HVAC ASSIGNMENT

1. Role and purpose of HVAC system in everyday use.

The main purposes of a Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system are to help
maintain good indoor air quality through adequate ventilation with filtration and provide
thermal comfort. HVAC systems are among the largest energy consumers in schools. The choice
and design of the HVAC system can also affect many other high performance goals, including
water consumption (water cooled air conditioning equipment) and acoustics.

 HVAC System Keeps You from Chilling and Sweltering – Too much cold and very hot
temperature is not good for your body and health. During the cold weather season you
might be sick with cold or flu while summer season can cause you too much sweating
and if you already have a chronic disease, you are already prone to a dangerous attack
of heat stroke.
 HVAC System Helps You Stay Comfortable – The best way to fight oppressive indoor
temperature is to use an appropriate HVAC device to maintain the good feeling of total
relaxation and convenience in any part of your interior.
 HVAC System Improves Your Indoor Air Quality – Using HVAC unit maintains and cleans
the indoor air in your house. This wonderful HVAC provides an ideal air quality to ensure
you are breathing clean air every minute, every hour and every day.
 HVAC System Helps You to Save Energy – The various ways of using HVAC items is very
effective to save electricity or money. Because these special devices are very flexible to
produce heat and cool air and at the same time it cleanses the indoor air and eliminates
numerous indoor viruses. It is a good substitute for air conditioners that use more
electricity that can increase your electric bills.
 HVAC System Enhances Your Lifestyle – The HVAC system is well-equipped to make your
home activities stress free and to keep your body healthy and always protected from
any weather condition. Each HVAC unit is guaranteed to cater to the needs of the whole
member of your family.

2. Discuss the impact of space planning with respect to HVAC.

Space planning highly affects the building energy performance and HVAC, and energy-efficient
design is therefore often studied. Space layout design is one of the most important tasks in
architectural design, taking place around the stages of ‘scheme design’ and ‘design
development’ in the early design phase.
 Different layouts accommodate different occupant densities. For instance, an
open office has a higher occupant density than a cellular office. Space layouts also affect the
occupant behaviour, such as attending an activity or changing the location where the activity
happens. Different occupancy has different internal gains and also different requirements for
comfort purpose, such as the total amount of ventilation. Eventually, the different occupancy
affects the energy demand. Additionally, different functions have various levels of comfort
requirements. For instance, as shown in the Dutch standard of NEN 16798-1 [44], the minimum
operative temperature for space heating is 20 ◦C for sedentary activity like in offices, while the
value is 16 ◦C for standing-walking activity like in corridors.

 Daylighting
Different layouts import different levels of daylight into the building. This is proven by
the studies on the daylighting performance of the building with atriums and courtyards.
These studies show that by changing the shape, location and dimension of atriums or
courtyards, the daylighting performance of the whole building changes. Secondly, an
appropriate space layout combined with the glazing design boosts the application of
daylight within a building. For instance, the function with a higher lighting requirement
can be located near the south façade for more solar radiation, and the function with a
lower lighting requirement can be located in the middle or near the north façade to
make a concession for other spaces, in the Northern Hemisphere. Thirdly, the interior
partitions also affect the application of daylight, considering the visual comfort of
occupants

 Natural Ventilation
By combining with openings, an appropriate space layout distributes fresh air to the
rooms based on their demands. For instance, the function with higher occupancy can be
located near the windward façade and the function with a lower ventilation
requirement, like a storage or facility room, can be located near the leeward façade by
changing the shape of interior partitions for corridors, a higher mean flow velocity can
be obtained, increasing up to 33%, as well as a steadier airflow within the building.
Moreover, by changing the location and dimension of buffer spaces, such as a courtyard,
solar chimney, atrium and light-well, the natural ventilation within buildings changes
significantly.

 Control of the Heating, Cooling, Ventilation and Lighting System

Different space layouts are suitable for different types of control for space heating,
space cooling, ventilation and lighting systems. For instance, the individual control is
more suitable for a cellular office than an open office, as shown in [58,59]. The blind
control is more difficult in an open office than in a cellular office, as shown in [60].
 Different control types result in different energy performance. Moreover, the indicators
relevant to daylighting and natural ventilation can be used as indicator for controlling,
for instance, the availability of daylight for lighting system control [61] and air quality
and thermal comfort for ventilation system control.

3. Discuss the impact of HVAC on architecture design.

Early skyscraper design drew from classical architectural references to help shade, cool, and
circulate air. High ceilings, operable windows, and extensive perimeter exposure helped to
encourage ventilation and air flow. Today, Many designers and engineers only realise the
importance of HVAC design during the last moment. This is when a lot of cooling and heating
problems arises which are problematic as the coolness, airflow is already affected.

