Definition and Scope

• Air Conditioning refers to the treatment of air so as to

simultaneously control its temperature, moisture content,
cleanliness, odor and circulation, as required by
occupants, a process, or products in the space
• Applications of air conditioning may be divided into two
categories; industrial and comfort air-conditioning
• Industrial Air- Conditioning
– The main purpose is to provide favorable conditions so that the
required processes can be carried out and required products
can be produced
– Applications: Laboratories, Printing, Manufacturing of precision
parts, Textile industries, Pharmaceutical industries, Photographic
material, Farm animals, Computer rooms, Power plants,
Vehicular air- conditioning
 Definition and Scope
• Comfort- Air Conditioning
– Energy in food is converted into chemical energy for the
functioning of different organs and this energy is ultimately
rejected into the surrounding
– The internal organs require a temperature close to 37 C for their
efficient operation, and regulatory mechanisms of human body
maintain this temperature by rejecting appropriate amount of
heat
– Human beings do not feel comfortable if some extra effort is
required by the body to reject this energy
– The air temperature, humidity and velocity at which human body
does not have to take any extra action, is called comfort air
condition
– Applications: residences, offices, hospitals, shopping centers,
stores, large buildings, theatres, auditorium etc
 Psychrometry and Properties of Air
• Atmospheric air makes up the environment in almost
every type of air conditioning system. Hence a thorough
understanding of the properties of atmospheric air and
the ability to analyze various processes involving air is
fundamental to air conditioning design
• Atmospheric air is a mixture of many gases plus water
vapor and a number of pollutants
• Psychrometry is the study of the properties of mixtures
of air and water vapor
• A mixture of various gases that constitute air and water
vapor is known as moist air
Important Psychrometric Properties
• Dry bulb temperature (DBT) is the temperature of the
moist air as measured by a standard thermometer or
other temperature measuring instruments
• Wet Bulb Temperature (WBT) is the temperature
sensed by thermometer whose bulb is wrapped with a
water - soaked wick, in rapidly moving air.
• Absolute or Specific Humidity (ω) is the mass of water
vapor present in a unit mass of dry air
• Relative Humidity (Φ) is the ratio of the amount of
moisture the air holds to the amount of moisture the air
can hold at the same temperature
Important Psychrometric Properties
• Dew-point temperature: If unsaturated moist air is
cooled at constant pressure, then the temperature at
which the moisture in the air begins to condense is
known as dew-point temperature (DPT)of air
• Enthalpy of moist air is the sum of the enthalpy of the
dry air and the enthalpy of the water vapor
• Specific Volume is defined as the number of cubic
meters of moist air per kilogram of dry air
 Psychrometric Chart
Lines of Constant RH
Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning
 Human beings have an inherent weakness—they want to feel
comfortable.
 They want to live in an environment that is neither hot nor
cold, neither humid nor dry. However, comfort does not come
easily since the desires of the human body and the weather
usually are not quite compatible.
 Achieving comfort requires a constant struggle against the
factors that cause discomfort, such as high or low
temperatures and high or low humidity. As engineers, it is our
duty to help people feel comfortable.

Modern air-conditioning systems can heat, cool, humidify,

dehumidify, clean, and even deodorize the air–in other
words, condition the air to peoples’ desires.
Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning
 Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning
 The human body can be viewed as a heat engine whose energy
input is food. As with any other heat engine, the human body
generates waste heat that must be rejected to the environment if
the body is to continue operating.
 The rate of heat generation depends on the level of the activity.
For an average adult male, it is about 87 W when sleeping, 115
W when resting or doing office work, 230 W when bowling, and
440 W when doing heavy physical work.
 The corresponding numbers for an adult female are about 15
percent less. (This difference is due to the body size, not the
body temperature.
 The deep-body temperature of a healthy person is maintained
constant at about 37°C. A body will feel comfortable in
environments in which it can dissipate this waste heat
comfortably
Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning
 Heat transfer is proportional to the temperature difference.
Therefore in cold environments, a body loses more heat than
it normally generates, which results in a feeling of discomfort.
 The body tries to minimize the energy deficit by cutting down
the blood circulation near the skin (causing a pale look). This
lowers the skin temperature, which is about 34°C for an
average person, and thus the heat transfer rate.
 A low skin temperature causes discomfort. The hands, for
example, feel painfully cold when the skin temperature
reaches 10°C (50°F).
 We can also reduce the heat loss from the body either by
putting barriers (additional clothes, blankets, etc.) in the path
of heat or by increasing the rate of heat generation within the
body by exercising.
Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning
 In hot environments, we have the opposite problem—we do not
seem to dissipating enough heat from our bodies, and we feel
as if we are going to burst.
 We dress lightly to make it easier for heat to get away from our
bodies, and we reduce the level of activity to minimize the rate
of waste heat generation in the body.
 We also turn on the fan to continuously replace the warmer air
layer that forms around our bodies as a result of body heat by
the cooler air in other parts of the room.
 When doing light work or walking slowly, about half of the
rejected body heat is dissipated through perspiration as latent
heat while the other half is dissipated through convection and
radiation as sensible heat
Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning

