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Air Conditioning
It is a process of controlling the temperature, relative humidity, cleaning of air and its circulation
to meet the requirements of a confined space.
They are classified as
i. Centralized systems
Central air conditioning systems serve multiple spaces from one base location. These typically
use chilled water as a cooling medium and use extensive ductwork for air distribution.

The principle advantages of central air conditioning systems are better control of comfort
conditions, higher energy efficiency and greater load-management potential.

The main drawback is that these systems are more expensive to install and are usually more
sophisticated to operate and maintain.

ii. Decentralized systems

Decentralized air conditioning systems typically serve a single or small spaces from a location
within or directly adjacent to the space. These are essentially direct expansion (DX) type and
include:
 Wall and window air conditioners;
 Split type
 Commercial outdoor packaged systems

In DX refrigeration the air is cooled directly exchanging heat from the refrigerant.

The principle advantages of decentralized air conditioning systems is lower initial costs,
simplified installation, no ductwork or pipes, independent zone control, and less floor space
requirements for mechanical room, ducts and pipes. A great benefit of decentralized systems is
that they can be individually metered at the unit.

Disadvantages are short equipment life (10 years), higher noise, higher energy consumption
(kW/ton) and are not fit where precise environmental conditions need to be maintained.
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Window air conditioner

It is the most commonly used air conditioner for single rooms. In this air conditioner all the
components, namely the compressor, condenser, expansion valve or coil, evaporator and cooling
coil are enclosed in a single box. This unit is fitted in a slot made in the wall of the room, or
more commonly a window sill.

Parts of the Window Air Conditioners

Windows air conditioners are one of the most widely used types of air conditioners because they
are the simplest form of the air conditioning systems. Window air conditioner comprises of the
rigid base on which all the parts of the window air conditioner are assembled. The base is
assembled inside the casing which is fitted into the wall or the window of the room in which the
air conditioner is fitted.

The whole assembly of the window air conditioner can be divided into two compartments: the
room side, which is also the cooling side and the outdoor side from where the heat absorbed by
the room air is liberated to the atmosphere. The room side and outdoor side are separated from
each other by an insulated partition enclosed inside the window air conditioner assembly.

In the front of the window air conditioner on the room side there is beautifully decorated front
panel on which the supply and return air grills are fitted (the whole front panel itself is
commonly called as front grill). The louvers fitted in the supply air grills are adjustable so as to
supply the air in desired direction. There is also one opening in the grill that allows access to the
control panel or operating panel in front of the window air conditioner.

The various parts of the window air conditioner can be divided into following categories: the
refrigeration system, air circulation system, ventilation system, control system, and the electrical
protection system. All these have been discussed in details below along with the front panel and
other parts.
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The Refrigeration System of the Window Air Conditioner

The refrigeration system of the window air conditioner comprises of all the important parts of the
refrigeration cycle. These include the compressor, condenser, expansion valve and the
evaporator. The refrigerant used in most of the window air conditioners is R22.
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The compressor used in the window air conditioners is hermetically sealed type, which is
portable one. The condenser is made up of copper tubing and it is cooled by the atmospheric air.
The condenser is covered with the fins to enable faster heat transfer rate from it. The capillary
tubing made up of various rounds of the copper coil is used as the expansion valve in the window
air conditioners. Just before the capillary there is drier filter that filters the refrigerant and also
removes the moisture particles, if present in the refrigerant.

Like condenser, the evaporator is also made up of copper tubing of number of turns and is
covered with the fins. The evaporator is also called as the cooling coil since the rooms air passes
over it and gets cooled. Just in front of the evaporator there is air filter fitted in the front panel or
front grill. As the room air is absorbed, it is first passed over the filter so that it gets filtered. The
filtered air is then blown over the cooling coil and the chilled air is passed into the room.

The refrigerant after leaving the cooling coil enters the accumulator where it is accumulated and
then it is again sucked by the compressor for recirculation over the whole cycle.

