REFRIGERATION AND AIR CONDITIONING

Chapter 4
PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS OF AIR
CONDITIONING
 PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS OF AIR-
CONDITIONING
• Air-conditioning is the process of treating air of a
confined space to control simultaneously its
temperature, humidity, cleanliness, and distribution to
meet the comfort requirements of the occupants
(human beings or animals) or for the proper
performance of some industrial or scientific process.

• Full air-conditioning implies that the purity, movement,

temperature and relative humidity of the air be
controlled within the limits imposed by design
specifications.
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 Purpose of the HVAC System
HVAC systems perform three very important functions:
• Temperature control. The HVAC maintains the
temperature within the passenger compartment as
selected by the operator.
• Humidity control. The HVAC system reduces the
humidity within the passenger compartment.
• Air circulation control. The HVAC refreshes the air in
the vehicle’s interior.
 HVAC
HVAC – Heating, Ventilation, Air-conditioning

Temperature 68°F (20°C) and 75°F (25°C)

Humidity 30% relative humidity (RH) and 60% RH

Pressure A slightly positive pressure to reduce

outside air infiltration.

Ventilation Rooms typically have several

complete air changes per hour

Diagram of mechanical system on the blackboard

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COMFORT CONDITIONING
Comfort
Comfort can be defined as the state of mind that expresses
satisfaction with the thermal environment. It has been
established that it is a subjective terms; what is comfort to
a person may not be for another.

Reasons why Air-conditioning is necessary

a) Heat gains from sunlight and electric lighting, in
particular, may cause unpleasantly high temperatures in
rooms, unless windows are opened.
b) If windows are opened, then wind speeds will cause
excessive draughts.
c) The inner areas of deep buildings will not really benefit
at all from opened windows. 5
• Also, if windows are opened, noise and dirt enter and
are objectionable, becoming worse on the lower
floors of buildings, particularly in urban and industrial
areas.

VENTILATION
• Lack of adequate ventilation means a great
discomfort for the occupants
• Ventilation will provides a controlled and uniform
means of air distribution in place of the unsatisfactory
results obtained with opened windows.
• Mechanical ventilation without refrigeration is only a
partial solution.
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INDUSTRIAL AIR-CONDITIONING
The term industrial air-conditioning refers to the provision
of at least a partial measure of comfort for workers in
hostile environment but also to control air conditions so
that they are favourable to preservation and proper
functioning of some objects and material.

• Sport Heating: During cold weather it may be more

practical to warm a confined space where a worker is
located. Example is the use of an infrared heater; when
its surfaces are heated to a high temperature by means
of burner or by electricity, they radiate heat to the
affected areas.
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• Spot Cooling: It may be impractical to cool an entire mill,
but conditions may be kept tolerable for workers by
directing a stream of cool air on to occupied areas.
• Environmental Laboratories: The role of air conditioning
varies from one environmental laboratory to another. In
one a temperature of -40oC must be maintained to test
engines at low temperatures, and in another a high
temperature and humidity may be maintained to study the
behaviour of animal in tropical climates.
• Photographic Products: The photographic products
industry is a large user of air-conditioning and
refrigeration. Raw photographic material deteriorates
rapidly in high temperatures and humidity, and other
materials used in coating film require careful control of
temperature.
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• Precision Parts and Clean Room:
• For manufacturing of precision metal parts air-conditioning
performs three services keeping the temperatures uniform so
that the metal will not expand and contract, maintaining a
humidity so that rust is prevented, and filtering the air to
minimize dust.
• Computer Room:
• The air-conditioning system for computer rooms should
control the temperature, humidity, and cleanness of the air.
Some electronic components operate in a faulty manner if
they become too hot, and one means of preventing such
localized high temperature is in the range of 20 to 23oC. The
electronic components in the computer function favourably at
even lower temperatures, but this temperature is a
compromise with the lowest comfortable temperature for
occupants. 9
 Air-Conditioning Components
The most common components of truck air-
conditioning systems are:
1. Compressor 4. Evaporator
2. Condenser 5. Receiver-drier
3. Pressure regulating 6. Accumulator
devices:
4. Orifice tube
5. Thermostatic
expansion valve
 Compressor
• The compressor can be referred to as the
heart of the HVAC system.
• Compressors are bolted to the engine and
are belt-driven by either a V-belt or a
serpentine belt.
• The compressor is responsible for
compressing and transferring refrigerant
gas (Figures 1-3 and 1-4).
 Compressor (continued)

Figure 1-3. Swash plate compressor.

