Systems Flashcards
Skin-load dominant building
Buildings that have a lot of surface area compared to interior space-buildings that will be influenced by exterior conditions
Internal load dominated buildings
Minimal surface area compared to volume - generate a lot of heat - influenced by people, lighting and equipment -typically sheds heat year round
Factory, hospital, office buildings
Solar heat gain coefficient ( Shgc)
The fraction of incident solar radiation admitted through a window, both directly transmitted and absorbed and subsequently released inward
Between 0 and I
O = less solar/radiant heat goes through (higher performance) (low=0.2 →> 0.4)
1 = 1/8” untreated plate glass la lot of heat transfer)
SHG through my window/ SHG through 1/8” glass
Solar insolation
Radiant energy per sf
British thermal units (btus)
The heat required to move 1 pound of water 1º
212°- steam
How many BTUS to go from 212° boiling to 212° steam? 1061 BTUS (changing state liquid → gas)
How many BTus to go from 72° to 212°? 140 BTUS
Do you sweat more when It’s humid or dry?
Dry - because the air evaporates the skin faster so it doesn’t feel sweaty
Humid air can’t hold anymore moisture so it can’t evaporate it (think like the air is a sponge or glass of water)
Air temperature and humidity interaction
Psychrometry-
Relative humidity
% Of moisture in the air at a particular temperature
What spills over from relative humanity to a lower temperature is dew, condensation, clouds - cooler air can’t hold any more moisture
Absolute humidity =humidity ratio
Warm our can hold more moisture than cool air can
When things evaporate, it makes you feel cold
Enthalpy
Total heat in the air
Sensible heat ( air temp) + latent heat ( moisture level)
Wet bulb temp is a good indication of total heat
Low - e (emissivity) glass
Helps prevent radiant heat
I is like no glass at all
O is like there is an opaque object
Low-e glass boasts a low SHGC
Balance point temperature
65°
. Heating or cooling degree days
If it’ cooler outside, we heat, IF its warmer, we cool
Degree days
The number of days per year and the differences in degrees from the baseline (balance point) temperature
Heating degree days (winter calculation)
Helps plan if we need high efficiency windows _ creates a relationship between high efficiency and low energy - more effective
Cold winter = higher HDDs
More than 5500 HDDs is long and cold
Less than 2200 HDD s is mild
Cooling degree days (summer calculation)
A hot or long summer will have more cooling degree days
Conductivity (k)
The rate at which heat passes through a specified material
The measure of efficiency of conduction of a material
If heat moves quickly, conductor
If heat moves slowly, insulator
Resistivity (r)
1/k = r
The rate at which a material resists the transfer of heat
High resistivity doesn’t change much when heat is applied
We generally want high resistivity because we don’t want materials exchanging heat - especially in cold or temperate climates
Conductance (c)
Homogenous materials of any given thickness or for a heterogeneous materials with known thermal properties (cmu block)
Higher number means heat transfers more quickly
C= 1 / R
Inverse of resistance (R)
Resistance (R)
Homogenous materials of any given thickness or for heterogeneous materials with known thermal properties
Higher number means heat moves slower
R =1 / C
Inverse of conductance (C)
heat takes 2x longer to go through thicker material = 1/2 as efficient transfer
U -value
The measure of the overall ability of a series of conductive and connective barriers to transfer heat
U = 1 / RI + R2+ R 3…
Thermal transmittance of an assembly
Conduction
Heat exchange between two surfaces that are in contact ( your elbow and the desk )
Q (BTU / hr )=u (u-value) x A (area )x delta T (temp change)
I F we double the u-value, what happens to the rate of heat exchange across the assembly?
It will double the heat exchange ( Q)
If we double the A (area) what happens to Q?
It will double the heat exchange
If we cut delta T by 50% what happens to the rate of heat exchange through the assembly ?
It reduces heat exchange by 50%
Air change per hour ( ACH )
Intentional ventilation- pull air in through HVAC to keep fresh air (internal load dominated buildings require more)
Unintentional - infiltration- cracks that allow air exchange (typically enough for homes)
0.9 ACH means 90% of air refreshes per hour
Convection: infiltration
Q= 1.08 X CFM X delta T
For a temperate climate (warm summers and cold, winters) heat transfer for conduction ( Q) is more of a concern in the -?