Air Circulation System of the Window Air Conditioner

The air circulation system of the window air conditioner comprises of the following parts,

1) Blower: This is the small blower that is fitted behind the evaporator or cooling coil inside the
assembly of the window air conditioner system. The blower sucks the air from the room which
first passes over the air filter and gets filtered. The air then passes over the cooling coil and gets
chilled. The blower then blows this filtered and chilled air, which passes through the supply air
compartment inside the window air conditioner assembly. This air is then delivered into the
room from the supply air grill of the front panel.
2) Propeller fan or the condenser fan: The condenser fan is the forced draft type of propeller
fan that sucks the atmospheric air and blows it over the condenser. The hot refrigerant inside the
condenser gives up the heat to the atmospheric air and its temperature reduces.
3) Fan motor: The motor inside the window air conditioner assembly is located between the
condenser and the evaporator coil. It has double shaft on one side of which the blower is fitted
and on the other side the condenser fan is fitted. This makes the whole assembly of the blower,
the condenser fan and the motor highly compact.
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Split Air Conditioner

The split air conditioner comprises of two parts: the outdoor unit and the indoor unit. The
outdoor unit, fitted outside the room, houses components like the compressor, condenser and
expansion valve. The indoor unit comprises the evaporator or cooling coil and the cooling fan.
For this unit you don’t have to make any slot in the wall of the room. Further, present day split
units have aesthetic appeal and do not take up as much space as a window unit.
The indoor unit of the split air conditioner is a box type housing in which all the important parts
of the air conditioner are enclosed. The most common type of the indoor unit is the wall mounted
type though other types like ceiling mounted and floor mounted are also used.
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Wall Mounted Indoor Unit

It is the indoor unit that produces the cooling effect inside the room. The indoor unit of the split
air conditioner is a box type housing in which all the important parts of the air conditioner are
enclosed. The most common type of the indoor unit is the wall mounted type though other types
like ceiling mounted and floor mounted are also used.

In the last couple few years the purpose of the indoor unit has changed from being a mere
cooling effect producing devise to a beautiful looking cooling devise adding to the overall
aesthetics of the room. This is one of the major reasons that the popularity of the split units has
increased tremendously in the last few years. The various parts enclosed inside the indoor unit of
the split air conditioner:

1) Evaporator Coil or the Cooling Coil:

The cooling coil is a copper coil made of number turns of the copper tubing with one or more
rows depending on the capacity of the air conditioning system. The cooling coil is covered with
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the aluminum fins so that the maximum amount of heat can be transferred from the coil to the air
inside the room.

The refrigerant from the tubing at very low temperature and very low pressure enters the cooling
coil. The blower absorbs the hot room air or the atmospheric air and in doing so the air passes
over the cooling coil which leads to the cooling of the air. This air is then blown to the room
where the cooling effect has to be produced. The air, after producing the cooling effect is again
sucked by the blower and the process of cooling the room continues.

After absorbing the heat from the room air, the temperature of the refrigerant inside the cooling
coil becomes high and it flows back through the return copper tubing to the compressor inside
the outdoor unit. The refrigerant tubing supplying the refrigerant from the outdoor unit to the
indoor unit and that supplying the refrigerant from indoor unit to the outdoor unit are both
covered with the insulation tape.

2) Air Filter:
The air filter is very important part of the indoor unit. It removes all the dirt particles from the
room air and helps supplying clean air to the room. The air filter in the wall mounted type of the
indoor unit is placed just before the cooling coil. When the blower sucks the hot room air, it is
first passed through the air filter and then though the cooling coil. Thus the clean air at low
temperature is supplied into the room by the blower.

