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Analysing the energy consumption of air handling units by Hungarian and

international methods

Conference Paper · July 2012

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László Kajtár Miklos Kassai

Budapest University of Technology and Economics Budapest University of Technology and Economics
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Analysing the energy consumption of air handling units by Hungarian and
international methods
László Kajtár1, Miklós Kassai2,*
1,2
Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BUTE), Budapest, Hungary
*
Corresponding email: kas.miklos@gmail.com

SUMMARY
According to the 2002/91/EC, the Directive on the energy performance of buildings it is
important to determine the expected energy consumption of the building in the step of the
designing. There are imperfections in the actual available national and international
regulations as for the methods to calculate the energy consumption of the air handling units.
The actual calculation methods characterise the monthly energy consumption only with the
average temperature or average enthalpy which takes into account the changing of the ambient
air state only approximately. The most actual calculation procedures also not consider the
systems that operate not continuously (only at night or in daytime). Based on the calculation
procedure that uses the ambient temperature and enthalpy duration curves these problems can
be solved. A new calculation method was worked out that takes into consideration the air
handling energy consumption with the ambient temperature and enthalpy duration curves.

KEYWORDS
Energy performance, HVAC and mechanical systems, Models, Modeling

1 INTRODUCTION
Making a study of the international scientific literature, Erik Reichert worked out a calculation
procedure in his Ph.D. thesis at the University of Applied Sciences Stuttgart, with which the
net energy consumption of the air handling unit can be calculated (Erik Reichert, 2000). The
method sepatares the Mollier h-x chart into 4 parts in accordance with the main changing
processes of the air state (air humidification, cooling). With this procedure the energy
consumption of the air handling units can be calculated with the help of statistical,
meteorological database suitable for the geographic area of the analysed space.

Similarly in Germany with the leading of Professor Bert Oschatz a calculation method was
developed to determine the energy consumption of the air-conditioning systems. This method
uses specific values [Wh/m3h] to calculate the heating and cooling energy consumption of the
air handling units also in monthly period (Bettina Maria Schmidt, 2007).

Claude-Alain Roulet has also developed a calculation procedure to determine the annual
energy consumption of the air handling systems (Claude-Alain Roulet, 2002).

From the developed methods also standards were made: VDI 2067 (Blatt 21) based on the
research work of Erik Reichert, DIN V 18599-7/3/5/10 based on the research work of
Professor Bert Oschatz and EN ISO 13790 based on the research work of Claude-Alain
Roulet. The timeliness of this research theme shows that the current available calculation
procedures enable the only the rough estimate of the energy consumption of air handling
units. The mentioned methods do not take into account of the heat and moisture load of the air
handled space (L. Kajtár, M. Kassai, 2010).
During our research our objective was to work out a calculation procedure which is suitable
for the analysis of the energy consumption of air handling units taking into account the
different and complex air handling processes and the above mentioned inadequacies.

2 THE PHYSICAL MODEL

The developed calculation procedure is introduced in the article by a fresh air supply air
handling unit (AHU). The connection diagram can be seen of fresh supply air handling system
on Figure 1. The signs of the figure are the following: Pre-heater (PH), adiabatic humidifier
(AH), Cooler (C), Re-heater (RH), Ventilator (V), Filter (F), Shutter against the rain (SH).

Figure 1. The connection diagram of the AHU

During the change of the ambient air state the pre-heater heats up the air up to a constant
enthalpy line that is determined by the adiabatic humidifier, therefore the ambient enthalpy
duration curve has to be used to define the energy consumption of heating.

On the ambient enthalpy duration curve (Figure 2.) the air state parameters in the
dimensioning phase are also shown as well as their changes as the ambient air enthalpy varies
during the heating season. The areas of the ambient enthalpy duration curve that represent the
energy consumption of the pre-heater and the re-heater can be accordingly drawn. Throughout
the calculation of the energy consumption of heating the supply and outgoing air parameters
were assumed to be constant during the heating season. This approximation was also applied
for the supply and outgoing parameters in the dimensioning phase for the cooling season in
the summer.

Figure 2. The areas on the ambient enthalpy duration curve

On Figure 2. can be seen the areas that proportional to the daytime heating energy
consumption of the air handling unit (07-19 hours). In compliance with it the physical and
mathematical equations were determined to calculate the energy consumption of the heaters in
the fresh air supply air handling unit.

The energy consumption of the pre-heater:

h PH

Q PH = ρ⋅V
&⋅
∫ F (h )dh
h OS
O [kJ/year] (1)

where ρ is the air density in kg/m3, V

& is air volume flow in m3/h, F (h ) is the ambient
O

enthalpy duration curve (07-19 hours), h OS is the ambient enthalpy in sizing state in the
winter time in kJ/kg, h PH is the enthalpy of the air after the pre-heater, which is equal with the
enthalpy by the adiabatic humidifier in kJ/kg.

The energy consumption of the re-heater:

h RH

Q RH = ρ ⋅ V
&⋅
∫ F (h )dh
h PH
O [kJ/year] (2)

where h RH is the enthalpy of the air after the re-heater, which is equal with the enthalpy of
supply air in kJ/kg.

Analyzing the cooling energy consumption the calculation procedure is similar in the summer
time. The dimensioning phase for the summer period is specified by the regulations (Figure
3.). The average temperature of the surface of cooling coil ( t SA ) is about 11-12°C when the
cooling water temperature is 7/12°C.

