MALAVIYA NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY,

JAIPUR
Jawahar Lal Nehru Marg, Jaipur - 302017 (Rajasthan)

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

Building Services Report

On
HVAC Systems and FireFighting

Umang Bhardwaj (2017UAR1316)

Ritu Choudhary (2017UAR1464)
Jayant Meena (2017UAR1115)
B.ARCH. Sem.-IX
ABSTRACT
The paper mainly explores the different types of HVAC Systems and Firefighting
systems based on the scale of the Building. To explore such a system the study
includes the case study of Kota City mall, EHCC hospital Jaipu and IONICA.
The aim is to analyse the case study on its HVAC System and Firefighting System with
the National Building Codes and Standards.
INTRODUCTION
Purpose of the report is to study the different types of HVAC systems installed in the
building complex according to the building typology, buildings laws and standards,
and architectural spatial requirements.

The three case studies introduced for the purposes are:

Kota Mall and EHCC is fully dependent on HVAC systems for air cycle change
indoors. On the contrary the IONICA office building is dependent on both passive
design techniques as well as HVAC system for the same.

The study examines the difference in the building requirements in HVAC and
architectural space requirements for installation which are fully air conditioned and
the buildings which are dependent on both; passive design techniques and HVAC
systems.
HVAC SYSTEMS
HVAC stands for Heating, Ventilation and Air conditioning which are installed in a
building complex for providing thermal comfort to the occupant. It is important to
understand the type of HVAC system installed according to the building type since it
affects comfort, health, energy consumption, different energy loads and the
productivity of the occupants.

Different types of air conditioning systems used: -

The type of system used in the complex depends on the volume of the space which
needs to be air conditioned and the ton of the system required to do the same.

Room and Split Air-conditioners: Room air conditioners are used for the rooms and
private spaces rather than building complexes. They are less efficient as compared
to the other systems. They are less expensive and easier to operate as compared to
the central units system. The split air conditioners consist of two units; indoor and
outdoor units. The indoor unit comprises a dispenser and the outdoor unit comprises
compressor, evaporator and condenser.

Packaged Air-conditioners: The packaged air conditioner unit comprises one single
unit which comprises condenser, evaporator, and compressor. It is usually installed
on the roof or on a slab specifically designed for the unit installation outside the
building.

Central Air-conditioners: Central air conditioners system involve chillers, air handling
units and cooling towers and are used for buildings which are huge in volume. They
are installed on the roof of the buildings. This type of system is where the footfall
inside the building complex is high and large space is required to be air conditioned.

Components for the HVAC System:-

Chillers: A chiller is essentially a packaged vapor compression cooling machine. The

chiller rejects heat either to condenser water (in the case of a water-cooled chiller) or
to ambient air (in the case of an air-cooled chiller). A typical chiller is rated between
15 to 1000 tons (53 to 3,500 kW) in cooling power. Water-cooled chillers incorporate
the use of cooling towers which improve heat rejection more efficiently at the
condenser than air-cooled chillers.
Boiler: A self-contained low-pressure appliance for supplying steam or hot water.
Heat Pump: A heat pump consists of one or more factory-made assemblies that
normally include an indoor conditioning coil(s), compressor (s), and outdoor coil(s),
including means to provide a heating function. Heat pumps provide the function of
air heating with controlled temperature, and may include the functions of air-cooling,
air circulation, air cleaning, dehumidifying, or humidifying.

Air Handling Unit: An air handler, or air handling unit (often abbreviated to AHU), is a
device used to regulate and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and
air-conditioning (HVAC) system. An air handler is usually a large metal box
containing a blower, heating or cooling elements, filter racks or chambers, sound
attenuators, and dampers. Air handlers usually connect to a ductwork ventilation
system that distributes the conditioned air through the building and returns it to the
AHU.

