Building HVAC Systems

This unit is designed to provide students with required skills and knowledge to design Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems in buildings. Students will develop skills needed in the selection and design of various elements of these systems, such as applied psychrometry for cooling coil sizing or estimating building heating and cooling loads used for duct sizing and selection of thermal plant in buildings. In addition students learn about complex HVAC systems and develop skills needed in selection of components to make the systems energy efficient in full load and part load operation.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. Explain and critically evaluate basic psychrometric processes and demonstrate how they apply in various types of air conditioning systems;
2. Assess options available to HVAC designers in selecting main types of plant and formulate a suitable proposal for equipment selection;
3. Explain an impact of design decisions on equipment performance under full-load and part-load operation, and on system energy efficiency;
4. Classify the components of cooling and heating loads in buildings, evaluate methods used for their estimation, and apply cooling and heating load estimation to analyse designs and evaluate alternatives; and
5. Present a clear and coherent exposition of knowledge and ideas to a variety of audiences.