 Compressor (continued)

Figure 1-4. Two-piston type compressor.

 Compressor (continued)
• The air-conditioning system may be
divided into two different sides: the high-
pressure (discharge) side and the low-
pressure (suction) side.
• The compressor is the dividing point
between the suction and discharge sides
of the air-conditioning system.
Basic Refrigeration/AC
Liquid Line
Liquid Line Metering
Device

Condenser

Low Side
High Side

Evaporator

Compressor
 Compressor (continued)
• The suction side of the compressor draws in
refrigerant gas from the outlet of the
evaporator.
• Once refrigerant is drawn into the suction
side, it is compressed, which concentrates
the heat in the vapor, raising its temperature.
• The vapor leaving the compressor must be
hotter than the atmosphere so that, while it is
in the condenser, it will dissipate the heat that
it carries to the cooler ambient air.
 Condenser
• The condenser dissipates the heat that
was once inside the cab of the truck.
• The condenser is designed to radiate heat,
and it is usually located in front of the
radiator.
• In some retrofit applications, it may be
located on the cab roof (Figure 1-5).
 Condenser (continued)

Figure 1-5. Refrigerant surrenders heat from the space to

be cooled to the ambient air in the condenser.
 Condenser (continued)
• Condensers must have air flow any time the
system is in operation. This is accomplished by
the ram air effect or by the engine cooling fan.
• The compressor pumps hot refrigerant gas
into the top of the condenser.
• The gas is then cooled and condenses into
high-pressure liquid refrigerant at the bottom
of the condenser or condenser outlet.
 Pressure Regulating Devices
The desired temperature of an evaporator is
maintained by controlling refrigerant pressure. Two
pressure-regulating devices are:
• Orifice Tube. This is a simple restriction located in
the liquid line between the condenser outlet and the
evaporator inlet (Figure 1-6).
• Thermostatic Expansion Valve (TXV). The TXV’s job is
to regulate the flow of refrigerant so that any liquid
refrigerant metered through it has time to evaporate
or change states from liquid to gas before leaving the
evaporator (Figure 1-7).
 Pressure Regulating
Devices (continued)

Figure 1-6. An orifice tube is used to meter the flow

of refrigerant into the evaporator of an orifice tube
air-conditioning system.
 Pressure Regulating
Devices (continued)

Figure 1-7. An assortment of thermostatic

expansion valves.
 Evaporator
• The evaporator’s primary function is to
remove heat from within the space to be
cooled. It is also used for dehumidification.
• It is usually located within the controlled
space or is in some way isolated from the
outside.
• A blower motor circulates air from the space
through the evaporator coil.
 Evaporator (continued)
• As the warmer air travels through the cooler
fins of the evaporator, the moisture in the air
condenses on their surface.
• In order to keep the evaporator from freezing,
several different temperature- or pressure-
regulating devices may be used.
• Keeping the evaporator from freezing is
extremely important because a frozen
evaporator will not absorb very much heat
(Figure 1-8).
 Evaporator (continued)

Figure 1-8. The evaporator is the component that

absorbs heat from the space to be cooled.
 Evaporator (continued)
• Refrigerant enters the evaporator as a low-
pressure liquid.
• The refrigerant temperature is lower than that of
the air inside the space, and heat flows from a
warm substance to a cooler one.
• The warm air from the space passes through the
evaporator fins and causes the liquid refrigerant
in the evaporator to boil.
 Evaporator (continued)
• The boiling refrigerant absorbs large
quantities of heat from the space.
• This heat is then carried off with the
refrigerant to the outside of the space.
• The force that draws this low-pressure
refrigerant through the evaporator is the
suction effect of the compressor.
 Receiver-Drier
• The receiver-drier is used in air-conditioning
systems with a TXV.
• It is used to store refrigerant and separate any gas
refrigerant from liquid refrigerant.
• It is a cylindrical metal container usually located on
the bulkhead.
• The TXV requires liquid refrigerant to operate
efficiently.
• The receiver and desiccant types are chosen for the
type of system and refrigerant used within the
system (Figure 1-9).
 Receiver-Drier (continued)

