General Description

The air handling unit is an integrated piece of equipment consisting of fans, heating and cooling
coils, air-control dampers, filters and silencers. The purpose of this equipment is to collect and
mix outdoor air with that returning from the building space. The air mixture is then cooled or
heated, after which it is discharged into the building space through a duct system made up of
five-feet diameter pipes.

Click for detailed diagram

1. Collection and Mixing of Outdoor Air and Air from the Building
 2. Heating and Cooling System for the Air Handling Unit
1. Heating System
1. Steam Heated Coil
2. Baseboard Radiators
3. Reheat Coils
4. Solar Radiation and Heat Generated by the Equipments and the Building's
Occupants
2. Cooling System
1. Direct Evaporative Cooling
2. Indirect Cooling
3. Economiser or Free Cooling

Collection and Mixing of Outdoor Air and Air from the Building

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24hr 72 http://blt.itll.cu.int/

The centrifugal return fan pulls air from

occupied building space (72
Return.Air.Temperature) through the return
air ducts. The return fan has airfoil type
blades which are the most efficient among
all centrifugal fan blades. Some of this air is exhausted outside through the exhaust air damper,
while a small amount of it (variable) continues through the air handling unit to mix with air
drawn in from outdoors. This mixture of outside air and return air, before additional heating and
cooling, is called mixed air (71 Mixed.Air.Temperature).

The mixed air is filtered before entering the supply fan. The airfoil type centrifugal supply fan
pushes the air through the heating and cooling stages of the AHU. The air is then distributed
through a system of ductwork to all areas of the building.

Heating and Cooling System for the Air Handling Unit

(AHU)
Heating System

The main energy source for heating the ITLL is the main power plant on campus. Burning
natural gas to boil water, the plant provides steam to the ITLL building. The heating coil in the
AHU uses steam made by a heat exchanger in the ITLL mechanical room.

The ITLL building is heated in different ways: the steam heated coil in the main AHU, the
baseboard radiators, reheat coils in the ducts, solar radiation and building equipment and
occupants.
 a. Steam Heated Coil
b. Baseboard Radiators
c. Reheat Coils.
d. Solar Radiation and Heat Generated by Building Equipment and Occupants

The Steam Heated Coil in the Main Air Handling Unit (AHU)

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Once the cold season
is in full swing, steam is supplied to the large steam coil in the AHU. This coil heats the building
supply air leaving the AHU, sending warm air to all of the rooms, largely eliminating the need
for the reheat coils. This coil uses a tube-in-tube arrangement to prevent freezing in case the
steam valve is off and cold outside air is passing through. The coil consists of a copper header
supplying steam to a copper tube which passes through a continuous aluminium fin for added
heat transfer surface area.
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Due to the high
temperature of steam relative to the air it is heating (approximately 180°F or 82.22°C) steam vs.
approximately 70°F or 21.11°C air), the steam coil only needs to be of the single-pass type to
accomplish the required heat transfer to the air. The coils are installed in a staggered
arrangement, allowing for easy removal and maintenance.

Baseboard Radiators

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Heating coils using
hot water add heat to individual rooms, as required. As outside temperatures drop in the fall,
indoor temperatures also drop, beginning with rooms having exterior walls and windows. The
thermostats in these rooms (e.g. Room 160) sense the drop in temperature and instruct the control
system to turn on the hot water to the baseboard radiators and heating coils in the air supply
ducts (reheat coils in the VAV boxes) supplying those rooms with heat. The primary function of
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the baseboard radiators is to prevent cold drafts from exterior walls and windows.
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Reheat Coils

In the early fall, before the cooling system has been shut down for the season, cool air is still
being supplied to the rooms. The reheat coils re-heat the air before it enters rooms which may
require heating. This way, other rooms in the building with high heat gain from equipment and
occupants can continue to be cooled. It may seem like a waste of energy to cool the air in the
AHU and then reheat it, but outside air from outside must be continuously supplied during
occupied hours to maintain acceptable air quality.

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Solar Radiation
and Heat Generated by Building Occupants
Solar gain through the large, south-facing windows also provides some heating. In Colorado's
relatively sunny climate, the winter solar heat gain outweighs the heat loss, making this an
energy-saving design. The windows are shaded and specially coated to prevent unwanted heat
gain in the summer.

Rooms with more people and equipment require less additional heat to keep the room warm.
Individual thermostats (e.g. Room 160) detect this temperature rise and reduce the heating to
such rooms.