 When resting or doing office work, most of the heat(about

70 percent) is dissipated in the form of sensible heat
whereas when doing heavy physical work, most of the heat
(about 60 percent) is dissipated in the form of latent heat.
The body helps out by perspiring or sweating more.
 As this sweat evaporates, it absorbs latent heat from the
body and cools it.
 Perspiration is not much help, if the relative humidity of the
environment is close to 100 percent.
 Prolonged sweating without any fluid intake causes
dehydration and reduced sweating, which may lead to a
rise in body temperature and a heat stroke
 Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning
 Another important factor that affects human comfort is heat transfer by
radiation between the body and the surrounding surfaces such as walls and
windows. The sun’s rays travel through space by radiation. You warm up in
front of a fire even if the air between you and the fire is quite cold. Like wise,
in a warm room you feel chilly if the ceiling or the wall surfaces are at a
considerably lower temperature. This is due to direct heat transfer between
your body and the surrounding surfaces by radiation. Radiant heaters are
commonly used for heating hard-to-heat places such as car repair shops.

 The comfort of the human body depends primarily on three factors: the (dry-
bulb) temperature, relative humidity, and air motion. The temperature of the
environment is the single most important index of comfort. Most people feel
comfortable when the environment temperature is between 22 and 27°C (72
and 80°F). The relative humidity also has a considerable effect on comfort
since it affects the amount of heat a body can dissipate through evaporation.
Relative humidity is a measure of air’s ability to absorb more moisture. High
relative humidity slows down heat rejection by evaporation, and low relative
humidity speeds it up. Most people prefer a relative humidity of 40 to 60
percent
 Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning
 Air motion also plays an important role in
human comfort.
 It removes the warm, moist air that builds up
around the body and replaces it with fresh air.
Therefore, air motion improves heat rejection by
both convection and evaporation.
 Air motion should be strong enough to remove
heat and moisture from the vicinity of the body,
but gentle enough to be unnoticed. Most people
feel comfortable at an airspeed of about 15
m/min.
 Very-high-speed air motion causes discomfort
instead of comfort.
 For example, an environment at 10°C (50°F) with 48 km/h winds feels
as cold as an environment at -7°C (20°F) with 3 km/h winds as a result
of the body-chilling effect of the air motion (the wind-chill factor).
 Other factors that affect comfort are air cleanliness, odor, noise, and
radiation effect
Human Comfort and Air- Conditioning
 Air Conditioning Processes
 Maintaining a living space or an industrial
facility at the desired temperature and
humidity requires some processes called
air-conditioning processes. These
processes include simple heating (raising
the temperature), simple cooling
(lowering the temperature), humidifying
(adding moisture), and dehumidifying
(removing moisture). Sometimes two or
more of these processes are needed to
two or more of these processes are
needed to bring the air to a desired
temperature and humidity level.
 Notice that simple heating and cooling processes appear as horizontal
lines on this chart since the moisture content of the air remains
constant (ϖ = constant) during these processes. Air is commonly
heated and humidified in winter and cooled and dehumidified in
summer. Notice how these processes appear on the psychrometric
chart
 Air Conditioning Processes
Sensible Heating
The air in most of the residential heating systems is heated by
circulating it through a duct that contains the tubing for the hot
gases or the electric resistance wire

Specific humidity of the air remains constant (ϖ = constant).

However, the relative humidity decreases because the
moisture capacity increases with temperature
 Air Conditioning Processes

Sensible Cooling
Cooling can be accomplished by
passing the air over some coils
through which a refrigerant or
chilled water flows.

