Air Handling Equipment

An air handling unit, or AHU, is a piece of HVAC equipment that is designed to regulate and circulate air throughout a space. Air
handlers typically connect to a ductwork ventilation system that distributes the conditioned air throughout the building and returns it
back to the unit.

Warm outdoor and cool indoor air are mixed, cooled by the evaporator, and circulated using ducts.

The capacity of an air handler is most commonly measured by the amount of air it conditions and distributes. This measurement is
calculated in volumetric units known as CFM (cubic feet per minute).

This means if you have a space that is (10ft x 10ft x 10ft = 1000ft³) and a 500 CFM air handler, it would take two minutes for the
old air in the room to be entirely replaced by fresh, conditioned air from the air handler.

An air handler is usually a large metal box containing a limited subset of the components of the refrigeration cycle. Air handlers
contain one of two cooling elements: chilled water or refrigerant.

The sky is the limit when it comes to designing an air handler. If a standard air handling unit is not right for the application, a
custom air handling unit can be designed to ensure both the space and performance constraints are met. These customizations can
impact the size of the air handler and its interior components. Customized air handlers can be double the cost of standard units, but
are often only required in specified applications like surgical suites or chemical laboratories.
Here is a look into a basic air handling unit:

First, the air returns from the space, passing back through
a duct to the air handling unit. From here, the return air
may move into a mixing box and blend with warmer
outdoor air that is vented in. However, not all air
handlers use fresh outdoor air — many simply recirculate
the cool air present in the space.
Air Handler without mixing box or heating element.

The air continues through a rack of air filters and moves across the evaporator’s cooling coil, which
contains cold water or refrigerant to condition the air. Finally, the blower pushes it through the ductwork —
 and effectively — throughout the space. Sometimes small heating element is present just after the
evaporator coil to better control the humidity of the air before it enters the space.
While basic air handlers can be controlled with something as simple as a thermostat, many facilities have a
central computer to handle the complexity of managing multiple air handling units.

https://blog.ravti.com/equipment-air-handling-units-ahu-4900e8b85f83
Heat Transfer

Heat Transfer Defined

Heat transfer is the process of transfer of heat from high temperature reservoir to low temperature reservoir.
In terms of the thermodynamic system, heat transfer is the movement of heat across the boundary of the
system due to temperature difference between the system and the surroundings. The heat transfer can also
take place within the system due to temperature difference at various points inside the system. The
difference in temperature is considered to be ‘potential’ that causes the flow of heat and the heat itself is
called as flux.
Modes of Heat Transfer

There are three modes of heat transfer between the two bodies: conduction, convection and radiation. These
have been described below:
Conduction: The transfer of heat between two solid bodies is called as conduction. It depends on the
difference in temperature of the hot and cold body. Example of conduction heat transfer is two bodies at
different temperature kept in contact with each other. Another example is heating one end of the metal like
copper; due to conduction heat transfer the other end of the metal also gets heated.
Convection: The transfer of heat between the solid surface and the liquid is called as convection heat
transfer. Let us considering a vessel of water being heated, in this case heating of water due to transfer of
heat from the vessel is convection heat transfer.
Radiation: When two bodies are at different temperatures and separated by distance, the heat transfer
between them is called as radiation heat transfer. In case of the conduction and convection heat transfer there
is a media to transfer the heat, but in case of the radiation heat transfer there is no media. The radiation heat
transfer occurs due to the electromagnetic waves that exist in the atmosphere. One of the most important
examples of radiation heat transfer is the heat of the sun coming on the earth.
Heat Transfer as Per Second Law of Thermodynamics

As per the second law of thermodynamics the transfer of heat takes place from the body of high temperature
to the body of low temperature. There won’t be spontaneous transfer of heat from the body at low
temperature to the body at high temperature. For heat transfer from low temperature body to high
temperature body, external work has to be done.
The heat gained by the system or body is considered to be positive and the heat lost by the system is
considered to be negative for the mathematical calculations. This implies that the heat flowing into the
system is positive and heat flowing out of the system is negative. The amount of heat transfer is denoted by
symbol Q.
The process in which there is no transfer of heat between the system and the surrounding is called as
adiabatic process. The wall or boundary which does not allows the flow of the heat between the system and
the surrounding is called as adiabatic wall and the wall that allows the flow of heat between the system and
the surrounding is called diathermic wall.
In MKS system the unit of heat transfer is cal and in SI system it is Joule. The rate of transfer of heat is
given in KW.
https://www.brighthubengineering.com/hvac/5231-what-is-heat-transfer/
Air Cleaning

