Design Guide of HVAC Services - Appendices

APPENDIX A

DESIGN CRITERIA FOR

COOLING/HEATING LOAD &
MECHANICAL VENTILATION

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Space Summer Winter Fresh Air People Lighting Miscellaneous Noise Check
Room Temp. Room RH Room Temp. Requirement Density Load Load Criteria Figure
(°C db) (%) (°C db) (l/s/person) (m2/person) (W/m2) (W/m2) (NC) (ft2/TR)
Office (general) 24 50-55 22 10 9 (perimeter zone) 20-40 25 35-40 200-250
6 (interior zone)
Office (hi-tech) 24 50-55 22 10 9 (perimeter zone) 25-40 50-70 35-40 150-200
6 (interior zone)
Conference room 24 55 22 10 2 20-40 25 30-35 180-200
Chinese restaurant 22 60 20 10 1 90 10 sensible/person 45 80-100
10 latent/person
(for meal)
Western restaurant 22 60 20 10 1.5 54 10 sensible/person 40-45 80-100
10 latent/person
(for meal)
Coffee 24 60 22 15 1.5 54 10 35-40 100-120
shop/Bar/Lounge
(not for meals)
Canteen/Food plaza 22 60 20 10 1 45 10 sensible/person 45 80-100
10 latent/person
(for meal)
Banquet room 22 60 20 10 1 80 10 sensible/person 35-40 80-100
10 latent/person
(for meal)
Kitchen (thro' spot cooling) --- --- (thro' kitchen --- --- --- --- ---
(no heating) ventilation)
Retail shop 24 55 22 10 2.5 40-80 40 40 130-150
Supermarket 24 55-60 22 10 12.5 20-40 5-10 40 200
Shopping arcade 24 55 22 10 2.5 45 25-40 40-45 130-150
Toilet/Changing room 26 --- 20 (thro' toilet --- 15-40 --- 40-45 300
(with AC) (or no heating) ventilation)
Cinema 24 55 22 10 1 --- --- 30 13 persons/TR
(or number of seat)
Store room 24-26 55 --- 10 20 15-40 --- 45 250-300
(with AC) (no heating)
Computer room 20 50 20 10 6-10 15-40 450-750 35-40 60-80
(PCs/terminals mainly)
Computer room 20 50 20 10 10-15 15-40 500-900 35-40 60-80
(mainframe mainly)
Hotel guest room 24 55 22 30 l/s per room 2 people per room 500 W per room 900W per room 30 250-350
(or designed
accommodation
capacity)

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Space Summer Winter Fresh Air People Lighting Miscellaneous Noise Check
Room Temp. Room RH Room Temp. Requirement Density Load Load Criteria Figure
(°C db) (%) (°C db) (l/s/person) (m2/person) (W/m2) (W/m2) (NC) (ft2/TR)
Corridor 24-26 55-60 20-22 0.25 l/s/m2 --- 15-20 --- 35 for hotel 300-400
40 for office
Main entrance/Large 24-26 55-60 20-22 1 l/s/m2 --- 45 --- 40 300
lobby
Lift lobby 24-26 55-60 20-22 1 l/s/m2 --- 45 --- 40 300
Health Club 24 60 22 13 8-10 45 --- 40-45 100-120
Multi-function room 24 55 22 10 1.5 54 40 30 80-120
Back-of-house area 24-26 55-60 --- 8 4 15-40 20 40-45 200-250
(no heating)
Disco/Dancing 22 55 20 13 1 54 40 45 70
hall/Ballroom
Karaoke room 24 55 22 10 1.5 15-45 40 40-45 150-200
Bank hall 24 55 22 10 1.5 15-40 10 35-40 160-180
Bank vault 24 55 22 min. 2 air change --- 15-40 --- 30-35 250
Hospital ward room 24 55 22 10 8-10 15-40 20 30 200
Hospital operating 20-24 50-60 20-24 All OA 4-6 60-80 40-60 30 40
theatre (100% OA) (i.e. quantity of OA
= SA)
Hospital consultation 24 55 22 10 4.5 15-40 10 30-35 200
room
Clinic 24 55 22 10 1.5 15-40 10 30-35 180-200
Pantry 26 60 20 --- --- 15-20 40 40-45 250-300
Refuse room (with AC) 18 --- --- --- --- 15-20 --- 45 200-250
(no heating)
Plant room (central or 26-28 --- --- min. 2 air change --- 15-20 Refer to heat 50 200-300
large one with AC) (no heating) (for operators dissipation of the
always there) plants

Table A1: Indoor Design Criteria of Different Kind of Spaces and Their Corresponding Check Figures

Remarks
a. The design criteria listed here are for reference only. Please follow the Code of Practice for Energy Efficiency of Air Conditioning Installations and
Performance-based Building Energy Code first.
b. Tolerance for control of temperature: ±2°C; for RH: ±10%
c. Due to the temperature climate in Hong Kong, winter room RH is not critical in design so that it is not included here.
d. Range of NC depends on the class of space.
e. Check figures are solely used for reference, and provide quick preliminary estimation or cross checking of the detailed calculation results.
f. This table is mainly applied to Hong Kong and the adjacent areas with similar climate. For those cold areas/countries which also rely on heating in cold season, the
winter design temperature (even RH) for all spaces should be specified at a certain level (min. 5 °C to prevent frost).