Fig: Working of AHU

FIRE FIGHTING SYSTEMS

There are two type of systems that Come under fire fighting systems:
1. Active fire fighting System
2. Passive fire fighting System

Active fire fighting System

Active Fire Protection System consists of manually operated and automatic fire
protection systems that work together to detect fire, suppress and extinguish fire,
and facilitate fire rescue. Active Fire Protection System should be considered from
the design stage of a project. in compliance with UBBL 1984 Part VIII that focuses
on fire alarms, fire detection, fire extinguishment and firefighting access.

Fig: Active Fire protection System

Passive fire fighting System

- Passive Containment System: The passive containment system is described
to consist of interconnected cells within the building and can control the
situation all by themselves while without any actively involved. It avoids fire
spread and prolongs time for safe evacuation of the building occupants;
thereby it must be considered at the planning stage in a building project.
Fig: Passive fire protection system

- Evacuation: Emergency evacuation is the urgent immediate egress or escape

of people away from an area that contains threat or a hazard to lives.
- Fire Fighting Access: Firefighter access to enable firefighters to gain access
from external to rescue any people trapped in the building and to allow
firefighting from the outside of building.

CASE STUDY
Case Study of HVAC is done on two buildings:
- City Mall at Kota
- EHCC, Jaipur (Hospital)

Standards and Norms for HVAC

For the Chiller and HVAC room:
 - This room shall be located preferably within the building being air conditioned
and closer to the external wall for facilitating ventilation and equipment
movement.
- The equipment may also be installed in a separate service block which should
also be located as close as possible to the load/building being conditioned.
- The clear headroom below the soffit of the beam should be minimum 4.5 m for
larger capacity chillers (500 TR and above) and minimum 3.6 m for smaller
plants.
- Service ramps or hatch in ground floor slab should be provided in such cases.
Fire egress and emergency battery backup lighting shall be provided for the
plant room operator.
- Supporting of pipe within plant room spaces should be normally from the floor.
However, outside plant room areas, structural provisions shall be made for
supporting the water pipes from the floor/ceiling slabs. All floor and ceiling
supports shall be isolated from the structure to prevent transmission of
vibrations

Fig: Plan of CIty mall Kota

ANALYSIS: The units have the windows for the ventilation which is according to the
standards and the tramp is provided in the entrance for the ease of accessibility. The
floor is also hard and all the duct connecting pipes are on the floor.

For the Cooling Tower

- Structural provision for the cooling tower shall be taken into account while
designing the building. Vibration isolation shall be an important consideration in
 structural design.
- Provision for a make-up water tank to the cooling tower shall be made.
Make-up water tank to the cooling tower shall be separate from the tank
serving drinking water. Makeup water should be sourced from treated water
from sewage treatment, wastewater treatment plants, or from rain water
harvesting.
- The weight of the cooling towers shall be considered while designing the roof
of the structure.
- In the Agartala airport there are 3 cooling towers with 350TR and a standby
cooling tower. Usually the standby Cooling tower is for the future extension.
- In the IIM Ranchi, the small HP outdoor units are used as the system is smaller
and has to serve small buildings which have a mixture of the HVAC and the
passive design technology.

For the AHU units

- This shall be located as centrally as possible to the conditioned area and
contiguous to the corridors or other service areas for carrying air ducts in
ceiling spaces.
- Provision shall be made for the outdoor entry of fresh air into air handling Unit
- Exterior openings for outdoor air intake and also exhaust outlets shall have
louvers having rain protection profile, with volume control damper, pre-filter and
bird screen.
- Exhaust air from any dwelling unit shall not be circulated/ingress directly or
indirectly to any other dwelling unit, to public corridor or into public stairway
- Waterproofing of air handling unit rooms shall be carried out to prevent
damage to the floor below.
- It should be possible to isolate the air handling from the Fire Safety area
- Beam Layout shall not Obstruct the Duct System in the Building.
Fig: Plan of EHCC jaipur

ANALYSIS:
- The rooms in both buildings are located on the boundary of the building for the
fresh air. The unit for the fresh air is also located in the room to clean the air
before using it.
- The room has the cut out as the transfer of the pipes to the above floors.