Cooling System

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The ITLL building
has two stages of cooling in the main AHU: direct evaporative cooling and indirect cooling,
which operate in conjunction to provide cool supply air at the lowest energy cost. In addition,
economizer, or free cooling (see below), is used when conditions allow. All through the cold
season, the AHU supplies air of a constant temperature (66
Air.Handling.Unit.Discharge.Air.Temperature) to the whole building (about 55&3186;F or
12.77°C).

Although there is no local cooling for any of the rooms except the computer rooms, the variable
air volume (VAV) system allows different amounts of cooling in each zone (rooms or areas
sharing a single thermostat).

a. Direct Evaporative Cooling

b. Indirect Cooling
c. Economizer or Free Cooling

Direct Evaporative Cooling

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Because of the
generally low humidity (76 Outside.Air.Humidity.1) in Colorado, direct evaporative cooling is a
very economical way to cool air. As water evaporates into the air, the air temperature drops (heat
energy from the air is used to change the water from liquid to vapor) and the air is humidified.
Depending on how much cooling is required, from one to three stages of evaporative cooling
may be used. Because evaporative cooling increases the humidity of the air, this process requires
low outside air humidity and that humidified building air (77 Return.Air.Humidity) be
continuously exhausted.

Indirect Cooling

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When the outside air
humidity (76 Outside.Air.Humidity.1) is too high to allow direct evaporative cooling, the indirect
cooling stage is automatically activated. This stage consists of an outdoor cooling tower (fluid
cooler FC-1) which provides cold glycol solution to a cooling coil (a tube with fins attached) in
the AHU. This coil has copper headers and tubes passing through a continuous aluminium fin for
added heat transfer area. Because the water-glycol solution passing through the cooling coil is
not considerably colder than the air it is cooling (approximately 50&3186;F or 10°C) solution vs.
approximately 70°F or 21.11°C) air), the tubes in the cooling coil must make several passes
(about 6) to accomplish the required heat transfer from the air. The coils are installed in a
staggered arrangement, allowing for easy removal and maintenance.

A drip pan piped to drain below the indirect cooling coil carries away any moisture which may
collect on the coil when the air is dehumidified. The fluid cooler also requires low outside air
humidity to function, since it cools the glycol solution through evaporation of water on the
outside of its cooling coil. Because of this, these systems are not used in climates where high
humidity conditions occur.

Economizer or Free Cooling

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During certain times
of the year, the interior of the building requires cooling even though the outside air temperature
(99 Outside.Air.Temperature.1) is relatively low (less than 55.4°F or 13°C).
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In this case, both the
outside and exhaust air dampers are fully opened (80 Exhaust.Damper) and the building is
cooled for "free." Since the fan power required (100 Supply.Fan.Watts) to move the air is the
only energy cost, this is truly an economical way to cool the building. This 100% ventilation is
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equivalent to opening all the windows.
24hr 100

Operations
The main air handler unit serving the ITLL building is of the variable air volume (VAV) type.
This means that as the overall building airflow requirements increase or decrease, the main fans
in the air handler speed up and slow down, to provide only as much air as is required.

Due in part to special variable speed motor controllers used to control the fan speeds, the initial
costs of installing a VAV system are somewhat higher than a traditional constant volume system.
However, the money saved when these big fans are running below maximum speed quickly pays
off.

The pre-programmed Direct Digital Control (DDC) system operates the equipment differently
during occupied and unoccupied periods. This is another energy-saving strategy which allows
the air conditioning equipment to "rest" during periods when the building is unoccupied.

Many sensors installed in the air handler give the DDC system the information it needs to control
the fans, dampers, etc.
 a. System Operation during Occupied Periods
b. System Operation during Unoccupied Periods
c. General System Operation during All Modes

System Operation During Occupied Periods

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The (adjustable) discharge air temperature setpoint is reset based on the outside air temperature
(99 Outside.Air.Temperature.1) (OAT) according to the following schedule:

For an OAT of 55°F (12.77°C), the discharge air temperature is 55°F (12.77°C).

For an OAT of 20°F (-6.66°C), the discharge air temperature is 65°F (18.33°C).

Supply Fan

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The supply fan speed
is controlled to maintain 1.00 in. WG (inches of water gage) static pressure (103
Duct.Static.Pressure) in the supply duct.