One of the most popular types split air conditioners is the wall mounted type of split AC. In these
ACs the indoor unit is mounted on wall inside the room or the office.
3) Cooling Fan or Blower:
Inside the indoor unit there is also a long blower that sucks the room air or the atmospheric air. It
is an induced type of blower and while is sucks the room air it is passed over the cooling coil and
the filter due to which the temperature of the air reduces and all the dirt from it is removed. The
blower sucks the hot and unclean air from the room and supplies cool and clean air back. The
shaft of the blower rotates inside the bushes and it is connected to a small multiple speed motor,
thus the speed of the blower can be changed. When the fan speed is changed with the remote it is
the speed of the blower that changes.
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4) Drain Pipe:
Due to the low temperature refrigerant inside the cooling coil, its temperature is very low,
usually much below the dew point temperature of the room air. When the room air is passed over
the cooling due the suction force of the blower, the temperature of the air becomes very low and
reaches levels below its dew point temperature. Due to this the water vapor present in the air gets
condensed and dew or water drops are formed on the surface of the cooling coil. These water
drops fall off the cooling coil and are collected in a small space inside the indoor unit. To remove
the water from this space the drain pipe is connected from this space extending to the some
external place outside the room where water can be disposed of. Thus the drain pipe helps
removing dew water collected inside the indoor unit.

To remove the water efficiently the indoor unit has to be a tilted by a very small angle of about 2
to 3 degrees so that the water can be collected in the space easily and drained out. If this angle is
in opposite direction, all the water will get drained inside the room. Also, if the tilt angle is too
high, the indoor unit will shabby inside the room.

5) Louvers or Fins:
The cool air supplied by the blower is passed into the room through louvers. The louvers help
changing the angle or direction in which the air needs to be supplied into the room as per the
requirements. With louvers one easily change the direction in which the maximum amount of the
cooled air has to be passed.

There are two types of louvers: horizontal and vertical. The horizontal louvers are connected to a
small motor and there position can set by the remote control. Once can set a fixed position for
the horizontal louvers so that chilled air is passed in a particular direction only or one can keep it
in rotation mode so that the fresh air is supplied throughout the room. The vertical louvers are
operated manually and one can easily change their position as per the requirements. The
horizontal louvers control flow of air in upper and downward directions of the room, while
vertical louvers control movement of air in left and right directions.
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Installation

The installation of the split air conditioners is the most important and crucial part. If it is done
properly your air conditioner will give you optimum performance, but if it is not done properly
you won't get the desired cooling effect and there may be frequent maintenance problems of
which the most prominent can be the gas or refrigerant leakage.

Various factors have to be considered during the installation of any split air conditioner, here we
are going to consider how to do the installation of wall mounted split air conditioner.

Location of the Indoor and the Outdoor Units

The first step in the installation of split AC is deciding the location of the indoor and the outdoor
units, only then the next important steps of the installation can be initiated.

1) Indoor Unit:
Here are the important suggestions when deciding the location of indoor unit inside the room:

a) The indoor unit is located inside the room at the location from where the air can be distributed
evenly throughout the room.

b) As far as possible the indoor should be installed above the bed so that the maximum cooling
effect can be obtained. It should be located directly above the bed. If one has to avoid the direct
flow of chilled air on the body, one can always change the direction of the louvers. The indoor
unit can also be installed on wall towards your feet though it can be installed on other side walls
also.

c) The wall mounted indoor unit should be located at the height of about 8 to 10 feet from the
floor so that that most of the chilled air is used for cooling the room and not merely for cooling
the hot roof.

d) The indoor unit should be accessible easily so that one can conveniently clean the filter every
fortnight and the whole unit and also that one can manually change the position of the louvers
easily.

e) If the indoor unit is installed above certain window, make sure that it is in symmetry with the
window, else the unit will look shabby. The indoor unit is meant to add to the aesthetics of the
room and not destroy it.
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2) Outdoor Unit:

Here are some points to consider when deciding the location of the outdoor unit:

a) The outdoor unit should be located in the open space preferably on the terrace so that the air
can flow freely over the compressor and the condenser. If the terrace is not available it can be
kept on the awning above the wall or it can be hanged on the external wall supported by the
angles.

b) The location of outdoor unit should be such that it is easily accessible for carrying out the
maintenance works of the compressor, condenser, and other devices. The installation and gas
charging also should be convenient.

c) There should not be any hindrances in front of the outdoor that would block the passage of fan
air from passing to the open space. Any blockages will seriously affect the performance of the
AC and can also lead to the burning of hermetically sealed compressor coil.

d) The surface on which the outdoor unit is to be installed should be rigid enough to avoid its
vibration. The vibration of the outdoor unit will raise excessive noise and also lead to the
breaking of the copper tubing and leakage of the refrigerant.