For the Duct work

- The importance of a proper duct design is to deliver the amount of air at proper
condition that is required to meet the loads in each zone of the building. Duct
design is constrained by many factors.
- Aspect Ratio of duct shall be between 1 to 4
- Smooth turns should be maintained rather than crisp angles. Hence, circular
ducts should be used rather than rectangular but dimensions available for
installing the system generally prefer rectangular sections.
- The thickness of the duct sheet is measured in gauge.
Fig: Plan of City Mall, Kota

Case study for fire fighting

- EHCC Jaipur

Standards and Norms for Fire fighting

RAMPS
- Ramps of slope of not more than 1 in 10 may be substituted for and shall
comply with all the applicable requirements of all required stairways as to
enclosure capacity and limiting dimensions. Larger slopes shall be provided for
special uses but in no case greater than 1 in 8. For all slopes exceeding 1 in 10
and where the use is such as to involve danger of slipping, the ramp shall be
surfaced with approved non-slipping material.
- The minimum width of the ramps in the Hospitals shall be 2.4 m. and, in the
basement, using car parking shall be 6.0 m.
- Handrails shall be provided on both sides of the ramp.
- Ramp shall lead directly to outside open space at ground level or courtyards of
safe place.
- For buildings above 24.0 m. in height, access to ramps from any floor of the
building shall be through smoke fire check doors.
- In case of nursing homes, hospitals etc. area exceeding 300 sq m. at each floor
one of the exit facilities shall be a ramp of not less than 2.4 m. in width.

PROVISION OF LIFTS
- Provision of the lifts shall be made for all multistoried buildings having a height
 of 15.0 m, and above. All the floors shall be accessible for 24 hrs. By the lift.
The lift provided in the buildings shall not be considered as a means of escape
in case of emergency.
- Grounding switch at ground floor level to enable the fire service to ground the
lift car in case of emergency shall also be provided.
- The lift machine room shall be separate and no other machinery be installed in
it.
SERVICE DUCTS/REFUSE CHUTE
- Service duct shall be enclosed by walls and door, if any, of 2 hours fire rating. If
ducts are larger than 10 sq m. the floor should seal them, but provide suitable
opening for the pipes to pass through, with the gaps sealed.
- A vent opening at the top of the service shaft shall be provided between one
fourth and one half of the area of the shaft. Refuge chutes shall have an outlet
at least of wall of noncombustible material with fire resistance of not less than
two hours. They shall not be located within the staircase enclosure or service
shafts or air-conditioning shafts. Inspection panel and door shall be tight fitting
with 1-hour fire resistance; the chutes should be as far away as possible from
exits.
- Refuge chutes shall not be provided in staircase walls and A/C shafts etc.

STATIC WATER STORAGE TANK

- A satisfactory supply of water exclusively for the purpose of fire fighting shall
always be available in the form of underground static storage tank with
capacity specified in Annexure-A with arrangements of replenishment hay
town's main or alternative source of supply e 1000 liters per minute. The static
storage water supply required for the above mentioned purpose should entirely
be accessible to the fire tenders of the local fire service. Provision of suitable
number of manholes shall be made available for inspection repairs and
insertion of suction hose etc. The covering slab shall be able to withstand the
vehicular load of 45 tones in case of high rise and 22 comes in case of low
buildings. A draw off connection shall be provided. The slab need not be
strengthened if the static tank is not located in the mandatory set-back area.
- To prevent stagnation of water in the static water tank the suction tank of the
domestic water supply shall be fed only through an overflow arrangement to
maintain the level therein at the minimum specified capacity.
- The static water storage tank shall be provided with a fire brigade collecting
branching with 4 Nos. 63mm dia instantaneous male inlets arranged in a valve
box with a suitable fixed pipe not less than 15 cm dia to discharge water into
the tank. This arrangement is not required where downcomer is provided.

