MODULE 3 - ENGINEERING ARCHITECTURE: HVAC & CONTROLS

A. Natural Ventilation
I. Types of natural ventilation:
Natural ventilation uses the principal of evaporative cooling by increasing air
velocity to evaporate sweat more efficiently; it is more effective at cooling the body
down than still air at a lower temperature.
Natural ventilation is also induced by pressure difference, which can be wind-driven,
or result from stack effect or thermo-siphon effect.

Stack-effect ventilation is when warm air moves up in a building

Thermo-siphon ventilation is when the temperature difference (chênh lệch) between
the inside and the outside creates air suction (lực hút).
Wind-driven ventilation is the most practical solution in most cases.
It can be single-sided, or cross-ventilated with single or double-banked spaces.

The EDGE User Guide provides some rules of thumb to design openings for adequate
ventilation. For more complex designs, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations
can be used.

 Practical technologies to support openable windows

Window switch
Inexpensive device + the HVAC system.
When the device senses that a window is open, the cooling air supply is turned off.

‘Traffic light’ device

A 'traffic light' system informs occupants (dân cư ngụ) when it is a good time to open the
window.

Powered window actuators

Actuators (bộ truyền động) allow automatic control on hard-to-reach vents (lỗ thông
hơi). A single sensor can control several vents.

Monsoon windows (cửa sổ gió mùa)

A rain sensor closes windows when it rains and still allows airflow through a perforated
grate (lưới đục lỗ) to interior louvers (cửa chớp) which open when the window is closed.

Noise cancellation design (Thiết kế khử tiếng ồn)

Useful in urban settings, a noise-cancelling wall can be designed with double layers and
a staggered vertical (thẳng đứng so le) air inlet and outlet. The front-facing side has a
grill (lưới tản nhiệt), weatherproofing, and a large ventilation panel. Baffles (vách ngăn)
allow the panel to be opened during the day with minimum noise penetration.

Other measures include sound absorbers and active noise control. Air-quality sensors
paired with actuators can control external noise as well as pollutants within the occupied
space.

Insect screens

Placed close to openings there may be difficulty operating certain types of windows, but
magnetically held screens are also available.
II. Night-purge (thanh lọc ban đêm) ventilation can be natural or forced:
The broad concept behind night cooling is to lower the temperature of a building at
night using the cooler outdoor air to flush (thổi vào) the building, reducing the need for
mechanical cooling during the day.

Ex: Exposed concrete soffit (sàn bê tông lộ ra ngoài) helps to store heat built up during
the day that can be ‘flushed’ out by night purging.
Vents can be controlled with timers and connected to rain and wind sensors.

B. MECHANICAL VENTILATION:
I. Ceiling fans:
Ceiling fans increase thermal comfort using air movement.
Ceiling fans aid human comfort by promoting the evaporation of perspiration (bay
hơi mồ hôi).
II. Air economizers (bộ tiết kiệm không khí):
An economizer = opening a window to
take advantage of cool, fresh outdoor air
instead of switching on the air-conditioning.
This mechanical device introduces fresh
air when window placements and other
factors do not allow for natural ventilation.
This system is effective when the outside
air is cooler than the air inside.
AHU Bộ xử lý nhiệt ẩm không khí

III. Displacement ventilation (Thông gió dịch chuyển)

Displacement ventilation = an air handling
strategy to reduce energy use.
It uses the principle of natural thermal
stratification (phân tầng nhiệt tự nhiên)
(hot air rises). Conditioned air is
introduced at a low height and as it gets
warmed up with interior loads and rises,
it is extracted (đc hút ra) through ceiling-
level vents.

Savings can be achieved in cooling mode

because only the lower strata (tầng) of the room air is conditioned. Unconditioned
outside air can also be used when the temperatures are right.

C. ACTIVE COOLING:
I. Evaporative cooling
A simple evaporative cooler uses water to humidify the air and cool it in the process.
It is used to cool the air in hot and dry climates. Evaporative cooling - passive or
active.
In passive systems, air can be drawn through earth tubes or towers.
In active systems, a mechanical system pulls air through a wet pad.
II. Mechanical air-conditioning systems
Most common - forced convection systems (blow refrigerated air into space with a fan or
blower).
All A/C types — unitary, packaged, roof top, split, chillers or VRF — are forced
convection systems when used with fans and air ducts.
Fans and blowers + passive systems to direct evaporatively cooled air from a network of
earth tubes to the space; the room air is exhausted outdoors.

