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HVAC

Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning


Special Edition New Product / New Technology Technical Report

9
Monthly Magazine

Introduction of VRF system


LG Electronics VRF System introduction and strong adavantages LATS program for load calculation and VRF system model selection

| LG Systemaircon Monthly Magazine | 2007. 09 | NO.1

VRF(Variable Refrigerant Flow)

Compliments

Customer satisfaction management for the best of customers!

From optimal suggestion to perfect installation!


LG Electronics made its first air-conditioners in Korea in 1965 and first VRF system in Korea in 1998. Following this, in year 2002, a revolution of residential air-conditioner was made with air-conditioners. Problems concerning increase of energy consumption in high stories and loud noise from outdoor units were perfectly solved. In 2006, truly total airconditioning system was made with AHU and water cooled heat pump, which are excellent in large space cooling and heating, and new products with new hybrid heat pump using geothermal energy. Not only LG has been taking lead in product sales, but it provides a OneStop sales operation with its design proposals during the early stage of construction, installed product quality guarantee and through after service. On the product selection process, we select and suggest optimal products with research information from our design team grouped of experts in the field. The installation process is made of four steps: installation plan, sample house, test run, and installation. And the process is monitored with the Field Event (FE) system for Field quality assurance, all experts from different teams group up to check the system and to find better installation ways as well as to check all the expected problems beforehand in each Field Event Stage. On the installation stage, products are tested in a sample house, allowing optimal installation the recheck of problems. On the test run stage, a scientific operation diagnosis computer program, MV is used to check even the tiniest error for the perfect installation. In large sites, pre-check ups are made for quickly solving problems, quick SVC system of LG Service Center, installation store, and customer service center works together with utmost effort to solve any discomfort toward the customers. As the head of LG Electronics VRF, I would like to say that LG will always try to listen to our customers and we will be systematically at service when needed. With our leading technology and our years of experience, we will take the lead in the commercial air-conditioner business and become your best partner.

Innku Hur LG Electronics Vice President

CONTENTS
Special Edition
Introduction of VRF system
On this issue, VRF system will be introduced with an article extracted and summarized from ASHRAE Journal.

02 07 17

New Product / New Technology


LG Electronics VRF System introduction and Strong advantages
VRF is abbreviation for Variable Refrigerant Flow, Generally, it means system that can control refrigerant with inverter compressor and control technology.

Technical Report
LATS program for load calculation and VRF system model selection
LATS program and user manual can be updated with ease at any time through online.

Special Edition Introduction of VRF system

April issue of ASHARE Journal

VRF system introduction


(Variable Refrigerant Flow System)

Variable refrigerant flow (VRF)systems, which were introduced more than 20 years ago, are relatively unknown in the United states, but are expected to expand its market presence.

On this issue, VRF system will be introduced with an artic le extracted and summarized from ASHRAE Journal.

What is VRF?
Variable refrigerant flow(VRF) systems, which were introduced in Japan more than 20 years ago, have become popular in many countries, yet they are relatively unknown in the U.S. The technology has gradually expanded its market presence, reaching European markets in 1987, and steadily gaining marketshare throughout the world. In Japan, VRF systems are used in approximately 50% of medium sized commercial buildings (up to 6,500 ) and one-third of large commercial buildings (more than 6,500).

ASHRAE : American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Airconditioning Engineers

<Picture 1> Shows the standard VRF system

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

Although vigorous marketing of VRF systems in the U.S. began only two or three years ago, several thousand systems likely be sold in the U.S. this year, amounting to tens of thousands of tons of capacity. Of course, the market is still very small compared to the chiller market, but VRF systems are marketed in the U.S. by at least five manufacturers. Many HVAC professionals are familiar with ductless minisplit products. A variation of this product, often referred to as a multisplit, includes multiple indoor evaporators connected to a single condensing unit. Ductless products are fundamentally different from ducted systems. Conventional systems transfer heat from the space to the refrigerant by circulating air (in ducted systems) or water (in chillers) throughout the building. VRF systems are larger in capacity, more complex versions of the ductless multisplit systems, with the additional capability of connecting ducted style fan coil units. They require many evaporators and complex oil and refrigerant management and control system. Also, they need a separate ventilation system. The term variable refrigerant flow refers to the ability of the system to control the amount of refrigerant flowing to each of the evaporators. This enables the use of many evaporators of different capacities and configurations, individualized comfort control, simultaneous heating and cooling in different zones, and heat recovery from one zone to another. This refrigerant flow control lied at the heart of VRF systems and is the major technical challenge as well as the source of many of the system s advantages.

