INDUSTRIAL TRAINING AT TEAMWORK M&E ENGINEERING

TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY CONTROL IN HOSPITAL

SARANYA KANNAN

SHAMINII NAIR

12/12/2019

UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN (UTAR)

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 INTRODUCTION

Air conditioning (AC) systems typically provides thermal comfort and good indoor air
quality (IAQ) achieved by controlling the temperature, humidity level and cleanliness
of the air distribution. The AC system was designed with cooling coils and the ability
to cool and dehumidify the air as well as to meet sensible and latent heat loads in typical
to buildings or rooms. Sensible heat load arises from dry bulb temperature. The sensible
loads gain directly to the conditioned space by conduction, convection and radiation.
Latent loads arise from moisture generated either from internal sources or from outdoor
air ventilation to maintain the IAQ requirement (Burdick, 2011). Generally,
comfortable indoor temperature is between 23 to 26-degree Celsius (°C) and relative
humidity (RH) level is 40% to 70% (Malaysia Standard MS1525, 2010).

The AC system typically cools and dehumidifies the air to provide comfortable indoor
environment by removing sensible (temperature) and latent (moisture) loads. When the
latent loads are high due to ventilation, wet surface and occupants, dehumidifying leads
to reheating in order to meet the required indoor temperature and humidity level for
comfort and health. The fresh air ventilation present in the AC system functions to
improve the IAQ in the building and in special rooms, such as operation theaters and
isolation rooms, as it needs 100% fresh air ventilation, a requirement to prevent
microorganisms production in the rooms.

The humid air coming from the fresh air ventilation may increase the sensible and latent
load corresponding to the cooling energy consumption. The cooling coil needs to cool
down the air at a lower dew point temperature for moisture removal and additional
heating is required to meet the temperature before it is supplied to the room. Improper
analysis of the de-humidification process for the AC system may lead to high cooling
energy and thus affecting the RH in indoor environment. Cooling coils in the AC system
requires extra energy and this causes inefficiency in the system. (M. S. S. Mustafa,
2017)

In terms of IAQ, RH must follow the standards for health and comfort reasons. High
RH may lead to uncomfortable and stuffy conditions, while low RH will lead to the
occupant’s complaints such as dry nose, throat, eyes and skin (Lstiburek, 2002). High
RH levels will also lead to mold and fungus growth and 3 affects the IAQ inside the

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building. These microorganisms spores travel by air and cause infectious diseases,
allergies and other respiratory irritations to occupants (SMACNA, 1998).

LITERATURE REVIEW

The Air-Conditioning (AC) system is a common system providing cooling and

dehumidification process for typical buildings in a tropical climate. It comprises
consists of the circulation air, exhaust and fresh air for air side and blower fan, motor,
filter and cooling coil for mechanical components.

The air side of the AC system is known as the air handling unit (AHU). The cooling
coil in the AHU handles the cooling and dehumidification process. The air contacts
with the cooling coil surface and the moisture was condensate when the air is cooled
below the dew point temperature. The air changed its state from water vapor to liquid
water when it contacts with the cool surface. The liquid water is then drained away for
disposal.

The basic function of the AHU is taking in outside air, re-condition it and supply it as
fresh air to a building. All exhaust air is removed, which creates an acceptable
indoor air quality. Depending on the required temperature of the re-conditioned air, the
fresh air is either heated by a recovery unit or heating coil, or cooled by a cooling coil.
In buildings, where the hygienic requirements for air quality are lower, some of the air
from the rooms can be re-circulated via a mixing chamber and this can result in
significant energy savings. A mixing chamber has dampers for controlling the ratio
between the return, outside and exhaust air.
The AHU is a large metal box containing separate ventilators for supply and
exhaust, heating coil, cooling coil, heating/cooling recovery system, air filter racks or
chambers, sound attenuators, mixing chamber, and dampers. AHUs connect to duct-
work that distributes the conditioned air through the building, and returns it to the AHU.
A heat/cooling recovery exchanger is normally fitted to the AHU for energy savings
and increasing capacity.
An AHU designed for outdoor use, typically on roofs, is also known as a rooftop unit.
(GRUNDFOS, n.d)

The dew point is the temperature at which the moisture (water vapor) in the air begins
to condense. The dew point temperature determines what combinations of temperature

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and RH will be possible in the storage environment. At a constant dew point, when the
temperature goes up, the RH goes down and when the temperature goes down, the RH
goes up. Controlling the dew point is key to managing the risk of material
decay. (IMAGE PERMANENCE INSTITUE, n.d.)