Winter-temperature change is greater in the winter
Higher conductivity is a - – r-value.
Lower r-value
Thermal breaks
Radiation faults in construction
What causes a building to get stuffy?
Build-up of co 2 - why buildings want to “flush” every
day
Don’t put fresh air intake at ground level or near extra co 2 ( loading dock)
Radiation
Thermal radiation is electromagnetic radiation generated by the thermal motion of charged particles in matter
- the temperature of objects in view (fire)
Function of 4 things
- delta T cubed - if double T then rate of heat exchange is multiplied by 8
- angle of view-as you step closer to a surface you exchange more heat w/ that surface ( large cold bedroom window makes you cold - cold surface ) (bonfire-face is hot, back is cold - does not “turn the corner”)
- absorptance
- Emittance
The mean radiant temperature (MRT ) at any point is a result of the combined effect of a surface’s temperature and angle of exposure
Absorptance
Dark and matte materials and surfaces absorb more heat - light or reflective materials reflect heat
Emittance
A materials ability to release heat through radiation (dark and matte) - absorbed then emitted
emittance + absorptance = emissivity
Think low emissivity glass
Doubling The thickness of a given homogenous wall material will - —_-‘ the wall’s u-value?
Halve
In the US during the summer, — receives the most radiant heat?
Flat roof
Two bodies in direct contact with each other will transfer heat primary by the mechanism of -?
Conduction
Passive thermal buildings
Direct-gain space
Trombe wall (indirect gain)
Son space ( indirect gain- buffer zone )
Altitude
Suns position in the sky along the vertical axis
If the set point temperature is 70°F, the buildings balance point is 55°F, and the outdoor temp is 70°F which is the mechanical system most likely dong?
Cooling
Compression -refrigeration loop
( Air conditioning)
A closed loop tube with coolant and the pipe exchanges the heat - pump and valve → pump increases pressure,There’s more fluid /less gas, forces liquid to compress (condensing side) so it heats the pipe and our that is blown over it warms → after valve, there IS less pressure/heat and the liquid evaporates/ boils from liquid to gas ( At room temp) → low pressure/ less fluid makes the pipe cool like an aerosol can
Coolant boils at room temp
Produce heat changing from gasto liquid
This is how a window a/c runs
Big systems are similar but use chilled water systems instead
Exhaust air fans
Pulls air from spaces we don’t want the air to recirculate (restrooms, Kitchens)
Creates negative pressure → so it doesn’t push air into adjacent spaces
Can be loud
Economizer cycle
Cooling with “free” cold outdoor air _ free coding
Water side economizer vs air side economizer
Water -
Water in cooling tower gets cold from outside air and cold water cools coolant - > expansion valve is opened and pressure equalizes and temp equalizes → chiller becomes a simple heat exchange system
Airside _
Directly introduces cold exterior air → improves IAQ
Heat pump
Flip the flow of coolant and inside becomes condenser and heats → recirculates room air
Air to air heat pump
Sometimes coolant doesn’t want to evaporate in cold, so the system is less efficient before you flip.
Geothermal heat pump
Ges-exchange or ground source coupled heat pump
Use the earth instead of air as heat sink.
Thermostats in “zones”
Tells the system to heat or cool per zone
You can also zone by air quality, schedule, occupancy
Setting a thermostat higher than you want won’t make it heat or cool faster
Grill
Air intake
Register
dumps air into room.
Diffuser
Directs air throughout
What happens when a building is negatively pressurized?
Sucks water in through the skin, so we exhaust less than we bring in (positive pressure)
Energy recovery ventilator (erv)
For efficiency when it’s cold, bring intake air by the exhaust air for heat exchange → then exhaust air is cooler and we waste less heat, and intake air requires less heating to get to room temp- can take up a lot of space.
Pre-heat or pre-cool the air
What are the advantages of having one independent air handling unit for each zone?
Control - disadvantage IF it’s a large building (too many units)
Variable Air volume Unit
(Vav) - single zone systems are ideal but not economic - this arrows some control with a damper per zone in a bigger system - variable air volume box with damper entering the zone, allows variable air flow based on thermostat
Damper cannot shut completely - fresh air required by code.
