HVAC Basics

The Basics of Heating,

Ventilation and Air
Conditioning
Presented by: Mark Kartchner, PE, LEED
Kartchner Engineering

Energy Use Office

Buildings

Mechanical System
Costs

First Cost - Water cooled chillers beat Air cooled chillers

at about 200 Tons (80,000 SF)
SEL HQ VAV-$10.5/SF, FP-$1.9/SF, Plumb-$3.4/SF 90,000
SF
CWC $12.5/SF WSHP & $3.5/SF Plumb 90,000 SF

HVAC Rules of Thumb

Air - 1 CFM/SF
Cooling (office) 300/400 SF/Ton
Cooling (office) 400 CFM/Ton
Heating 25-35 btuh/sf floor area
Outside Air 20 CFM/person
Toilet/Jan Closet 10 air changes/hour

HVAC Equipment/SF
Mechanical Room (Boilers/Chillers/Pumps/Misc) =

GU College Hall = 2000 SF/186,000 = 1.1%

Mechanical Room (Boilers/Pumps/Misc) =

RTF (tight) 300 SF/28,000 SF = 1.1%

Colbert Elementary 312 SF/ 40,000 SF = 0.8%

RTU (Gas/Electric/VAV) =

SEL Office (35x12 (2))/95,000 SF

Building Envelope

Load Calculations
Heating and Cooling
Accuracy important!
Design conditions
Building shell load
R, U value
Internal load
Ventilation load
Infiltration
Occupancy schedules

Heat Transfer
Conduction
Convection
Radiation
Resistance (R-Value) U-Value is the rate of
U=1/R
Q = U x A x T

heat flow in Btu/h

through a one ft2 area
when one side is 1oF
warmer

Actual R-Values

Window Types

Solar Heat Gain

Coefficient

The

amount of solar
heat energy allowed to
pass through a window
Example:

SHGC = 0.40
Allows 40% through and
turns 60% away

Window
Properties

Energy Calculations in the Spokane region show that

reflective, and tinted windows increase energy usage
on an annual basis.

Energy Saving Design

Methods
Air Side Economizers
Water Side Economizers
Variable Frequency Drives
Building Diversity
Part Load Performance
Thermal Storage
Heat/Energy Recovery

HVAC SYSTEMS
Heating, Ventilation and
Air Conditioning
Provides comfort for
people
Allows humans to exist
under adverse
conditions.

Basic Refrigeration
Cycle

System Types
Packaged Rooftop Unit
Split System
Air to Air Heat Pump
Water Source Heat Pump
Geothermal
VAV Variable Air Volume
Under Floor Air Distribution
(UFAD)
Air to Air
Hydronic (water)
PTAC / PTHP

Packaged Rooftop Units

(RTU)

Split System

Heat Pump (Air to

Air)

Operate on simple
refrigeration cycle
Reversing the
cycle provides
heating
Temperature
limitations
Air to air
Water source
Geothermal
Lake coupled

Water Source Heat Pump

Geothermal Heat Pump

Systems

(VAV) Variable Air

Volume

VAV Terminal Units

Variable volume:
Parallel

Constant
volume:
Series

Under Floor Air Distribution

(UFAD)
Advantages

Individual
Controllability
Re-Configurability
2 Extra LEED Points

Disadvantages

More Expensive ($8/SF

for raised floor)
Flexible for Change
2 Extra LEED Points

Inland Power &

Light

First UFAD in area

Hydronic systems
Four Pipe Fan Coil
VAV w/ HW Reheat

Hydronic System Major Equipment

Chillers
Boilers
Cooling Towers

Chilled Water System

Economizers

Air Side

Water Side

Economizers
Free cooling source: When available, use cool
outdoor air instead of mechanically cooled air.
Minimum
supply of
outside air

55
o
F

80
o
F
Normal Operation
Outside air dampers are
positioned to provide the
minimum outside air

55 oF and
up
85%
outside
air
85%
exhaust

80
o
F

Economizer Operation
Outside air dampers are
fully open. Maximum
outside air is provided
HVAC-29

Enthalpy Wheels

Air Distribution
Grilles, Registers

Many options
GU Russell Theatre
Return Grille

Return Plenum

Extra cost for plenum

rated cable is less
than cost of return
ductwork
No Combustables

Outside Air Louvers

Outside Air Louvers
provide an opening in a
building wall to push air
out, or pull air in.
Provide clean outdoor
air, avoid:

loading docks
exhaust vents
plumbing stacks
waste collection
stagnant water

Metal Ducts
Square Ductwork

Most common
Low height

Round Ductwork

Less Expensive
Easy to Install
Lower static pressure
Taller than Rectangular
Higher pressure
Less Sound

Oval Ductwork

Same advantages of round

Height similar to rectangular
More expensive than
rectangular

Fabric Ducts
Great for certain
applications

Gyms
Pools
Manufacturing
Spokane Science
Museum

Advantages

Great Diffusion
Easily Cleaned
Fun
Same cost as
metal

Saved $300,000 in
cost at high school.
Lowered chilled
water temp, & air
temperatures

Additional
Equipment
Heat Exchangers
Humidifiers
Silencers

Kitchen Hoods
Type 1: Hoods designed for grease exhaust
applications
Type 2: Hoods designed for heat and steam removal
and other non grease applications. (NFPA 96 does not
cover)
Where are Type 1 Commercial Hoods Required?