Heat Recovery Unit

Suction Gas Liquid Discharge Gas

<Picture 2> Shows simultaneous cooling and heating system


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VRF systems are lightweight and modular and system desigh is very easy and maintenance and supervision is simple. Also, individual control is convenient.

VRF Benefits
Installation Advantages Chillers often require cranes for installation, but VRF systems are lightweight and modular. Each module can be transported easily and fitted into a standard elevator. Multiples of these modules can be used to achieve cooling capacities of hundreds of tons. Each module is an independent refrigerant loop, but they are controlled by a common control system. For example, if a building is only partly occupied, which is similar to currently available self-contained VAV systems, the modularity also enables staged, floor-by floor installations. The relatively light weight of the ventilation system may reduce requirements for structural reinforcement of roofs. Because ductwork is required only for the ventilation system, it can be smaller than the ducting in standard ducted systems, reducing building height and costs. VRF systems are also particularly suitable for retrofitting historical buildings without disturbing the structure or for older buildings with no air conditioning. Finally, because the condensing units are normally places outdoors, no need exists for a machine room. Design Flexibility A single condensing unit can be connected to many indoor units of varying capacity (e.g., 0.5 to 4 tons [1.75 to 14kW]) and configurations (e.g., ceiling recessed, wall-mounted, floor console). Current products enable up to 20 indoor units to be supplied by a single condensing unit. Modularity also makes it easy to adapt the HVAC system to expansion or reconfiguration of the space, which may require additional capacity or different terminal units. Maintenance and Commissioning VRF systems with standardized configuration and sophisticated electronic controls are aiming toward near plug-and-play commissioning. Because they are DX systems, maintenance costs for a VRF should be lower than for water-cooled chillers, so water treatment issues are avoided. Normal maintenance for a VRF, similar to that of any DX system, consists mainly of changing filters and cleaning coils. Comfort Many zones are possible, each with individual setpoint control, because VRF systems use variable speed compressors with wide capacity modulation capabilities. They can maintain precise temperature control, generally within 1(0.6)

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

Energy Efficiency VRF system energy efficiency is higher than that of normal duct s systems. The VRF essentially eliminate duct losses, which are often estimated to be between 10%~20% of total airflow in a ducted system. VRF systems typically include two or three compressors. This approach yields high part-load efficiency, which translates into high seasonal energy efficiency, because HVAC systems typically spend most of their operating hours in the range of 40% to 80% of maximum capacity. For buildings requiring simultaneous heating and cooling, heat recovery VRF systems can be used. These systems circulate refrigerant between zones, transferring heat from indoor units of zones being cooled to those of zones being heated. Each manufacturer has its own proprietary design, but many use a three-pipe system (liquid, suction and discharge) and special valving arrangements. Typically, extra heat exchangers in distribution boxes are used to transfer some reject heat from the superheated refrigerant exciting the zone being cooled to the refrigerant that is going to the zone to be heated. As with installed costs, the energy efficiency of VRF system is application dependent. For example, one articles cited an installation in a government building where much of the space is unoccupied during much of the day when workers are out in the field. A rooftop VAV was used on one side of the building and a VRF on the other. The energy consumption of the VRF was approximately 38% lower than for the VAV. A full year, hourly simulation, using standard spreadsheet software, of a 538 ton (1892 kW) VRF compared to both screw and centrifugal chillers yield high energy savings for the VRF relative to other options. The cooling energy savings about 30% may be explained by the relatively temperate Brazilian climate. A comparison done by a VRF manufacturer of a 200 ton (700kW) VRF to both air and water-cooled chillers in the U.S. application also showed an installed cost premium of approximately 5% to 20% for the VRF. The highest efficiency, newest R410A VRF system achieved energy savings of 30% to 40% compared to the chillers. The VRF system showed little or no savings compared to the chillers. The chiller efficiency is higher than that of the VRF only at 90% load, but 80% of the chiller operating hours occurred at 45% to 80% load. Variable speed compressors in chillers are now common, but other component such as pumps are often single speed, so VRF system is more efficient in partload condition. To modularity of the VRF also enables relatively simple submetering of electricity (i.e., placing an electric meter on one or a few condensing units is relatively simple, accurate and inexpensive). Though difficult to quantify, submetered VRF systems may encourage energy-saving behavior in multi-tenant buildings if energy costs are charged explicitly to each tenant rather than being hidden in overall leasing costs.