It is always advisable to keep the outdoor unit at the height above the indoor unit. If the outdoor
unit is kept at level below the indoor, some of the compressor power is used in pumping the
refrigerant against the gravity, thus reducing the overall performance of the compressor. Most of
the outdoor units are quite silent so one does not have to worry about their noise. The internal
parts of the outdoor unit are shielded against the rain and sun rays, so one can rest assured about
their safety in different climatic conditions.

The refrigerant at very low temperature flows inside the tubing between indoor and the outdoor
unit, and there is always some loss of refrigerant effect to the atmosphere from these tubing,
hence the distance between the indoor and the outdoor unit should be kept as minimum as
possible to reduce the loss of the cooling effect. The maximum distance between the indoor and
the outdoor units can be about 15 meters.
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Packaged Air Conditioner

There are two possible arrangements with the package unit. In the first one, all the components,
namely the compressor, condenser (which can be air cooled or water cooled), expansion valve
and evaporator are housed in a single box. The cooled air is thrown by the high capacity blower,
and it flows through the ducts laid through various rooms. In the second arrangement, the
compressor and condenser are housed in one casing. The compressed gas passes through
individual units, comprised of the expansion valve and cooling coil, located in various rooms.

Packaged Air Conditioners

The window and split air conditioners are usually used for the small air conditioning capacities
up to 5 tons. The central air conditioning systems are used for where the cooling loads extend
beyond 20 tons. The packaged air conditioners are used for the cooling capacities in between
these two extremes. The packaged air conditioners are available in the fixed rated capacities of 3,
5, 7, 10 and 15 tons. These units are used commonly in places like restaurants, telephone
exchanges, homes, small halls, etc.

As the name implies, in the packaged air conditioners all the important components of the air
conditioners are enclosed in a single casing like window AC. Thus the compressor, cooling coil,
air handling unit and the air filter are all housed in a single casing and assembled at the factory
location.

Depending on the type of the cooling system used in these systems, the packaged air conditioners
are divided into two types: ones with water cooled condenser and the ones with air cooled
condensers.

Packaged Air Conditioners with Water Cooled Condenser

In these packaged air conditions the condenser is cooled by the water. The condenser is of shell
and tube type, with refrigerant flowing along the tube side and the cooling water flowing along
the shell side. The water has to be supplied continuously in these systems to maintain functioning
of the air conditioning system.

The shell and tube type of condenser is compact in shape and it is enclosed in a single casing
along with the compressor, expansion valve, and the air handling unit including the cooling coil
or the evaporator. This whole packaged air conditioning unit externally looks like a box with the
control panel located externally.
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In the packaged units with the water cooled condenser, the compressor is located at the bottom
along with the condenser. Above these components the evaporator or the cooling coil is located.
The air handling unit comprising of the centrifugal blower and the air filter is located above the
cooling coil. The centrifugal blower has the capacity to handle large volume of air required for
cooling a number of rooms. From the top of the package air conditioners the duct comes out that
extends to the various rooms that are to be cooled.

All the components of this package AC are assembled at the factory site. The gas charging is
also done at the factory thus one does not have to perform the complicated operations of the
laying the piping, evacuation, gas charging, and leak testing at the site. The unit can be
transported very easily to the site and is installed easily on the plane surface. Since all the
components are assembled at the factory, the high quality of the packaged unit is ensured.

