AIR CONDITIONING

AIR-CONDITIONING

Air conditioning is about removing Heat

HEAT

Sensible Heat Latent Heat

Raises the Latent heat means “Latent

temperature but not heat of Vaporisation”. It is
the moisture content that heat required to
of the substance transform a liquid to
vapour. Eg: Water

Everyday heat
 REFRIGIRATION CYCLE

Liquid refrigerant evaporates in a cooling coil [Evaporator] which

Is in contact with Air or Water in chilled water system.
 EQUIPMENT USED TO PRODUCE COOLING

The
Condenser

The The
Compressor Evaporator

Equipment's
 THE COMPRESSOR

• Under Atmospheric
pressure and temperature,
the refrigerant is in
Gaseous form, we must
transform gas to liquid
form by raising the
temperature.

• The equipment that

increases the pressure of
the gas by compressing is
called as compressor
 THE CONDENSER

During the compression the

refrigerant becomes how
because of:

• Work done on it
• Conversion of gas to
liquids releasing its latent
heat

This heat has to be removed

to enable the gas to condense
into a liquid easily. The
equipment that removes heat
is called the Condenser.
 THE EVAPORATOR [COOLING COIL]

Injected
Condenser Through Cooling Coil
Metering Device
[liquid refrigent] [capillary or expansion valve]
Low
Pressure

Sensible
Heat
Gas Liquid Evaporation
 AIR-CONDITIONING

Air Conditioning

Central AC Non-Central AC
System Products

Variable
Ductable Chilled water
Central Plants Refrigerant flow DX Systems Window Acs Split Acs
Packaged Acs systems
systems

Vapour
Air Cooled Floor mounted
compression Direct Fired Floor Mounted Wall Mounted Ceiling Mounted
Ducted Splits packaged Acs
units

Reciprocating
Air Cooled units, Air & Hot water fired Exposed
water cooled

Centrifugal units,
Steam fired
Water Cooled water cooled Concealed
single & 2 stage
only

Screw type units,

Semi-concealed
Air & water
[Cassette type]
cooled
 NON-DUCTED AC PRODUCTS

WINDOW AIRCONDITIONERS

• Machines mounted in
Windows

• The Compressor, Condenser –

fan, Condenser & Evaporator
are all enclosed in a single
cabinet

• Capacity 0.5 to 2 tons, adequate

for a room between 5 to 20
sq.m in size. Larger spaces may
be handled by using multiple
units of this type

• Economical & convenient to

install
WINDOW AIRCONDITIONERS [Cont…]

Features useful
& reduce
running costs

Filter – clean Energy efficient

Sleep mode
reminder compressor
 SPLIT AIRCONDITIONERS

Refrigeration Tube

Connected to

Indoor Unit
[Cooling Coil & Blower]

Outdoor Unit
[Compressor & Condenser]
 SPLIT AIRCONDITIONERS – INDOOR UNITS

FLOOR MOUNTED

Mounted on the floor & Air is thrown upwards

 SPLIT AIRCONDITIONERS – INDOOR UNITS [cont..]

HIGH WALL SPLITS

• Fixed to the wall, at a height

of about 2.5m from the floor

• Controlled generally by
corded or cordless remote
control unit

• Widely used for domestic &

commercial applications
 SPLIT AIRCONDITIONERS – INDOOR UNITS [cont..]

CEILING MOUNTED

EXPOSED CONCEALED SEMI-CONCEALED

• Fixed directly to • Mounted on the [CASETTE]
ceiling & are visible. ceiling but are • Mounted above false
designed to be ceiling in such a way
• Preferred in hidden. They are that outlet grill of the
commercial means generally concealed unit is flush with the
that do not have false by paneled box or bottom of the false
ceiling false ceiling ceiling
 DUCTABLE PACKED AIRCONDITIONERS

AIR - COOLED DUCTABLE SPLITS

• Located above false ceiling & connected to the ducting

• 3, 5, 7.5 & 8.3 on capacities are available

 DUCTABLE PACKED AIRCONDITIONERS [cont..]

FLOOR MOUNTED
• Shaped like cupboards & are typically placed at
small enclosure adjacent to the conditioned
area.