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Space Recommended Type of System

Air Change / Hour
Toilet (a) 12-15 (a) Extract
or (b) 90% of OA or (b) Balanced with 10% deficiency
Refuse room (no AC) 20-30 Extract or Balanced with 10%
deficiency
Kitchen 60-80 Extract (for small kitchen)
or refer to kitchen consultant's or Balanced with 10% deficiency
requirement (for large kitchen)
Plant room (no AC) 15 Extract or Balanced
Transformer room • For substation on G/F or Extract
above, 3500 m3/h for each
1500 kVA capacity
• For basement substation,
7000 m3/h for each 1500
kVA capacity
(Refer to the latest COP of
CLP/HKE for details.)
Lift machine room Refer to heat dissipation of Extract
engine (min. 20)
Carpark (above ground surrounded 6 Extract
with parapet walls)
Carpark (enclosed or underground) 7 (residential) Balanced with 30% deficiency
8 (commercial offices) (make-up air from the main
9 (entertainment/shopping entrance/exit, but need to
plaza) countercheck the air velocity through
there not too high)
(Also refer to the latest Practice
Notes on Control of Air
Pollution in Car Parks for
details.)

Table A2: Design Criteria of Mechanical Ventilation

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APPENDIX B

HVAC LOAD CALCULATION

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Design
Criteria

Weather Data

Internal
Heat Gains
HVAC Load
Calculation

Schedules
Construction and
Materials

B1. Typical Design Loads

• Design space load, zone load, system load and plant load are the respective
cooling loads from the space, system/zone and plant.
• Plant is a collection of systems; system/zone is a collection of spaces; while space
is the basic area for load calculation.
• Generally, Plant load ≤ System/zone load ≤ Space load
• For air conditioning purpose,
− Plant load is used to size the respective chiller plant, the associated chilled
water pumps and the main chilled water pipes.
− System/zone load is used to size the respective air side system, mainly the
cooling coil and fan of the AHU/PAU. In general a zone would be handled
by an independent temperature/humidity control.
− Space load is used to size the respective air side equipment serving the space,
mainly the air diffusers/grilles; VAV boxes (for VAV system); FCUs (for fan
coil system), etc.
• Block load vs. Peak load
− Block load is an overall load that includes the simultaneous load profiles of
different areas.
− Peak load is the maximum load of a certain area according to its own load
profile.
− Generally, Block load ≤ Peak load

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B2. Cooling Load Temperature Difference / Solar Cooling Load / Cooling Load
Factors (CLTD/SCL/CLF)

Data obtained by using the TFM on a group of representative applications were used
to generate Cooling Load Temperature Difference (CLTD) data, for direct one step
calculation of cooling load from conduction heat gain through sunlit walls and roofs
and conduction through glass exposures. Solar Cooling Load (SCL) is used to
approximate cooling loads due to solar radiation transmitted through fenestration.
Cooling Load Factor (CLF) for similar one step calculation of solar load through
glass and for loads from internal sources. These CLTDs, SCLs and CLFs include the
effect of time delay caused by thermal storage.

Load calculation is simplified with the use of one step CLTD/SCL/CLF method, and
it is convenient to use tabulated CLTD, SCL and CLF data based on weighting factors
generated from representative spaces in offices, schools and dwellings. However, the
weighting factors are quite sensitive to variation in space construction and related
conditions. It is more appropriate for users to develop custom CLTD/SCL/CLF
tabular data for specific projects or types of building to reflect current design and
local construction practices.

B3. Application Software

Commercial packages i.e. Trane Trace 600, Carrier E-20II Hourly Analysis
Programme, Hevacomp etc. are commonly used in the local industry. Some
companies may have their own developed software. Carrier E-20II is available in
the BST Design Studio for learning and final year design project.

B4. Output Interpretation

The outputs of HVAC software should be properly understood and interpreted.

Don’t think the software would always give you the correct answers, since your
inputs may be wrong. Owing to this, it is important to perceive the correctness and
reliability of the outputs through the followings:
− Block cooling/heating load
− Check figures (ft2/TR or m2/kW) (1 m = 3.28 ft, 1 TR = 3.516 kW)
− Ratio of Qtransmission : Qinternal : Qventilation (35:45:20 for typical office)
− Hourly/monthly load profiles
− Psychrometric cycle (esp. typical area)

These checking outputs can be extracted from Air System Sizing Summary; Zone
Sizing Summary; Air System Design Load Summary; and Cooling Plant Sizing
Summary
of Carrier E20-II. For details of the output reports, always check from the “online-
help” of E20-II.