NFPA 96 Cooking equipment used in processes

producing smoke and grease-laden vapors shall be
equipped with
NPFA 96-A-1-1 intended to include residential cooking
equipment where used for purposes other than
residential family use

Type 1 Hood Clearances

18 inches to combustible material

3 inches to limited-combustible material
0 inches to noncombustible material

A restaurant with a commercial gas range is

represented by the resteaurant owner to be
used ony for the preparation of soups. What
type hood is required?
Type 1 hood is for collection and removal of
grease laden vapors,and smoke. Type II hood
is for removal of steam, odors, and vapors. It
would be hard pressed to find a restaurant
that only produces soups, with that
commercial range. Hoods: where required,
installed at or above all commercial-type deep
fat fryers, broilers, fry grills, steam-jacketed
kettles, hot-top ranges, ovens, barbeques,
rotisseries, dishwashing machines, and
similar equipment that produces comparable
amounts of steam, smoke, grease, or heat in
a food processing establishment. Food
processing establishment shall include any
building or portion used for the processing of
food. Soup is a liquid food made up of
simmering vegetables, seasonings, and often
meat or fish. It is the potential of the
equipment (Commercial gas range), rather
than the utilization, that must be evaluated.
So, what type of hood would be required for
that commercial gas range in a restaurant
would honestly be open for discussion. You
will probably have some input from your local
Fire Dept. through plan check as with the
County Health dept. Requirements. I know of
one City close to us that when a pizza parlor
opens, no matter what, they require a type 1
hood. Depending on the type of pizza oven,
we have allowed a type II.

Kitchen Hood Types

Exhaust Hood w/ Supply Air
Supplied by Space
Exhaust Hood w/Supply Air on
Outside of Hood
Exhaust Hood w/Supply Air on
Inside of Hood
Vapor Hoods

Simple hoods designed to

remove minimal heat, and
high vapor.

Comfort
Comfort is primary
intent of HVAC
systems.
Productivity
Building Durability
Health

Mold

ASHRAE Comfort Zone

Psychrometrics
Dry bulb temp.
Wet bulb temp.
Humidity
Dew point
Moisture content
Heating
Cooling
Humidify
De-Humidify

Historical Minimum Ventilation

Rates (cfm/person)
70
Smoking 62-89

60
50
40
Nightengale

Billings
1895

Flugge
1905

30 1865

Smoking 62-81

20
Tredgold
10
1836

Yaglou
1938

ASHRAE
62-73

ASHRAE 62-81

ASHRAE
62-89

Improved Ventilation
Effectiveness
Mechanically provide filtered
and dehumidified outdoor air
to the breathing space
Vary ventilation based on the
number of occupants and
process loads - changes in
occupancy can be measured
by CO2 sensors
Consider designs that separate
ventilation and space
conditioning
Utilize heat recovery systems
to reduce system size and
ventilation energy costs

Improved Ventilation
Effectiveness
Effective mixing of
ventilation air within
space
Net positive pressure in
the southeast; exhaust
from appropriate
spaces
Provide clean outdoor
air, avoid:

loading docks
exhaust vents
plumbing stacks
waste collection
stagnant water

Acoustics

Octave Band

Directivity Factor

LEED Products
LEED-NC New Construction & Major Renovations
LEED-EB Existing Buildings
LEED-CI Commercial Interiors
LEED-CS Core & Shell
LEED-H Houses
LEED-ND Neighborhood Developments
LEED-Schools: K-12 Schools
LEED-Retail: Retail facilities- In pilot stage
LEED-Healthcare: Healthcare facilities- In pilot
stage

LEED Checklist

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/summit/documents/LEED-Spataro.pdf

http://www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/summit/documents/LEEDSpataro.pdf

THANK YOU!

Additional Information /
Resources
ASHRAE The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

www.ashrae.org
Southface Energy Institute www.southface.org
Geothermal heat pump consortium www.geoexchange.org
www.buildingscience.com
www.energycodes.gov
HVAC Acoustics for Green Buildings Mike Filler. Ashrae technical committee for Sound and Vibration
McQuay Application Guide AG 31-010 HVAC Acoustic Fundamentals
Energy Efficiency in Buildings Dr. Sam C M Hui Department of Mechanical Engineering