Air Handling Unit Fundamentals - 1

AHU
Air Handling Unit

Fundamentals
Objectives
Review primary components of an AHU
Understand the basic progression and
advantages of advanced AHU control
Understand the basic control sequences
Review key operating concepts
05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals
Why is it important?
AHU operation is fundamental to the Commercial Building
HVAC Control.
Many application problems and questions are easily
resolved if individuals understand the fundamentals of
AHU operation
Understanding the terminology of the business is
necessary to be effective in any position
Increased comfort and operational efficiency may be
achieved through advancing the control of an AHUresulting in more sales, reduced energy costs and
satisfied customers.
HVAC System in a Building
HVAC Air Systems

HVAC air systems are made up of:
AHU - Air handling units

Dampers
Coils and Valves
Fans
Distribution ducts and terminal boxes
Pumps and Plumbing
Control devices and control loops
Unitary equipment: fan coils, perimeter
radiation, unit ventilators, unit heaters,
etc.
AHU - Components & Terminology
EA
RA
Return From
Space
OA
Filter
Cooling Coil
DA
Heating
AHU components
Supply fan
Heating coil
& valve
Mixed Air
sensor
Mixed air
dampers section
Return Air
sensor
Cooling coil
& valve
Discharge air
sensor
Discharge air
Duct
Return air
Duct
AHU components
What are Functions of AHU ?

Function: Condition the air flow.
Heat the air flow
Cool the air flow
Dehumidify the air flow
Humidify the air flow
Clean the air flow
Distribute the conditioned air into the
building space.
Commercial air handling units can

be compared to home furnaces.
Types of Air Handlers

Air Handlers can be categorized
by:
Method of temperature control
Method of volume control
Method of air distribution
Types :
Mixed Air AHU
Treated Fresh Air AHU
100 % Fresh Air AHU

Air Handling Units Mixed Air

Air Handling Units Mixed Air
Air Distribution Systems

Constant Volume, Variable Temperature (CV)*
Delivered to all room areas regardless of individual
room differences.
Constant Volume, Constant Temperature (CT)

High fan power costs, expensive installation, high
energy consumption
VAV -Variable Air Volume, Constant Temperature

Single Zone or Dual Duct
A Single Duct AHU variation

The exhaust air damper is not in this air
handler; the building air is exhausted
elsewhere, but the basic mixed air and other
functions are unchanged.
Air handler variations

The building air in the previous example can
be exhausted through wall or roof fan units
remote from the AHU, or through pressure
relief dampers.
Other Air Distribution Systems

Multizone
Supplies several zones from a central system.
Hot and cold deck temperatures are mixed and
supplied to the zone to meet the needs of the
zone
Dual Duct
Supply air is divided at the Central Fan - hot
air & cold air flow through separate ducts to
the zones - mixed to meet requirements at
zone
Air Distribution Design-Dual Duct

Hot deck/cold deck AHU with Dual Duct distribution.
Dual ducts run through the building with many sets of zone
dampers for many individual room locations.
Will have many sets
of these dual duct
take offs.
Zoned temperature
control.
Mixes correct
amounts of hot or
cool air into each
room per room
thermostats.
Air handler locations

Roof top unit
Air handlers may be located:

In basement mechanical rooms.
In penthouse mechanical rooms.
On roof tops.
Air Handler Components

The damper section :
Manually Operated for

Outside Air/Exhaust Air
Motorized Modulating
Motorized On/Off
Fire Dampers Motorized /

Fuse Link Operated

The fan section with
access door open.