FIRE ALARM SYSTEM

- All residential buildings like dwelling lives (including flats, boarding houses and
 hostels shall be equipped with manually operated electrical fire alarm systems
with one or more call boxes located at each floor. The location of the call boxes
shall be decided after taking into consideration their floor without having to
travel more than 225 m
- The call boxes shall be of the break glass type without any moving parts, where
the call is transmitted automatically to the control room without any other
action on the part of the person operating the call boxes
- All call boxes shall be wired in a closed circuit to a control panel in a control
room, located as per Bye-Laws so that the floor number from where the call
box is actuated is clearly indicated on the control panel. The circuit shall also
include one or more batteries with a capacity of 48 hours normal working at full
load The battery shall be arranged to be a continuously trickle charged from the
electric mains.
- The call boxes shall be arranged to sound one or more sounders so as to
ensure that all occupants of the floor shall be warned whenever any call box is
actuated.
- The call boxes shall be so installed that they do not obstruct the exit ways and
yet their location can easily be noticed from either direction. The base of the
call box shall be at a height of 15 m from the floor level.
- All buildings other than as indicated above shall, in addition to the manually
operated electrical fire alarm system, be equipped with an automatic fire alarm
system.

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS
- All buildings of 24m. and above in height, except group housing and 45 m and
above in case of apartment group housing society building.
- Hotels below 15 m. in height and above 1000 sq m. built up area at cach floor
and or if basement is existing • All hotels, mercantile, and institutional buildings
of 15 m and above.
- Mercantile building having basement more than one floor but below 15 m (floor
area not excelling 750 sq m.) • Underground Shopping Complex,
- Underground car scooter parking enclosed car parking • Basement area 200 sq
m. and above.
- Any special hazards where the Chief Fire Officer considers it necessary
- For building up to 24 m. in height where automatic sprinkler system is not
mandatory as per these Bye-Laws, if provided with sprinkler installation
following relaxation may be considered o Automatic heat/smoke detection
system and M.CP need not be insisted upon o The number of Fire Extinguisher
required shall be reduced by half.
Fig: Plan of EHCC (fire exit on lower basement)

Fire fighting systems in EHCC

- All the floors have 3 fire exit staircases.
- Sprinklers have been provided @approx.3000mm depending upon equal
distribution of width of hall available.
- Two types of detector shave been used:
•smoke sensors •heat sensor
- In the basement-parking areas:emergence foam extinguishers for controlling of
oil fires
- Hose-reels in fire-fighting niches 4'x4' have been used
- Public address system & hooter have been placed strategically.
- Fire exit routes with automatic opening type doors have been provided.
- Three fire water tanks.

Analysis

- EHCC has provision of water sprinklers in the structure as mentioned for

buildings for more than 15 m height in the same building typology.
- The staircase located at the ends can act as an escape staircase in case of fire.
 FIRE EXITS

Staircase detail According to As per standards Inferences

case study

Width 1.177m Min 2 Less than

required

Tread 0.3m Min 0.3 proper

Number of steps per flight 14 steps Max 15 steps proper

Distance b/w 1st and 2nd 57m Max 30m More than
exit required

Distance between 3rd and 27.5m

4th exit

PASSIVE TECHNIQUES IN OFFICE BUILDING

reducing load on HVAC

Natural Ventilation
Natural ventilation in the southern zones is carried out using two manually
openable windows at low and mid level combined with operation of a high
level window above. This is under the control of the Building Management
System at night and under occupant control via a switch during the daytime.
The air from the windows passes through the office space and into the three
storey atrium. This allows natural cross ventilation to take place during most
of the year. The roof of the atrium contains six wind towers which are
designed to exhaust air from the atrium irrespective of wind direction. The
wind towers are protected from the rain by a canopy and are expected to
provide controllable natural ventilation under 95 % of all weather conditions.
When the wind blows from a particular direction the two wind towers at either
end of the building close in order to prevent reverse air flow back into the
 atrium. The provision of the wind towers is a particularly important design
feature. Other buildings which use conventional rooflights under automatic
control to facilitate natural ventilation have been found only to operate for
approximately 65 % of the required time due to closure as a consequence of
high wind and/or rain.

