HVAC SYSTEMS

HEATING, VENTILATION AND AIR

CONDITIONING

JOHN B. HERTZ, ARCHITECT

NCARB CERTIFIED
 BASIC SYSTEMS
There are two basic systems that are distinguished
by the medium they use to cool and heat – water
based and air based:
• Water based – These systems are more efficient
because they circulated chilled water and hot
water which is a better medium than air.
However, they are typically used on mid-rise to
high-rise buildings much bigger than our project.
Typically these systems require a basement
mechanical room.
 BASIC SYSTEMS
• Air based – This system circulates chilled air
and hot air and requires large ducts to provide
fresh air and return stale air back to the HVAC
(heating, ventilation and air conditioning)
unit. This is the most traditional system and
best used for this project. This system requires
an independent hot water system for
consumption, usually located on the first floor.
 AIR BASED SYSTEMS
This system can be located in a mechanical room
or rooms on any floor or up on the roof. The
most economical is placing it on the roof as
there is no mechanical room.

Any location will require vertical chases, one for

the fresh air and one for the return air that
recirculates it back to the mechanical unit.
 SYSTEM COMPONENTS
AHU – Air Handling Unit, sometimes called a Package
Unit, because all the functions of HVAC are contained
in one “package.” The AHU is mounted on the
rooftop. Give the size of your project there can either
be one larger unit or several smaller units, depending
on the building configuration and the need to
created “zones” that have different HVAC demands.
For greater efficiency, the units we will use have a
“heat wheel,” technically called an Enthalpy Wheel
(energy recovery wheel) located inside the unit. This
can be seen in the video (look for Typical Heat Wheel
RTU segment). https://youtu.be/zltAGxk-qSU
 ROOFTOP AIR HANDLING UNIT – PACKAGE UNIT
To estimate your AC tonnage needs, multiply the number of
square feet times 25 to determine BTUs of cooling. Next, divide
the total BTUs by 12,000 BTUs/Ton to determine the tons of air
conditioning. The project requires about 60 tons of AC.

A single 60 ton unit is 17ft long x 7 ft wide x 6 ft high. It weighs

3,000 pounds
Two 30 ton units are each 8ft long x 6 ft wide x 8 ft high. Each
weighs 1,700 pounds
 SYSTEM COMPONENTS
• Ducts – The ducts are a system to supply fresh heated
or cooled air and return stale air back to the AHU.
These are two distinct ducts – one in, one out. This pair
of main vertical ducts run through a chase (like an
elevator shaft) and then branch out horizontally
between each floor under the floor beams, usually
concealed by a drop ceiling on a metal grid with 2 ft x 4
ft or 2 ft x 2 ft acoustic lay in tiles.

• The ductwork either passes below the beams or

through the beams (cellular beams).
AIR HANDLING UNIT WITH DUCTWORK
 EXAMPLE WITH ONE AHU
• The main component of the duct system is the vertical
supply and return ducts from the AHU on the roof. If
there is a single AHU, then each duct will be about 18
square feet in area. They usually run in the same shaft
opening. Assuming they are side by side and each on is
3 ft x 6 ft (18 sf), the shaft opening will be 6 ft x 6 ft
• The other component is the branch supply and return
ducts which run horizontally. They will each have a
total area of 38 sf. Assuming a three story building with
branch ducts running in two directions from the main
ducts, this means 6 branch supply ducts and 6 return
ducts.
• 30 sf of duct area÷ 6 = 5 sf each branch (one supply of
5 sf, one return of 5 sf). The resulting branch supply
and return ducts can each be 10 inches high x 6 feet
wide (5 sf).
 EXAMPLE WITH TWO AHUs
If the building has two AHUs then the approximate
duct sizes are:
• Vertical main ducts = 9 sf each (3 ft x 3 ft) with a
chase 3 ft x 6 ft
• Horizontal branch ducts for a 3 story building = 18
sf of duct area÷ 6 = 3 sf each, so each branch
duct will be 10 inches x 3.5 ft. This is for each of
the two AHUs.

Because these dimentions are approximately

proportional to the number of AHUs, divide the
calculations for one unit by the number of units to
determine the duct sizes.
• From the branch supply ducts there are
smaller individual ducts which feed into each
space. The return air duct usually has a single
register located in a hallway and doesn’t have
this smaller duct system.
• The main ducts and branch ducts are made of
rigid sheet metal and hung from the structural
system with metal straps. The smaller
individual ducts can be made from flexible
tubing (round) and are also hung from the
structural system.
 SYSTEM COMPONENTS
• Diffusers – These grilles in the ceiling of each
space allow the air to enter the room. Return air
grilles allow the stale air to return to the AHU.

• Hot Water Heater – Somewhere in the building

you will need a HWH. It should be in a
mechanical space located on an exterior wall of
the building for fresh air and venting as this unit
uses natural gas. Best location is on the first floor.