The main feature of heat recovery VRF system is that cooling and heating can be operated simultaneously. For buildings requring simultaneous heating and cooling VRF system can bring notable energy saving.

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VRF systems are not suitable for all commercial building applications, However, they are an excellent option for certain projects, and one more tool for engineers to consider. As more VRF units are installed and we gain further operating experience in the U.S, many of the concerns expressed by industry professionals are likely to increase.

Application VRF systems are generally best suited to buildings with diverse, multiple zones requiring individual control, such as office buildings, hospitals, or hotels. Future Directions To spread VRF system in the U.S., the following challenges has to be targeted.

ARI Rating Standard Currently, no approved ARI standard exits for a performance rating of VRF systems. ARI standard registration will be checked until 2008.

Energy Modeling Tools Current, non-proprietary building energy simulation tools like Energy Plus and DOE-2 cannot model VRF systems. Manufacturers are working to resolve this issue.

Integration of Outside Air Currently, ventilation systems used in conjunction with VRF systems are engineered separately on a case-by-case basis. Manufacturers are evaluating potential approaches for an integrated solution, incorporating controls to ensure adequate outside air and economizing, while optimizing overall performance.

Broaden Installer Base

The short-age of skilled installers is problematic for the HVAC industry as a whole, but expanding the number of installers who are comfortable with extensive refrigerant piping work is particularly critical for the VRF market.

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

New Product / New Technology LG Electronics VRF System introduction and strong adavantages

Advanced technology for cooling, heating and simultaneous cooling and heating

LG Electronics VRF Systemintroduction and its advantages


VRF is short for Variable Refrigerant Flow and generally, it means system that can control refrigerant with inverter compressor and control technology. This will give useful information of products for educational/commercial facilities and high-story buildings.
Indoor Unit

Outdoor Unit

Outdoor Unit

Indoor Unit

Outdoor Unit

Indoor Unit

<Picture 1> LG Electronics VRF System -

, which means Multi, and VRF


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. New concept of VRF System for high-story residential buildingsBackground of new concept outdoor unit development There has been a burst of demand of residential air-conditioning for high-story residential buildings including residential complexes. As a tightly-closed building, effective cooling and heating and ventilation facility has to be in place for the pleasant residence of the tenants. The main features that needs to be considered in comparison with conventional air-conditioners are high-story, all glass type mechanical room for AC, properly operation both in full and part-load cooling, and low-noise. As you can see on in <picture 2>, has been designed with a new style outdoor unit with a front side suction/discharge system along with low-noise inverter scroll compressor. And also developed to maximize cooling efficiency under Full/part load condition by high efficient inverter technology.