Air Cleaning
Indoor air cleaning is the process of intentionally removing pollutants from indoor air, or from the outdoor
air as it enters a building. Particle air cleaning removes particulate pollutants and gas-phase air cleaning
removes gaseous pollutants. Most air cleaners use fans to move air through an air cleaning media that
removes pollutants. The amount of pollutant removal depends on the air flow rate and on the fraction of
pollutants removed as the air flows through the media. Technologies commonly used in air cleaners are
described in the supporting information. This section of the web site addresses the relationship of air
cleaning to health and perceived air quality, focusing on application of air cleaning to buildings outside of
the health care and industrial sectors.
Particle Air Cleaning and Allergies and Asthma
Many studies have evaluated whether use of portable particle air cleaning systems in homes improve the
health of people with asthma and allergies. The overall finding is that particle-removal air cleaning
devices sometimes modestly reduce adverse allergy and asthma health symptoms and improve related
measured signs of health, particularly in people living in homes with pets. Asthma and allergy
symptoms are not always improved, and even when they are improved the amount of improvement is
generally less than 25%. There is some limited evidence that systems delivering filtered air to breathing
zone of sleeping allergic or asthmatic people can be more consistently effective in improving allergy
and asthma health effects than room air cleaners or whole-house filtration systems. Air cleaning has not
been proven effective in reducing the allergy and asthma symptoms from dust mite allergens.

Particle Air Cleaning and Health Effects of Outdoor Air Particles

Air cleaning can reduce the levels of particles in the indoor air that come from outdoors. Higher levels
of these outdoor air particles are linked to a range of respiratory and cardiovascular health effects or
markers of adverse health effects including emergency room visits, hospital admissions and death rates.
Modeling indicates that particle air cleaning will reduce these adverse effects; however, significant
measured data are not available to confirm the model predictions. The results of two studies finding that
indoor particle air cleaning reduced biomarkers predicting future adverse coronary events are consistent
with the model predictions of reduced hospital admissions and death rates when air cleaning is used to
reduce indoor exposures to particles of outdoor origin.

Particle Air Cleaning and Sick Building Syndrome Symptoms

The very limited available evidence suggests that particle filtration in buildings is not very effective in
reducing acute health symptoms, often called sick building syndrome symptoms, in subjects without
allergies and asthma.

Particle Air Cleaning and Respiratory Infections

The results of model predictions indicate that particle air cleaning will decrease the incidence of
communicable respiratory infections such as common colds and influenza that are transmitted, in part,
by removing small airborne particles containing infectious bacteria or viruses. However, the model
inputs and models themselves have a high level of uncertainty and experimental data are not available to
confirm the model predictions.

Air Cleaning for Gaseous Air Pollutants and Health

Some air cleaners are designed to reduce indoor air concentrations of selected types of gaseous
pollutants, such as ozone or some of the volatile organic compounds present in indoor air. Various
technologies for gas phase air cleaning are employed. At present, limited data are available on the long
term effectiveness of these systems in reducing indoor pollutant concentrations and very few data are
available on the effectiveness of these air cleaning systems in reducing adverse health effects.
Using Ozone for Air Cleaning
Ozone is an important outdoor air pollutant. Higher outdoor air ozone
concentrations have been linked to a variety of adverse health effects including
respiratory system irritation, asthma, chest pain, and damage to the lungs. Ozone
is very chemically reactive, thus, when it is present indoors it reacts with some
types of other indoor air pollutants and with some indoor materials such as
carpeting. These chemical reactions can produce potentially harmful pollutants
including formaldehyde and very small particles. Ozone generators are devices
that intentionally produce ozone and release it to the indoor air. They have been
marketed as air cleaners because ozone can chemically destroy some types of
other indoor air pollutants. However, ozone air cleaners are not effective as air
cleaners and can pose risks to health. Even though most ozone generators do not
produce sufficient ozone to substantially reduce concentrations other air
pollutants, the ozone that they produce is likely to increase the risk of the same
adverse health effects associated with higher outdoor air concentrations of ozone.
Several other types of electronic air cleaners can also unintentionally release
ozone into the indoor air, usually at a lower rate than ozone generators, but the
increases in indoor ozone concentrations may still pose health risks.