A cooling process at constant

specific humidity is similar to the
heating process discussed above,
except the dry-bulb temperature
decreases and the relative
humidity increases during such a During simple cooling, specific
process humidity remains constant, but
relative humidity increases
 Air Conditioning Processes

Cooling with Dehumidification

 The specific humidity of air remains constant during a simple cooling
process, but its relative humidity increases.
 If the relative humidity reaches undesirably high levels, it may be
necessary to remove some moisture from the air, that is, to
dehumidify it.
 This requires cooling the air below its dew point temperature
 Air Conditioning Processes
Cooling with Dehumidification
 Hot, moist air enters the cooling section at state 1. As it passes
through the cooling coils, its temperature decreases and its relative
humidity increases at constant specific humidity.
 If the cooling section is sufficiently long, air reaches its dew point
(state x, saturated air). Further cooling of air results in the
condensation of part of the moisture in the air.
 Air remains saturated during the entire condensation process,
which follows a line of 100 percent relative humidity until the final
state (state 2) is reached.
 The water vapor that condenses out of the air during this process is
removed from the cooling section through a separate channel. The
condensate is usually assumed to leave the cooling section at T2
 Air Conditioning Processes

Cooling with Dehumidification

 Air Conditioning Processes

Cooling with Humidification

 If unsaturated air is passed through a spray of continuously
recirculated water, the specific humidity will increase while the
dry bulb temperature decreases. This is also called adiabatic
saturation or evaporative cooling
 Air Conditioning Processes

Heating with Humidification

Problems associated with the low relative humidity resulting

from simple heating can be eliminated by humidifying the
heated air
 Air Conditioning Processes
Heating with Humidification
 The location of state 3 depends on how the humidification is
accomplished.
 If steam is introduced in the humidification section, this will
result in humidification with additional heating (T3> T2)
 If humidification is accomplished by spraying water into the
airstream instead, part of the latent heat of vaporization
comes from the air, which results in the cooling of the heated
airstream (T3< T2)
Air should be heated to a higher temperature in the heating
section in this case to make up for the cooling effect during the
humidification process
 Air Conditioning Processes
Heating with Dehumidification
 If air is passed over a solid absorbent surface or through a
liquid absorbent spray simultaneously heating and
dehumidification is accomplished
 Dehumidification results from
adsorbent or absorbent having
lower water vapor pressure than
air
 Moisture is condensed out of the
air, and consequently the latent
heat of condensation is
liberated, causing sensible
heating of air
 Air Conditioning Processes
Adiabatic Mixing of Airstreams
Many air-conditioning applications require the mixing of two
airstreams. This is particularly true for large buildings, most
production and process plants, and hospitals, which require that the
conditioned air be mixed with a certain fraction of fresh outside air
before it is routed into the living space.
The mixing is accomplished by simply merging the two airstreams
 Air Conditioning Processes
 The heat transfer with the surroundings is usually small, and
thus the mixing processes can be assumed to be adiabatic.
Mixing processes normally involve no work interactions, and
the changes in kinetic and potential energies, if any, are
negligible.
 Thus we conclude that when two airstreams at two different states
(states1 and 2) are mixed adiabatically, the state of the mixture
(state 3) lies on the straight line connecting states 1 and 2 on the
psychrometric chart, and the ratio of the distances 2-3 and 3-1 is
equal to the ratio of mass flow rates
 The concave nature of the saturation curve and the conclusion
above lead to an interesting possibility. When states 1 and 2 are
located close to the saturation curve, the straight line connecting the
two states will cross the saturation curve, and state 3 may lie to the
left of the saturation curve. In this case, some water will inevitably
condense during the mixing process.
 Air Conditioning Systems
 An air – conditioning system is defined as an assembly of
different parts of the system used to produce a specified
condition of air within a required space or building
 Basic components
 Heating source that add heat to a fluid
 Cooling source that removes heat from a fluid
 A Distribution System to carry the fluid to the rooms to be
conditioned
 Equipment (pump or fan) for moving the fluid
 Devices (eg: radiator) for transferring heat between the fluid and the
room
 Types
 Direct expansion system
 All water system
 All air system
 Air water system
THE IDEAL VAPOR-COMPRESSION REFRIGERATION CYCLE
The vapor-compression refrigeration cycle is the ideal model for refrigeration systems.
Unlike the reversed Carnot cycle, the refrigerant is vaporized completely before it is
compressed and the turbine is replaced with a throttling device.

This is the
most widely
used cycle for
refrigerators,
A-C systems,
and heat
pumps.