Disadvantage - cannot heat and cool at same time, can only reduce amount of cold air into one part of zone -try to smartly plan systems to have typical expected temperatures/needs connected
Advantage - good for big buildings that don’t need zones of specialized air
Terminal reheat with VAV
Similar to VAV but each zone has a heating element inside the VAV that allows the cool air coming from the main system to be heated
Adv - lots of control, space and equipment efficiencies
Dis- wasted energy
Dual duct system
Not used anymore- highly inefficient
I hot and I cool duct both feeding a “mixing” box so temps were highly controlled
“Right size” equipment.
Designing for typical use, not the one time a year the system may be overloaded
- cuts cost of equipment, oversized is less efficient, oversized a/c doesn’t workhard enough to evaporate causing moisture to stay in the air
Why do we need preheat in an HVAC?
Cooling coil can’t handle something too cold ( air from outside) or it will freeze and burst leading call removes moisture from the outside air)
HVAC common in multi-unit housing
Chiller with AHU
Square box with X
Supply air
Square box with \
return air
Internally lining ductwork
Reduces air noise - but could have fibers (bad iaq) or cause condensation (mold)
Fan coil Unit (fcu)
Just a fan in a space or adjacent ( single room)
Often in mid-range hotels - wall based _ high control, minimal ductwork
In the compression-refrigeration loop, which IS likely to be warmer? Conduser coil or evaporator coil
(Air conditioning)
Condenser coil
A machine that uses a reversible compressive refrigeration loop, so both coils may take the role of either evaporator or condenser.
Heat pump
Air - Air system
Both coils are cooled and the coils are in their own room (isolated)
Mini-split system
Through wall- units (fan and compressor in the room)
Fan coil unit in each zone - can be condenser OR evaporator when needed - the outdoor unit has condenser and fan.
What makes hydronic heating in the floor a low energy strategy?
Often feet are the coldest, so heating this makes US overall more comfortable; heat rises from here; floor is a huge area that all allows us to feel heat from many places, allowing us to put the room set temp (for air) cooter
Why doesn’t this work for cooling?
The warm aer would condense on the cooler surfaces → chilled beams are the equivalent
Swamp cooler
Add moisture to hot dry air which cools the air
No compression/ refrigeration loop
What causes HVAC noise?
If air moves against damper too fast - it vibrates and makes noise → so we slow the air through the duct = less noise and less friction (turbulence) in the system
Bigger ducts = slower air
Smaller ducts = faster air
We still need the same CFM so when we slow the air it means we need more space (bigger duct)
NC level
Background noise level - more background noise from equipment means worse performance in the space (classrooms)
What is the difference between a furnace and a boiler?
A furnace heats air and a boiler heats water
Rooftop water to water system
Chiller and cooling tower on roof → cooler has evaporator/condenser loop → pump cool water into building, fan or VAV pumps into rooms
Remote water to water system
Cooling tower and chiller located up to 1/2 mile away from building → same chilled water supply and return (chiller is condenser / evaporator loop)
Geothermal summer water to water system
Works best when heating and cooling needs are about the same
Condenser / evaporator connected to water pipes in the ground to collect or shed heat
Rooftop water to air system
Condenser connected to cooling tower → air directly blown across evaporator → air sent through building, additional fresh air intakes to keep positive pressure and direct air exhausts per zone (smaller)
Water to water system: basement chiller and rooftop cooling tower
Rooftop cooling tower → water sent back to basement to work in the chiller (condenser/ evaporation loop) → water from chiller circulated back through buildings → var or air fans to distribute into o zones
Basement water to air system
Cooling tower on roof → sends water to basement into condenser → connects to air blown over evaporator coils → air transmits through building system
Exhaust per zone → the higher on a building the air intake is, the less polluted the air
Split-system
Quiet inside but does not scale to large buildings with large cooling load and many zones
Exterior condenser (max 100’away) compressor sends refrigerant inside to evaporator ( air over coils ) → air sent around building
This is most common for single family residential
Air-to- air system
Condenser cooled with air and return air is cooled by running directly over the evaporator. No piping, pumps, or cooling tower needed, but not as efficient as water- to-water systems for large buildings
Air intake and exhaust → condensor/evaporator loop with refrigerant → air throughout, intake from zones back to condensor/ evaporator
Consistent temp to all zones, not efficient for custom temps
Evaporative condenser
Air and water spray used to cool the condenser - exterior connector that releases heated air and moisture because coils and fan are sprayed with water to cool → compressor sends refrigerant inside to evaporator to be distributed through air system
Window units (also called direct expansion units, DX systems and unitary system)
Thermal control and no ductwork needed, but a lot of equipment to purchase se and maintain, lots of noise, and not easily hidden from exterior and interior view
Compression/evaporation loop in single small unit ( heat pumps /reversible)
Simplest but can be hard to design when there are a lot of zones
Single zone design
Thermal control but a lot of equipment/ ducts to purchase, maintain and house
Each zone has its own AHU, thermostat, fan, heat source, etc.