<Picture 2> New concept VRF system for residential complex buildings

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

Matters to be concerned for installation of air-conditioners in high-story building Normally, air-conditioner outdoor unit discharge speed is 3~4m/s, s but it is affected by strong winds in high floors. Also, drop of outdoor unit capacity may result from building pressure and air-conditioning s capacity can be decreased due to re-suction of discharged air flow. <Picture 3> is Korea meteorological data that shows the wind s increase rate with respect to building height. It shows that wind speed can increase depending on features like an exposed area, flat land, city outskirts, and building concentrated area. Normally, the wind speed of high-story buildings (50 story) located in an exposed area can have increased almost to 153.4% compared to wind on land surface. On the left side of <Picture 4>, it shows wind stream line. The wind speed on the right can show that wind flows as a positive outward pressure toward the building front and it flows as a negative pressure to draw in indoor air from the other side of the building. Also, if many number of buildings become close, a high speed wind zone can be generated due to high pressure difference between the front and back of building. <Picture 5> shows that there can be pressure difference up to 40Pa.

Division

Height m 90 Story 30 40 50 60 30 40 50 60 30 40 50 60 30 40 50 60

Increased rate 92.6% 101.8% 109.6% 116.4% 116.2% 123.8% 130.1% 135.4% 136.0% 141.6% 146.1% 149.9% 145.7% 150.0% 153.4% 156.2%

Highest wind Average wind speed record speed m/s 21.6 23.7 25.5 27.1 27.1 28.9 30.3 31.5 31.7 33.0 34.0 34.9 34.0 34.9 35.7 36.4 m/s 3.7 4.1 4.4 4.7 4.6 5.0 5.2 5.4 5.4 5.7 5.8 6.0 5.8 6.0 6.1
100m 200m High Wind Pressure Stream Line Velocity Line High Wind Velocity

Building 120 concentrated 150 area 180 90 City outskirts 120 150 180 90 120 Flat land 150 180 90 Completely exposed area 120 150 180

<Picture 4> High-story building air flow distribution simulation

6.2
<Picture 5> High-story building pressure distribution simulation

<Picture 3> Wind speed rate depending on area condition and building height (Korea Meteorological Administration)

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<Picture 6> shows through simulation that re-circulation of air into the outdoor unit room can be happened due to strong wind around building when using conventional air-conditioners in high-story buildings. This can cause capacity drop of air-conditioners. <Picture 7> shows capacity change of conventional air-conditioners depending on the outdoor air. If the outdoor air is 35, outdoor unit condensed temperature is 55, and if the outdoor air is 31, outdoor unit condensed temperature is 50. If the outdoor unit condensed temperature increase from 50 to 55, air-conditioning capacity goes down 10%, 2200W to 2000W. If the conventional air-conditioners are used in high-story buildings, re-circulation of the hot air will happen, bringing decrease in efficiency.

Crosssection
1,300

Recirculation caused by building wind


2.57e+01 2.35e+01 2.14e+01 1.92e+01

3,500

3,000

1.71e+01 1.50e+01 1.28e+01 1.07e+01 8.56e+00

3,500

6.43e+00 4.29e+00 2.15e+00 1.55e-02

10m/s

<Picture 6> Strong wind around building influence when using conventional air-conditioners in highstory buildings

3000

Cooling capacity(W)

2500 2200 2000


ure rat pe tem ed ns de on C

40 45 50 55

1500

1000

500 0 2 4 6 8 10 12

evaporating temperature()

<Picture 7> change of conventional air-conditioners depending on the outdoor air

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

Strong advantages of <Picture 8,9> shows how the outdoor units discharge air and temperature change for the conventional air-conditioner and in three types of building wind: no wind, up wind, down wind). is operated stably without any influence from strong winds that are generated around high-story building. <Picture 10> is the graph of that shows linear operation with respect to the internal load variation is possible through inverter scroll compressor and highly efficient inverter control. Therefore, energy consumption changed linearly with on the indoor load. This is the way for the highest efficiency. On the other hand, constantspeed compressor using air-conditioner has energy loss due to load variation. Even with the bypass style compressor, linear operation considering the load variation is impossible. Such system that does not use inverters will have high operation costs due to overuse of energy.