Figure 3. Cooling process on the Mollier h-x chart

In light of the above mentioned data the area proportional to the energy consumption of the
cooling coil can be drawn in the ambient enthalpy duration curve. In consideration of the fact
that there is condensation on the surface of the cooling coil, the ambient enthalpy duration
curve was used to determine the annual energy consumption of the cooling coil (Figure 4.).
 Figure 4. The area on the ambient enthalpy duration curve that represents the energy
consumption of the cooling coil

The energy consumption of the cooling coil:

h OS

QC = ρ ⋅ V
& ⋅
C ∫ [1 − F (h )]dh
hS
O [kJ/year] (3)

where V & is the air volume flow in the cooling coil in m3/h, h is the enthalpy of the supply
C S
air in kJ/kg.

In light of the energy consumption of the cooling coil the electricity consumption of the
compressor can be calculated as follows [Carson Dunlop, 2003]:

WC = Q C /(SEER ⋅ 3600) [kWh/year] (4)

where SEER is the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.

By this manner energy consumption of other constructed air handling units were also
determined.

3 THE MATHEMATICAL MODEL

The ambient temperature and enthalpy duration curves are not known analytically, in this
manner the integral values that we developed were determined with appreciative numerical
computing. We digitalized the duration curves from the scientific literature that were fixed in
three hours period during the meteorological monitoring then we placed points to the
functions (Figure 5.). For this task Autodesk AutoCAD 2006 program was right. Wittingly the
scale of the duration curves the areas (the values of the integrals) could be computable
numerical.
 Figure 5. Application of spline interpolation with Autodesk AutoCAD 2006 program

In the mathematical sciences the spline is a special function that consists from more
polynomial. Autodesk AutoCAD 2006 uses rational B-spline curbes (NURBS) (Joe Suthpin,
2005)

4 RESULTS

In our research work a comparative analysis was made between the new calculation procedure
we had developed and the existing international calculation methods. During our analysis the
net energy consumption of three air handling units for heating and cooling was determined
and the volume flow rate of the air was 3000 m3/h. The energy analysis was performed using
meteorological data for Budapest. The elements of the AHUs are presented in Table 1. The
symbols are the following: heat recovery unit (HR), energy recovery unit (ER), pre-heater
(PH), cooling coil (C), adiabatic humidifier (AH), steam humidifier (SH), Re-heater (RH).

Table 1. Elements of the AHUs

HR ER PH C AH SH RH
AHU 1. X X X X X
AHU 2. X X X X X
AHU 3. X X X X

The annual net energy consumption of the analysed air handling units for heating and cooling
can be seen in Tables 2-3.

Table 2. Annual net energy consumption of the AHUs for heating

QH [kWh/year]
New method Erik R. Bert O. Claude-A. R.
1. 15 667 15 080 8 514 26 899
2. 28 158 17 150 12 435 -
3. 38 865 24 927 34 264 42 648
 Table 3. Annual net energy consumption of the AHUs for cooling

QC [kWh/year]
New method Erik R. Bert O. Claude-A. R.
1. 4 773 4 900 5 726 5 832
2. 4 344 4 900 5 412 -
3. 5 873 6 022 5 785 6 374

5 DISCUSSION
The new developed calculation procedure is also suitable for comparative energetic analysis
of various constructed air handling units also in the design phase, considering the cost of the
investment, the possibilities of the energy saving and the amount of the saved energy. By this
manner there is also possibility to chose the lowest energy consumed system in the design
phase. The results that are determined by the new calculation method are important not only
for the designing engineers with respect to the energy conscious designing and the making of
the energy performance certificate of buildings, but also for the investor, because the
operating cost influences the rent cost.

6 CONCLUSIONS
The tables show that the results of the energy consumption different if calculated using the
new procedure or the method by Erik Reichert, Bert Oschatz, Calude-Alain Roulet. But in
each examined case (AHU 1-3.) the result of the international calculation methods is almost
the same as the figures obtained through the new calculation procedure. In the case of AHU 2
equipped with an adiabatic humidifier there is a larger difference with regard to energy
consumption for heating. In our view the present international methods do not take into
consideration the higher energy consumption of the re-heater, caused by the adiabatic
humidifier. Another reason for the different results is that effective regulations define the
monthly energy consumption by a single figure only, e.g. average temperature or average
enthalpy which only approximately takes into account the changing of the ambient state of the
air.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The research work was supported by “Sustainable Energy Program” of BUTE Research
University.

7 REFERENCES

Erik R.. 2000. Ein Verfahren zur Bestimmung des Energie- und Stoffaufwands zur
Luftbehandlung bei raumlufttechnischen Anlagen, Ph.D. Thesis, ISBN 3-9805218-4-2,
Universität Stuttgart, p. 25-29.
Bettina M. Sch., Tomas H., Daniel F. 2007. Der einfache Weg zur DIN V 18599 (Teil 3.),
IHKS Fach.Journal - Fachzeitschrift für Planungsbüros, Anlagenbau, Öffentliche Hand
und Fachhandel, p. 24-31.
Claude-A. R. 2002. prEN-ISP 13790-A Simplifield Method to Assess the Annual Heating
Energy Use in Buildings, ASHRAE Transactions, ISSN 0001-2505, Volume 108, Part 2, p.
911-918.
L. Kajtár, M. Kassai. 2010. Energy Consumption of Air Handling Units. Clima 2010 – 10th
REHVA World Congress, Antalya, ISBN 978-975-6907-14-6, p. 37-39.
Carson D. 2003. Air conditioning & Heat Pumps, IL 60606-7481, p.126.
Joe S. 2005. AutoCAD 2006 VBA, A Programmer’s Reference, ISBN 1-59059-579-3, p. 593.

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