The efficiency of a system is represented by COP (coefficient of performance) – hệ số

hiệu quả - a ratio of useful heating or cooling provided to the work required.
All air-conditioning types can be compared to each other using the COP.

 Examples of current efficiency standards for different air-conditioning system

types
A higher COP = equipment – more effective

III. Vapor compression chillers (nén hơi)

Typical chillers seen in large buildings that
require conventional systems; chillers (hệ
thống làm lạnh) are more efficient than
unitary systems (hệ thống đơn nhất).
 Current standards for vapor compression chillers

The COP of chillers is typically higher than that of packaged air-conditioning systems.

IV. A vapor absorption chiller (hấp thụ hơi nước)

uses heat to change the state of the refrigerant instead of using mechanical energy.
It serves as an efficiency measure when waste heat is used to generate cooling with
no additional emissions.
Waste heat can be a by-product of on-site electricity power plants e.g., gas or diesel
generators, or can be specifically generated from renewable heat sources such as solar
hot water collectors.

Current standards for vapor absorption chillers

Absorption chillers - use heat to create cooling making them a good fit when waste
heat or renewable heat sources are available to provide "free cooling".
V. Chilled beams, ceilings and structural slab (Dầm, trần và tấm kết cấu được làm
lạnh)
Chilled-water circulation cools the beams, ceilings or floor slabs of a building for the
removal of heat gains, using the principle of radiation. The air-distribution system
serves the sole purpose of ventilation and humidity control.

Radiant pipes -buried in the structural slab (tấm cấu trúc) to  cooling — the same
concept can also work for heating.

Radiant systems are especially effective in spaces with large ceiling heights and in non-
partitioned spaces (kg gian kg có vách ngăn), where a traditional system will need a lot
of forced air to condition.

One of the challenges in radiant cooling systems in humid climates is moisture control.
Water may start condensing on the cold surface, if the relative humidity of the indoor
space is not maintained below a certain threshold (ngưỡng nhất định).

VI. Mixed-mode cooling (làm mát hỗn hợp)

a hybrid approach to space conditioning = natural ventilation + mechanical systems.

A variety of configurations are possible.

Natural ventilation - from operable windows, or from automated openings using
sensors connected to a Building Energy Management System (BEMS).
Mechanical systems = air distribution equipment + refrigeration equipment for cooling.

1. Natural ventilation mode

Interior temperature: Above 28°C
Exterior temperature: Below 24°C
Exterior humidity: Below 55% relative
humidity
Comfort cooling systems are isolated and shut off or go to minimum air setting;
windows are opened, allowing natural ventilation.

2. Mechanical ventilation mode

Interior temperature: Above 28°C
Exterior temperature: Below 28°C
Exterior humidity: Below 55% relative
humidity

100% outside air from the mechanical

system.
Incoming air - cooled by the mechanical system using a refrigerant coil but does not use
as much energy as when a system is at full operation with return air cooling (làm mát
bằng không khí hồi lưu).

3. Air-conditioning mode
Interior temperature: Above 28°C
Exterior temperature: Above 28°C
Exterior humidity: Above 55% relative humidity

Windows are closed, comfort cooling is switched

on, and outside air is mixed with return air as in
conventional systems.

D. STRATEGIES FOR EFFICIENT HEATING

I. Heat loss must be minimized in cold climates
Like cooling, good design can reduce heating energy use. Heat loss can be minimized
by:
Reducing the surface area of a building
Constructing highly insulated roofs, walls, and windows
Reducing air leakage (rò rỉ kk)
Proper zoning of spaces (phân vùng kg gian hợp lý)
Sheltering from wind (Che chắn gió)

II. Passive solar heating

In a passive solar building, solar gains are
used to the maximum extent in winter.
Windows, thermal mass walls, and floors
 collect, store, and distribute solar
energy in the form of heat in the winter.
However, as envelope insulation and
airtightness increase (độ kín khí tăng),
passive solar becomes less important.