Filters :
Types of Air Filters
Pre Filters
Fine Filters
HEPA Filters
ULPA Filters

PRE-Filters
70-80-% Efficiency .
Can filter particles
of size upto 5-10
microns.
Reusable & Washable

Fine Filters
90-95 % Efficiency .
Can filter particles of
size upto 1 to 2 microns.
Not Reusable

High Efficiency Particulate Air Filters (HEPA)
99.97-% to 99.99995 %
Efficiency .
Can filter particles of
size upto 0.1 to 0.3
microns.
Used in Clean Room
Applications.
Not Reusable

ULPA Filters
PTFE Membrane Filters For State-of-the-Art Clean room
Requirements
PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene) Membrane combines ultra-high
efficiency with negligible pressure drop
High Resistance to Corrosive Environments (Acid, Alkali and
Organics)
Negligible Off-Gassing Properties (Boron, Sodium, Potassium,
Silicon)
99.99995% Minimum Efficiency.
PTFE membrane filters can meet stringent semiconductor industry
Clean room filtration requirements

The filter section.
Notice the cross stacking of
the filters to increase
surface area.

Temperature Sensor:
Temperature sensors are used for

measurement of temperatur of a
Room, Air Duct, Hot /Cold Water,
Outside Air etc.
Models are available with PT1000,
NTC20K, BALCO500 sensing
elements.
LF20 : AIR DUCT TEMP. SENSOR (NTC 20k)
T7412 : ROOM TEMP. SENSOR (PT1000/NTC 20k)
T7413A : IMMERSION TEMP. SENSOR (PT1000)

Relative Humidity Sensor:
Relative Humidity sensors are used

for measurement of Relative
humidity of a Room, Air Duct,
Outside Air etc.
Sensor Type : Capacitance
Combined Relative Humidity and
Temperature Sensors are available
with PT1000, NTC20K,
BALCO500 sensing elements.
H7015 : DUCT RELATIVE HUMIDITY SENSOR
H7012 : ROOM RELATIVE HUMIDITY SENSOR

Differential Pressure
Switch:
Differential Pressure switches are

used for monitoring of Filter, Fan,
Pump, Fire Damper, Water Flow,
Air Flow Status of air handling
systems.
DPS1000 : AIR DIFFERENTIAL PRESSURE SWITCH
TDIAP SERIS : AIR FLOW SWITCH

Differential Pressure
Sensors/Transmitter:
Used for measuring diff. Pressure,

positive pressure and vacuum.
DPT1000 : AIR DIFF. PRESSURE TRANSMITTER
ST 3000 Pressure Transmitter

Coils :
Heating Coils
Cooling Coils
Coil Construction
Copper with Aluminium fins,
13 Fins /inch
Number of Rows, I.e 4/6/8

depending on the latent heat
load & Bypass Factor.

The coil section of a AHU.
Note:
There may be a wide
variety of actual configurations
Basic AHU Control Sequences

Damper configurations will employ a
variation of the following damper
sequences of operation:
Fixed amount of outdoor air.

Manually adjustable outdoor air.
Mixing of outdoor and return air.
Mixing with minimum outdoor air.
Economizer override of outdoor air.
Enthalpy controlled economizer function.
Fixed Quantity of Outside Air

Use for
ventilation
OA
100% OA
No Temperature
Control
Control would be
a simple switch to
turn fan on/off
DA
Fan
Fixed OA with Damper

Specification
The operation of the OA air damper
shall be two-position the damper should
open when the fan is on and close when
the fan is off
Fan shall be operated from a
1) time clock
2) time schedule from the Building
Management System*
Typical AHU Damper Sequences

Damper opens via
relay when fan turns
on:
100% outdoor air
W/WO return air
Typical make up air
unit w/o return.
Relay opens damper
when fan starts. Or fan
starts after damper
opens.
Basic Mixed Air Control

Specification
Control System will energize
when fan is on
MA controller will modulate
dampers to maintain mixed air
position
Manual positioning
switch/setting determines
minimum OA damper position
OA, EA dampers close and RA
damper opens when fan is shut
off
Note:for large fan systems care must

be taken to insure ample air is supplied
to fan!
Both OA and RA dampers should not
be closed during fan operation.

