Control Systems 197

and other contaminants. The first device is an air filter installed in

the compressor’s air intake to keep dirt and oil vapors from en-
tering and being passed through the compressor and condensing
into droplets in the air lines. As the air goes through the compres-
sor its pressure is increased, generally to 60 to 100 pounds per
square inch. Heat is also added to the air during the compression
phase. As the air cools, moisture in the air is released. By only
allowing the compressor to operate about 1/3 of the time the
maximum amount of cooling and condensation of water and oil
vapors will take place. Therefore, an automatic or manual drain is
installed in the receiver tank to remove any accumulated water,
oil, dirt or scale which has settled to the bottom of the tank. To
remove any moisture which may have been carried over, a refrig-
erated air dryer equipped with an automatic drain is placed
downstream of the receiver tank. In addition to the refrigerated
air dryer, a filter is installed in the main supply to collect any oil
vapor or particles of dirt to ensure that the lines are oil and dirt
free. Normally, a manual bypass is installed around the refriger-
ated air dryer and filter so they can be serviced without interrupt-
ing the system operation.
A pressure switch is installed on the compressor-tank assem-
bly to start and stop the compressor at predetermined set points.
For example, the switch may be set to start the compressor when
the pressure in the receiver tank falls to 60 psig and stop the
compressor when the pressure in the tank reaches 100 psig. Gen-
erally, a pressure reducing valve downstream of the refrigerated
air dryer and filter maintains the system pressure at 18 to 20 psig.
A high pressure gauge is installed in the main supply line before
the pressure reducing valve to indicate the pressure of the air
stored in the receiver tank. A low pressure gauge is installed in
the main supply line after the pressure reducing valve to show
the pressure of the main air.
In addition to the devices installed to start and stop the com-
pressor and to keep the system clean there must also be safety
devices to protect the equipment. Generally, there are two safety
relief valves installed in the system. A high pressure relief valve
198 HVAC Fundamentals

is installed on the receiver tank and a second relief valve is in-

stalled in the supply line downstream of the pressure reducing
valve. The pressure relief valve at the receiver tank protects the
tank from excessive pressures while the relief valve downstream
of the pressure reducing valve protects the system if the pressure
reducing valve fails. The relief valve in the supply line is normally
set for 30 psig since this is the maximum safe operating pressure
for most pneumatic devices.
The air lines coming from the compressor receiver tank as-
sembly and going to the controlling devices such as thermostats,
humidistats, etc., are called “mains.” The air lines leading from
controlling devices to the actuator of controlled devices such as
dampers or valves are called “branches.” Air lines are generally
made of either copper (older systems or special systems) or poly-
ethylene (plastic) tubing.

Types of Pneumatic Systems

Pneumatic systems are divided into single pressure and dual
pressure systems. A single pressure system requires only one
main air pressure. In a dual pressure system there are two differ-
ent applications, summer/winter or day/night, which require
two different main air pressures. The summer/winter system
provides for the seasonal requirements of either cooling or heat-
ing. In other words, depending on the season, either chilled water
or hot water is supplied to the water coil in the air handling unit.
The day/night system allows for setting and controlling space
temperature at different setpoints for the day and the night.
The configuration of a dual pressure system is the same as
the single pressure system described before up to the pressure
reducing valve. Since two different pressures are required, two
pressure reducing valves are needed. One pressure reducing
valve reduces pressures to about 13 to 16 psig and the other one
is set for 18 to 25 psig. The higher-pressure reducing valve sup-
plies air to the controlling device only when the device is on the
winter or night setting. The lower pressure is supplied to the
controller for summer or day operation. Downstream of the pres-