Thermostat
Measures room temperature and tells fan/valve when to turn on and open up
Fan coil units (fcu)
More thermal control and no ducts needed, but because there are no ducts, these systems are loud and often cannot provide core zones with fresh air _ have to rely on opening windows for fresh air in internal rooms
Chilled beams
Radiators for coolth, can be near silent
Can be comfortable as a warmer temperature ( think radiant floors )
Good for lab buildings
Can be valance systems
Con - if room is too humid or beams are too cold, can cause condensation
VAV with terminal reheat
Less equipment, more thermal control, but sometimes heats and cools the same air,wasting energy
Many zones share one AHu
Terminal reheat is a heater per zone to heat this zone from the main air supply to meet that zones needs
Radiant cooling
Can be silent - like radiant heating, not super common. Similar to chilled beams. Requires fewer BTUS, takes more time to work-better for 24/7 occupancy - can cause condensation
Mini split system
(20Th century) each zone has a refrigerant coil that can serve as an evaporator or condenser. No ducts needed.
One single outdoor unit - high pressure outside low pressure inside - can reverse flow (heat pump) IF all zones need heating
Valves and compressor send or pull refrigerant from the occupied zones depending on what the thermostat says is needed
Swamp cooler
Low energy (no compressor) but only available in arid climates_ The interior maybe exclusively humid and only modest cooling offered on very hot or rainy days
Air is cooled through a wet pad before it goes into the space
Which of the following types of copper pipe would be the best choice for a line buried as an underground water supply
Type K (thickest)
Type L - most common supply line
Type m - thinner (low pressure, condensate )
Pipes are rated by thickness of pipe wall
Which types of copper pipe would be installed as a stack vent?
DWV - drain, waste, vent
Type K copper pipe
Thickest copper pipe- good underground
Type L copper pipe
Medium thickness - most common supply line
Type m copper pipe
Thinner - low pressure, condensate
Type DWV copper pipe
Drains, waste vents
Bring water to the ground slowly
Slowly - allows ground to fitter
Quickly-causes erosion, flooding, lose topsail, change stream ecosystem
Take water Off the road
If materials allow water to mare through them, we have better control of how to manage it
Impervious vs pervious paving
Blue roof
Ponds water intentionally on roof-slowly releases
Plastic pipe vs metal pipe
Plastic pipe
Less friction, less money, smaller buildings
Metal pipe
More friction, more money, bigger buildings
Supply and waste water NEVER meet
Make sure there’s an air gap between max water line and supply or a vacuum break - prevent negative suction (backflow preventor)
Gate valve
Mostly used for maintenance
Looks like a dropping gate, screws in - can be used for a building or device
Ball valve - similar to gate, used for maintenance _ handle with on /off valve
Globe valve
Mostly used for faucets - repeated use - end of the line at a fixture - comfortable to use
Check valve
Used for back-flow prevention
Right as water enters the building
Allows water to move one direction and not the other
Vacuum breaker
Backflow prevention
Creates a siphon → adds air instead of dirty water
Pressure formula
Pressure (psi) = 0.433 (constant) x H (height)
A water tank is 75 ft above a fixture. What will the pressure at the fixture be?
P =0.433 x 75ft
P=32.475 psi
—-… —-… —- water line diagram
Hot water return
—-.. —- .. —- water line diagram
Hot water supply
Water line accesses building -
Below frost line → check valve → water meter → gate valve → then to water treatment, heaters etc.
Point of use water heater
Under sink for immediate use
Grey water
Waste water that Does not include human or food waste - can reuse (irrigation)
Black water
Any thing including human or food waste (toilets, kitchen sink)
How do you size pipes?
By pressure and flow
Provide enough flow for all fixtures with the knowledge that all fixtures want be used at the same tine
Fixture units → allows us to calculate the amount of water needed and likelihood of it being used simultaneously