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WORKED EXAMPLE
Sample Building

Building Type Office Building, 20/F (1-19/F typical, 20/F the top floor right below
the roof), overall floor plan size: 36m x 36m
floor to floor ht. = 3.5m, window ht. = 1.6 m, wall ht. = 1.9 m
Walls: External: 100 mm concrete, 20 mm plaster on both side,
mass = 320 kg/m2, overall U-value is 1.5 W/m2K, Group "D" wall

Partition: 15mm gypsum board, 50mm air layer, 15 mm gypsum

board, U-value is 1.71 W/m2K
Roof: Screeding, 37 mm polystyrene insulation, asphalt, screeding, 150
mm concrete, overall U-value is 0.8 W/m2K
Floor: Carpet, screeding, 100 mm concrete

Glazing: Curtain wall panel, U-value is 5.5 W/m2K,

Shading Coefficient = 0.45
Internal load Occupancy density = 7m2/person
Lighting density = 20 W/m2, (a =5.5, b = 'C')
Equipment load = 15 W/m2
Ventilation & 10 l/s per person
infiltration nil infiltration
Operating 9:00am to 6:00pm
hours
Summer design Outdoor: 33oC db, 28oC wb
conditions Indoor: 25oC db, 50% RH

Sample Building

36 m x 36 m Typical Floor Plan

for Worked Example
Non air
Non air-conditioned space with
conditioned
partition 15 m x 15 m
space
Internal zone
15 m x 15 m
4 external zones (N, E, S, W)
with 5 m depth from the external
wall

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APPENDIX C

OTTV

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Overall Thermal Transfer Value

[Ref.: Code of Practice for OTTV in Buildings 1995, Building Department, HKSAR]

C1 For the design and planning of energy-efficient buildings, Government

developing a comprehensive energy code to cover inter alia lighting and air-
conditioning. Overall thermal transfer value (OTTV) is one aspect of energy
conservation.

General approach

C2 An OTTV is a measure of the energy consumption of a building envelope. Its

formulation allows authorized persons, registered structural engineers and other
persons responsible for the design and construction of buildings freedom to innovate
and vary important envelope components such as type of glazing, window size,
external shading to windows, wall colour and wall type to meet the maximum OTTV
criteria. Any measure to improve energy efficiency or to save energy should be
considered in planning a building.

C3 Siting a building to avoid extensive glazed facades with a southerly aspects or

introducing shades to window areas can reduce solar heat gain. Appropriate choice of
windows with a low thermal transmittance characteristic will also minimize solar
heat transmission.

C4 Artificial lighting consumes electricity and creates heat. This increases the
cooling load of a building and in turn increases energy consumption. Consequently,
when determining the size and location of windows as well as choice of glass in the
envelope of a building, efforts should be made to provide as much natural lighting
into the building as possible. For example, with glazing, the visible lighting
transmittance should be acknowledged in addition to its thermal transmittance
properties; daylight can supplement artificial lighting and consequently reduce the
cooling load.

C5 Other measures include more extensive use of energy-efficient building

services equipment and appliances, e.g. energy-saving lamps, low-loss luminaries
and high-efficiency air-conditioning and more sophisticated building services control
systems.

Useful websites:

[Link]

[Link]

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APPENDIX D

CHILLER COMPARISON

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Characteristic Reciprocating Chiller Twin Screw Chiller Centrifugal Chiller

Max. nominal Air-cooled: about 400 TR Air-cooled: about 400 TR Air-cooled: about 400 TR
capacity available
Water cooled: 340 TR Water cooled: 1250 TR Water cooled: about 10000
in market
TR
Common R22 (to be banned in 2030) R134a, R22 (to be banned R134a
refrigerant in 2030)
kW/TR at full load Highest Middle Lowest
Main capacity By cylinder unloader, By slide valve, modulating By inlet guide vane
control hence step control range from 15 to 100%
Multi-stage and No Yes Yes
economizer
application
Noise problem More noisy, may require Less noisy Less noisy
acoustic enclosure
Vibration More serious Less serious Less serious
Compressor Yes No No
cycling
Frequency of More frequent, due to Less frequent, due to major Less frequent, due to major
maintenance much more critical parts for moving parts are 2 rotors moving part is rotating
maintenance and slide valve impeller
⇒ Highest maintenance
cost
Operating life Shorter Longer Longer
Initial cost in Lowest Medium Highest
general

Table D1: Comparison of Different Types of Chillers

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APPENDIX E

PIPES, FITTINGS & ACCESSORIES

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E1. Pipes and Fittings

Different water circuit would use different type of pipes as follows:

