Air-conditioning is the process of treating air so as

to control simultaneously its temperature,

humidity, cleanliness (purity) and distribution to
meet the requirements of the conditioned space.

REASON - The rapidly increasing scale of public

and commercial buildings demanded effective
ways of cooling and dehumidifying the deep-plan
interior.

Achieve by developing the principles of

moving air in ducted ventilation systems to
include a number of physical and scientific
process which enhance air quality

Objective: provide and maintain internal air

conditions at a predetermined state

4 controlled elements :
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Air quality
- Air distribution velocity

1.

Temperature
The refrigeration component of the system
removes heat from the incoming air to keep the
room temperature to 20o25o. The removal heat is
via refrigeration cycle.

2.

Humidity
A person feels a cooling effect due to the
evaporation of his sweat. The lower the humidity
(i.e : the drier the air), the faster the rate of
evaporation, the cooler a person feels. humidity
must be controlled (using the process of
humidification or dehumidification) so that the
relative humidity is around 40% - 60%. This is the
level of humidity that is most comfortable for a
person.

3.

Air quality
In ventilated air-conditioning systems, air is
brought into a building to replace used air.
Most air-conditioning systems are actually
sophisticated ways of mechanical ventilation.
Air quality is associated with air purity. There
are 2 aspects associated with air purity which
are cleanliness and oxygen contents.

4.

Air distribution velocity

The conditioned air needs to be moved and
distributed to the required spaces in the
building. A fan is used to move the air
through the air delivery system.

Economy
By achieving minimum duct layout

Retain
Capability of serving the different spaces
according to the differing requirements

Balance
Fan pressure, duct & grills size to the
different part of the building, get balance
where each part getting its appropriate share
of supply

Weather analysis / Climate: outdoor design

temperature

Construction / building scale : location,

orientation, type of building

Building analysis: the scale effect of increased

volume and thermal impacts

Activities: inside activities, internal comfort

criteria

Quality and prestige: higher expectation of

comfort

Supply & return air ducts - the pipe /

passageway in which the air moves

Control dampers to change the

direction of the movement of air so that
some of the air can be directed to duct
branches

Duct insulation - to insulate heat from

heating the cooler air and insulate from
any sound of the moving air

Sound dampers - to stop sound from

being produced by moving air

Fire dampers - to prevent the spread

of fire through ducts

Supply air grilles - used to diffused

the air so that the air is evenly
distributed as it enters the room
space. It is usually installed in the
ceiling. Also known as the air supply
diffuser. The conditioned air is
distributed into the room space via
supply air outlets

Return air grilles - Used air escape

from the room via the r.a.g into the
return air duct. Used air is collected
using the air inlet. Some airconditioning systems do not have air
delivery systems.

Heating air-conditioning
To treat the air so that a comfortable warm
environment is produced for the building
interior.

Refrigeration air-conditioning (Cooling airconditioning

To treat the air so that a comfortable cool
environment is produced for the building
interior.
Note: For the purpose of this subject, we will study more about Refrigeration
air-conditioning as it is more applicable in this country.


1.
2.
3.
4.

There are 4 basic components involves in cooling cycle, that is:

Compressor
Condenser
Expansion Valve
Evaporator

An air conditioner cools your home with a cold indoor coil called the
evaporator

The condenser, a hot outdoor coil, releases the collected heat

outside. The evaporator and condenser coils are serpentine tubing
surrounded by aluminum fins. This tubing is usually made of copper.

A pump, called the compressor, moves a heat transfer fluid (or

refrigerant) between the evaporator and the condenser. The pump
forces the refrigerant through the circuit of tubing and fins in the
coils.

The vapour compression refrigeration cycle is

as follows:
1. Compression:
The compressor compresses the lowpressure gas so that the gas becomes
hotter and has high pressure. Because of
the high pressure, the boiling point of the
refrigerant is increased. Thus the gas
refrigerant is carrying excess heat but could
not release it due to the insulated pipe.

2. Condensation:
The hot high pressure gas passes
through the condenser (condenser coils).
The condenser is a coiled pipe exposed
to the outside air. Excess heat and latent
heat is transferred to the cooler outside
air and the gas changes into highpressure liquid at room temperature.

3. Expansion:
The pressure of the liquid is lowered after
passing through the expansion valve. This
causes the liquid refrigerant to have a
lower boiling point and make it a cold
liquid under low pressure. It goes back to
Step No. 1 to continue the cycle
4. Evaporation:
The cold liquid refrigerant under low
pressure absorbs heat from the air cycle
thus cooling the air. The refrigerant turns
into a low-pressure gas due to the
absorbed heat.

Central plant systems- one central

source of conditioned air distribute a
ductwork networking

Room air conditioning units- selfcontained package units which can be

positioned in each room

Fan coil units- are room units and

incorporateheat exchangers piped with
chilled water and a fan to provide cool
air.

The system resembles a balanced ventilation

system with plenum heating but with the addition of
a cooling coil.

This system is suited for large multi room buildings

and halls where it is uneconomical to install separate
AC units to each room.

