Choice of Air-conditioning System-Facility Manager’s Guide
Choice of Air Conditioning system for Building Services
Selecting the right air conditioning system for building services is not just a task; it’s a crucial step that can significantly impact the efficiency and reliability of building operations. To make the best choice, it’s essential to thoroughly evaluate key considerations such as purpose, initial and operating costs, and installation and operational requirements.
When troubleshooting air conditioning systems, paying attention to high probability and high-impact failures documented in the operational history or derived from industry-specific information is essential.
Broadly, many tailored design systems are adopted for Heating, Ventilation, and Air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. The design approach begins with a needs statement from the end-use customer. The requirement for an HVAC system must adequately articulate a minimum of the following criteria.
- The area under consideration for air-conditioning
o Rule of thumb –
(1.0 TR of cooling = 3,024 kCal/hr heat rejection)
- Occupancy hours and purpose of the area
- Adaptive Thermal Comfort –
- Indoor operative temperature = (0.078 x Outdoor temperature) + 23.25 0C
- The 90% acceptability range for the adaptive models for a conditioned building is +/- 1.50C.
- Indoor room temperature can be monitored and controlled for thermal comfort using IoT sensors and data analytics relating to air temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, and air speed.
(Ref.- ECBC )