Figure 1-9. The receiver-drier provides storage filtration

and moisture removal for passing refrigerant.
 Accumulator
• An accumulator is used in systems that employ a
fixed orifice tube to control the flow of refrigerant
into the evaporator.
• The accumulator prevents liquid refrigerant from
reaching the compressor.
• It is plumbed into the system between the exit of the
evaporator and the inlet of the compressor.
• It also contains a desiccant that removes debris and
moisture from the passing refrigerant (Figure 1-10).
 Accumulator (continued)

Figure 1-10. The accumulator ensures that only vaporous

refrigerant may be returned to the compressor.
 TYPES OF AIR CONDITIONERS
• Unitary air conditioners
• Central air conditioning systems
• Heat pumps
• Evaporative coolers

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EXAMPLES OF UNITARY AIR-CONDITIONING

(a) Room air conditioner

• Room air conditioners cool rooms rather than the
entire home.
• Less expensive to operate than central units
• Their efficiency is generally lower than that of central
air conditioners.
• Can be plugged into any 15- or 20-amp, 115-volt
household circuit that is not shared with any other
major appliances

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Rooftop Units:
Rooftop units are primarily applied in low-rise buildings with
flat roofs, such as stores, shopping centres, and factories. For
better air distribution in the conditioned space the
conditioned air should be ducted from the rooftop unit to
multiple outlets instead of introducing the total airflow rate at
one position.

Window Units:
They are available in capacities from ½ to 2½ tons and are
used to cool small spaces. They are primarily found in
residential applications and small offices. They have no ducted
air distribution. Window units are designed for minimal
installation cost. Such units can be moved easily from one
location to another. The appearance and noise of these units
limits their application. 34
EGEE 102 - Pisupati 35
That is all there is to the part of the system in the room, which is sketched on the
left in figure 2. The bit that is more difficult to understand, or at least unfamiliar to
most people, is how the cooling fluid is produced and controlled. That is the part
on the right of the diagram.
The cooling fluid used to be a chlorofluorocarbon compound, and often still is,
though they all more or less ravage the earth's ozone layer. The essential
characteristics of these fluids is that they have quite a low boiling point at
atmospheric pressure and that they can stay in the pipes for a long time without
decomposing either themselves or the pipes. Finally they need to have some
lubricating ability, or the ability to carry a lubricant, because the fluid has to be
compressed and pumped round the system.
This rare set of necessary properties has proved difficult to combine with
friendliness to the earth's atmosphere.
The liquid is let into the cooling unit through a valve marked B on the diagram. It
evaporates while it passes through the pipe, taking heat from the air just as water
evaporating from a towel laid on your fevered brow cools you when on holiday in
the Mediterranean. The temperature in the cooling coil depends partly on the
amount of fluid let in by the valve, which is controlled by the thermostat or the
humidistat.

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But now comes a crucial difference from your Mediterranean
experience: the minimum temperature at the cold surface can be fixed by
controlling the pressure in the cooling coil, with the valve marked A on the diagram.
The boiling point of any liquid depends on the pressure. One could use water in the
cooling coil, if the pressure is kept low enough. At 1000 Pa pressure, which seems
a lot but is just 1% of atmospheric pressure, water boils at 7 degrees. It isn't used in
cooling coils of this evaporative type because it has practical disadvantages.
The reason for wanting to limit the minimum temperature is to stop ice clogging the
air passage. There are clever systems which notice when ice has formed and hold
a melting pause, but that adds to the cost. The pressure controller is therefore set
to make the cooling fluid boil at the lowest temperature that is likely to be needed
to control the humidity, but always over zero degrees. The temperature needed for
cooling is nearly always higher than that needed for dehumidification so it is the RH
setting that is decisive.
This brings me to the first point that conservators need to understand: it is
expensive to produce air at a dew point below about 4 degrees in this
type of equipment. This dewpoint corresponds to 50% RH at 15°C. This sort
of air conditioning is entirely suitable for keeping people comfortable but it is not
good for specialised stores, for films or for furs, for example, where one needs a
temperature below 15 degrees. Such equipment is, however, often used for
such places. A better solution is to use an absorption dehumidifier, which will be
described in a later article.