Higher cost operation

Dampers are used in air conditioning central plant

systems to control the amount of air in each duct. It
is common to have 20% fresh air and 80%
recirculated air to buildings.

Filters are required as cleaning mechanisms.

-Used in home cooling systems and heating ducts as
well as vacuum cleaners and breathing masks.
-By trapping large particles of dust, lint, mold spores
and even hair, filters help residential systems
process the polluted air and produce cleaner,
healthier air.

The secondary filter, after the mix point,

is used to remove fine dust particles or
other contaminant picked up in the rooms
and recirculated back into the plant.

A removable bag filter is generally used

for this where a series of woven fibre bags
are secured to a framework which can be
slid out of the ductwork or air handling
unit (A.H.U.) for replacement.

Cooling coil

Heater

Supply fan

Fresh air

Supply air

Recirculated air

Exhaust air

Return air

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF CENTRAL PLANT

AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Air Handling Units (AHU)

1)

Fresh air is usually drawn from the top of

the building through a louvered intake
(fresh air inlet).

2)

Recirculated air and fresh air are then

mixed in the mixing box

3)

The mixed air is then filtered

4)

A preheater coil will provide initial heat

energy in the air and raised its
temperature.

5)

6)

7)

8)
9)

10)

A water spray washer will humidifies and

clean the air
A Final or reheater establishes the supply
air temperature & humidity.
The Inlet fan or centrifugal type will
generate sufficient pressure thru a
ductwork.
At the Inlet duct the air will flow thru it.
Exhaust duct will release some of the air
to outside.
Recirculating duct will use some of the air
from the room to be used again.

Air handling units (A.H.U.) are widely used as a

package unit which incorporates all the main
plant items as shown

Pipework, ductwork and electrical connections

are made after the unit is set in place on site.

Since air conditioning plant rooms tend to be at

roof level, the larger A.H.U's are lifted into
place by crane before the roof is fixed.

The photograph below shows a typical

air handling unit with handles on the
doors for access to equipment.

Advantages:
Noise in rooms is usually reduced if plant room is
away from occupied spaces.

The whole building can be controlled from a central

control station.
- This means that optimum start and stop can be used
and a weather compensator can be utilised.
- Also time clocks can bring air conditioning on and off
at appropriate times.

Maintenance is centralised in the plant room. Plant is

easier to access.

Disadvantages:
Expensive to install a complete full comfort air-conditioning
system throughout a building.
Space is required for plant and to run ductwork both
vertically in shafts and horizontally in ceiling spaces.
Individual room control is difficult with central plant.
-Many systems have been tried such as Variable Air Volume
(VAV), dual duct systems and zone re-heaters.
-Zone re-heaters are probably more successful than the rest.

These units use refrigerant to transfer cooling

effect into rooms.

Room air conditioning units fall into two main

categories:
- Split type
- Window/wall units

Split air conditioners have two main parts, the

outdoor unit is the section which generates the
cold refrigerant gas and the indoor unit uses this
cold refrigerant to cool the air in a space.

The outdoor unit uses a compressor and air cooled

condenser to provide cold refrigerant to a cooling
coil in the indoor unit

A fan then blows air across the cooling coil and into
the room.

The indoor unit can either be ceiling mounted

(cassette unit), floor mounted or duct type.

The cold side, consisting of the expansion

valve and the cold coil, is generally placed
into a furnace or some other air handler.
The air handler blows air through the coil
and routes the air throughout the building
using a series of ducts.
The hot side, known as the condensing
unit, lives outside the building. In most
home installations, the unit looks something
in this figure.

CONDENSER UNIT

SPLIT TYPES
The drawing below shows a ceiling mounted
(cassette unit)

SPLIT TYPES

The photographs below show a ceiling

mounted cassette and an outdoor unit.

Window or wall units are more compact than

split units since all the plant items are
contained in one box.
Window units are installed into an
appropriate hole in the window and supported
from a metal frame.
Wall units like the one shown below are built
into an external wall and contain all the
necessary items of equipment to provide cool
air.

A small hermetically sealed compressor

is used to provide refrigerant gas at the
pressure required to operate the refrigeration
cycle.

The condenser is used to condense the

refrigerant to a liquid which is then reduced
in pressure and piped to the cooling coil.

Light duty AC system

Used for residential building and in small to

medium sized building

Advantages:
Cheaper to install.

Individual room control.

Works well where rooms have individual

requirements.

No long runs of ductwork.

Can be used to heat as well as cool if a reversing

valve is fitted

Disadvantages:
Noisy compressor in outdoor unit.
Filter, compressor and pipework needs periodic
maintenance and possible re- charging.
Filtration is not as good as with AHUs.
Require long runs of pipework which, if it leaks into
the building, can be difficult to remedy
Not at robust as central plant.

Disadvantages (contd)
The majority of room air conditioners just
recirculate air in a room

Cooling output is limited to about 9 kW maximum

per unit;

Many units would be required to cool rooms with

high heat gains.