Using Ultraviolet Germicidal Lights for Air Cleaning

Ultraviolet (UV) germicidal light, produced by special lamps, is sometimes used to inactivate the
bacteria and viruses present in airborne particles, making the bacteria and viruses unable to cause
infectious disease in people. With a sufficient UV light intensity, some fungi can also be inactivated.
The lamps producing the UV light are normally installed near the ceilings of rooms or in ducts that
supply air to rooms. Systems installed in ducts often also irradiate with UV light the wet cooling coils
and drain pans present in air conditioning systems. These systems can be very effective in reducing the
growth of mold and bacteria on the surfaces of coils and drain pans. The UV germicidal lamp systems
must be designed so that occupants receive minimal exposure to the ultraviolet light. The results of
studies of the effects of ultraviolet germicidal systems on people's health have been inconsistent. There
is clearly enough evidence of potential health benefits to warrant further research. Ultraviolet germicidal
systems appear to be more likely to reduce respiratory infections when applied in crowded spaces, and
when there are few opportunities for infection away from the spaces containing the ultraviolet
equipment.

Implications for Good Building Practices

Particle filtration technologies are well established and widely available. Currently, most building
HVAC systems include filters with a relatively low efficiency rating. For example, U.S. commercial
buildings often use filters with a Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) of 7, with a low
efficiency in removing the small particles most important to health. The filters used in the HVAC
systems of houses often have an even lower efficiency. The incremental costs of using higher efficiency
filters, e.g., those with a MERV 11 rating, are modest — less than a U.S. dollar per person per month
[11, 14, 63] and the predicted health benefits are substantial. Consequently, routine use of higher
efficiency filters in HVAC systems represents a good building practice. Stand-alone fan filter systems
may also be employed to reduce indoor particle concentrations, particularly in homes of people with
allergies or asthma and containing pets or other strong sources of airborne allergens. The energy
consumption of fan filter systems varies widely. Energy efficient units, sometimes with very efficient
brushless direct current fan motors, will cost less to operate and are preferable when considering the
impacts of energy use on climate change. Guidance for the selection and use of air cleaners and air
filters in the home are available in documents available for download from a web site of the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency.
 https://iaqscience.lbl.gov/air-summary
Air Mixing

Poor Mixed-Air Control

In the past, HVAC mixing applications did not demand strict performance requirements. As long as the air-
handling unit did not shut down, or a water coil did not freeze due to stratification, the mixing was
assumed to be satisfactory. However, with the advent of DDC and as control systems become more
precise, the problems of an improper sensor read become more pronounced. The root cause of sensor
error can often be traced to a stratification problem in the mixed air plenum1 . The following sections
address some of the problems created by temperature stratification in the control system of a typical
HVAC installation.
http://www.airblender.com/UserDocs/airmix.pdf

Fans
HVAC fans and blowers are used to move air through heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. They
are an integral part of the air handling systems that bring or draw fresh air into buildings. HVAC fans and blowers can
be mounted to an exterior wall (ventilation unit) or above the ceiling (plenum fan), or used as part of a ducted system
(duct fan). The fan spins or the blower turns by means of an electric motor, thus creating unidirectional air flow. Often,
the air is pre-heated or cooled. Types of HVAC fans and blowers include:
 Vents or ventilation fans
 Plenum fans
 Duct fans
 Duct blowers
 Roof fans
 Exhaust fans
 Inline fans
 Tube axial fans
 Vane axial fans
 Centrifugal blowers

Performance Specifications
HVAC fans and blowers differ in terms of performance and drive options. Parameters
include air flow rate, static pressure, and media temperature.

Air flow rate is the rate at which air moves within or between HVAC zones.

Static pressure is the pressure at which an equal amount of air is supplied to and
exhausted from a space.

Media temperature is expressed as a range.

The diameter of the fan, or the diameter or maximum dimension of the blower outlet is
also an important specification to consider when selecting HVAC fans and blowers.

There are two drive options: direct drive and belt drive.