Return Fan

109 24hr 0x002 no plot 97

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0x002 24hr 96
Whenever the supply fan is running, the return fan
also operates (113 Return.Fan.Status.2) and its speed (86 Return.Air.Flow.Rate) is controlled to
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maintain 0.10 in. static pressure (109 Return.Static) in the return air plenum.
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Exhaust Air Damper

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The damper position
(80 Exhaust.Damper) is adjusted to maintain a static pressure (102 Building.Static.Pressure) of
0.05 in WG in the occupied building space. This helps to minimize infiltration into the building.
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Outside Air Dampers

 plot no 0x002 24hr 85
Based on a signal
from the outside air flow sensor, the DDC system controls the outside air and return air dampers
to maintain a minimum outside air flow (85 Outside.Air.Flow.Rate) of 8700 cfm (cubic feet per
minute). If too little outside air is mixed with the return air, the indoor air quality can become
unacceptable. The minimum air flow rate prevents this from happening.

Outside Air Economizer

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An additional energy
saving feature of the AHU uses outside air, instead of a cooled mixture of outside air and return
air, to cool the building. This is called an "economizer cycle," or "free cooling" and would
operate, for example, when the building requires cooling while the (99
Outside.Air.Temperature.1) is below 55°F (12.77°C). This allows the cooling and heating coils
to be turned off, while the fans pull in outside air.
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When the outside air
economizer is being used, the outside and return air dampers operate on their own control loop to
maintain the discharge air temperature (66 Air.Handling.Unit.Discharge.Air.Temperature).
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That is, the dampers
are opened or closed in the proper ratio to provide a mixed air temperature (71
Mixed.Air.Temperature) sufficient to cool the building and to provide acceptable indoor air
quality; no cooling is supplied by the coil in the AHU.

It is virtually impossible to have a situation that when the building requires cooling on a hot day,
the economizer heating activates; this is not, therefore, part of the control system programming.

Steam Heating Coil

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The valve status
controlling the steam supply to the heating coil is automatically set to maintain the heating coil
discharge air temperature setpoint. The heating coil discharge air temperature is reset through a
cascade action based on the AHU discharge air temperature setpoint. That is, actions are taken
one at a time to maintain the discharge temperature, instead of simultaneously. For example, the
return air damper might first be opened.
plot no 0x002 24hr 66
If bringing in more
warm air from within the building and mixing it with outside air is not enough to raise the AHU
discharge air temperature (66 Air.Handling.Unit.Discharge.Air.Temperature), then the steam
valve is opened more.

Indirect Cooling Coil

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For outside air
temperatures above 55°F (12.77°C), the water pump continuously circulates chilled glycol
solution through the cooling coil, while the DDC system controls the three-way (adjustable
bypass) valve to maintain the required cooling coil discharge air temperature (66
Air.Handling.Unit.Discharge.Air.Temperature). If this temperature drops below 50°F(10°C), the
bypass valve is opened to prevent further cooling and potential freezing of the cooling coils.

Direct Evaporative Cooling Section

This section consists of a two honeycomb type porous pads (4 in. and 8 in. thick) over which
water is sprayed by the two sump pumps. When air is blown through the holes, some of the water
evaporates and cools the air stream in the same way sweating cools the body on a breezy day.

Sump Schedule

If the outside air temperature drops below 40°F (4.44°C), the water sump is drained; it is filled
when the outside air temperature rises above 55°F (12.77°C), and the evaporative cooler is
needed to meet the cooling requirements. The sump is drained on Sunday mornings, if it has not
been drained for the previous 4 days, while a daily 60-minute pad dry-out period runs from 5
a.m. to 6 a.m. if the cooler has not been off for at least one hour in the last 24 hours.

Sump Pumps

The sump pumps cycle in sequence (pump #1 to 4 in. pad, pump 2 to 8 in. pad, and both pumps
on) to maintain the AHU air discharge temperature setpoint; minimum on-off cycle timers
prevent the pumps from short-cycling. To allow the evaporative cooler discharge temperature to
stabilize, a 10-minute time delay between pump stages is used. The pumps only operate if the
outside air damper is completely open, the supply fan is still running and the sump has been
filled.

Humidity Control

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If the return air
relative humidity (77 Return.Air.Humidity) exceeds 65% for 30 minutes, the highest current
stage of sump pump operation is shut off until the relative humidity drops below 60%.

Outside Air Damper Control

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As the mixed air
temperature (71 Mixed.Air.Temperature) drops, the outside air damper is closed until the
fraction of outside air is at the minimum to maintain acceptable indoor air quality (typically a
20% fraction of outside air). If the mixed air temperature drops below 40°F (4.44°C), the outside
air damper is closed further (below its minimum opening) to prevent freezing of the AHU
components.