Package AC with Water Cooled Condenser

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Packaged Air Conditioners with Air Cooled Condensers

In this packaged air conditioners the condenser of the refrigeration system is cooled by the
atmospheric air. There is an outdoor unit that comprises of the important components like the
compressor, condenser and in some cases the expansion valve. The outdoor unit can be kept on
the terrace or any other open place where the free flow of the atmospheric air is available. The
fan located inside this unit sucks the outside air and blows it over the condenser coil cooling it in
the process. The condenser coil is made up of several turns of the copper tubing and it is finned
externally. The packaged ACs with the air cooled condensers are used more commonly than the
ones with water cooled condensers since air is freely available it is difficult maintain continuous
flow of the water.

The cooling unit comprising of the expansion valve, evaporator, the air handling blower and the
filter are located on the floor or hanged to the ceiling. The ducts coming from the cooling unit
are connected to the various rooms that are to be cooled.
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Package Air Conditioner Air Cooled Condenser

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Compressors and Control System in the Packaged Air Conditioners

The packaged air conditioners are used for the low to medium tonnage of air conditioning load
ranging from 5 to 20 tons also higher. For smaller loads up to 5 tons single compressor is used.
For the higher load of more than 5 tons two compressor are used in the package air conditioning
system forming two independent refrigeration systems. Though the two systems are independent
they are housed in the same supporting framework. The evaporator systems of these two systems
are entwined together.
With the two compressors installed in the system there is facility for the capacity control of the
air conditioning plant thus one can run the plant fully or partially as per the heating load or as per
the number of rooms to be cooled. At full capacity both the compressors can be kept running,
while at the partial load one of the compressors can be kept off. The capacity control can also be
done automatically by thermostat. The two compressors also ensure that the air conditioning
plant won't stop completely when one of the compressor breaks down, for the system can still
keep on running though on partial capacity.

The water cooled condenser used with the two compressor system can be single shell but
partitioned inside it for different passages for the refrigerant from the two compressors. There
can also be two different water cooled condensers for two different systems. If the condenser is
of air cooled type, there would be two condensers either placed side-by-side or entwined together
just like the evaporator of the system.

Thermostat Setting for Two Compressor Systems

For controlling the operation of the two compressor packaged air conditioning system, two
different thermostats can be connected to the two cooling systems. This will allow for the
capacity control of both the compressors to ensure optimum running of the plant.

In many cases the thermostat is connected to the compressor of one cooling system only. In this
case one compressors keeps on running at full capacity and the other compressor remains shut or
runs at partial or full capacity depending on the cooling load. To ensure that one compressor
won't wear and tear at the fast rate, the compressor running at the full capacity is interchanged
from time-to-time.
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The two compressor system is used for the cooling loads between 5 to tons 15 tons, for higher
loads more than two units can be installed as per the requirements. There can be multiple air
handling units in these systems sending the chilled air to different parts of the building. The
compressor and the condenser units are housed in the same location of the building thus there is
one common place for the return air. If these units have water cooled condenser, the hot water
coming out from them is cooled in the single cooling tower.

During the full load all the compressors run at the full capacity, and when the load reduces one
or more compressors are stopped manually or automatically, which makes the other compressors
to run at the full load. When the compressor runs at full capacity it runs more efficiently.
Whether the packaged air conditioner consists of single compressor or the multiple compressors,
most of the components are assembled at the factory site, so the installation of the package AC is
quite easy.

Central Air Conditioning System

Central air conditioning is used for cooling big buildings, houses, offices, entire hotels, gyms,
movie theaters, factories etc. A central air conditioning system is comprised of a huge
compressor that has the capacity to produce hundreds of tons of air conditioning. Cooling big
halls, malls, huge spaces, galleries etc is usually only feasible with central conditioning units.

Central air conditioning plants are used for applications like big hotels, large buildings having
multiple floors, hospitals, etc, where very high cooling loads are required. The central air
conditioning plants or the systems are used when large buildings, hotels, theaters, airports,
shopping malls etc are to be air conditioned completely. The window and split air conditioners
are used for single rooms or small office spaces. If the whole building is to be cooled it is not
economically viable to put window or split air conditioner in each and every room. Further, these
small units cannot satisfactorily cool the large halls, auditoriums, receptions areas etc.