A psychrometric chart is a graphical representation of the psychrometric processes of

air. For this assignment, the chart is used to dynamically plot points that represent the
exterior air conditions and understand the process the air must go through to reach
comfortable conditions for the occupants inside a hospital. When using the
psychrometric chart for this purpose the data points move around the chart.

Figure 1. Psychrometric charts show temperature vs. humidity, and can be used to
express human thermal comfort, design strategies, and energy requirements for those
strategies.

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Hospital buildings are complex indoor facilities with variable uses and functions.
Therefore, the AC system should be used to keep good IAQ for patients and medical
staff to meet comfort and health reasons. For surgery in operation theaters (OT), the
requirement of fresh air intake is 100% and exhaust must also be 100% considering it
is in a critical area. The room must follow the required room pressure control. Room
differential pressure is focused on air balancing, proper maintenance of the AC system
and continuous checking of the filter. It is recommended to add the 20 differential room
pressure monitoring. In tropical climates, the influence of humid air may increase the
AC system energy that is required to remove moisture before it is supplied to the OT.
Murphy (2006) discusses how the temperature and humidity requirements of surgery
rooms impact the design of the HVAC system, and presents system alternatives that
can meet both of these requirements. The design used the rule of thumb which hugely
impacts to the energy and is unable to meet the requirements. These are several types
of AHU that present in our industry according to the requirements:

Return and Fresh air mixing

One of the very common version we’ll come across is to have a duct sit in between the
exhaust and the fresh air intake. This allows some of the exhaust air to be recirculated
back into the fresh air intake, to offset the heating or cooling demand. This is safe and
healthy to do but you will need to ensure the exhaust air has a low CO2 count so we
need some CO2 sensors to monitor that. If the CO2 level is too high then the air can’t
be re-used, the mixing damper will close and the all the return air will be rejected from
the building. When in re-circulation mode, the main inlet and outlet dampers will not
fully close in this setup because we still need a minimum amount of fresh air to enter

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the building. We can use this in winter if the return air is warmer than the outside air
and we can use this in summer if the return air is cooler than the outside air, respective
to the supply set-point air temperature, so we’ll also need some temperature sensors at
the intake, return and just after the mixing region. Some buildings require 100% fresh
air so this strategy can’t be used everywhere, local laws and regulations will dictate
this.

Heat Wheel

Another variation we might come across, is the heat wheel. This is very common in
newer compact AHU’s. This uses a large rotating wheel, half of it sits within the exhaust
air stream and half of it sits within the fresh air intake. The wheel will rotate, driven by
a small induction motor, as it rotates it picks up unwanted heat from the exhaust stream
and absorbs this into the wheel’s material. The wheel then rotates into the fresh air
intake stream, this air is at a lower temperature than the exhaust stream so the heat will
transfer from the wheel and into the fresh air stream which obviously heats this
incoming air stream up and thus reduces the demand on the heating coil. This is very
effective but some air will leak from the exhaust into the fresh air stream so this cannot
be used in all buildings.

Heating and cooling coil

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The next thing we’ll find are the cooling and heating coils. These are there to heat or
cool the air. The air temperature of the supply air is measured as it leaves the AHU and
enters the duct-work. This needs to be at a designed temperature to keep the people
inside the building comfortable, this designed temperature is called the set point
temperature. If the air temperature is below this value the heating coil will add heat to
increase the air temperature and bring it up to set-point. If the air is too hot then the
cooling coil will remove heat to lower the air temperature and reach the set-point. The
coils are heat exchangers, inside the coil is a hot or cold fluid, usually something like
heated or chilled water, refrigerant or steam. (The Engineering Mindset, 2019).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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 Hospital Environment
SUPPLY AIR Loss Air
Temp: 21˚C/22˚C
1000000CFM 30%
RH: 55%
FRESH AIR

30% = 30000CFM

Temp: 34˚C
AHU
RH: 95%
Cooling Coil
Temp?