System Operation During Unoccupied Periods

Supply and Return Fans, Dampers and Valves

The fans are de-energized, the outside air and exhaust air dampers are closed and the steam coil
control valve is opened to the coil.

Baseboard Radiators

The radiation heating valves are controlled to maintain a temperature of 65°F (18.33°C) in each
zone. If this temperature drops below 63°F or 17.22°C (with a 5°F or 2.77°C deadband), the
AHU cycles on to maintain the zone temperature using supply air at a maximum temperature of
85°F (29.44°C).

General System Operation During All Modes

Freeze Protection

A thermostat stops the supply fan, starts the return fan, starts the condenser water pump, opens
the control valves to the heating coil and indirect cooling coil and closes the outside air damper if
it senses an outside air temperature below 40°F (4.44°C). Glycol solution is circulated in the
cooling coil during this time to prevent the solution from freezing in the coil.

Smoke Detectors

Smoke detectors located at the supply duct in the air handling unit act to stop the supply and
return fans and close the outside air, exhaust air and smoke dampers if smoke is detected. These
detectors are integrated with the fire alarm system.

Duct Pressure Control

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The duct static
pressure sensor controls the supply fan speed to maintain the duct static pressure setpoint. If
excess static pressure (103 Duct.Static.Pressure) is detected, the supply and return fans are shut
down by a duct high pressure limit switch.

Technical Specifications

Air Handler System - Exhaust Air

 Damper
Plan Symbol AHU-1
Submittal Ref. # 15855
Location I-09
Manufacturer Industrial Acoustics Company
Supplier Engineered 752-4411
Series CD-50
Size Width: 150 in, Ht: 36 in
Blade Type Airfoil shape, 3" width
Area Factor 0.11

Air Handler System - Heating and

Cooling Coil
Manufacturer Engineered Air Inc.
Supplier Engineered 752-4411
Model No. LM-48-C
Service Heating
Tube Material Copper
Outer Tube Size 5/8 in. outside dia.; .035 in. thick
Fin Material Aluminium
Fin Thickness 0.0065 in.
Number of Coils 4
STEAM COIL DATA: Following data is for 1 coil @
5400 ft elev.
Type Non-freeze
Size Width: 42 in, Height: 60 in
Number of Rows 1
Face Area 17.5 sq. ft
Design Air Volume 12075 cfm
Air Velocity 690 fpm
Air Friction 0.13 in H2O
Capacity 575629.74 Btu / hr
Entering Dry Bulb 56°F
Leaving Dry Bulb 100.14°F
Latent Heat 966.5 Btu / lb
Steam Flow 596 lb / hr
Steam Pressure 2 psig
Steam Temperature 218°F
Ent. T.D. 162°F (adjustable)
COOLING COIL DATA: Following data is for 1 coil
@ 5400 ft elev.
Service Cooling
Number of Coils 4
Type Ultrafin
Size 48 in x 72 in x 6 Rows / 12 FPI
Pass-Circuits-
12 - 16 - 0
Blank
Left Hand (looking in the direction
Return Side
of airflow)
Supply Side Left Hand
Total Capacity 265110 Btu / hr
Sensible Capacity 265110 Btu / hr
12075 cfm (actual air at coil
Air Flow
leaving side)
Air EDBT 95.00°F
Air EWBT 63.00°F
Air LDBT 69.79°F
Air LWBT 54.81°F
Moisture 0.00 lb / hr
Leaving Air
503 fpm
Velocity
FLUID 35% Ethelyne-glycol
Entering Temp. 68.00°F
Leaving Temp. 74.92°F
Water Flow 85.00 gpm
1. Water Velocity 5.80 ft / sec
2. Water Press.
29.97 ft. WC
Drop
3. Drain Pan Depth 6 in
 Air Handler System - Evaporative
Cooling Medium
Plan Symbol AHU-1
Submittal Ref. # 15855
Location I-09
Manufacturer Engineered Air
Supplier Engineered Air 752-4411
Free Face Size 156 in x 86 in
Face Velocity 518 ft / min
Evap. Cooling Efficiency 89 %
Water Flow to 4" Media 7.8 gpm (approx.)
Water Flow to 8" Media 15.6 gpm (approx.)