Schematic and T-s diagram for the ideal

vapor-compression refrigeration cycle.
 Air Conditioning Systems
Direct Expansion System (DX
System)/Unitary Refrigerant
Based System
• The DX System works in such a
way that the evaporator is
located in the space to be
refrigerated. When the
refrigerant in the evaporator coil
expanded, it will cool the space
by absorbing the heat from it
• mini splits, window air
conditioner and packaged units
are examples of such system
 Air Conditioning Systems

Merits
• Low installation costs
• Ease to test, adjust and balance the system
• Minimum ceiling or wall space needed
• Low energy consumption
• Low maintenance costs
• Individual section can be operated without running the
entire system in the building
• Comfort under varying load conditions
 Air Conditioning Systems
• Load changes, zoning requirements, space available ,
and costs are some of the variables that determine which
type of system is to be used.
• Classifications
– Based on cooling/heating fluid that is used
• All air system
• All water (hydronic) system
• Air water system
– Unitary or Central System
– Single zone or multiple zone
• An air conditioning zone is a room or group of rooms in
which comfortable conditions can be maintained by a
single controlling device
 Air Conditioning Systems
All Water System
Water based systems use a single chiller plant or chiller plus boiler to
produce water which is then pumped around a building to, most
commonly, fan coil units; a fan blows air over a coil containing the water,
which then cools or heats the room air. The heat rejected from the room
to the water is then pumped back to the chiller unit where it is rejected
by a condenser to external air. The water is then chilled or heated again
and pumped back to the room units.
Merits
• Flexible for adoption for many
building module
• Does not require ventilation
air ducts, easy to install in
existing structure
 Air Conditioning Systems
All Water System
 Air Conditioning Systems
All Air System
• Air treatment plant is remotely located in the central place
and the conditioned air is sent through the ducts and
distributed into the air conditioned spaces through inlets
• Applied in the buildings requiring individual control of
conditions and having a multiplicity of zones such as office
buildings, schools, laboratories, hospitals, stores, hotels, and
ships
• Also used in many special applications where a need exists
for closed control of temperature and humidity
• Methods to cope up with load changes
– Volume control
– Reheat control
– Dual duct system
– Multizone system
Air Conditioning Systems
 Air Conditioning Systems

Single duct, Constant volume, Single zone systems

 Air Conditioning Systems

Single duct, Constant volume, Multiple zone systems

 Air Conditioning Systems

Single duct, Variable Air Volume (VAV) Systems

 Air Conditioning Systems

Dual Duct, Constant Volume Systems

 Air Conditioning Systems

Air – Water System

• The conditioned air is brought up to conditioned space by
duct from the central apparatus and the remaining
cooling or heating is done by the coil located in the
conditioned space
• The air from the central air conditioning equipment is
supplied at constant volume and is often referred to as
primary air to distinguish it from room air that is
recirculated over the room coil
• Water side consists of pump and piping to convey water
to heating/ cooling coil within each conditioned space
 Air Conditioning Systems

Air – Water System

Air Conditioning Systems
 Components of Air Conditioning
System
Air Handling Equipment
 Components of Air Conditioning
System
Air Handling Equipment
• A factory-made encased assembly consisting of a fan or fans
and other necessary equipment to perform one or more of the
functions of circulating, cleaning, heating, cooling, humidifying,
dehumidifying and mixing of air
• Components
– Housing
– Fan
– Cooling coils
– Filters
– Humidifiers
– Mixing box
 Air-Handling Components
1. FILTERS
• Filtration of return air.
• The basic function of filter cells is to prevent the accumulation of
dust on the internal surfaces of coils and panels, extending the
efficient lifetime of the air handling unit.
• Filtration also has a substantial impact on energy efficiency.
• Filters work by capturing particles through gravity or through
centrifugal collection, screening, adhesion, impingement, and/or
adsorption.
• Filter performance and longevity are improved with uniform airflow,
which is found upstream of the supply fan rather than downstream.
• Regular filter maintenance required

Dirt growth of impedes heat Reduce

accumulation bacteria and transfer effeciency
mold reduce airflow
2.MIXING CHAMBERS
•  Fresh air + Return air
• Fresh air is only required to supply the air change rate needed for
comfort.
• Minimize energy consumption by taking advantage of the
heating/cooling ability of the return air.
• Preheating or precooling of outside air possible using return air which
is closer to desired temperature.
• Damper (manually or servo-motor control) present that provide the
required air mixture rate needed for the system.
• In three way mixing chamber dampers control the ratio between the
return, outside, and exhaust air.
 