100%

MIXED AIR
20˚C
Pre-cooled Air unit Rh: 60%
30% RETURN AIR
Temp 15˚C Temp: 26˚C
RH 55% RH: 80%

70% = 70000CFM

To maintain a Hospital Environment temperature and humidity we have to use an AHU

which can control it according to a required condition. In this case, we have fresh air
and return air mixing before the it enters the AHU. The fresh air cannot enter the AHU
without being treated. Hence, we have used a Pre- cooled air unit to treat the fresh air
from a temperature of 34˚C and RH of 95% to a temperature of 15˚C and RH of 55%.
After the fresh air and return air mixed together it reaches a temperature of 20˚C and
RH of 60% according to the ratio of the air mixture. The dew point of this mixed air is
14˚C. The temperature of cooling coil in the AHU should be lower than the dew point
of air so that it can condense and reduce the humidity level. The temperature that should
be used for the cooling coil has been calculated below.

 Find the BTU:

400 CFM = 12000 BTU

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 Given CFM = 100000
BTU = 100000 × 120000 = 3000000
 Convert the BTU to kW:
1 BTU/hr = 0.00029307107 kW
3000000 BTU × 0.00029307101 = 879.2 kW
 By using latent heat formula, Q=mc∆T
Q= 879.2 kW
C= 4.2 joule/gram °C
∆T= 𝑇𝑜𝑢𝑡 − 𝑇𝑖𝑛
Q = mc∆T
= (19 g/m³) (4.2 joule/gram °C) (22+273K- Tin K)
= 11˚C

CONCLUSION

Ventilation is intended to remove or dilute pollutants and to control the thermal

environment and humidity in buildings. It must be sufficient either to remove pollutants
and humidity generated indoors or to dilute their concentrations to acceptable levels for
the health and comfort of the occupants and must be sufficient to maintain the
building’s integrity.

REFERENCES

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Burdick, A. (2011). Strategy guideline: accurate heating and cooling load
calculations. US Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency & Renewable
Energy, Building Technologies Program. Available at
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1219203 [Accessed on 4/12/2019]

GRUNDFOS, n.d. Air Handling Unit (AHU). Available at

https://www.grundfos.com/service-support/encyclopedia-search/air-handling-
unitahu.html [Accessed on 6/12/2019]

IMAGE PERMANENCE INSTITUE, n.d. Dew Point Calculator. Rochester Institute

Technology. Available at http://www.dpcalc.org/ [Accessed on 3/12/2019]

J. Lstiburek, 2002. Relative Humidty. Presented at Healthy Indoor Environments

(Austin TX). Available at
https://www.healthyheating.com/downloads/relative_humidity_0402.pdf
[Accessed on 8/12/2019]

S. S. Mustafa, 2017. Humidity control in different building applications; Restaurants

and Operation Theatre. Available at
http://eprints.uthm.edu.my/id/eprint/9929/1/Mohd_Syafiq_Syazwan_Mustafa.p
df [Accessed on 3/12/2019]

Murphy, J. (2006). Temperature & humidity control in surgery rooms. ASHRAE

Journal, 48(6), pp. 18.

SMACNA, 1998. Indoor Air Quality: A Systems Approach. 3rd edition. Sheet Metal
and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association. Available at
http://cms.ashrae.biz/iaqguide/pdf/IAQGuide.pdf?bcsi_scan_C17DAEAF2505
A29E=0&bcsi_scan_filename=IAQGuide.pdf [Accessed on 4/12/2019]

The Engineering Mindset, 2019. How Air Handling Units work. Available at
https://theengineeringmindset.com/air-handling-units-explained/ [Accessed on
4/12/2019]

LIST OF ABBREVIATION

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AC - Air Conditioning

AHU - Air Handling Unit

ASHRAE - American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning

Engineers

HVAC - Heating ventilation and air-conditioning

IAQ - Heating ventilation and air-conditioning

RH - Relative Humidity

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