Air Handler System - Pleated Air

Prefilter
Plan Symbol AHU-1
Submittal Ref. # 15855
Location I-09
Manufacturer Engineered Air
Supplier Engineered Air 752-4411
Series LM
Size 156 in x 86 in

Air Handler System - Outside Air

Damper
Plan Symbol AHU-1
Submittal Ref. # 15855
Location I-09
Manufacturer Industrial Acoustics Company
Supplier Engineered Air 752-4411
Series CD-403
Size Width: 150-1/4 in, Ht: 36-1/4 in
Blade Type Airfoil shape, 3" width
Blade Action 35% Opposed Blade

Air Handler System - Return Air

Damper
Plan Symbol AHU-1
Submittal Ref. # 15855
Location I-09
Manufacturer Industrial Acoustics Company
Supplier Engineered Air 752-4411
Series CD-403
Size Width: 150-1/4 in, Ht, 24-1/4 in
Blade Type Airfoil shape, 3" width
Blade Action 8% Opposed Blade

Air Handler System - Return Fan

Plan Symbol AHU-1
Submittal Ref. # 15855
Location I-09
Manufacturer Greenheck
Supplier Engneered Air Inc. 752-4411
Model 54-PLN
Elevation 5400 ft
Airstream Temp 70°F
Startup Temp 70°F
Volume 40300 cfm
Static Pressure 3.270 in WC
Tip Speed 10297 ft / min
Output Velocity 2382 ft / min
Fan Speed 725 rpm
Fan Rotation CW (viewed from motor drive side)
Fan Power 30.3 Hp
Motor Power 40 Hp
Motor Voltage 460 V, 3 ph
Motor Speed 1725 rpm
Motor Efficiency 93.6 %

Air Handler System - Supply Fan

Plan Symbol AHU-1
Submittal Ref. # 15855
Location I-09
Manufacturer Greenheck
Supplier Engneered Air Inc. 752-4411
Model No. LM-48-C
Model 54-PLN
Elevation 5400 ft
Airstream Temp 70°F
Startup Temp 70°F
Volume 48300 cfm
Static Pressure 4.940 in WC
Tip Speed 12555 ft / min
Output Velocity 2855 ft / min
Fan Speed 884 rpm
Fan Rotation CW (viewed from motor drive side)
Fan Power 54.7 Hp
Motor Power 60 Hp
Motor Voltage 460 V, 3 ph
Motor Speed 1725 rpm
Motor Efficiency 93.6 %
Fan Coil Units

The Fan coil unit Compact option simulates a 4 pipe fan coil unit with hot water heating coil,
chilled water cooling coil, and an outside air mixer. The fan coil units are zone equipment units
which are assembled from other components. Fan coils contain an outdoor air mixer, a fan, a
simple heating coil and a cooling coil. The fan coil unit is connected to a hot water loop (demand
side) through its hot water coil and to a chilled water loop (demand side) through its cooling coil.
The unit is controlled to meet the zone (remaining) heating or cooling demand. If there is a
heating demand, the cooling coil is off and the hot water flow through the heating coil is throttled
to meet the demand. The hot water control node must be specified (same as the hot water coil
inlet node) as well as maximum and minimum possible hot water volumetric flow rates. If there
is a cooling demand from the zone, the hot water coil is off and the chilled water flow through
the cooling coil is throttled to meet the load.

You can model Fan coil unit systems with or without outside air. If you include Mechanical
ventilation with your Fan coil unit system then heating and cooling will only operate when the
Mechanical ventilation operation schedule is on.

If you do not want to include outside air in your system, you should uncheck the Mechanical
ventilation 'On' check box. In this case heating/cooling availability is determined entirely from
the heating/cooling operation schedules under the Heating and Cooling headers.

Unlike the Unitary multizone and CAV and VAV Compact HVAC types, Fan coil unit zone
systems take all their data from the zone level.
Note 1: Fan coil supply fans run continuously at full speed whenever the availability schedules are > 0 so
fan coil outside air flow can be 'fully on' or 'fully off' but cannot reduce to fractional values in between. You
may therefore get higher outside air delivery rates than with other systems if you are using Schedules and
your Mechanical ventilation operation schedule has fractional values.

Limitations

1. Fan coil units cannot be used in the same simulation as Unitary multizone Compact
HVAC type.
2. Outside air flow rate is either off, or on at a fixed flow rate depending on the value of the
Fan operation schedule..
3. Fan coil units cannot incorporate economisers and variable speed fans.

Technical EnergyPlus

EnergyPlus needs both the heating coil and cooling coil to be defined so even if heating or
cooling is not selected in the input, DesignBuilder will schedule the appropriate coil to be off to
mimic a 2-pipe system.