No Wind Conventional

Up Wind

Down Wind

<Picture 8> Discharge air influence for conventional air-conditioner and

outdoor units

Outdoor unit room temperature()

42
Electric Consumption (W) Conventional

Energy consumption change depending on indoor load

40
High Temperature

6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 5000 10000 Load (W)
Test : KTL test team KTL : Korea Testing Laboratory

38

36

15000

34
No Wind Up Wind Down Wind

building wind type

<Picture 9> Outdoor unit room temperature influence depending on building wind type for conventional air-conditioner and outdoor units

<Picture 10> load

energy consumption change depending on

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To evaluate the low-noise function of , it was compared with a conventional air-conditioner with same capacity. The condition was both being operated with the outdoor unit room closed and bedroom door open. After measuring noise from the living room and close by rooms, had 12~14dB lower than that of the conventional air-conditioner. It can be concluded that noise intrusion to the indoor can be minimized with with its special outdoor unit structure.

Bedroom 1

Living room

Noise measured area


Bedroom 2


Indoor unit operation area

Area size

Item

Conventional Bedroom 1 43.5 45 44.5 Close by room noise caused from outdoor units Bedroom 1 Bedroom 2 Living room 30.9 31.6 33.4

290

Outdoor unit noise dB(A)

Close by room noise caused from outdoor units

Bedroom 2 Living room

<Picture 11> Noise comparison between

and conventional air-conditioners

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. High-efficiency, high-performance VRF System for large buildings Background of energy-saving VRF System development Heat load means the amount of heat that needs to be eliminated or supplied by using the cooling and heating device. <Picture 1> is graph made with date from Daejun meteorological date showing calculated s amount of load to be handled to keep an optimal indoor condition. VRF System is not operated with maximum load, but usually is operated with less than 60% load condition. In Korea, the highest heat load is concentrated in December and January. Heating has to run smoothly. It has to run efficiently during 60% load (low load), and has to run with enough power during 100% load (high load). By using an inverter circuit for strong heating, controlling the compressor motor frequency with electric conversion, and using a s compressor that changes spinning speed, efficient cooling and heating operation can be made. Such cooling and heating instrument is called Variable SpeedorModulating Heat Pumpin electric engineering and VRF system in mechanical engineering. Energy-saving, high-efficiency inverter system air30,000 20,000 10,000

Load[RT]

0 -10,000 -20,000 -30,000 -40,000 -50,000

10

11

12

<Picture 1> 2006 year meteorological data of Daejun

<Picture 2> High load operation control

conditioner
For building load change seen in <Picture 1> and linear control depending on zone operation condition seen in <Picture 2>, inverter technology is needed as seen in <Picture 4>. For such convenience of individual control and accurate control of indoor load condition with energy-efficiency, inverter technology is being used more widely.
<Picture 3> Part-load operation control

Indoor load change


100

System capacity(%)

System capacity(%)

Step control energy loss Digital Digital Digital Flxed Flxed Flxed

130

Digital Flxed Flxed Flxed


100

Linear control of indoor load change through inverter linear control


Inv. Comp Inv. Comp Inv. Comp

Inv. Comp

Comp3 Comp2 Comp1


100

Comp2 Comp1

Comp1

Indoor cooling and heating load(%)

Indoor cooling and heating load(%)

[ Step control - Non Inverter ]

[ Linear control - Inverter ]

<Picture 4> Capacity variation, constant-speed control type VS. High-efficiency inverter control
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As seen in <Picture 5>, inverter technology can work as an energysaving tool in low-load or part-load conditions. In 50% load condition, inverters efficiency can be 30% more energy-saving than non-inverter. Many manufacturers have widely been using inverter technology. Koreas C company and Chinas M company have been manufacturing VRF system with mechanical capacity variation method without using inverters. Most Japanese companies have been using inverters, and in Korea, LG Electronics independently developed Koreas first inverter technology. High-performance VRF system for cold climate As it can be seen in <Picture 6>, has implemented large capacity compressor for sufficient heating capacity in cold climate weather. Japanese products are set to the ambient temperature of 7 due to their relatively warm climate. However, they show low heating performance during cold winter weathers of -10 in Korea. has implemented large-capacity compressor, which is larger in over 135% than Japanese products, for sufficient heating capacity during cold weathers. Also, it was designed for the optimal SEER level with mixing of 5.5 horse power inverter compressor and constant-speed compressor with a ratio of 4:6 as one cycle.