As air conditioning grew in popularity, architects stopped building for

these natural cooling effects and in many ways, architecture became less dramatic. The building
norms it set, meant that without natural ventilation, they were entirely dependent on air
conditioning. A modern building without it, quickly becomes stuffy and hot. As we move
towards the future however, with more passive house and office design, natural ventilation is
again being designed into structures to support air conditioning systems and minimise energy
usage and energy wastage. New buildings are being created that can breathe more naturally,
use louvres and overhangs to keep the sun and its heat at bay in the summer and harness the
warmth of the lower sun in the winter. They work in tandem with air conditioning and natural
ventilation systems, which when designed properly, deliver exceptional living and working
spaces. While clearly the architect must respond to many of the real estate considerations just
outlined, there are architectural concerns to which the architect must respond that require
input from other members of the design team but are primarily architectural in nature. These
certainly include aesthetic considerations, such as the location of louver areas on the exterior of
the building, which can modify the appearance of the building, or the inclusion of a large
atrium. The architect must also address a request to include a below-grade parking area, the
provision of a significant retail area on the lowest level of the building or the inclusion of rental
apartments or condominiums in the project. Any of these possibilities would raise a whole host
of HVAC requirements as well as alter the electrical, plumbing, and vertical transportation
system details for the project. They would affect the mechanical design and the very massing of
the structure as well as the resultant limitation on possible locations for mechanical and
electrical space.

4. Discuss the impact of HVAC in high rise buildings

Heating and cooling high rise buildings presents difficulties not encountered with structures
that have fewer stories. For example, as the building increases in height, the air temperature
outside the building decreases and the wind speed increases, which can impact the ambient
temperatures inside as well as operation of outdoor equipment. In addition to cutting energy
use and creating the healthiest indoor environment possible, a successful high-rise HVAC
system design should also do the following:

 Anticipate and minimize operating and maintenance costs.

 Permit, as much as possible, individual control over comfort conditions.
 Maximize flexibility for varying heat-load requirements; for rapid, inexpensive
reconfiguration of furniture and equipment, especially in corporate offices; and for
varying hours of operation among tenants or departments within a single facility.
 Control first costs by taking advantage of the full range of government- and utility-
sponsored programs to offset the costs of high-efficiency equipment and renewable
energy strategies.
 Anticipate—and try to minimize—payback times.
 Ensure reliability.
Some of the systems used are;

 PACKAGED UNITS
These were the high rise HVAC system of choice for older construction (at the time) and
are still used today especially in landmark buildings, due to restrictions in new holes
through the wall. These individual units are installed through an existing wall opening
and can only serve one or two rooms.

 INDIVIDUAL SPLIT SYSTEMS

As opposed to a large, central building system, this option consists of individual units for
each living space. These small, air-cooled units are installed with condensing units
 mounted under windows and on balconies of each apartment, and indoor fan coil units
somewhere within each living space.

 FOUR-PIPE WATER SYSTEMS.

This high rise HVAC option consists of a central piped water system with air-cooled
chillers for air conditioning and boilers for heat, which supply indoor fan coil units inside
each living space.

 CENTRAL WATER-COOLED SYSTEMS.

These have been the high rise HVAC systems of choice in the city’s largest buildings,
consisting of central cooling towers and boilers that serve water-sourced heat pump
units in each apartment. One of the biggest downsides of chilled water systems is the
presence of water pipes running though the wall, which can cause expensive damage in
the event of a water leak.

5. Discuss the impact of HVAC on evnronment.

HVAC system retrofits can affect local environmental concerns, principally indoor air quality
(IAQ), as well as global concerns such as ozone depletion and global warming. Ozone depletion,
one of today’s most talked-about global environmental concerns, has been traced in part to
HVAC systems that use chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) or hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC)
refrigerants. While there currently is no requirement to remove or modify this equipment,
increased costs of these refrigerants and regulations aimed at reducing emissions are
encouraging many managers to consider these changes. Older chillers can be retrofitted to
utilize replacement refrigerants that are more ozone friendly.
Air conditioning can negatively affect the environment in two major ways.

 It can use a refrigerant that harms the ozone layer.

 It uses electricity, which is often produced in environmentally harmful ways such as
burning fossil fuels.
Higher energy efficiency ratings of heating and cooling equipment are working to lower impact
on climate change. With more efficient utilization of heating and cooling fuel, less fuel is
consumed. This lowers direct carbon emissions that impact climate change, as well as carbon
emissions associated with the production of electricity and fossil fuels. With approximately 50
percent of a home or building’s energy consumption stemming from heating and cooling use,
energy conservation through heating and cooling system use is especially impactful not only for
energy savings, but for the environment and halting climate change. Refrigerant evolution is
also limiting HVAC systems’ impact on climate change. Renewable energy use is becoming more
widespread in heating and cooling products for end users. HVAC products that harness
renewable energy include:

 Geothermal Heat Pumps: While not a new technology, the use of geothermal HVAC is
growing across the country. These systems use the natural energy stored below ground
for indoor space heating and cooling.
 Ice-Powered Air Conditioning: New ice-powered cooling systems create home cooling
through the use of renewable thermal batteries. These systems create ice in off-peak
times, storing it for future cooling. Peak cooling electricity costs can be lowered an
astounding 95 percent for up to 6 hours a day.
 Solar HVAC: Solar energy is used to power heating and cooling systems in addition to
lighting systems and other appliances throughout the home.