HVAC Equipments and Systems

A. Bhatia, B.E.

Course Outline

The aim of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system is to provide comfort environmental conditions for the spaces in which we work, relax or do our business.  The main criterion achieving acceptable thermal comfort is selection of most appropriate HVAC system and equipments, designed for appropriate climatic loads, together with fine control.

This 7- hr course provides information on the various types of HVAC heating and cooling equipments along with associated system design aspects. This course is in continuation to the course titled “HVAC Concepts and Fundamentals”, which introduced the basic design aspects, comfort parameters, psychrometrics, heat transfer concepts, heat loss and heat gain calculations and methods to calculate the energy costs.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the reader will understand:

• Description of a HVAC system - including primary equipment; means of distribution, space and load determination, and operating strategy;
• The heating and cooling equipment performance rating terms;
• The basic function of components that form HVAC systems;
• Different types of heating systems available for commercial and residential applications such as furnaces, boilers and heat pumps;
• The basic selection criteria for heating system and factors considered when designing commercial heating systems;
• The concept of excess air and how it contributes to efficiency of heating equipment;
• Difference between thermal efficiency, combustion efficiency and fuel to steam efficiency of boilers;
• Various types of heat pumps and their applications;
• Different types of cooling equipments such as mechanical chillers, DX units, evaporative cooling and cooling towers;
• Single stage and double stage absorption refrigeration differences and their operating problems;
• Current and future refrigerants;
• Direct and indirect evaporative cooling;
• The performance terms for cooling equipment such as COP, IPLV, EER and SEER;
• Different types of heating and cooling delivery equipments such as convective and radiation baseboard units, air handling units, unitary units, fan coil units and their components;
• The principles of air movement and the components of air distribution systems;
• The duct classification on velocity, pressure, shape and materials;
• Different types of air delivery devices such as registers, grilles, diffusers, dampers and louvers etc;
• The layout and functioning of common HVAC systems, including all-air systems, air-water systems, and all-water systems;
• The common all-air systems including constant air volume, variable air volume, single duct and multi-duct air conditioning systems; and
• The schematic arrangement of the hydronic loops and the principles of centrifugal pumps.
• The concept of balance point temperature and heating and cooling degree days in determining annual energy costs.
  

Intended Audience

This course is intended for people who plan, design, install, and operate HVAC systems for buildings. This course is ideal for:

• Recent engineering graduates working in the HVAC&R industry
• Experienced engineers, energy auditors, facility managers and maintenance personal  entering HVAC&R from another engineering area
• Architects, technicians, construction or building management professionals wanting to increase their knowledge of HVAC systems

Benefit to Attendees

Attendee of this course will get to know more about identifying the most suitable type of HVAC system for different types of applications. The course will be extremely helpful to the amateur engineers who desire to build on their design experience and the skilled professionals who have learnt the trade informally on the job.

Course Introduction

The course describes how to select appropriate HVAC equipment for your application and how to integrate various components as a working system. Discussion will be in eight modules which cover:

• Central heating sources
• Central cooling sources
• HVAC delivery equipment
• Air distribution ductwork
• Air distribution equipment and accessories
• HVAC air system design
• Hydronic distribution and
• Annual energy use estimation

 

Course Content

This course is in the following PDF document:

HVAC Equipments and Systems

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Course Summary

HVAC system components may be grouped into three functional categories: source components, distribution components, and delivery components. Source components provide or remove heat or moisture. Distribution components convey a heating or cooling medium from a source location to portions of a building that require conditioning. Delivery components serve as an interface between the distribution system and occupied spaces. Compact systems that serve only one space or zone of a building (local systems) often incorporate all three functions in a single piece of equipment. Systems that are intended to condition multiple spaces in a building (central systems) usually have distinctly different equipment elements for each function.

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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