Chapter C3: Ventilation of Non-Domestic Buildings
Chapter C3: Ventilation of Non-Domestic Buildings
Chapter C3: Ventilation of Non-Domestic Buildings
Most common system for mechanical ventilation is illustrated in the Figure below
where outdoor air is filtered and heated in an air handling unit and supplied to rooms.
Ventilation air is heated partly with heat recovered from extract air and district
heating. Room is heated with hot water radiators. The water is heated with district
heating, and flow controlled with thermostatic radiator valves. The air flow is constant
to all rooms. The system in this Figure does not have air conditioning only air
cleaning and heating
Air-handling unit
Radiator and
thermostatic valve
District heating supply
The system illustrated in the Figure below has also cooling coil for air cooling and
dehumidification if necessary. The purpose of supply air is now not only to ventilate
for air quality but also to cool the rooms. Heating can be done also by supply air but
in cold climate radiators are more common as illustrated in the Figure. Cooling can be
done with direct expansion cooling coils or with water chillers with storage capacity.
The system does not have any re-circulated air. Its energy saving function is replaced
with heat recovery.
Air-handling unit
Air cooled
condenser
Chilled water
tank
Water chiller
Radiator and
thermostatic valve
District heating supply
As the cooling or heating demand of room usually leads to higher design air flow than
needed for ventilation commercial buildings are often equipped with specific room
units for cooling. In the Figure below this is done with chilled beams installed in the
ceiling, and controlled by room temperature sensors. Chilled water system serves
both air handling unit and chilled beams. Supply air flow is selected based on
ventilation requirements but is heated or cooled depending on the requirements of
the room. Major part of cooling and heating is still supplied by the water systems
(beams and radiators respectively).
Cooling
Room air
Primary
air
Room air
Cooled air
In the figure chilled beams are installed in the ceiling and controlled by room
temperature sensors. Cross sections (previous slide) on left illustrate passive cooling
beam and on the right active cooling where the supply air (ventilation air) is integrated
in the beam to improve the heat transfer in the beam). TE = temperature sensor,
ME=moisture sensor, TC=temperature controller.
Air-handling unit
Air cooled
condenser
Chilled water
tank
Chilled beam
Water chiller
Radiator and
thermostatic
valve
District heating supply
In fan coil systems air is circulated via a coil which is heated or cooled with warm or
chilled water. Fan coils can operate also as stand alone units. In that case it may
draw in the outdoor air for ventilation. Fan coils can be placed in the ceiling or below
the window on the floor. Ventilation is separated from fan coils.
Room unit
Extract
air
Supply air
Fan
The flow of supply air to the rooms can be controlled by a room temperature sensor
for heating or cooling purposes. This variable volume air conditioning system (Figure
C3.6) is common in office buildings. In these systems it is possible that the air flow is
too low for ventilation if the control of the air flow is by room temperature only the
minimum supply air should be guaranteed to all rooms.
Air-handling unit
Air cooled
condenser
Chilled water
tank
Water chiller
Radiator and
thermostatic valve
District heating supply
Due to variable air flow, the energy for conditioning and transferring the air is lower
than with constant air flow (CAV) systems. The pressure in the duct work is kept
constant by controlling the fan speed and dampers. Pressure sensor in the duct work
is used to control the fan speed, and consequently the supply air flow. Since the
average flow of air is smaller, and the fan has a speed control, the energy use of the
system is lower than that of a constant flow system.
Exhaust air
Supply air
Zone control
Category Description
ETA 1
ETA 2
ETA 3
ETA 4
Examples (informative)
Category ETA 2:
Category ETA 3:
Category ETA 4:
Air recirculation
The reuse of extract air is dependent on the specific situation. In order to achieve a
low energy use the supply air rate should be as low as possible and those emissions
that are not desirable (heat, pollution, and moisture) should be removed by measures
at the source or by direct extraction in a closed system. In this case and in most
cases in which a good air quality in the room is needed, no recirculation of air should
be used. If the heating-up of a space before occupancy (pre-heating) is done with a
ventilation system, it should be achieved mainly with re-circulated air.
c q m (h1 h2 ) q v (h1 h2 )
c
=
qm
qv
h2
h1
Questions
Which load defines the supply air flow and how much is that?
Outdoor design temperature is 10 C for heating and +35 C
for cooling. Design indoor room temperature is 21 C for
heating and 25 C for cooling. No air-recirculation is used.
How much cooling capacity is saved in in the previous
example if the difference between supply air and ventilation air
requirements is provided by re-circulated air?