HVAC Systems III: Air-and-Water and All-Water Systems

Slide 1: HVAC Systems III

Welcome to the course HVAC Systems III: Air-and-Water and All-Water Systems.

Slide 2: ASHRAE
This course was produced with the support of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and
Air-Conditioning Engineers, or ASHRAE.

Slide 3: How to Use This Course

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Slide 4: Objectives
This course is the third in a series of three courses: HVAC Systems I-III. In earlier courses, you
learned the processes included in HVAC and examined various approaches to all air systems.

At the completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the functions of an air-and-water system
• Explain the functions of an all-water system

Slide 5: Introduction
HVAC systems may use different mediums to distribute heating and cooling effects. Some rely
entirely on air, while others may combine air and water, or use water only.

Slide 6: Air-and-Water Systems

Air-and-water systems are used primarily for perimeter building spaces with high sensible loads.
They are also used in buildings where close control of humidity is not a primary concern. These
systems work well in offices, hospitals, schools, and apartments.

Slide 7: How Air-and-Water Systems Work

In a typical air-and-water system, the primary air is often cooled by chilled water produced by a
chiller.

Cooling Coil:

In smaller systems, a direct expansion cooling coil may be used. Primary air is either all outdoor
air, or may be a mixture of outdoor air and a small percentage of air returned from the conditioned
space.

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Preheat Coil:

If outdoor temperatures are freezing, a pre-heater may be required at the air handler. Otherwise,
freezing air would pass over the cooling coil and may freeze water inside it, which would cause
pipes to burst.

Slide 8:Terminal Units

Terminal units are located in each room, supplied by a water system connected to a chiller and to
a boiler. Depending on the needs, hot or cold water is supplied to the terminal units.

In a fan-coil terminal unit, air is cooled or heated to a primary temperature and then moved by a
fan through the units, and is heated or cooled to its final temperature as required. A separate
heating coil is sometimes provided for dehumidification. Alternatively, radiant panels may be used
for heating.

Induction terminal units are similar but do not contain a fan. Induction units rely on air pressure
from the primary air system.

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Slide 9: Heating, Cooling, and Ventilation
In air-and-water systems, most of the heating or cooling is achieved by the water. The air system
is dealing only with ventilation needs, and therefore, there will be less airflow, and hence reduced
dilution of space contaminants. It’s therefore important for the central system filters to be of higher
efficiency than those typically used in all-air systems to compensate for this.

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Slide 10: Air-and-Water System Zones
In each zone, there may be a separate terminal unit with its own outdoor air intake.

Alternatively, the ceiling may contain an insulated space in which cooled and dehumidified
outdoor air is circulated. The zone terminal units would then draw some air from the corridor
plenum, mix it with return air from the room, further condition it, and then discharge the
conditioned mixture into the room.

Sometimes if the zone is large, the water terminal unit may be some distance away, and air will
be conveyed to supplemental room supply terminals through ductwork.

Slide 11: Controls

Click the glowing markers to learn more about air-and-water system controls.

Hot outdoor air temperature:

The controls in air-and-water systems are usually arranged so that when cooling is needed, such
as during the summer months, primary air is supplied at less than room temperature, and
chilled water is supplied to the terminal units.

Transitional outdoor air temperature:

In transitional months such as spring and autumn, the primary air is heated to room temperature
and chilled water is still circulated through the terminal units. This allows for compromises at
times when temperature is changeable, and some of the time heating may be required,
sometimes cooling.

Cold outdoor air temperature:

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In cold weather, the primary air is switched to cold air and the chilled water is switched to hot
water. This switch from hot to cold water is called the system changeover.

Slide 12: Mechanical Cooling

In all-air systems, there are outdoor temperatures at which mechanical cooling is no longer
needed, usually around 10°C to 13°C or 50°F to 55°F. At that point, cooling requirements can be
met by using outdoor air only, which describes an economizer operation. At even lower
temperatures, all-air systems will need heating rather than cooling.

An air-and-water system involves considerably less airflow. This type of system cannot take
advantage of low outdoor air temperatures for cooling. All the cooling has to come from the water
system, and so these systems may require mechanical cooling well below an outdoor
temperature of 10°C or 50°F.

Slide 13: Heat Gain

Some large buildings have core areas, such as computer rooms, that don’t naturally lose heat.
Instead, they may gain heat. These areas may require cooling all year round. Instead of rejecting
heat from these areas to the atmosphere, this heat could be used as a heat source for a system
serving the perimeter of the building.

Slide 14: Piping Configurations

There are a variety of possible piping configurations.

Click each tab to learn more.