In the central air conditioning systems there is a plant room where large compressor, condenser,
thermostatic expansion valve and the evaporator are kept in the large plant room. They perform
all the functions as usual similar to a typical refrigeration system. However, all these parts are
larger in size and have higher capacities. The compressor is of open reciprocating type with
multiple cylinders and is cooled by the water just like the automobile engine. The compressor
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and the condenser are of shell and tube type. While in the small air conditioning system capillary
is used as the expansion valve, in the central air conditioning systems thermostatic expansion
valve is used.

The chilled air is passed via the ducts to all the rooms, halls and other spaces that are to be air
conditioned. Thus in all the rooms there is only the duct passing the chilled air and there are no
individual cooling coils, and other parts of the refrigeration system in the rooms. The amount of
chilled air that is needed in the room can be controlled by the openings depending on the total
heat load inside the room.

The central air conditioning systems are highly sophisticated applications of the air conditioning
systems and many a times they tend to be complicated. It is due to this reason that there are very
few companies in the world that specialize in these systems. In the modern era of
computerization a number of additional electronic utilities have been added to the central
conditioning systems.

There are two types of central air conditioning plants or systems:

1) Direct expansion or DX central air conditioning plant:

In this system the huge compressor, and the condenser are housed in the plant room, while the
expansion valve and the evaporator or the cooling coil and the air handling unit are housed in
separate room. The cooling coil is fixed in the air handling unit, which also has large blower
housed in it. The blower sucks the hot return air from the room via ducts and blows it over the
cooling coil. The cooled air is then supplied through various ducts and into the spaces which are
to be cooled. This type of system is useful for small buildings.
 The Plant Room:
The plant room comprises of the important parts of the refrigeration system, the compressor and
the condenser. The compressor can be either semi-hermetically sealed or open type. The semi-
hermetically sealed compressors are cooled by the air, which is blown by the fan, while open
type compressor is water cooled. The open compressor can be driven directly by motor shaft by
coupling or by the belt via pulley arrangement.
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The condenser is of shell and tube type and is cooled by the water. The refrigerant flows along
the tube side of the condenser and water along the shell side, which enables faster cooling of the
refrigerant. The water used for cooling the compressor and the condenser is cooled in the cooling
tower kept at the top of the plant room, though it can be kept at other convenient location also.

 The Air Handling Unit Room:

The refrigerant leaving the condenser in the plant room enters the thermostatic expansion valve
and then the air handling unit, which is kept in the separate room. The air handling unit is a large
box type of unit that comprises of the evaporator or the cooling coil, air filter and the large
blower. After leaving the thermostatic expansion valve the refrigerant enters the cooling coil
where it cools the air that enters the room to be air conditioned. The evaporator in the air
handling unit of the DX central air conditioning system is of coil type covered with the fins to
increasing the heat transfer efficiency from the refrigerant to the air.

There are two types of ducts connected to the air handling unit: for absorbing the hot return air
from the rooms and for sending the chilled air to the rooms to be air conditioned. The blower of
the air handling unit enables absorbing the hot return air that has absorbed the heat from the
room via the ducts. This air is then passed through the filters and then over the cooling coil. The
blower then passes the chilled air through ducts to the rooms that are to be air conditioned.

The DX expansion system runs more efficiently at higher loads. Even in case of the breakdown
of the plants, the other plants can be used for the cooling purpose. The DX types of central air
conditioner plants are less popular than the chilled water type of central conditioning plants.

 Air Conditioned Room:

This is the space that is to be actually cooled. It can be residential room, room of the hotel, part
of the office or any other suitable application. The ducts from the air handling room are passed to
all the rooms that are to be cooled. The ducts are connected to the grills or diffusers that supply
the chilled air to the room. The air absorbs the heat and gets heated and it passes through another
set of the grill and into the return air duct that ends into the air handling unit room. This air is
then re-circulated by the air handling unit.

