Case study: Flexible, reliable HVAC system
A quiet, efficient, and flexible HVAC system replaced an older one in this government office building.
A 60,000-sq-ft government administration building constructed during the mid-1950s, comprised of a basement and four floors, had two constant volume multi-zone dual-duct (MZ-DD) air handling units (AHUs) to provide both cooling and heating. The AHUs were located in separate mechanical rooms, one in the basement while the other was on the top floor.
As illustrated in Figure 6, these DD AHUs both had a hot deck (HD) and cold deck (CD), with corresponding hot and cold medium-pressure duct mains that served all floors within the building. The DD risers of both HVAC systems were interconnected near the middle floor within a vertical shaft in a central location. Both systems were supplemented with old constant volume DD induction mixing boxes for zone temperature control.
Figure 6: This schematic illustrates multiple options for component positions within a dual duct air handling unit (AHU) serving multiple zones. Courtesy: Stanley Consultants Inc.[/caption]
Figure 3 is an illustration of the new VAV DD AHUs that were installed. The new units incorporated relatively new technology using an array of plenum fans, recognized as a fan-wall, that allow for quiet and more efficient operation at variable speeds, flexible configurations, and increased reliability and redundancy. The AHUs fan-wall’s function is to operate to provide the system’s required airflow at all times, however, if the fans are selected correctly, each fan will operate at less than its maximum capacity. If and when one fan is taken out of service, the remaining fans will speed up to continue to provide the AHUs airflow requirements and overcome any shortfall from the offline fan.
Figure 10 shows a simple control schematic of the new DD VAV boxes. The overall system renovation also included new ductwork from the branch mains to the DD VAV boxes. Also included were electrical and DDC upgrades to enhance the systems’ functionality and allow for remote monitoring and control from the central utility energy management system.
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