Masterclass: Fan coil Units Part 38

In last month's article we covered fan coil units in more detail following our simple introduction.
We now continue with this subject with the intention of providing more information on this
important approach to air conditioning. In this article we now look at the manufacturers' aspect of
supplying FCUs and the information he requires in order to supply equipment capable of
matching the contractors/consultants' specification.

Mike Creamer.
IT IS clear from the information supplied in our last three articles that although the chilled
water FCU is a relatively simple collection of components, should the selection, application
and build/supply process be flawed in any way, then the consequential problems can be many
and varied. When the sheer number of fan coil units on an installation is considered, a minor
problem will simply be magnified into hundreds of problems. This results in a real headache
to those responsible for putting defects right.

Some problems may only be solved by a compromise on future operation, performance and
efficiency. Clearly, the lesson here is to get it right, first time and every time.

From a manufacturer/supplier point of view, there are two key processes/documents that
provide the foundation for a successful project. Firstly, working in conjunction with the M&E
design consultant and/or contractor to complete a thorough review of requirements, ensuring
compliance with and making the appropriate selection of products relative to the tender
specification and supporting equipment schedule.

This would then be followed by the second process/document which takes the foregoing
information and translates it into a form that can be easily actioned and monitored by those
carrying out the process.
This procedure will process the order to the satisfaction of all concerned. This approach
provides all the information required to conceiving, manufacturing and delivering the correct
units at the right time.

Fig 1: Ceiling-mounted fan coil unit

 
 

It is very important that a full understanding and relationship aspect of the contract is
established as early as possible so that all concerned are fully aware of the end users
requirements and that the project is viewed and driven to closely or exactly match the service
expectations.

This more especially applies to the potential of site installation and operation restrictions
necessitating a compromise in the translation of theoretical design into practical application.

Fig 2: Wall-mounted fan coil unit

 

As part of this process there are a number of key aspects that form the basis of the whole
project:

· The room or space design condition and loadings depending on intended usage, equipment
and occupancy levels.

· Physical constraints on the type, size and amount of HVAC equipment that can be applied
in attempting to meet the loading requirements. If the equipment can not be installed in the
space to be treated can it be installed adjacent to it?
· Any specific restrictions or limitations with regard to the services that are required by, or
supplied from, the HVAC machine(s) to be installed in the specified area, such as water flow
rates, temperatures and pressure drop limits or air volume, flow rates, fan resistance and
temperatures, etc.

· Any operating constraints imposed relative to the space occupants such as operating noise
levels or restrictions on supply air temperatures.

The manufacturer for his part should be operating a thorough and detailed procedure from
sales enquiry and order processing through the production workshop to supply and delivery,
closely followed by prompt and effective after sales service.

In dealing with all the information gleaned in the first instance, he/she has to ensure that all
elements of the supply chain under his/her control fully understand and respond to enable the
production of the FCUs to be such that they meet the original specification in every possible
way.

Such information should detail all aspects of the project requirements, and be circulated in a
controlled manner to all departments. They, in turn, can then programme the key phases of
the order to cover any R&D or witness testing, drawing office updates (if required),
component parts procurement, production and assembly time, final testing and delivery to
site.

The engineering department will have the major part to play in this process in that the test
data generated by them will have to model and match both the fan and air flow characteristics
with the water coil heat exchanger configuration. Fan and motor suppliers are bringing more
options to the table particularly as materials technology improves, whilst the coil suppliers
are also able to manufacture coils with numerous options. These option include not only
dimensional variations but also flexibility in design and assembly by changing the number of
rows, tubes and fins, with the fins contributing thermal changes via differences in spacing,
style or material.

The following list of points is the result of a typical information distillation process that
would need to be conducted. This is intended to cover all possible option scenarios in order to
create the final piece(s) of terminal FCU units for use on site and would be relevant to one or
more of the manufacturer's departments:

· System order number including version of submission and phased delivery details (to ensure
that the deliveries of batches or phases are made in conjunction with site installation plans).

· Site name, name and address of contractor and site contact details (including any special
access requirements).

· Confirm whether the units to be supplied are to be waterside or airside control.

· Unit type, model and size with part no. to link to bills of materials and materials requisition
programme.

· Quantity of left- and right-hand orientated units.