Though the efficiency of the DX plants is higher, the air handling units and the refrigerant piping
cannot be kept at very long distance since there will be lots of drop in pressure of the refrigerant
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along the way and there will also be cooling losses. Further, for the long piping, large amounts of
refrigerant will be needed which makes the system very expensive and also prone to the ma
instance problems like the leakage of the refrigerant.

Due to these reasons the DX type central air conditioning systems are used for small air
conditioning systems of about 5 to 15 tons in small buildings or the number of rooms on a single
floor. If there are large air conditioning loads, then multiple direct expansion systems can be
installed. In such cases, when there is lesser heat load one of the plants can be shut down and the
other can run at full load. The DX expansion system runs more efficiently at higher loads. Even
in case of the breakdown of the plants, the other plants can be used for the cooling purpose. The
DX types of central air conditioning plants are less popular than the chilled water type of central
conditioning plants.

2) Chilled water central air conditioning plant:

This type of system is more useful for large buildings comprising of a number of floors. It has
the plant room where all the important units like the compressor, condenser, throttling valve and
the evaporator are housed. The evaporator is a shell and tube. On the tube side the Freon fluid
passes at extremely low temperature, while on the shell side the brine solution is passed. After
passing through the evaporator, the brine solution gets chilled and is pumped to the various air
handling units installed at different floors of the building. The air handling units comprise the
cooling coil through which the chilled brine flows, and the blower. The blower sucks hot return
air from the room via ducts and blows it over the cooling coil. The cool air is then supplied to the
space to be cooled through the ducts. The brine solution which has absorbed the room heat
comes back to the evaporator, gets chilled and is again pumped back to the air handling unit.
Proper preventative and breakdown maintenance of these plants is vital.

 Central Air Conditioning Plant Room:

The plant room comprises of all the important components of the chilled water air conditioning
plant. These include the compressor, condenser, thermostatic expansion valve and the evaporator
or the chiller. The compressor is of open type and can be driven by the motor directly or by the
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belt via pulley arrangement connected to the motor. It is cooled by the water just like the
automotive engine.

The condenser and the evaporator are of shell and tube type. The condenser is cooled by the
water, with water flowing along the shell side and refrigerant along the tube side. The
thermostatic expansion valve is operated automatically by the solenoid valve.
The evaporator is also called as the chiller, because it chills the water. If the water flows along
the shell side and refrigerant on the tube side, it is called as the dry expansion type of chiller. If
the water flows along tube side and the refrigerant along the shell side, it is called as the flooded
chiller. The water chilled in the chiller is pumped to various parts of the building that are to be
air conditioned. It enters the air handling unit, cools the air in cooling coil, absorbs the heat and
returns back to the plant room to get chilled again. The amount of water passing into the chiller
is controlled by the flow switch.

In the central air conditioning plant room all the components, the compressor, condenser,
thermostatic expansion valve, and the chiller are assembled in the structural steel framework
making a complete compact refrigeration plant, known as the chiller package. Piping required to
connect these parts is also enclosed in this unit making a highly compact central air conditioning
plant.

The air handling units are installed in the various parts of the building that are to be air
conditioned, in the place called air handling unit rooms. The air handling units comprise of the
cooling coil, air filter, the blower and the supply and return air ducts. The chilled water flows
through the cooling coil. The blower absorbs the return hot air from the air conditioned space
and blows it over the cooling coil thus cooling the air. This cooled air passes over the air filter
and is passed by the supply air ducts into the space which is to be air conditioned. The air
handling unit and the ducts passing through it are insulated to reduce the loss of the cooling
effect.
 Air Handling Unit Rooms:
The air handling units are installed in the various parts of the building that are to be air
conditioned, in the place called air handling unit rooms. The air handling units comprise of the
cooling coil, air filter, the blower and the supply and return air ducts. The chilled water flows
through the cooling coil. The blower absorbs the return hot air from the air conditioned space
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and blows it over the cooling coil thus cooling the air. This cooled air passes over the air filter
and is passed by the supply air ducts into the space which is to be air conditioned. The air
handling unit and the ducts passing through it are insulated to reduce the loss of the cooling
effect.

