HEATING COOLING

VENTILATION
Reporter: Albert Isaac
1.) ENERGY SOURCES
Natural Materials Fossil Fuel
*Wood *Gas
*Peat *Oil
*Natural Oils *Coal
Hydroelectric Power
Nuclear Plants
The Heat Pump
Solar energy
Geothermal Energy
Trash
 2.) ENERGY REQUIREMENTS
for Heating Commercial
and institutional buildings
A few items that make the requirements different from that of houses can be noted.
Dense human occupancy often provides body heat that is much more than that required
to heat a space, even in critically cold weather. By means of heat pumps, thermal gain is
frequently interchanged with the lesser energy content of cooler areas. It is
nonetheless a credit item in the annual heating fuel bill Computers and other business
machines are similar credits. Until recently, high foot-candle levels of general office
lighting had effects that displaced some of the fuel that would otherwise operate heating
units in such buildings.
 3. COMBUSTION, CHIMNEYS
AND FUEL STORAGE
As fuels burn to produce heat, they require oxygen to support the combustion. Since
oxygen is only about 1/5 of the volume of air, reasonably large rates of air flow are required.
The air should be drawn in from outdoors at a position close to the fuel burner or
led to this location by a duct. For residences and other small buildings a lower about
twice the cross-sectional area of the flue should prove satisfactory . It should be arranged
to remain open at all times. If an attempt is made to draw this air from the general
space of the house, modern tight construction may retard the effort. If the air rate is
sufficient by the use of this scheme, it is likely to result in undesirable acceleration of
cold infiltration flowing in to replace the air that is used.
 4. WARM AIR HEATING
The use of air for heating has certain advantages. The motion of air in space helps to
assure uniform conditions and reasonably equal temperatures in all parts of the house.
It is possible to clean both the recirculated air and the outdoor air by means of filters
and other special air-cleaning equipment. Air may be circulated in non-heating seasons.
fresh air may be introduced to reduce odors and to make up the air exhausted by fans
in kitchens, laundries and bathrooms. Central cooling can be incorporated or introduced if
ducts are designed originally for this cooling sometimes calls for greater rates of air
circulation. Humidification may be achieved by a humidifier in the air stream and, if
cooling is included in the design, dehumidification is accomplished in summer.
SOME SYSTEM COMPONENTS
A. FURNACE-a typical furnace as shown below embraces within its housing the fan
(blower). motor, filters, oil burner and heat-transfer surfaces. A humidifier can be
added to this assembly. Arrows indicate the direction of the air. In passing through
the blower the air enters at the end of the cylinder opposite the pulley and is forced
into the warming chamber by a cylindrical impeller unit .
B. DUCTS- constructed of sheet metal or glass fiber- either round or
rectangular.
Ductwork will conduct noise unless the following suggestions are followed:
1 . Do not place the blower too close to a return grill.
2. Select quiet motors and cushioned mountings.
3. Do not permit connection or contact of conduits or water piping with the
blower housing.
4. Use canvas-asbestos flexible connection between bonnet and ductwork.
DUCT SIZING
Example: The main duct in the low velocity, warm air system of a residence delivers

1,600 cubic feet per minute (cfm) select a size for this duct.
Solution: The table below indicates that 800ft. per minute (fpm) would be an acceptable velocity. The area of the
duct in square inches would be
CONVENTIONAL WARM AIR FURNACE AND DUCTS
This system with supply registers in the floor under glass and
interior, high return registers is suitable for heating or cooling.
 C. DAMPERS- these will be necessary to balance the system and adjust it to the
desires of the occupants. Splitter dampers are used where branch ducts leave the
larger Trunk ducts. Each riser can have its flow controlled by an adjustable damper
in the basement at the foot of the riser. labels should indicate the room's served.
 D. REGISTERS-Supply Registers should be equipped with dampers and should have

their vanes arranged to disperse the air and to reduce its velocity as soon as possible after entering the room. A
common method is to provide vanes that divert the air half to the right and half to the left.
When a supply register is in the corner of a room, it is best practice for the vanes to deflect all the air in one
direction, away from the corner. Return grills are of the slotted type in walls and of the grid type in
floors . All registers and grills should be made tight at the duct connection.
 E. CONTROLS- the burner is started and stopped by a thermostat, which !s ace~ in
or near the living room at a thermally stable location that is protected from cold

drafts, direct sunlight, and the warming effects or nearby warm air registers. A cut-
in temperature of between 80 and 95 °F is selected for
the fan switch in the furnace bonnet. After the burner starts, the fan switch turns on the blower when the

furnace air reaches the selected cut-in temperature. Burner and blower then continues to run while heat is
needed. When the burner turns off. The blower continues to run until the temperature in the furnace
drops to a level a little below the cut-in temperature of the fan switch.
 5. RESOURCEFULNESS IN THE DESIGN
OF WARM AIR SYSTEMS