• 5 to 16.5 ton capacity

FLOOR MOUNTED – WATER COOLING

• Requires Water to cool the refrigerant in the
condenser

• Water is pumped through the shell & tube

condenser which is the part of the packaged
unit. This water is then sent into a “cooling
tower” outside the air-conditioned room
where the heat is dispatched to the
atmosphere

• This gives higher capacity and more energy

efficient due to lower operating pressure
 DUCTABLE PACKED AIRCONDITIONERS [cont..]

FLOOR MOUNTED – AIR COOLING

• Suitable for places where water is scarce or of hard quality or where

there is no space for installing a cooling tower.

• The heat is removed by way of an air-cooled condenser with a fan

blowing throw it. This condensing unit is mounted outside the
building on a sunshade or a terrace or a plant room
 CENTRAL PLANTS

• Central plants are usually large airconditioning plants assembled at the site. These
plants are used for big buildings such as hotels, theatres, hospitals, large office
complexes and factories.

• As the name implies the central plant is housed in the central location, usually in a
plant room. This plant room could be in a basement or adjacent to the building to
be airconditioned.

• Though the central plant

can look quite complex with
large compressors, pumps,
gauges, miles of piping,
ducts & cables, the basic
components are the same as
smaller parts.

• Central plan comprises of

compressors, condensers,
Air-handling units, water
chillers & cooling towers
 VARIABLE REFRIGERANT FLOW SYSTEMS

• High wall mounted + casette

indoor units + centralised cooling
solutions of central AC plant

• The central cooling plant is like

outdoor unit of split AC
products, operating as a
condensing unit.

• Indoor unit is driven by one

compressor and it is associated
refrigerant circuit, in a VRF
system where a single
compressor drives multiple
indoor units.
• The refrigerant flows through “Smart Valves” to different indoor units. The valves are
automatically controlled so as to allow only the necessary volume of refrigerant to
flow in through each indoor unit

• Villas, offices, hotels & classrooms are typical examples for applications that may use
VRF systems efficiently
 DIRECT EXPANSION [DX] SYSTEMS

Treated Air
Plant Room Pumped to various parts of
[Air is cooled & conditioned] the building

• The air returning from the

airconditioned area is sucked
through coil-fin arrangement
by a fan. Refrigerant inside the
coil picks up heat from this air
and evaporates. The cold air is
then pumped back to the
airconditioned space. In DX
plats the place where heat
iexchange takes place is known
as AIR HANDLING UNIT
{AHU}. This type of system
typically used for passing
through the structure to various
parts of the building to be
conditioned.
 CHILLED WATER SYSTEM

• Refrigerant and water interaction takes place

• The refrigerant in the shell [or tube] of a shell or tube heat exchanger,
evaporates by picking up the heat from the water which is in the other portion
of the heat exchanger.

• This chilled water is then circulated to various water – air heat exchangers
called fan coil/ air handling units.

• This system is also preferred where multiple zones are to be cooled like in a
hotel or a hospital.
CHILLED WATER SYSTEM
 DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Grills &
Diffusers –
Return air –
Disperse cold air
recycles the cool
into the air-
air
conditioning
room

Ducting – routes Fresh air intake

cool air across the dampers – adds
building fresh air
Distribution
systems
 DUCTING

• Galvanised sheet steel, aluminium sheet

or stainless steel sheets shaped into
rectangular boxes or round tubes.

• Distribute air from the Air Handling Unit

[AHU], uniformly throughout the
building

• Round flexible hose ducting us used as a

branch connector from the main duct to
the diffuser outlets

• Indifferently fabricated or erected ducting

can be a major reason for drop in
efficiency of an air-conditioning system
 DIFFUSERS & GRILLES

• A grille is a device for supplying or extracting air vertically without any deflection.
• A diffuser normally has profiled blades to direct the air at an angle as it leaves the
unit into the space.