Maker
100% Efficiency

LG

Outdoor Unit
Non-inverter

20 40

60

80 100 120 140 160 180

Capacity(%)

Compresser

<Picture 5> Energy efficiency comparison

Type

Inverter

By-pass

Inverter

Inverter

Inverter

Inverter

Inverter

<Picture 6> VRF SYSTEM inverter technology use status


50 45 Discharge Temp.() 40 35 30 25 20 -20 -15 -10 -5 7 Outdoor Temp.()

Maker

LG

Outdoor Unit

Compresser

<Picture 7> Heating performance comparison in cold climate. (Based on 20 horse power LG Electronics test)

Capacity 13.5HP(5.5+8)

10HP(5+5)

10HP(5+5)

10HP(10)

10HP(5+5)

10HP(1.5+3.5+5)

<Picture 8> VRF System for cold climate

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After a comparison test between LG Electronics and Japanese products (D, T, M companies) of cold climate heating performance, the results showed that Japanese products show low performance, reaching only 50~60% that of .

. VRF System and heating

simultaneous cooling

Background of 3rd generation of VRF system LG Electronics independently developed a VRF system that allows simultaneous cooling and heating with indoor units that are connected to one outdoor unit. As it can be seen in <Picture 1>, just one outdoor unit. was the first in Korea to allow cooling in one and heating in the other with

Discharge Discharge Cooling

Heating
(COP)

Max. COP 5.68


4.5 4.0 3.9 3.7

Cooling

Heat Recovery

Cooling
3

3.14

Conventional VRF

<Picture 1> Comparison between conventional VRF system and simultaneous cooling and heating function VRF system

All zone Cooling 20% Cooling 40% Cooling 60% Cooling 80% All zone cooling Heating 80% Heating 60% Heating 40% Heating 20% Heating

Air-conditioner with the highest efficiency in Korea with

<Picture 2> Reaching high energy efficiency

and simultaneous cooling and heating operation


As it can be seen in <Picture 2>, and simultaneous cooling and heating function VRF system has reached 5.68 for COP under simultaneous cooling and heating operation. It is a form of energy-saving VRF system, which allows heat from the indoor unit that supplies the heat to the Indoor unit of heating operation. This increases efficiency up to 30%, and is called a heat recovery VRF. Such heat recovery VRF can have the highest efficiency when cooling is at 40% and heating is at 60% operation condition. Like in <Picture 3>, energy efficiency was maximized optimal refrigerant volume and subcooling control through the Fuzzy algorithm. Fuzzy algorithm is stabilizing the cycles stability speed 15% fast than the conventional PID and maximizing efficiency through active control of subcooling degree among indoor units.
<Picture 3> Energy maximization through Fuzzy algorithm
Fuzzy Control -Comp, FAN

Fuzzy

Fuzzy

Heat Recovery Unit - Refrigerant Volume Control - Subcooling Control

Fuzzy

Combination of a variety of Inoor units(Max. 16EA)

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VRF System with perfect individual control with

simultaneous cooling and heating technology


It can be used in places like office rooms that need to be heated during winter and computation rooms that need to be cooled all year and other places with different purpose. It is perfect for hotels with guests from different countries, class rooms being do outdoor activities or dont., hospitals that need to have different thermal condition for different patients, buildings that have thermal difference in different parts due to their structure, and other buildings that need accurate cooling and heating control. For example, there can be times when cooling is running in one place and heating cannot be operated in another place. There are many times where heating is operated where an old person lives, while cooling is operated in a place where a young person lives. Some small place that is crowded needs to be cooled. Perfect individual control is possible in all of such situations. Simultaneous cooling and heating operation principle and acquainting design flexibility As it can be seen in <Picture 5>, for , three pipes are connected to outdoor unit and HR unit, unlike the conventional VRF system. As an instrument for heat recovery, HR unit is very important. From HR unit to indoor unit, two pipes are used, like the conventional VRF system. Also, as seen in Picture 6, Y-branched pipe is used like the conventional system, so piping design is possible, while installation is more free from limits than Japanese C products as HR units are connected in a straight way.