Flexibility and imagination are the key qualities in selecting and developing any
mechanical or electrical system. In the years ahead, frequent changes are always expected. They
include among many others, new architectural trends, a shift in the availability of energy
sources, improved construction methods, and newly developed equipment. These influences
apply to warm air heating.
Very gradual changes had culminated by
mid century to produce systems. The
improvements included:

Automatic firing of oil or gas

Operational
and Safety Control Duc1ed air to and
from each room Blowers to replace
gravity filters Adjustable registers.
 In 1961 's the basement began to disappear. Subslab perimeter systems were popular
for basement less houses. In general, t he above features were retained and air was
delivered upward across glass, to be taken back at high-return grills.

FORCED WARM-AIR, perimeter loop system adaptable for cooling. (No returns from kitchen, baths, or garage).
legend:
a. Downflow air furnace (see detail next figure)
b. Supply plenum
c. Eight-inch (plus) subslab supply ducts (encased in
concrete)
d. Eigth-inch perimeter duct (encased in concrete)
e. Floor register (adjustable for direction and flow rate)
f. Return grill
g. Return plenum
In the 1970's oil and gas became scarse. The adoption of electricity resulted in
numerous changes. Necessities such as combustion, chimneys and fuel storage be-
came nonessential. Horizontal Electric Furnace began to appear in shallow attics or
above furred ceilings. Air was delivered down from ceilings to warm exterior glass and
taken back through door-grills and open plenum space (see next Figure, zone C Duct layout).
There are no fixed rules about designs. The principles of efficiency, comfort, cost and
conformity to the architectural design are paramount.
 ZONE C DUCT LAYOUT
Heating-ventilating unit C serves classroom 1 and 2. In each room, warm air is de-
livered down across cool glass through two 12 x 6 in. registers. Warm air is also de-
livered horizontally into the space through two 1 2 x 5 inch registers in the face of the
common duct. Return air leaves through 18 x 18 Inch grills in the classroom door and is
drawn into the unit through the 30 x 24 inch grill flush with the furred ceiling.
 6. HOT WATER AND
STEAM BOILERS
Types of Steel and CAST IRON BOILERS

1 . Oil-FIRED Steel boiler- A refractory chamber receives the hot

flame of the oil fire.
Combustion continues within the chamber and the fire tubes.
Smoke leaves through
the breeching at the rear. Water, outside the chamber. receives the
heat generated in
the combustion chamber. If the domestic hot water coil is
connected for use, a larger
capacity boiler is selected. An aquestat (water thermostat) turns on
the burner whenever the boiler water cools off. Thereby
maintaining a reservoir of hot water
ready for heating the house.
2. GAS-FIRED, Cast iron hot water boiler Cast iron sections contain water that is heated by
gas from below the unit. Output is related to the number of sections. It may be considered a
"package" unit because the connected circulating pump stands ready to move water through
convectors or baseboards.
3. Oil-fired Cast iron hot water boiler primary and secondary air
for combustion may be regulated at the burner unit. Flame enters
the refractory chamber and continues around the outside of the
water-filled cast iron sections.

4. HIGH-OUTPUT, package-type sell boiler. For large buildings

using steam as a primary heating medium, one or several such
boilers may be used. The relative lightness of this boiler type
makes this package type suitable for use on upper floors of tall
buildings.
5. CONVERTOR, STEAM TO HOT WATER -When in a building rising primary steam
boilers. secondary circuits using hot water for heating are required, a convertor is used.
It is considered a heat exchanger. A convertor may also be used to transfer heat from
steam to domestic water.
6. ELECTRIC BOILERS - For hot water heating
are of high capacity output. Electric steam boilers
are also commonly used in large buildings.

7 .COAL-FIRED STEAM BOILER- As less

polluting use of coal is achieved, a return of
this variation of equipment is seen.