Some passive solar examples include the following:

1. Direct gains – improved with thermal mass + most glazing oriented towards the
equator (kính hướng về xích đạo)
2. Sun spaces – glass or plastic enclosures (vách ngăn) next to a building  trap solar
heat
3. Trombe walls = dark walls – absorb solar heat + transfet it  interior = a narrow air
gap (khe hở kk hẹp)
4. Roof ponds work well to store heat b/c water – high mass + a high heat coefficient =
stores heat effectively

III. Heat recovery ventilation

Whole-house mechanical ventilation with heat recovery
(thu hồi nhiệt) can reduce ventilation heat loss. 70-80%
of outgoing heat (nhiệt tỏa ra) can be recovered (đc thu
hồi).
Heat recovery ventilator devices (thiết bị thông gió thu
hồi nhiệt) are installed in the ductwork (hệ thống ống
gió) of the mechanical system.
They work on the simple principle of passing the heat from the exhausted air (khí thải)
to the incoming air through a metal plate or wheel.

It is also possible to design in heat recovery in passive ventilation stacks (ngăn thông
gió thụ động).

E. ACTIVE HEATING SYSTEMS:

I. Space heating:
Most conventional buildings - have a radiant heating
system or a forced-air system. Some buildings also use
individual room heaters.
A forced-air system uses ducts (ống dẫn) to transfer
heat from water or a refrigerant coil to the fans of an
air handling unit.
In smaller installations such as homes, a central gas-
fired or oil-fired furnace may supply warm air directly to
ducts.
A radiant system supplies hot water or steam to radiators (bộ tản nhiệt) installed in units
or to an underfloor radiant heating system (hệ thống sưởi bức xạ dưới sàn).

There are standard ways to compare the efficiency of heating systems.

To check the efficiency of heating systems and compare their energy performance,
one metric you can use is Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) - hiệu suất sử
dụng nhiên liệu hằng năm .
Thermal efficiency (TE) is another metric. Metrics can vary by country and system type.
+ The AFUE includes losses such as
standby loss, & seasonal variations
+ AFUE of 100% = all fuel is converted to
heating
(Most system types have some wasted
energy)

+ Heat pumps have efficiencies above

100% b/c they extract heat from air, water
or ground

II. Boilers for space heating and hot water

Heat from boilers is transferred by hot water or
steam through pipes to the distribution
points.

Conventional boilers  hot water or steam

 radiators or to the air supply.
Boilers may use natural gas, electricity, or oil
as a fuel.

One of the most efficient types of fuel-based heating systems (hệ thống sưởi ấm dựa
trên nhiên liệu hiệu) - condensing boiler (nồi hơi ngưng tụ).
It achieves high efficiency by condensing the water vapor in the exhaust gases and
recovering its latent heat of vaporization, (if now  waste)

III. Heat pumps (máy bơm nhiệt):

Heat pumps can deliver one and a half to three times more heat energy than the
electrical energy they consume.
This is possible because a heat pump moves heat from ambient air or water rather
than (chứ không phải) converting it from a fuel like combustion heating systems do.
There are three types of heat pumps: air-source, water-source, and ground-source.

1. Air-source heat pumps

Transfer heat between the building and
the outside air.
For homes without ducts, those are also
available in a ductless version (dạng
không ống dẫn) called a mini-split heat
pump (máy bơm nhiệt chia nhỏ).

2. Ground source heat pumps (GSHP)

Achieve greater efficiencies by transferring heat (in the form of water and antifreeze)
to or from the ground through pipes buried in the ground.
GSHP work best in locations where there is a large swing (sự thay đổi nhiệt lớn) in
temperatures between winter and summer.
The ground temperature below two meters stays constant over the year, being much
higher than outside air in winter, and lower in summer. Therefore, heat extraction from
the ground is much more efficient than from outside air.
+ Heat pump: heat from
ground or water is absorbed
into the fluid and passes
through a heat exchanger (bộ
trao đổi nhiệt) into the heat
pump.
+ Heat exchange with ground:
The deep group temperature
tends towards the annual
average air temperature
A nearby water source  a
relatively constant temperature
(nhiệt độ tương đối ổn định)
that is better than outside air
+ The length of the ground loop (Chiều dài của vòng nối đất) depends on the size (kích
thước) of the building and the amount of heat needed (lượng nhiệt cần thiết)
If space is limited, vertical boreholes (lổ khoan thẳng đứng) can be drilled instead.

IV. Domestic hot water

Hot water used inside the building for uses such as cleaning, showers, handwashing is
called Service Water or domestic hot water (DHW).
2 ways to generate DHW:

1. A storage-type water heater (máy nước nóng kiểu lưu trữ) heated by gas or
electricity.
Storage tanks need to be well insulated to avoid losing heat to the surroundings.