Styles
There are two styles and three classes for HVAC fans and blowers. The two styles are forced draft and induced draft.

 Forced draft refers to the movement of air under pressure. Forced draft fans and blowers are so named because they "force"
air to move.
 Induced draft refers to the movement of air by means of an induced partial vacuum. Induced draft fans and blowers "draw"
air.
The AMCA class for HVAC fans and blowers describes the device’s compliance with requirements from Air Movement
and Control Association (AMCA).

Design Configurations
Design configuration is an important parameter to consider when specifying HVAC fans
and blowers. There are three main choices: axial, bi-lobal or tri-lobal, and centrifugal.

Axial fans include propeller vans, vane axial fans, and tube axial fans. With these
designs, the fan blade circulates parallel to the air flow.

Bi-lobal and tri-lobal fans consist of multiple co-rotating, serpentine shafts that mesh
to move air and gases in a controlled manner. The shafts mesh so tightly that backflow
is prevented. Typically, bi-lobal fans and tri-lobal are used to recirculate gases in
process equipment when environmental consistency is required.

Centrifugal fans include products with many different blade configurations.

https://www.globalspec.com/learnmore/building_construction/hvac/cooling/hvac_fans_blowers
Duct Systems

THE DUCT SYSTEM, used in air heating and air cooling your home, is a collection of tubes that distributes
the heated or cooled air to the various rooms. This system can make a big difference in both the cost and
the effectiveness of heating and cooling the home. The duct system can have an important effect on health
of the occupants through the distribution of indoor air pollution. Changes and repairs to a duct system
should always be performed by a qualified professional. This brochure is meant to help you understand the
problems that can affect the duct system and how you can:
• Save money
• Improve comfort
• Protect health
COMPONENTS OF THE DUCT SYSTEM
A duct system is a branching network of round or rectangular tubes — generally constructed of sheet
metal, fiberglass board, or a flexible plasticand-wire composite — located within the walls, floors, and
ceilings. Usually, you can see only the outlet, which is a register covered with grillwork. Figure 1 shows a
common type of duct system. This system consists of supply ducts and return ducts. Central heating or
cooling equipment (furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump) contains a fan that forces heated or cooled air
into supply ducts leading to the rooms. The fan gets its air supply through return ducts, which in the best
systems are installed in every room of the house. To save on installation costs, most homes have one or
two return registers located in common areas such as hallways. (Some homes have no return duct systems.
Such design shortcuts often result in lower efficiency and higher heating and cooling bills.)
ENERGY LOSSES AND COSTS
Typical duct systems lose 25 to 40 percent of the heating or cooling energy put out by the central furnace,
heat pump, or air conditioner. Homes with ducts in a protected area such as a basement may lose
somewhat less than this, while some other types of systems (such as attic ducts in hot, humid climates)
often lose more.
Duct repairs could be the most important energy improvement measure you can do if your ducts are in the
attic. If only one half the typical loss of uninsulated and unsealed ducts that are in attics or crawl spaces
were saved, it would amount to $160 off the total heating and cooling bill in a typical home. This savings is
based on the national average use of natural gas and electricity for central heating and cooling at national
average energy cost of 70 cents per them, and 8 cents per kilowatt-hour. With these savings, the cost to
seal and insulate the ducts would most likely be paid for after three years. These estimates apply to
retrofitting an existing home. For new construction more of the ductwork would be accessible to the
installer and the potential savings would be greater; and with lower cost to install sealant and insulate, the
payback would be less than one year.
Duct systems lose energy in two ways: by conduction of heat from the warm surface, and air leakage
through small cracks and seams. For simplicity, we’ll talk about warm air for heating, but the same
information applies to cooling when the air conditioner is on.
Conduction
One way duct systems lose energy is for the warm air inside the ducts to heat the duct walls, which in turn
heat the cold air outside the ducts. If the ducts are in an attic or vented crawl space that is nearly as cold as
the outdoors, this heat is completely lost. If the ducts are in a basement, some of the heat lost from the
ducts may be recaptured by warming the basement ceiling enough to reduce the heat lost from the house.
Air Leakage
Another way that ducts lose energy is through air leakage. Sometimes this leakage is from accidental holes
in the ducts or poorly connected duct sections; but even if the ducts are sealed, their operation can cause
the house itself to leak more air than would otherwise be the case.
An understanding of pressure differences in the duct system helps to better understand air leakage in the