HR Unit

Heating operation

Cooling operation

<Picture 5> Simultaneous cooling and heating VRF system design method

World's unique
M

<Picture 4> VRF system with perfect individual control

<Picture 6> Worlds unique piping method application

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

Technical Report LATS program for load calculation and VRF system model selection

LG Electronics VRF system design solution

LATS program for load calculation and VRF system model selection
LATS program,which is composed of load calculation and system airconditioner model selection program, can allow convenient use for for product selection, piping, electricity design by connecting to Auto CAD.
LG Electronics provides a wide variety of technical information of products, design, installation, supervision and maintenance. LATS program and user manual can be automatically updated through online.

LG Electronics VRF system design solution, LATS program


As the total design solution of LG Electronics VRF system, LATS (LG Air conditioner Technical Solution) programs is consist of construction load calculation program and VRF system model selection program. It can be used connectedly with AutoCAD program for product selection and piping and also, electricity design, making it convenient for the user. <Picture 1~2> LATS Load (load calculation) program as developed from the base of CLTD method from ASHRAE Fundamental (1997). Load calculation is made with complex formulas, so it was calculated through the computer before CLTD method was introduced. After CLTD method was introduced, it was able to get the actual load value with manual calculation, and it is still being used today. LG Electronics developed a load calculation program, which is easier than hand-calculation, with

<Picture 1> LATS Load : Load calculation program

<Picture 2> LATS supporting program

model selection and drawing

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LATS Load is composed of 4 menus ; location for load calculation, information about customers, detailed information of space, actual load calculation, and reporting to customers.

base of CLTD method. LATS Load includes SI unit, which is the international standard, and IP unit, which is the standard for Englishspeaking countries. Also, this program is developed for global users with its load calculation from meteorological data of all parts of the world. It provides service for selection of product and drawing design based on calculation results for maximum load of each different zone. Load calculation method using LATS Load LATS Load program is divided by four menus. Firstly, as the project production process, the first step is completed when information about location and the customer is input. Second step is for entering detailed information about the space for load calculation. The user needs to decide variable parameters like space size, story height, roof and floor, glass, wall type, window, door, occupant number, lighting, and ventilation capacity. And such information needs to be acquired from the customer who will receive the drawing and load calculation. Indoor condition can differ in some scale depending on occupant activity level and work type. Internal load can be calculated from body, lighting, machine load and outdoor air intrusion and ventilation load can be calculated separately. Third step is when actual load calculation is done with information entered in the second step. Calculated load is shown in cooling load and heating load separately. Cooling load is calculated in sensible heat and latent heat, and heating load is calculated only sensible heat. The designer can select Safety Factor in 5~15% range. The last step is to make a report to the customer. Load calculation report provided with LATS Load is made in Microsoft Excel in seven kinds of sheet. A wide variety of information like load value, load pattern, load rate can be provided to the customer. Cover, reporter information, report date, and detailed customer information are marked, and a detailed table of contents is shown. <Picture 3>

<Picture 3> LATS Load- Cover and Table of Contents

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

The calculated date, location information, safe factor, and outdoor load calculation condition are marked. Calculated load is shown for each zone with actual floor area, total load, and total heat load. Data of detailed information entered for each zone can be seen. Data for floor area, wall type information, glass information, occupant/lighting/electric motors/appliance, and infiltration of each zone can be checked. <Picture 4>

Load summary provided by LATS Load has a wide variety of information like load value, load pattern, and load rate.

<Picture 4> LATS Load (L-Sum & Data)

In R-Load, You can acknowledge the condition of indoor/outdoor temp. and humidity and load result of each component conduction load (wall, glass), sunlight load from glass, body heat load, light load, heatemitting machine load, and air intrusion load and each of their possessing percentage can be seen. From the chart, fluctuation of load amount of change in time period and peak load hour during the day. Also, the pie chart of total load list can allows analysis of percentage that each list takes up in the total load.