Two-Pipe Systems:

Two-pipe systems use one pipe to supply water, and one pipe to return it. Depending on the
season it will go to the boiler for re-heating or the chiller for re-cooling.

Two-pipe systems are frequently used and the least expensive to install. However, they are not
as good at handling wide variations in loads, changeover is cumbersome, and they have high
operating costs.

Some two pipe systems can be made a bit more flexible if the piping can be divided into zones.
Then, in effect, some parts of the building are connected to the heating while others are
connected to the cooling.

Three-Pipe Systems:

Three-pipe systems have a common return for both hot and cold water, but are rarely installed
because of their wasteful energy performance.

Four-Pipe Systems:

Four-pipe systems have one set of supply and return pipes for cold water and another set of
supply and return pipes for hot water.

©2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of their respective owners.
 • This can allow more flexibility.
• Efficiency is higher.
• Operating costs are lower.
• Operation is simpler.
• Changeover is not required.
• But installation costs are higher.

Considerations:

In any system, standby water pumps and heat exchangers should be considered if loss of heating
would be unacceptable.

Slide 15: Advantages and Disadvantages of Air-and-Water Systems

The advantages of air-and-water systems are:

• Water has a higher specific heat and density than air. Therefore, piping has a much
smaller cross-sectional area than ductwork of comparable capacity. Because the main
heating and cooling load is handled by the water part of the system, the overall duct
distribution requirements in an air-and-water system are smaller than an all-air system.
This saves building space.

• A return air system can be eliminated if the system is designed so that the primary air
supply is equal to the ventilation requirement or if the primary air supply balances the
exhaust.

• The air-handling system is smaller than an all-air system, yet positive ventilation is
ensured.

• Numerous zones can be individually controlled and their cooling and heating demands
satisfied independently and simultaneously.

• Space heating can be provided by operating only the water side of the system without
the air system, when appropriate, such as unoccupied hours.

• And, when all primary air is taken from outdoors, cross-contamination between rooms
can be reasonably controlled.

The disadvantages of air-and-water systems include:

• Changeover operation between seasons can be difficult and requires a knowledgeable

staff. Design for intermediate season operation is critical.

• Controls are more complex than all-air systems and humidity cannot be as tightly
controlled.

• And, induction and fan-coil terminal units require frequent in-space maintenance.

©2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of their respective owners.
Slide 16: All-Water Systems
Finally, you are going to learn about all-water systems.

All-water systems use water as the medium for providing heating and cooling throughout a
building. A boiler provides hot water or steam for heating, and a chiller provides cold water for
cooling. This is distributed via steam pressure or by pumps via a pipe system to terminal units in
the conditioned space.

Slide 17: Ventilation

All-water systems rely on convection from terminal units to provide heating or cooling. Ventilation
can be combined with those terminal units or managed separately.

Ventilation arrangements may include damper-controlled openings in the building wall, exhaust
fans, and opening windows.

The inherent pitfall is that the level of ventilation is not assured. Exhaust fans require makeup air
to be provided, and damper-controlled openings and windows may not be opened sufficiently.
These openings can interfere with heating and cooling loads, may not be adequately filtered, and
contribute to a noisy environment. If the ventilation supplies preconditioned air from a central
location, then the system becomes an air-water system, rather than an all-water system.

Slide 18: Advantages and Disadvantages of All-Water Systems

Click each tab to learn the advantages and disadvantages of all-water systems.

Advantages:

The major advantages of all-water systems include:

• Because water is a more efficient medium than air for heat transfer, less building space
is required for the distribution elements.
• They are well suited for retrofit applications because of this distribution efficiency.
• They don’t require space for an air handler.
• They can provide individual room control with little or no cross-contamination of air
between rooms.
• They are well suited for solar heating and heat recovery applications because they can
use low-temperature water for heating.
• And, they are normally the most efficient.

Disadvantages:

The disadvantages of all-water systems include:

• Their maintenance demands can be high.

• Maintenance must be performed on terminals in occupied spaces.
• Condensate drain pans and drain systems are required at terminals and must be
cleaned periodically.
• They do not provide or control ventilation centrally. Acceptable indoor air quality can be a
serious concern.
• And, they may produce high relative humidity in spaces during summer.

©2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of their respective owners.
Slide 19: Summary
In today’s course, you learned the following:

Air-and-water systems rely on chilled water for cooling, and on hot water or radiant panels for
heating. The water is supplied to induction or fan-coil units in the zone. Airflow is provided for
ventilation, but not for heating or cooling.

All-water systems use water as the heating and cooling medium, and do not provide any central
support for ventilation.

Slide 20: Thank You!

Thank you for participating in this course.

©2012 Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. All trademarks provided are the property of their respective owners.