2. An instantaneous water heater (tankless). Tankless water heaters avoid standby

losses.

Solar hot water heaters

Where solar radiation is prevalent, solar hot
water heaters are a familiar technique to
reduce energy use to generate hot water.
A solar thermal collector (bộ thu nhiệt mặt
trời) collects heat from the sun by
absorbing solar radiation and transferring
it to the embedded pipes (ống nhúng) to
carry and heat the carrier fluid (i.e., water).

V. Drainpipe heat recovery (Thu hồi nhiệt từ ống thoát nước)

Recovering the heat from hot water that is being disposed of down the drain.
Common sources for hot water waste include showers, sinks, clothes washers,
dishwashers, and many other locations.
The concept is simple and based on a heat exchanger.
Drainpipe heat recovery systems are called Drain Heat Recovery or DHR systems.

+ The waste pipe (used hot

water)  cold-water supple
pipe
The drainpipe (ống thoát nước)
wrapped around (quấn quanh)
the incoming cold-water pipe
transfer the heat
+ Heat recovery coil
The common surface between
2 transfer the heat to the cold
water  preheating the water
The energy used as water
heater  preheating cold water
 showers or dedicated
storage device (thiết bị lưu trữ
chuyên dụng)

DHR systems work better for sources with continuous flow (nguồn có dòng chảy liên
tục) such as showers, rather than sources with only intermittent flow of waste (dòng
chảy chất thải gián đoạn) such as a dishwasher.

VI. Combined Heat and Power (CHP)

Dual-purpose power generation and
heating systems (HT phát điện & sưởi
ấm) or cogeneration systems (HT đồng
phát).
CHP systems are typically installed
along with on-site electricity generators
(máy phát điện tại chỗ) or in industrial
buildings where there may be plenty of
waste heat generated from industrial
processes.
For example, the heat produced by a diesel generator can be used (instead of being
exhausted) to heat a building space or preheat water being supplied to a boiler. The
heat is exchanged using specialized equipment with heat exchangers.
The waste heat can also be used to generated cooling using absorption chillers (thiết bị
làm lạnh hấp thụ)

F. CASE STUDIES:
I. Bruck Passive House Hotel, Changxing, China
1. Passive design
Minimized windows on the east and west façades (mặt tiền) to reduce solar gains
Highly insulated façade with a pre-mounted shading system of colored terracotta rods to
reduce energy gains
Fixed sun protection to minimize solar gains
Triple pane (khung ba lớp) with highly selective Low-E glazing to minimize solar gains
and maximize daylight usage
Balanced ventilation systems on the roof with heat and moisture recovery
Solar water heating with more than 80% annual coverage

2. Energy efficiency concepts

Solar hot water collectors
Energy-efficient air-conditioning with air-cooled screw chiller (máy làm lạnh trục vít làm
mát bằng không khí)
Balanced ventilation system with heat and moisture recuperation
Cooling baseload is covered through one of two air-to-air heat pumps
A second air-to-air heat pump covers the peak load for cooling
User-controlled cooling coils are installed in the apartments (circulating air - kk lưu
thông)

II. Johnson Controls HQ Asia Pacific, Shanghai, China

1. Passive design
includes a reduced window-to-wall ratio, insulation of roof and external walls, and higher
thermal performance glass
2. Energy efficiency concepts
The building uses efficient air-conditioning with a water-cooled chiller.
Air economizers get activated during favorable outdoor conditions.
Variable frequency drives in air-handling units, and variable speed drive pumps add
efficiency.
The building incorporates heat recovery from exhaust air and a high efficiency
condensing boiler for space heating.

III. Britam Towers, Nairobi, Kenya

+ Energy-saving: cooling
External solar shading
Double-glazed windows
Natural ventilation in the office and common floor areas

IV. Bloomberg London HQ, London, United Kingdom

1. Energy-saving: Innovative ‘petals’
The innovative ceiling panels feature 2.5 million polished aluminum 'petals' that save
energy by improving the efficiency of heating, cooling and lighting functions. This petal
design also helps manage acoustics and airflow.

2. Energy-saving: Heating and cooling

When the outside air temperature is suitable, the building can turn off its mechanical
ventilation system, open the custom bronze blades (cánh quạt bằng đồng tùy chỉnh)
shading the building’s interiors and cool the building with naturally flowing air,
significantly reducing energy consumption.