Fan coil units are similar is some respects to

Room Air Conditioners

These are room air conditioners but use chilled water

instead of refrigerant. Units can be floor or ceiling
mounted.

The chilled water is piped to a finned heat exchanger

as in a fan convector.

A fan blows room air across the heat exchanger and

cool air is emitted into the room, as shown.

A multi room system use central refrigeration plant

The plant is used to chill water that is piped to

individual rooms.

A separate network of ventilation ducts supplies

fresh air to each room.

The chill water is used to cool the free air before

it enters the room.

Thus, each room has individual control over the

conditioned air.

FCUs are best suited for conditioning a

large number of small, individually
controlled, and variably occupied rooms

Highly popular for multi-storey office building in

Malaysia

Outlet louvre
Finned pipe heat
exchanger

Cool Air

Chilled water pipes

Drip tray and condensate drain

Centrifugal fans
Dust filter

Cabinet

Thermostat

FAN COIL UNIT

(refrigeration plant)

Room Air

ADVANTAGES

Cheaper to install than all air central plant

system.
Individual room control.
Works well where rooms have individual
requirements.
No long runs of ductwork.
Can be used to heat as well as cool if 3 or 4-pipe
system is used

DISADVANTAGES
Noisy, especially when the speed is changing with inbuilt controls.
Each unit requires maintenance.
Long runs of pipework are required.
A chiller/boiler is required to produce chilled water
and heating mode
Fresh air facility may not be installed.
Cooling output is limited to about 5 kW

1. "RULE OF THUMB" METHOD

This method is simple to understand and use. However, it only provides
a rough guideline on the estimation of cooling load requirement for
the conventional window or split air-conditioning system.

2. PROCEDURES
The procedures are as follows:
a) Determine the function of the room (assuming there is no overcrowding of occupants and / or heat generating equipments).
b) Measure the floor area (A) of the room in either in square feet or
square meter (a standard height of about 8.5 feet or 2.65 meter
between the floor and false ceiling shall be assumed for the room).
c) Depending on whether you are using the imperial (square feet) or
metric (square meter) system of measurement, decide on which
Factor (F) to use from either Table 1 or Table 2 as shown below:
d) Multiply (A) by (F) to get the estimated air-conditioning cooling load
requirement.

Function / Purpose Of Room

Factor (F) in Btu/Hr per

Square Feet

Remarks

Room without small heat generating

machines (such as work stations,
photocopying machines, etc) and is
not exposed to strong solar heat.

55 to 60

Room without small heat generating

machines and is exposed to strong
solar heat.

70 to 80

Room with small heat generating

machines and is not exposed to
strong solar heat.

60 to 70

Room with small heat generating

machines and is exposed to strong
solar heat.

80 to 90

Room with larger heat machines*

and is exposed to strong solar heat.

Subjective. Please check with

qualified personnel.

*Necessary to obtain machines heat

output

Function / Purpose Of Room

Factor (F) in Btu/Hr per

Square Meter

Remarks

Room without small heat generating

machines (such as work stations,
photocopying machines, etc) and is
not exposed to strong solar heat.

592.02 to 645.83

Room without small heat generating

machines and is exposed to strong
solar heat.

753.47 to 861.11

Room with small heat generating

machines and is not exposed to
strong solar heat.

645.83 to 753.47

Room with small heat generating

machines and is exposed to strong
solar heat.

861.11 to 968.75

Room with larger heat machines*

and is exposed to strong solar heat.

Subjective. Please check with

qualified personnel.

*Necessary to obtain machines heat

output

For example 1 - Using imperial system of

measurement:
Assume that the room is to be occupied, used with
some small heat generating equipments and is not
exposed to strong solar heat.
Assume that the measured floor area (A) is about
200 square feet.
As can be seen from the factor (F) of Table 1, the
factor ranges from 60 to 70. Assume that the factor
of 60 Btu / Hr per square feet is selected by the user.
Therefore, the estimated air-conditioning cooling
load requirement works out to be about:
= (A) x (F)
= 200 x 60
= 12,000 Btu / Hr

For example 2 - Using metric system of measurement:

Assume that the room is to be occupied, used with some small
heat generating equipments and is not exposed to strong
solar heat.
Assume that the measured floor area (A) is about 18.58
square meter.
As can be seen from the factor (F) of Table 2, the factor ranges
from 645.83 to 753.47. Assume that the factor of 645.83 Btu /
Hr per square meter is selected by the user.
Therefore, the estimated air-conditioning cooling load
requirement works out to be about:
= (A) x (F) = 18.58 X 645.83
= 12,000 Btu / Hr

QUESTIONS
1.Define air-conditioning.
2.Briefly describe factors that affect body heat.
3.What is refrigerator?
4.What is refrigerant process?
5.Explain the types of air conditioning system?
6.Explain the major component of air conditioning system?
7.Describe three types of air-conditioning system.
8.Sketch and explain the centralised air conditioning
process.
9.State four advantages of air-conditioning.
10.Calculate cooling load for a room size 8.5 m x 10 m x 3m,
with single occupancy, without small heat generating
machines and is exposed to strong solar heat.