<Picture 5> LATS Load (R-Load & Chart)

LATS model selection program can be designed in two modes


Tree Mode for simple piping design is presented like a tree branch as seen on left of <Picture 6>. This method is used when construction CAD drawing cannot be obtained. It can be used for quickly providing appropriate outdoor/indoor unit capacity, branch pipe model name, circuit breaker capacity, additional refrigerant when installing, and other
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Tree Mode for simple piping design is used when there is no construction CAD drawing. It can be used for quickly providing appropriate outdoor/indoor unit capacity, branch pipe model name, circuit breaker capacity, additional refrigerant when installing, and other design information.

design information. However, when designing in Tree Mode, CAD has to be newly drawn on the construction drawing, making things complicated. CAD Mode is for supplementing this problem by bringing CAD drawing at first. What needs to be noted is that CAD Mode can be converted to Tree Mode, but it cannot be done vice versa. Pipe design completed in CAD Mode is made in .dxf file, and it can be modified anytime through AutoCAD. In this issue, only cases of Tree Mode will be introduced. First, country and design condition of the selected area for design should be entered, as see on left of <Picture 7>. Information of humidity, temperature, and relative humidity of the air can be automatically calculated in the psychrometric chart. Next, cooling and heating load information needs to be entered as seen on the right picture. If there is a load value calculated from LATS Load, it can be set up with the Open button, and if there is no calculated value, cooling and heating load in kW unit can be entered manually. After project registration is done, real model selection and piping design can start. Outdoor unit is automatically selected through the whole load value. Indoor unit appropriate for each zone is selected by dragging in indoor unit icons on the top or double-clicking on each zone box and s choosing the capacity and type of an appropriate indoor unit. When choosing the indoor unit, the branch pipe type has to be decided whether it is Y or header. After the selection of indoor unit, outdoor unit can be chosen by double-clicking the outdoor unit, but for beginners, autoselection mode is recommended.

<Picture 7> Project formation

<Picture 6> Tree Mode vs CAD Mode

<Picture 8> Selection of outdoor/indoor unit and branch pipe in Tree Mode

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

After model selection is done, default pipe length has to be changed to actual pipe length. In this case, after double-clicking the pipe line, you can enter the actual pipe length. The length has to consider pipe elbow and curve. On the right bottom, it is possible to check if the total pipe length is appropriate for the design range. After completing model selection and pipe length, click the Auto Piping button on the Menu window. Shortly, a message saying auto selection has been successfully operated. At this point, pipe design is automatically decided with information base of PDB (Product Data Book) provided in LG Electronics website (http://www.lgeaircon.com). Lastly, by clicking System Check button, total system check of appropriate model selection, piping design, piping design inspection, and simulation of cooling and heating capacity under load condition can be done. Also, by clicking Schematic Diagram, electric line connection of outdoor unit and indoor unit can be seen. Here, circuit breaker capacity and refrigerant amount to be added for pipe length expansion are automatically presented.

After completing model selection and pipe length, click 'Auto Piping' button and auto selection is successfully operated.

<Picture 9> Entering pipe length

<Picture 10> Auto Piping (automatic selection of pipe diameter and branch pipe)

<Picture 11> System Check


HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

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Proposal display, customer information, table of contents of report, load calculation results, system selection, product list, pipe design drawing, and electric line connection are presented in the final report.

<Picture 12~16> is VRF system selection results on the final report. Proposal display, customer information, table of contents of report, load calculation results, system selection, product list, pipe design drawing, and electric line connection are organized in a Microsoft Excel file. Also, there are blanks for seller to directly input product price and installation cost.

<Picture 12> LATS

- Cover

<Picture 13> LATS

- Table of Content and Load Summary

<Picture 14> LATS

- Product list and Design condition

<Picture 15> LATS

- Piping Diagram and Electricity Connection Diagram

<Picture 16> LATS

- Cost and Estimate

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HVAC Monthly Magazine September 2007

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