· Which units are to be master, slave or stand alone in the controls set-up.

· Denote whether units are cooling, heating (LPHW/electric) or both.

· Air flow path and any specific requirements. This refers to both the return air and
supply/discharge requirements (plenum arrangement, spigot shape, size and quantity,
blanking caps etc). Also consider fan type and speed settings that may be specific to meet
airflow/external static pressure requirements. Fan type could either be the motor and fan deck
assemblies or the external rotor motor unit type. Their output can be set and trimmed using an
auto transformer for example.

· Any fresh air facility distributed locally from a central plant air handling unit.

· Return air filtration type (basic washable grille type, EU rated disposable or electrostatic
etc)

· Controls type and supply procedure, ie analogue/DDC, local/remote, factory supply and fit
or free issue. Consider also on/off fan speed select, remote sensor or aspirated tube,
relays etc. Liaison with the controls OEM is essential in order to cover these items
adequately.

· Wiring detail (incorporating the above controls) and diagram number. Details should
include whether or not there is a need for a fused switched spur, flying lead (standard or
special). Any group of speed control relays should be cascaded.

· Other special requirements - this is a catch-all section that really caters for the more
sophisticated or bespoke project equipment but is important that these items are not left to the
last minute or omitted as they are likely to be key to the overall end package being a success.
These could include, for example:

· Extended drip tray

· Condensate evacuation facilities
· BMS relay
· Vents
· Binder test points
· Valves/fittings
· Flexible hoses
· Air differential pressure switch
· Hall effect monitoring
· Thyristor and/or solid state relay control of electric heaters
· Special coil configuration
· Pipework modifications
· Special features linking the unit to other aspects such as room integrity/security

· 'As manufactured' G.A. Drawing Number and issue level.

· Limiting operational factors, ie air-off condition, temperature differential, coil pressure drop
and acoustic criteria.
A useful procedure to adopt as an aide memoire, perhaps only on the more complex projects,
is the use of basic line drawings of an installed unit as a formatted mind mapping exercise.
This ensures that those involved in the sales and contracts phase of the project have covered
all the options required by the specification or, more importantly, have highlighted the areas
of potential non-compliance.

Success in following the above process should secure a more than satisfactory end result.
However, failure to consider all or any of the above can lead to a number of problems,
particularly if the site installation and commissioning is not carried out in accordance with
recommended good practice guides.

Typically problems affecting system operation or performance that come to light once the
units are installed can set into one or more of three basic categories:

1. Air flow
2. Water flow
3. Electrical/control

Fig 3: FCU troubleshooting

 
 
 
 

As can be seen from the table , these also break down into further sub-sections.

Acoustic problems are generally, but not exclusively, caused by problems in 1(b) and 2(b).

These are but a few of the problems that can be experienced in the latter stages of a project.
However, if the key elements recommended above are carried out effectively and thoroughly,
coupled with good installation and proper commissioning, there is no reason why a system
should not give satisfactory comfort conditioning for many years, especially when supported
by ongoing care and maintenance.
Masterclass: Fan Coil Units Part 39
IN LAST month’s article we looked at the need to specify various elements of a fan coil unit
based system together with the precautions and considerations the specifier, contractor or
manufacturer must bear in mind if a successful installation is to be achieved. We now continue in
more detail with these important criteria in mind in our coverage of this increasingly popular and
important approach to comfort conditioning.

Airside control fan coil units

Airside control fan coil units have been available for many years offering an alternate control
method to the more traditional waterside control fan coil unit.

Although utilising this alternate method of controlling the units' cooling or heating output to
the space or zone to be conditioned, this type of unit is available in similar model types,
ranges and capacities as its waterside counterpart. These could include vertical or horizontal
orientated units and either basic chassis or cased models as required (the latter for vertical
units only). This also applies to the range of application variations and accessory options too.

In basic terms, the difference in control equipment is that the airside unit typically utilises an
actuator motor coupled to either a gear drive assembly or a linkage arrangement. These in
turn move damper equipment that in turn controls the path of the air to initiate heating or
cooling as opposed to the valves that are used on a waterside control machine.

The following stages describe and illustrate the cooling, bypass (ventilation only) and heating
operations of airside control more clearly (see fig 1):

Heating mode:

Airside control fan coil units - cooling damper closed, heating damper in the open/control
mode. This means the air being re-circulated is passing predominantly over either the heating
coil or through the bypass channel depending on the amount of heating required.