3. HEATING AND/OR COOLING ELEMENTS
• Heat exchanger coil(s) within the air handling
• Provide heating, cooling, or both to change the supply air
temperature, and humidity.
• Coils may be direct or indirect in relation to the medium
providing the heating or cooling effect.
 Direct heat exchangers include those for gas-fired fuel-burning
heaters or a refrigeration evaporator, placed directly in the air
stream. Electric resistance heaters and heat pumps can be used
as well.
 Indirect coils use hot water or steam for heating, and chilled
water for cooling.
• If dehumidification is required, then the cooling coil is employed
to over-cool so that the dew point is reached and condensation
occurs. A heater coil placed after the cooling coil re-heats the air
(re-heat coil) to the desired supply temperature. This has the
effect of reducing the relative humidity level of the supply air.
4. HUMIDIFIER
• In colder climates where continuous heating will make the air
drier, resulting in uncomfortable air quality.
• Thus humidification needed.
• Various types of humidification may be used:
 Evaporative: dry air blown over a reservoir will evaporate some of the
water. The rate of evaporation can be increased by spraying the water
onto baffles in the air stream.
 Vaporizer: steam or vapor from a boiler is blown directly into the air
stream.
 Spray mist: water is diffused either by a nozzle or other mechanical
means into fine droplets and carried by the air.
 Ultrasonic: A tray of fresh water in the airstream is excited by an
ultrasonic device forming a fog or water mist.
 Wetted medium: A fine fibrous medium in the airstream is kept moist
with fresh water from a header pipe with a series of small outlets. As
the air passes through the medium it entrains the water in fine droplets.
This type of humidifier can quickly clog if the primary air filtration is not
maintained in good order.
5. FANS
• Heart of a building’s air-handling system(create pressure
difference.)
• Distribute the conditioned (heated or cooled) air throughout the
building
• Can be of two types :
Centrifugal fans:
 Most prevalent type of fan used
in the HVAC industry today
 Cheaper than axial fans and
simpler in construction
 But they generally do not achieve
the same efficiency.
 Centrifugal fans consist of a
rotating wheel, or impeller,
mounted inside a round housing.
The impeller is driven by a motor,
which is usually connected via a
belt drive.
Axial fans:
 Consist of a cylindrical housing with the impeller mounted inside
along the axis of the housing.
 The impeller consists of blades mounted around a central hub
similar to an airplane propeller.
 The spinning blades force the air through the fan.
 Used for higher-pressure applications and are more efficient than
centrifugal fans.

But axial fans are often driven by a

motor that is directly coupled to the
impeller as a result, all heat due to
motor electrical losses is added to
the airstream and must be
removed by the cooling system.
6. HEAT RECOVERY DEVICE
•  A heat exchanger placed between the exhaust and supply air
streams. 
• It creates energy savings and increased capacity by transferring
heat from the exhaust air to the supply air before it is
conditioned bringing the enthalpy and temperature of fresh air to
interior space conditions. 

1. 2. 4.
7.CONTROLS
• To regulate every aspect of an air handler.
 Flow rate of air, supply air temperature, mixed air
temperature, humidity, air quality
• Temperature sensors, humidity sensors, actuators, motors,
and controllers.

8.VIBRATION ISOLATORS AND BALANCER

• Blowers in an air handler can create substantial vibration.
• Duct transmit noise and vibration to occupants of the room.
• To avoid this, vibration isolators are normally inserted into the
duct immediately before and after the air handler and often
also between the fan compartment and the rest of the AHU.
• Balancing is normally kept to counterweight the fan and
reduce the noise,
OPERATION OF AHU

Fig :AHU Process

 Components of Air Conditioning
System
Ducts
• Ducts are employed to supply conditioned air (from air
conditioning plant) to the outlets which further distribute
air in the room or occupied zone of space
• The ducts that supply air to the room/space are called
supply ducts and those which extract the air from the
conditioned space and send back to the air conditioning
plant are known as return ducts
• Usually made up of GI
sheets
• Circular, rectangular or
square in cross section
• Usually insulated
 Components of Air Conditioning
System
Grills and Registers
• A decorative covering for an outlet or intake is known as
Grill and a grill provided with damper is known as
Register
 Components of Air Conditioning
System
Damper
• A damper is a valve or plate that stops or regulates the
flow of air inside a duct
• A damper is used to cut off air to an unused room, or to
regulate it for room-by-room temperature and climate
control
• Operated or
regulated with the
help of thermostat
and actuator
Components of Air Conditioning
System