Refrigeration and Air-conditioning

Prof JF Kanyua

Module I: Introduction to Air-conditioning

Module I (Part A): Meaning and Need of Air-conditioning

1) Meaning of Air-conditioning
Air conditioning is the process of treating air so as to control simultaneously its
temperature, humidity, cleanliness, and distribution to meet the requirements of the
conditioned space.

Full air conditioning implies the automatic control of an atmospheric environment

(space) either for the safety and/or comfort and well being of human beings or

animals, proper performance of some industrial or scientific process etc.

Full air conditioning demands that the following qualities/parameters of the

air/space be controlled within the limits imposed by the design specifications and/or

national and international standards:

a) Purity of air. Cleanliness i.e. removal of particulate matter

b) Movement (velocity, direction, volume)

c) Temperature (maintain at required wet bulb and dry bulb temperatures)

d) Relative humidity (which is a function of dry bulb and wet bulb temperatures).

e) Replenish oxygen

f) Replace indoor air laden with CO 2 and water vapour with clean outdoor air rich

in O2.

g) Remove odours

h) Sound level (noises)

i) Lighting quality

j) Pressure

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Air conditioning is often misused as a term to loosely and wrongly refer to:

 Simple ventilation, and/or

 Cooling

For purpose of this course, airconditioning is used to mean the control of items a, b,

c, d and g. Item e and f are briefly introduced.

Temperature control may involve either cooling or heating of the airconditioned

space. Cooling is always associated with refrigeration. Heating may be achieved by

conventional heating equipment or by reconfiguration of the refrigeration cycle to

act as a means of heating the space to be airconditioned.

Since cooling is invariably associated with refrigeration, cooling accounts for the

high capital and operating cost of airconditioning. The capital and running costs of

cooling a building have traditionally been much higher (4 times) than the capital and

running cost of heating a building. In recent times, airconditioning equipment has

been introduced which is capable of cooling (in a hot season) and heating (in a cold

season)

The control of air purity and movement calls for replenishing or removal of the air in

the airconditioned space. This is the ventilation part airconditioning and can be

designed to operate as part of an integral airconditioning system or as a separate

ventilation system.

The heat load to be removed from an airconditioned space may be derived from the

following sources:

 Human beings and animals (metabolism, activities, dressing etc.)

 Machinery/plant/equipment

 Processes

 Transfer through walls, floors and roofs/ceilings.

 Lighting fixtures

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 Supply air, Etc.

These sources must be studied in order to get a good understanding of the total heat

loads and ventilation loads.

The heat gains may be sensible heat gain and/or latent heat gains.

2) Meaning of Ventilation
a) Meaning of Ventilation
 Process by which fresh air or clean air is intentionally supplied
to a space while stake or unclean air is removed from the space.
b) Ventilation is important because:
 It controls impurities carried by incoming sir or by process
taking place in the ventilated spaces
 It controls the multiplication of bacteria, odour etc.
 It controls the increase of solid, gaseous and liquid substances
which are injurious to the human occupants and equipment.
 Controls growth of moulds, bacteria etc which are a health risk.
 Controls health problems such as headaches, allergies, asthma,
rashes, and sinusitis.
 Controls damage to walls ceilings etc caused by moist air, germs
etc.
 Controls collection of stagnant gases in parts of the building.
c) Ventilation encompasses:
 Intake of fresh air from outside
 Removal of spent air from indoors
 Mixing of air in a given space to attain even conditions
 Removal of odours vapours such as from cooking, processing,
human activities, etc.

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3) Meaning of Comfort Air-Conditioning
Comfort air-conditioning refers to the process of treating and supplying

air to spaces occupied by human beings (and animals). So as to maintain

the following parameters at levels/ranges perceived to be comfortable

for the majority of the occupants:

a) Temperature

b) Humidity

c) Replacing of clean air

d) Air movement patterns

e) Particulate matter

f) Lighting

g) Odours

h) Sounds

Comfort air-conditioning may be applied in many premise eg:

a) Residential houses

b) Classrooms

c) Public and private transport vehicles

d) Offices

e) Schools

f) Auditorium

g) Aircrafts

h) Food stores

i) Medicine store

j) Factories and workshops

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k) Etc

This is very subjective due to the following reasons, among others:

a) Geographical location (climatic)

b) Seasonal variations (climatic)

c) Day/night variations

d) Social structures and standards of living.

e) Architectural design of buildings (height, lateral dimensions,

orientation, building fabrics etc.)

f) Personal preferences in dressing

g) Personal preference in temperature and moisture levels.

Comfort air-conditioning is therefore based on statistical surveys of the

feelings/opinions of many human beings.

4) Meaning Industrial Air-conditioning

This refers to the cases where certain industrial or scientific processes

can only be performed in spaces where the valves of temperature, and

/or air humidity and/or air purity are controlled within strictly defined

limits. A departure from these limits may result in poor quality end

products or results.

Areas where these are used include:

a) Assembly of various products eg. Vehicle assembly

b) Processing of various products

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c) Packaging of various products

d) Storage of input materials

e) Storage of final product

f) Servicing of various products

5) Meaning of Domestic Refrigeration

Domestic refrigeration refers to the use of movable or fixed refrigeration
equipment to:

a) Preserve perishable food stuff at temperatures above freezing

temperature.
b) Preserve perishable food stuff at temperatures above freezing
temperature
c) Combine a) and b) above in a unit with a refrigeration compartment
and a freezing component

6) Meaning of Industrial Refrigeration

Industrial refrigeration refers to large scale cooling, refrigeration and
freezing of one or more raw or processed perishables for the following
purposes.

a) Process and storage of perishables

b) Transport of perishables products (road, rail, see, air)

7) Definition and Purpose of Space Heating

Space heating refers to the heating of air during cold seasons or in places
where it is always cold.

Space heating is part of air-conditioning and may be applied as a

separate or centralized system depending on the space(s) to be heated ie
single room, central heating etc.

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Space heating may be accomplished by one of the following methods

 Stand-alone electric heater

 Stand-alone fuel (liquid, solid or gas) heater
 Centralized ducted system using electrical heater(s)
 Centralized ducted system using fuel
 Solar space heating

Centralized ducted system using air-conditioning sets which can be

used for heating (cold season) and cooling (hot season)

Stand-alone air-conditioning set which can be used for heating and

cooling

It should be noted that space cooling and/or heating affects the relative
humidity of the air which can cause discomfort to occupants.

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