External shading reduces cooling demand. The CHP generation centre on-site supplies
heat and power in a single, efficient system with reduced carbon emissions. Waste heat
generated from this process is recycled for cooling and heating and, in use, is expected
to save 500-750 metric tonnes of CO2 each year.
V. Infosys Office SDB 1, Hyderabad, India
+ Energy-saving: Cooling
40% more efficient than the globally regarded American Society of Heating,
Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standard.
The efficient building envelope includes high-performance glazing.
Adequate shading
Radiant cooling system with efficient chillers, pumps and ceiling fans

VI. LIDL Stores, Europe

1. Passive design
Reduced window-to-wall ratio
Insulation of roof and walls
2. Energy efficiency concepts
Energy-efficient variable refrigerant volume (VRV) - cooling system Hệ thống làm lạnh
thể tích môi chất lạnh biến thiên
Variable frequency drives in air handling units
Sensible heat recovery from the exhaust air
CO2 sensor/demand-controlled ventilation for fresh air intake

VII. VBHC Vaibhava Housing, near Bangalore, India

+ Energy-saving: Lighting, cooling and hot water
Reduced window-to-wall ratio
Reflective paint for external walls
External shading devices
Energy-efficient ceiling fans
Energy-saving light bulbs in internal spaces, common areas and external spaces
Solar hot water collectors

Practical exercise: Modelling HVAC in EDGE

Start with the model saved in the practical exercise in the previous module. Confirm that
the model shows Energy savings of -0.17%, and the Final energy use in the Results bar
show 72,034.66 kWh/Month.

In this exercise, we will assess the impacts of:

1. Natural ventilation
2. Ceiling fans
3. Economizers
4. Chillers (air or water-based)
5. Waste heat recovery
6. Boilers
7. Solar hot water

Natural ventilation
On the Energy tab, select OFE09 — Natural ventilation.

On the Design tab, under the Building Orientation panel, change the Floor Plan Depth to the
following values:

1. 30 m

Energy savings: 4.19% and the Final energy use 30.053.64 kWh/month

2. 20 m

Energy savings 8.50% and the Final energy use 29,822.80 kWh/month

3. 10 m

Energy savings 8.50% and the Final energy use 29,822.80 kWh/month

For each case, note the Energy savings and the Final energy use in the Results bar into your Excel
spreadsheet. (Do you see a pattern?)
Unselect the measure OFE09 and set the floor plan depth back to 20 m on the
Design tab. Save the file.

Active cooling systems

On the Energy tab, select the following measures individually:

1. OFE10 — Ceiling Fans for Offices Spaces

Energy savings 0% and the Final energy use 46,840.48 kWh/month

2. OFE11 — Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) System

Energy savings 12.50% and the Final energy use 40,983.20kWh/month

3. OFE12 — Air Conditioning with Air Cooled Screw Chiller

Energy savings 7.17% and the Final energy use 43,480.24 kWh/month

4. OFE13 — Air Conditioning with Water Cooled Chiller

Energy savings 16.43% and the Final energy use 39,142.57 kWh/month

For each case, note the Energy savings and the Final energy use in the Results bar into your Excel
spreadsheet.

Unselect all Energy measures. Save the file.

Active heating systems

1. Go to Design tab, under Location Data change the country to Mongolia and set the city
to Ulan Bator.
2. Scroll down to Show Advanced Settings --> Key Assumptions for the Base Case.
Change Fuel Used for Space Heatings to Natural Gas.
3. Go to the Energy tab, select the following individually:

a) OFE11 — Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) System

Energy savings 0.05% and the Final energy use 83,455.08kWh/month

b) OFE14 — Ground Source Heat Pump + OFE16 — Radiant Cooling and Heating System

Energy savings 2.70% and the Final energy use 81,240.54 kWh/month

c) OFE21 — Sensible Heat Recovery from Exhaust Air

Energy savings 8.29% and the Final energy use 76,573.28 kWh/month

d) OFE22 — High-Efficiency Condensing Boiler for Space Heating

Energy savings -3.81% and the Final energy use 86,765.27 kWh/month

For each case, note the Energy savings, and the Final energy use in the Results bar into your Excel
spreadsheet.

1. Unselect all Energy measures.

2. Set the location back to Country > India and City > Delhi.
3. Set the space heating fuel under Key Assumptions back to Electricity.
4. Save the file.

Click ‘End of practical exercise’ to mark this activity as complete.