The building façades play a vital role in moderating the external climate. The façade
has the following functions:
● External shading reduces glare and solar gain during mid-season and summer
(south only).
● Internal blinds allow occupant control over daylight levels and solar
penetration especially during periods of low angle sun.
● Opening windows with automatic openings provide night time ventilation
(south only).
● Allows the ingress of a high degree of daylight reducing artificial light
requirements.
● Winter heat loss minimized by a well insulated construction with low-emitting
glazing.
● Provides good views.

Figure : Plan of IONICA Building, UK

Daylighting
The building design exploits daylighting as a means of limiting the need for
artificial light to reduce electrical loads, fostering occupant well-being while
providing a glare-free daylit interior forVDU use. The building form directly
responds to such criteria; shallow plans ensure daylight availability to most
workspaces; less-daylight-dependent spaces are placed in the centre of the
north block; vertical services are placed on the east and west façades where
low-angle sun would make windows problematic in terms of glare and solar
gain. The south façade is predominantly and continuously glazed (65%) to
benefit from redistributed solar radiation into the deeper office space. The
north façade, significantly less transparent (30%), has discrete tall windows
with splayed reveals adequate to allow daylight to penetrate the shallower
plan, while preserving a level of visual and acoustic privacy from the main
road. Finally, the top-lit atrium brings daylight into the core of the building,
proving extremely effective at providing daylight throughout the plan, even on
overcast days.
Solar shading
The south façade is heavily shaded with white painted louvred overhangs to intercept
unwanted sun penetration during the summer. Manual internal blinds provide user
control to both limit solar gains during other parts of the year and to ensure glare is
limited. The glazing forms a continuous band from workplane height to the ceiling
plane, where the wall-to-ceiling junction is flush. Maximising the window height in
this way improves daylight penetration.
Glare
Glare has been addressed on the
north façade; windows have splayed reveals
to soften the contrast between wall and sky,
and
manual interior blinds have been provided
 to intercept unwanted early morning or late evening sun in the summer. Glare
is limited to being only a potential problem along the south edge during
low-sun winter days, when occupant control is provided by internal louvred
blinds. The education of the user was seen as an important part of the
building’s success, and a series of seminars were held during the first year of
occupation.

Energy efficiency Analysis

Daylight modelling and analysis demonstrated that 80% of the office areas
would receive sufficient natural light for 80% of the working year during
daylight hours. The potential savings were only achievable with effective
artificial lighting controls in the form of photo sensors and dimming of the
high-frequency fluorescent lamps. However, as the building has an occupancy
of typically 18 hours, with some areas occupied for 24 hours, daylight energy
savings are not as substantial as with a more conventional occupancy
pattern. Overall lighting energy savings are estimated to be up to 35% better
than traditional design.

Performance Data
Internal Temperature
● The effect of the hot weather during June resulted in high space temperatures
(over 27 °C) in the office areas. The south western and south eastern zones
were noticeably warmer than the northern zones, particularly on the ground
● and first floors. The heat pump cooling was manually initiated during the
hottest periods.
● The internal temperatures during the other periods were generally satisfactory,
being maintained between approximately 20 °C and 24 °C.
Cooling Performance
The number of hours that the internal temperature exceeded specified limits was
calculated for the period between the hours of 09.00 and 18.00 from Monday to
Friday for the period from 17 January to 20 June 1996 (i.e. a total of 3454 hours).
The results show a total of approximately 5 hours over 27.5 °C for the monitored
period corresponding to external temperatures greater than 30 °C (the design
allowed for a total of 29 hours above 27.5 °C).
Slab Temperature
Slab temperature variations for the second quarter monitoring period are indicated in
the table below. The maximum values for the monitored period occurred on 7 June
1996 coinciding with the hottest period. The minimum values were recorded in April
1996 following a period of low external temperatures.
Energy Consumption
The building is all electric with the exception of gas used for catering.
The electrical power consumption for the first six months is high for a building of this
type. A breakdown of electrical loads is being undertaken but it is apparent that the
building has a particularly high IT load.
Control Strategy
The ventilation system operates in many modes dependent upon the internal and
external temperatures. These modes are summarised in Table. The occupants have
the provision to control the blinds, windows and perimeter heating thermostats.