Bypass mode:

Airside control fan coil units - cooling damper closed, heating damper closed. All the air
being re-circulated is passing through the bypass channel and is not affected by the cooling or
heating coils at all.

Cooling mode:

Airside control fan coil units - cooling damper open/control mode, heating damper closed.
This means the air being re-circulated is passing over the cooling coil or through the bypass
channel depending on the amount of cooling required.

This is of course a very simplistic illustration. In point of fact, with the controls equipment
available in today's marketplace, the control of the air to the space is much more responsive
to the demands made. They are equally subtle in providing the appropriate air treatment by
virtue of the fact that the mode dampers modulate, to allow mixing to take place within the
unit, and thereby more closely match specific demand and supply.

Airside/waterside control fan coil units

The following stages describe and illustrate the cooling, bypass (ventilation only) and heating
operations of waterside control more clearly (see fig 2):

Fig 1 Heating Dampers

 
 
Heating mode:

Waterside - cooling valve in bypass mode, heating valve in the open/control mode thus
allowing low-pressure hot water to pass through the heating coil and affect heating.

Bypass mode:

Waterside - both cooling and heating valves in their bypass positions. Therefore neither coil
is in circulation.

Cooling mode:

Waterside - cooling valve in open/control mode thereby allowing chilled water to pass
through the cooling coil and affect cooling. Heating valve in bypass mode.

Comparison of advantages and disadvantages

When compared to its waterside counterpart, airside control fan coil equipment is claimed to
be more efficient. This is due to the airside control fan coil equipment being more effective in
its thermal control operation because the unit maintains the space condition by mixing
quantities of heated or cooled air with a proportion of re-circulated air. As stated earlier, the
controls can respond very quickly and accurately to changes in space temperature.

Waterside control units, on the other hand, are less responsive due to the fact that they rely on
the control-to-valve response time. The unit output not only being related to the temperature
of the space but also the condition and rate of the chilled water subsequently being supplied
(following valve initiation), thereby, possibly operating with a certain degree of lag. For
instance, when a waterside unit changes over from heating to cooling, the unit has to dissipate
all the heat remaining in the heating coil before it can commence the cooling operation (and
vice versa for the changeover from cooling to heating).

Airside control fan coil equipment is also potentially easier to install and commission. With
this type of system the water flow is allowed to circulate relatively unrestricted with the
airside mechanism, factory pre set, operating and modulating to maintain the space
temperature. This is contrary to the waterside system that requires proper and accurate
balancing in order for the 4-port valves to control the system correctly.

Airside control systems shouldn't suffer from a water-related problem. Waterside control
units utilise a valve to control the flow of water through a small clearance section within the
valve. This section can be prone to blockage or sticking, when the water system concerned
has not been thoroughly and frequently maintained, thereby rendering the system or unit out
of design parameters.

The airside control system has no requirement for 4-port valves. This means that the overall
system has a reduced resistance requirement, which in turn gives savings on the pump or
pumps due to a lower duty being necessary.

It is simple to use, service and maintain and can be manually set up should the electrically
operated controls fail.

Airside control systems have, of late, been the subject of various in-depth investigations and
reviews with regard to net performance. Prospective users of this type of system must ensure
that they have been soundly advised on the available capacity within the space to be
conditioned.
However, Airside control systems can, in some instances, be unsuitable in certain
applications due to physical space restrictions.

Unfortunately, because of the area required to occupy and operate the damper mechanism,
the unit can be larger than usual, particularly with the vertical style unit, and this may prohibit
its use for instance under a particular sill height.

 
Fig 2 Waterside Controls
 
 
 
Summary

Like all forms of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment used in today's building
services environment, the airside control fan coil unit has its place for applications within the
range of solutions for heating and cooling problems.

As can be seen from the above descriptive passages, this type of equipment can offer benefits
in both the initial capital cost of design, application, installation and the ongoing expenditure
relative to efficiencies in some areas.

However, it can lose out in not being able to fit some installation situations and the efficiency
can be called into question if the initial equipment design hasn't been 100% or the net output
hasn't been clearly stated and taken into consideration.