Manually adjustable
quantity of outdoor
air:
Similar to Fixed, but
with a user adjustment
device for adjusting
damper setting from 0% to
100% outdoor air.
No automatic control.
W/WO exhaust or return
air ducts.

Mixed Air Dampers:
Mixes OA and RA to maintain a
mixed air setpoint via direct
acting controller.
Modulates 0% to 100%.
Provides ventilation for IAQ.
Provides free cooling.
Provides proper temperature for
H/C coil operation.
OA and EA dampers close via
relay with fan off.
RA damper opens via relay with
fan off.
Mixed Air Dampers with a Minimum Position Setting

Maintains a minimum
outdoor damper position via a
minimum adjustment device
when building is occupied.
(fan on)
Meets IAQ code
requirements.

Enthalpy controlled
override of Mixed Air
control:
Total heat (enthalpy) of
outdoor air is compared to
total heat of return air to
decide which is more
economical for efficient
cooling coil operation.
AHU coil control
The air handler heating

component is accomplished
with hot water, steam, or
electric heating coils.
The idea is to replace heat

at the same rate that heat is
being lost from the conditioned
space.
AHU coil control
Typical discharge air control of

a hot water heating coil.
(Hot water is provided by a hot

water boiler located elsewhere
in the mechanical system.)
AHU coil control

Outdoor temperature reset
of the discharge air set point;
typical of cold climate air
handler control sequences.
The BTU content of the air
flow will increase automatically
as the BTU loss from the building
increases.
AHU coil control

The air handler cooling
component is accomplished
via chilled water coils or via
a refrigerant evaporator coil
absorbing heat in the air stream.
Refrigerant (freon) expands
in the coil as it absorbs heat,
thus it is referred to as a direct
expansion (DX) coil.
AHU coil control
Typical discharge air control of a

chilled water cooling coil.
BTUs are absorbed by the chilled
water as air flows through the coil.
Dehumidification is also provided
by the cooling coil. As the air
temperature is reduced to below the
dew point (saturation point) water
condenses out of the air stream. In
this case, a reheat coil may be
required to bring the air back up to
an acceptable discharge
temperature.
AHU conditioning control

The humidification
component of an air
handler is accomplished
via a steam spray or a
water spray manifold.
Moisture is added to the
building space to
maintain an acceptable
relative humidity level.
AHU conditioning control

Typical discharge air
control of a steam
humidifier manifold.
Practical Example
100%Outside Air AHU :
OA AHU Seq
Plant
Chiller Plant
Chiller Plant
Chiller Plant systems are made up of:
Chiller/Condenser Unit
Chilled Water Pumps
Condenser Water Pumps
Cooling Towers
Makeup Water Tank
A/C Expansion Water Tank
TRANE Chiller
Typical Cooling Tower
Typical Chiller Plant
Questions ??

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AHU

Air Handling Unit

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

HVAC System in a Building

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

HVAC Air Systems

AHU - Air handling units

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

AHU - Components & Terminology

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

What are Functions of AHU ?

Commercial air handling units can

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Types of Air Handlers

Types of Air Handlers

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Types of Air Handlers

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Distribution Systems

Constant Volume, Constant Temperature (CT)

VAV -Variable Air Volume, Constant Temperature

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

A Single Duct AHU variation

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air handler variations

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Other Air Distribution Systems

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Distribution Design-Dual Duct

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air handler locations

Air handlers may be located:

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

Manually Operated for

Fire Dampers Motorized /

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

Air Handler Components

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

Temperature sensors are used for

LF20 : AIR DUCT TEMP. SENSOR (NTC 20k)

T7412 : ROOM TEMP. SENSOR (PT1000/NTC 20k)

T7413A : IMMERSION TEMP. SENSOR (PT1000)

05 AHU / Plant Fundamentals

Air Handler Components

Relative Humidity sensors are used

H7015 : DUCT RELATIVE HUMIDITY SENSOR

H7012 : ROOM RELATIVE HUMIDITY SENSOR