Grilles and Diffusers can be manufactured in:

• Aluminium
• Mild steel
• Stainless steel
• Plastic

There are several types of grille and diffuser Less commonly used diffusers are as
to choose from, as follows; follows;

v Egg grate grille o Swirl diffuser

v Bar grille o Floor outlet diffuser
v Transfer grille o Jet diffuser
v Louvre bladed diffuser o Punkah diffuser
v Straight bladed diffuser o Barrel diffuser
v Linear slot diffuser o Perforated diffuser
o Valves
o Plain face diffuser
 DIFFUSERS & GRILLES

Egg Crate Grille

The Egg Crate Grille is probably one of the
simplest and cheapest grilles.
In some cases the plenum box above the grille is
visible from the room below.
If air is to be removed by an extract ventilation
system then a diffuser with profiled blades to
direct the air is not necessary and an egg grate
grille can be used.

Bar Grille
The blades of this type of grille are shaped as a
Bar grille
bar compared to a narrow blade.
The bar profile may be ‘T’ shaped to reduce ‘see
through’ visibility.

Some linear bar grilles have adjustable blades or

angled blades to reduce ‘see through’.
 DIFFUSERS & GRILLES
Transfer Grille
These are often used in doors and walls
to provide ventilation but stop the
spread of smoke and fire should it occur.
An intumescent fire damper is
incorporated in some Transfer grilles as
a means of isolation in the event of a fire.

Louvre Bladed Diffuser

These are used to supply air at ceiling
level.
The curved blades deflect air in one, two,
three or four directions depending on
where the diffuser is situated.
Diffusers may also be circular.
 DIFFUSERS & GRILLES

Straight Bladed Diffuser

These are cheaper than Louvre Bladed
Diffusers.
Some types have adjustable bladed as shown
below.

Linear Slot Diffuser

These are used for an alternative air distribution pattern and for aesthetic reasons.
Air can be delivered around the perimeter of a room as opposed to point sources
interposed in a ceiling space.
Linear slots can be used for return air as well as supply.
In many cases blanking plates are used to create ‘dummy’ slots so that a continuous
linear effect is created.
One to four slot widths are common depending on how much air is to be delivered.
 DIFFUSERS & GRILLES

Linear Slot Diffuser [cont…]

Some proprietary plenum
boxes are quite tall are
require a large ceiling void,
to overcome this a special
box can be manufactured to
fit the available space.
Some Slot Diffusers have an
adjustable air pattern so that
the air distribution can match
the room shape.
If sound insulation is
required in an air
conditioning system then a
lined plenum box may
provide sufficient sound
attenuation.
 DIFFUSERS & GRILLES

There are some specialised grilles and diffusers as

described below.

Swirl Diffuser
High turbulence occurs immediately within the
proximity of the diffuser, which allows high air
change rates to be successfully supplied into the
room.
With careful selection swirl diffusers can handle up
to 30 air changes per hour while still satisfying
relevant comfort criteria.

Floor Outlet Diffuser

There is an advantage in supplying cool air
conditioned air at low level.
This can be achieved by floor outlets.
Floor diffusers are also useful in areas with raised
floors so that ductwork can be accommodated
under the floor.
Another area for floor outlets is under large areas
of glass so that condensation and cold down
draughts are eliminated.
 DIFFUSERS & GRILLES

Jet Diffuser
Used in areas where the ceiling is high and
large air velocities are needed to reach the
occupied space.
The high volume and long throw of these
diffusers makes them suitable for large halls
Some jet diffusers can be reversible and
rotatable which allows the air jet to be adjusted
for both pattern and deflection.

Punkah Diffuser
Used to give flexible air direction, sometimes in
the back of seats so that occupants have control
over flow and direction of air.
 DIFFUSERS & GRILLES

Perforated Diffuser
Perforated diffusers are suitable for installation
in 600mm ceiling tiles.
The face plate may be pivoted down to gain
access.
The diffusers are constructed from aluminium
or stainless steel the flat face plates are
perforated, this means that they are easily
cleaned and are used in some kitchens.

Valves
Valves are used where the air flow needs to be
regulated or throttled and are suitable for
supply and exhaust applications.
 RETURN AIR

Brought back to AHU

Cooling the unit/packaged AC
Recycle Air
Air [using return air
ducts or Plenum]
 FRESH AIR INTAKE

- Volume of fresh air is sucked into the building near the AHU

- This air is usually drawn through DAMPER, which is adjusted to allow

the specified volume of air into the building.

- This keeps the AIR PRESSURE within the building a little higher than the
outside pressure. This prevents dusty, moist or any undesirable external
air from infiltrating into the building
UNITS