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Building Management Systems

The document discusses air handling units (AHUs), which condition and circulate air throughout buildings. It describes how AHUs contain components like filters, fans, cooling/heating coils, and humidifiers to treat the air. It also discusses different AHU types, including 100% outside air vs. mixed air, single duct vs. dual duct, constant volume vs. variable volume, and roof top units. The document provides details on the purpose and function of key AHU components to condition and distribute air within buildings.

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107 views18 pages

Building Management Systems

The document discusses air handling units (AHUs), which condition and circulate air throughout buildings. It describes how AHUs contain components like filters, fans, cooling/heating coils, and humidifiers to treat the air. It also discusses different AHU types, including 100% outside air vs. mixed air, single duct vs. dual duct, constant volume vs. variable volume, and roof top units. The document provides details on the purpose and function of key AHU components to condition and distribute air within buildings.

Uploaded by

anchit
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HVAC Basic Concepts

Air Side - AHU


What is AHU

• Air Handling Unit (AHU) is an HVAC Equipment used to condition


the air, control it to required temperature, relative humidity,
pressure and transport it to required space.
• Large metal box containing a blower, heating or cooling
elements, filter, humidifier, sound attenuators, etc.
• Connects to ductwork that distributes the conditioned air through
the building and returns it to the AHU.
What is AHU

• Central air conditioner station that handles the air that, usually,
will be supplied into the buildings by the ventilation ductwork
(connected to the AHU). Handling the air means that the air will
be delivered into the building spaces with thermo-hygrometric
and IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) treatment.. This means, the Air
Handling Unit treat the air by filtering, cooling and/or heating,
humidifying and/or dehumidifying.
AHU Components

An Air Handling Unit may include:


• A mixing station to draw in fresh air to replace exhausted air.
• A filtering station to remove pollutants from air stream.
• A cooling or heating element & a humidifier to remove/add heat,
humidify/ dehumidify the air stream.
• A mechanical fan station that creates a pressure difference and
cause air flow towards conditioned room.
AHU Components - Filter
• Filters are to remove particles and
contaminants of various sizes
from the air. 
• Effective air filtration provides the
primary defense for building
occupants and HVAC equipment
against pollutants generated
within a building as well as
pollutants from air drawn into a
building from the HVAC system.
AHU Components - Fan

• A fan converts mechanical, rotational energy into fluid energy. This is basically
accomplished by a wheel or propeller which imparts a forward motion to the air.
• Two main types of fans are used in airflow systems centrifugal and axial.
• The selection of the fan will depend on the air volume and the static pressure
required of the system. Usually, the designer of the system will use a specialized
software to do this selection.
AHU Components - Coils
• Coils are a type of heat exchanger. They are arranged
in rows with different fin spacing. Aluminum fins and
copper tubes are used in the design of the coils.
• Cooling Coil is used to cool and dehumidify the air.
There are two types of cooling coil:
1. DX (Direct Expansion - Refrigerant)
2. Chilled Water (Water/ Water + Glycol)

• Heating Coil provide sensible heating. There are four


basic types of heating coils:
1. Hot Water (Water/ Water + Glycol)
2. Gas Heating (Natural Gas)
3. Steam
4. Electric (Stages/ SCR)
AHU Components - Humidifier

• During winter, the humidity level of the air can be low. Low humidity can cause problems
such as respiratory discomfort and static electricity.
• Humidifiers can humidify a space either directly or through an air handling system.
• Humidifiers in air handling systems typically inject steam directly into the air stream
(steam injection).
AHU Components - Other
• Mixing box has air inlets that is attached to the dampers. This is the place where
the outside air and the return air are mixed to provide the correct proportion of
air to be distributed to the space that is to be conditioned. (Mixing Box is a
component of “Mixed Air Type AHU” only).
• Dampers are used to balance airflow or to block the passage of air through
ductwork. Dampers installed in Outside Air, Return Air & Exhaust Air ducts are
called as mixing dampers. Dampers are also installed after Supply Fan & Return
Fan for isolation purpose. Fire & Smoke Dampers are also installed in Supply &
Return ducts to prevent Fire & Smoke.
• Control Valves are used to control fluid flow by varying the size of the flow
passage as directed by a signal from a controller. They are used in water/ steam
based coils.
AHU Types

• 100% Outside Air vs Mixed Air


• Single Duct vs Dual Duct
• Constant Volume vs Variable Volume
• RTU (RoofTop Units)
AHU Types
• 100% Outside Air AHU is used to avoid contamination of air in
other parts of the building. Common uses include surgery
rooms and chemistry labs.
AHU Types

• Mixed Air AHU uses some portion of conditioned return air to


mix with outside air for energy savings purpose.
AHU Types

• Single Duct AHU has only one duct leaving the fan & has only
one path to go through.
AHU Types

• Dual Duct AHU has only two ducts leaving the fan & has two
paths to go through.

Hot Deck

Cold Deck
AHU Types
• Mixed Air Single Duct Variable Volume
AHU Types
• Roof Top Units (RTU)
AHU Types

Roof Top Units (RTU)


• RTUs are mounted on the roof, there is no concern about creating extra space
indoors for it as would be the case for the other types of AHU.
• As the RTU is fitted on the rooftop, extra care needs to be taken as it is exposed to
the weather.
• No need to provide extra ducting for outdoor air & exhaust air connections.
• Fan power consumption is less, as the fan does not have to work against gravity.
• Most of the RTU’s come with DX cooling coil & Electric heating coils with necessary
controls, so it will come as a “packaged unit”.
Thank You

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