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Now back to the main story: The vapour that emerges through the pressure
controller is gathered up by a compressor. The compression also heats the gas,
as will be understood by anyone who has pumped up a cycle tyre.
The hot gas is then led away from the room, to be cooled down. This is often done
on the roof or in a small enclosure which vibrates to the roar of the fan blowing air
over the fins of a condenser. The cooled, now liquid coolant is piped back to the
reservoir, ready for its next tour through the room air conditioner.
The entire process described above is inefficient and uses electricity, which is itself
produced by inefficient conversion of heat energy. Such systems are therefore
confined to small places where the inefficiency is compensated by the generally
high reliability and freedom from maintenance.

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 Room Air Conditioners
• Built after January 1, 1990, need have an EER
of 8.0 or greater
– EER of at least 9.0 if you live in a mild climate
– EER over 10 for warmer climates

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UNITARY AIR-CONDITIONING
Air-conditioning units are available as unitary of self-contained
(single package) units.
Advantages
• The fact that they are mass-produced and factory-
assembled usually means lower production and installation
costs.
• With proper selection and control they may also provide
relatively low operating costs.
Disadvantages
• There are relatively few options with respect to sizing the
evaporator, condenser, fans, compressor and controls.
• Since each unit must be capable of meeting the peak load of
the space it serves; the installed capacity and connected
electrical load are usually larger than with a central system.
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 Central Air Conditioning
• Circulate cool air through a system of supply and
return ducts. Supply ducts and registers (i.e.,
openings in the walls, floors, or ceilings covered by
grills) carry cooled air from the air conditioner to the
home.
• This cooled air becomes warmer as it circulates
through the home; then it flows back to the central
air conditioner through return ducts and registers

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 Types of Central AC
• split-system
– an outdoor metal cabinet contains the condenser
and compressor, and an indoor cabinet contains
the evaporator
• Packaged
– the evaporator, condenser, and compressor are
all located in one cabinet

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c) Split-System Air-Conditioning Units: In this arrangement,
the unit is split into two; the blower-coil units (evaporating
units) and the condensing unit. The blower-coil unit is
installed inside the conditioned space and it consists of fan,
evaporating coil and controls. The condensing unit is
installed outdoor. It consists of a compressor and condenser.

CONDENSING UNIT
• It consists of a compressor and condenser, and it performs
the function of drawing low-pressure vapour from the
evaporator, compressing and condensing the refrigerant, and
supplying it at high pressure to the expansion device.
Condensing units are installed outdoor to serve an
evaporator located inside the building

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 Large air conditioning systems
• Outside air is drawn in, filtered
and heated before it passes
through the main air
conditioning devices. The
colored lines in the lower part
of the diagram show the
changes of temperature and of
water vapor concentration (not
RH) as the air flows through the
system.

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Total Air Conditioning

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 Total Air Conditioning Contd
• Variable fresh air mixer and dust and pollutant
filtration.
• Supplementary heating with radiators in the
outer rooms and individual mini heater and
• Humidifier in the air stream to each room.

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 Sizing Air Conditioners

• how large your home is and how many windows it

has;
• how much shade is on your home's windows, walls,
and roof;
• how much insulation is in your home's ceiling and
walls;
• how much air leaks into your home from the outside;
and
• how much heat the occupants and appliances in your
home generate

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 Energy Consumption
• Air conditioners are rated by the number of British
Thermal Units (Btu) of heat they can remove per
hour. Another common rating term for air
conditioning size is the "ton," which is 12,000 Btu per
hour.
• Room air conditioners range from 5,500 Btu per hour
to 14,000 Btu per hour.

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 Energy Efficiency
• Today's best air conditioners use 30% to 50%
less energy than 1970s
• Even if your air conditioner is only 10 years
old, you may save 20% to 40% of your cooling
energy costs by replacing it with a newer,
more efficient model

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 Energy Efficiency
• Rating is based on how many Btu per hour are
removed for each watt of power it draws
• For room air conditioners, this efficiency rating is the
Energy Efficiency Ratio, or EER
• For central air conditioners, it is the Seasonal Energy
Efficiency Ratio, or SEER

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 Central AC
• National minimum standards for central air
conditioners require a SEER of
– 9.7 for single-package and
– 10.0 for split-systems
– Units are available with SEERs reaching nearly 17

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 Energy Saving Methods
• Locate the air conditioner in a window or wall
area near the center of the room and on the
shadiest side of the house.
• Minimize air leakage by fitting the room air
conditioner snugly into its opening and sealing
gaps with a foam weather stripping material.

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