home. Air moves from high pressure to low pressure. To get air to move from the supply duct into the
room it serves, the air in the duct has to be at a higher pressure than the air in the room. Similarly, to move
air from the room into the return duct, the air in that duct has to be at a lower pressure than the air in the
room. The registers are the openings through which this air is intended to move. The duct walls provide
the barriers that prevent air from moving where we don’t want it to go.
The fan of the central furnace creates these pressure differences. When the fan stops, these pressures
quickly equalize and the flow of air through the duct stops, too.
Figure 2 shows a duct system that does not leak. The furnace fan produces a high pressure in the supply
ducts and a low pressure in the return ducts. The high pressure forces warm air from the supply ducts to
flow into the rooms, and low pressure draws room air back into the return ducts.
Leaky Supply Ducts
Figure 3 shows perhaps the simplest example of duct leakage. Here the supply ducts leak, but the return
ducts are air tight. Even though half the duct system is good, two bad things still happen. First, some of the
air that has just been warmed by the furnace is lost. Second, this air has to be replaced. If it isn’t, the house
would soon be pumped down to a vacuum, and we know that doesn’t happen. What does happen is that
cold air from the outside is drawn into the house through cracks and small holes in the outside walls.
Usually these occur around doors and windows. Some houses have more of these than others, but no
house is air tight. So we’ve lost some of the hottest air in the house (air that just came from the furnace),
and replaced it with the coldest air around (air from the outside). In other words, a leaking supply duct is
an energy loser in two ways: the energy loss that does not go to the rooms, and the extra energy needed
to heat cold air that leaked into the house.
Leaky Return Ducts
Suppose the supply ducts are tight but the returns leak, as shown in Figure 4. The return duct is at a low
pressure— lower than the house or the outside — so cold air from the outside is pulled into this duct. This
cold air is heated in the furnace (along with air that came from the house through the return registers). The
amount of air delivered to the house by the supply registers is greater than what the return ducts took
from the house (the difference being the cold air that leaked into the return ducts). To equalize the flows,
heated room air leaks out of the house through the same holes and cracks that, in the previous example,
allowed air to leak in. So cold air is pulled in and warm air leaks out. In addition to creating energy losses,
leaky return ducts can create health problems.
Zone Pressurization
Ducts can cause air leakage in the house even if neither the supply nor the return ducts leak themselves.
Figure 5 shows how this can happen. Imagine that a home has a return register in one room but no supply
(the room on the left in Figure 5), and a supply register in another room but no return. Now close the door
between these rooms. The room with the supply duct (the room on the right in Figure 5) will have
relatively high pressure. The supply duct will be trying to blow this room up like a balloon. Similarly, the
room with the return will have relatively low pressure. So inside air will leak out from the room on the
right, and outside air will leak into the room on the left. This places an added load on the heating
equipment. The situation described here is somewhat simplified to show the basic idea, but variations of it
are common in real homes. Most new homes built today do not have duct returns in each room. The
problem can be avoided in rooms with no return register and doors that are often closed by installing an
opening covered by a louvered grill in the door or in the adjoining wall.
Energy Losses When the Fan Is Off
So far, we’ve been talking about what happens when the central furnace fan is running. But even when it’s
off (which is most of the time) the leaks in ductwork add to the air leaks in the rest of the house. The cracks
in ductwork typically have an area that is 10 to 20 percent of the leakage area of the house. Over the
course of a heating season, the energy losses from ducts when the fan is off can be nearly as great as when
the fan is on!
https://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/building_america/27630.pdf
Air Devices

Air Terminal Device

A device located in an opening provided at the boundaries of the treated space to ensure a
predetermined motion of air in this space.
http://www.appliedair.com/hvac-glossary.asp

Air Terminal Devices

Wozair manufactures a comprehensive range of all stainless steel grilles and diffusers designed
specifically for the process, medical, leisure, marine, nuclear and offshore industries and other
industrial applications such as tunnels and car parks.

Grilles and diffusers can also be provided with an integral opposed blade control damper (in stainless
steel), plenum boxes, and neck reducers.

Painted finishes are available for application, such as bathroom exhaust.

https://www.wozair.com/products/air-terminal-devices/