 cfm

100 cfm

100 cfm
50 cfm

100
cfm

200 cfm

64

Perimeter loop system

Well suited for installation in a concrete floor in a colder climate
(heating applications).
Warm air is in the whole loop when the fan is running.
Keeps the slab at a more even temperature.
Provides the same pressure to all outlets.
65

Duct materials
Ductwork must meet local HVAC code.
Galvanized sheet metal was used exclusively.
Other ductwork materials.

Fiberglass duct-board

Pre-insulated Aluminum duct.

Fiberglass duct-board.
Spiral metal duct.
Flexible duct.
Spiral duct
Pre-insulated Aluminium duct

Flexible duct
66

Galvanized steel duct assembly

Metal duct can be round, square, or rectangular

Slip
Drive cleat
J O I N I N G S E C T I O N S O F G A LV A N I Z E D D U C T
WITH SLIPS AND DRIVES

67

Galvanized steel duct assembly

Ends of drives are

bent over to secure
J O I N I N G S E C T I O N S O F G A LV A N I Z E D D U C T
WITH SLIPS AND DRIVES

Slip

68

Other duct types

Fiberglass duct-board.
Flat sheet or round prefabricated cut
Duct is normally 1 thick with aluminum foil backing
All duct seams should be stapled and taped

Fiberglass duct-board

Spiral metal duct

Used more on large systems.
Comes in rolls of flat narrow metal.
Runs can be made at the job site.
Spiral duct
69

Combination duct system

In HVAC duct work you may find the following combinations
Metal trunk lines with round branch ducts.
Metal trunk lines with flexible branch ducts.
Ductboard trunk lines with round metal branch ducts.
Ductboard trunk lines with flexible branch ducts.
Round metal duct with round metal branch ducts.
Round metal trunk lines with flexible branch ducts.
70

Duct air movement

Branch ducts are fastened to the main trunk by a takeoff-fitting.
The takeoff encourages the air to enter the branch duct.
Main supply duct

Takeoff fitting

71

Balancing (volume) dampers

Used to balance the air in various parts of the system.
Dampers should be located as close as practical to the trunk line.
Handles allow the dampers to be turned at an angle to the airstream
to slow the air down.
Branch duct

Damper in the open position

Balancing damper in the

closed position

72

Duct insulation
About 10C temperature difference from the inside of the duct to the
outside of the duct is considered the maximum difference allowed.
Metal duct can be insulated on the outside and on the inside.
The insulation is joined by lapping it, stapling it, and taping it.

Internal insulated duct

External insulated duct

73

Central Return duct

Supply plenum

Return plenum

One central return grill in the common area

74

Individual return duct

S
R

75

Air duct design (consideration)

The following parameters are considered

Heat loss or gain through air duct.

Maximum allowable aspect ratio.
Air friction loss.
Used fittings.

Low velocity air duct system

Vair = 6 - 12 m/s
P = 0.8 1.5 Pa/m

High velocity air duct system

Vair = 12 - 30 m/s
P = 3 5 Pa/m
76

Air duct design (steps)

Building drawings.
Select air duct system (plenum, extended plenum, reduced plenum,
perimeter).
Select air outlet positions (supply and return).
Select air outlets types based on air volume and distribution.
Duct routing (the simplest and shortest).
Find duct dimensions.
Find the total pressure drop to select the proper fan section.
77

Friction chart for round duct

78

Convert from round duct to rectangular duct

79

Using ductduct-sizer software

Modify your
dimensions

Step-1

Step-2

Step-3

Step-4
80

Air fans
Provides the pressure difference to moves the air through the duct
system, dampers and outlets with a proper velocity.
Typically 400 CFMair/TR for DX coils and 350 CFMair/TR for chilled
water coils.
Duct system pressures.
Static pressure.
Velocity pressure.
Total pressure = static pressure + Velocity pressure.
81

Air fans
Air fans
Propeller

Centrifugal

fans

fans

82

Air fans
Air fans
Propeller

Centrifugal

fans

fans

Used in exhaust air system.

Will handle large volumes of air at
low pressure differentials.
Makes noise and is used where noise
is not a factor.

Desirable for ductwork.

Builds more pressure from the inlet
to the outlet.
Very quiet when properly applied.
Can be used in very large highpressure systems.
83

Air fans

DIRECT DRIVE MOTOR ASSEMBLY

84

Air fans
BLOWER

MOTOR

BOTH THE DRIVE AND

DRIVEN PULLEYS MUST
BE PERFECTLY ALIGNED

BeltBelt-driven Assembly

85

86