 Air Conditioned Rooms:

These are the rooms or spaces that are to be air conditioned. These can be residential or hotel
rooms, halls, shops, offices, complete theater, various parts of the airport etc. At the top of these
rooms the supply and the return air ducts are laid. The supply air ducts supply the cool air to the
room via one set of the diffusers, while the return air ducts absorbs the hot return air from the
room by another set of the diffusers. The hot return air enters the air handling unit, gets cooled
and again enters the room via supply duct to produce air conditioning effect.

 Cooling Tower:
The cooling tower is used to cool the water that absorbs heat from the compressor and the
condenser. When water flows through these components some water gets evaporated, to make up
this loss some water is also added in the cooling tower. The cooling tower is of evaporative type.
Here the water is cooled by the atmospheric air and is re-circulated through the compressor and
the condenser.
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SIZING OF AN AIR CONDITIONING UNIT

The task of sizing AC is a matter of application of the science rather than the art. You can use an
on-line calculator to determine the size of air conditioner that can make your home a hospitable
place in the hot and humid summer. A properly sized AC can work efficiently and help you
realize your investment. On the other hand, under-sized ones will run continuously, without
cooling your house and without providing succor and worth. The over-sized air conditioner will
not work more efficiently than the properly sized one. It is up to you to decide whether to install
one of the portable or central air conditioners that are available in the market.

Steps to Follow

 The first task is to measure (in meters) the length and the width of each of the rooms in
your house that you plan to cool with the air conditioner.
 The height of the room does not play any role in this calculation, because the cool air is
heavy and sinks toward the ground.
 Find the area of each room you are interested in by multiplying its length and width.
 By adding together the areas of all the rooms you are interested in, you will arrive at the
total area in your house to be cooled.
 Multiply the total area by 337 BTUs and the product will give you the amount of heat, an
air conditioner will have to remove from your house in order to cool it. The term BTUs
stands for British thermal units.
 Wait, your task is not over, yet. There are few more calculations you have to do, in order
to calculate air conditioner size for your house. Calculate the area of each of your south
side windows (width times height). Total the area of the windows and multiply it by 871
BTUs. This will give you the amount of heat entering your house through the south side
windows.
 Calculate the area of the each north side window, add them up and calculate the amount
of heat entering your house through the north side windows by multiplying the total by
166 BTUs.
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 Multiply the number of people by 400 BTUs, the amount of heat generated by each
person per hour.
 Now, we need to calculate the amount of heat generated by each of the light source in
your house. We do it by multiplying number of watts per light source by 4.25 BTUs.
 If you have electrical appliances or machines in any of the rooms you want to cool, then
you will have to figure out the heat produced by them while they are in use. Multiply the
maximum wattage an appliance can operate on by 3.15 BTUs.
 Although, you may not always run an appliance at full capacity, it is better to have a
heavy-duty air conditioner that can handle more load when the need arises.
 Add all the BTUs figure for the appliances in the targeted rooms.
 Obviously, the last step is to add up all the BTUs amounts that you have calculated for
the floor, windows, persons, light sources and appliances.
 Add 2,000 BTUs to the total to compensate the heat generated the kitchen during the
cooking.
 The resulting amount will be the total amount of heat, an air conditioner will have to
remove from your house, to make your stay pleasant.
 If you are interested in knowing the capacity in tons of A/C you will need to buy, then
first use an online calculator to convert the final total (in BTU) to KWh and then KWh to
tonnage calculator.

Calculating air conditioner size is a very tricky business as few other factors such as whether the
windows are internally or externally shaded, whether they are double glazed or single glazed,
types and quality of insulation used for the floor and ceiling, size of the doors connecting rooms
and the time they remain open, elevation of the house, whether the house is shaded by other
buildings (trees) or not, etc., also matter. When you take the decision of buying an air
conditioner, you must choose one that can at least handle the amount of load you have arrived at.
Don't get stumped with the amount of cooling your AC will have to do, because an air
conditioner with one ton capacity can remove 12,000 BTUs of heat from a closed area.