Water Circuit Material

Chilled water Black steel
Hot water Black steel
Condenser water Galvanized steel
Condensate drain uPVC

The major fittings will include the following type:

• Bend
• Tee
• Reducer/Expander

The pipe connection will have:

• Union joint
• Flanged joint
• Welded joint

E2. Valves

Valves can be used for isolation, regulation, commissioning of water circuits

according to their design purpose. The commonly adopted types are:
• Gate valve (quick-opening): for isolation and on-off purpose. It can be manual
or motorized.
• Globe valve (linear): for regulation, commissioning and isolation of smaller size
pipework.
• Butterfly valve (equal-percentage, with linear characteristic after 40%): for
regulation, commissioning and isolation of larger size pipework.
• Check valve/non-return valve: to confine water flow in one direction.
• Double regulating valve (linear): for commissioning.
• Constant flow valve: to keep water flow constant, i.e. not more or less than the
preset value.
• 3-way valve: to mix or divert the water flow.
• Angle valve (quick-opening): similar to gate valve, but installed at pipe turning.
• Ball valve (equal-percentage, with linear characteristic after 40%): similar to gate
valve, but has more linear characteristic.
• Ball float valve: commonly installed in water tank to stop water flow when the
required water level has been achieved.
• Solenoid valve (on-off): electric on-off valve.

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Gate Valve Globe Valve

Butterfly Valve Check Valve

E3. Measuring Devices

In the water pipework, measuring devices would be installed for monitoring different
characteristics of water flow, these will include:
• Temperature gauge/thermometer
• Pressure gauge
• Flow meter

E4. Thermal Insulation

A variety types of thermal insulation are commonly applied in HVAC systems, they
include:
• Phenolic foam (PF)
• Fibre glass (FG)
• Hydrous calcium silicate (HCS)
• Rock wool (RW)
• Magnesia (MN)
• Flexible elastomeric pipe insulation (FE)
• Polystyrene (PS)

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Type of System System Equipment/Component Type of Insulation

Water Side
Chilled Water System Pump
Pipe
Valves PF/FG
Fittings and accessories
F & E tank
Condensate Drain System Pipe PF/FG
Valves, fittings and accessories
Hot Water System Pump
Pipe PF/FG
Valves or
Fittings and accessories HCS & RW
F & E tank
Steam System Pipe
Valves PF/FG or MN
Fittings and accessories
Boiler Flue RW
Refrigeration Side Pipework FE

Apart from suitable selection of the insulation type, the following points should also
be noted:
• Pre-formed type is commonly used for pipework insulation.
• Appropriate thickness is required, as usually determined by the fluid temperature,
pipe diameter, shape of the related components, etc.
• Vapour barrier coating is necessary together with the usage of thermal insulation.
• Smoke produced from burning the insulation should be non flammable and toxic.
• For pipework or ductwork inside plant room or exposed outside, PS would be
used, together with wire mesh/cement plastering and the enclosed casing.

For phenolic foam, the thicknesses of insulation to be used for pipework are shown
as follows:

Pipe Diameter (mm) Thickness of Insulation (mm)

50 or below 25
65 - 80 35
100 - 250 40
Above 250 50

For fibre glass, the thicknesses of insulation to be used for pipework are shown as
follows:

Pipe Diameter (mm) Thickness of Insulation (mm)

Chilled/Heating Water:
up to 40 25
50 - 65 40
65 - 300 50
Above 300 65
Condensate Pipes (all): 15

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E5. Accessories

• Strainer: to remove debris inside the water circuit.

• Automatic air vent: to purge the air trapped inside the water circuit.
• Flexible connector: to be installed at the pipework where it is connected with the
vibrating equipment such as pumps.
• Expansion joint/loop: usually applied at the location where crossing building
joint.

Y-type Strainer (for small installation) Bucket Type Strainer (for large installation)

E6. Typical Connection Arrangement of Equipment

Upstream (In) Downstream (Out)

Pump Gate valve Expander (eccentric)
Strainer Flexible connector
Pressure gauge Pressure gauge
Flexible conncector Check valve
Reducer (eccentric) Control valve (on-off)
Globe valve (or butterfly valve)
Cooling coil of AHU/PAU Gate valve Flexible connector
Strainer Temperature gauge
Temperature gauge Control valve (modulating)
Flexible connector Globe valve
Cooling coil of FCU Gate valve Control valve (on-off)
Globe valve
Chiller Gate valve Flexible connector
Temperature gauge Temperature gauge
Flexible conncector Flow switch
Control valve (on-off)
Globe valve (or butterfly valve)

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APPENDIX F

PIPE & PUMP SIZING

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CHILLED WATER PIPE & PUMP SIZING (& CONDENSATE DRAIN PIPE)

1. Decide the air side and water side equipment and their installation location.

2. Determine the coil load according to the peak space load for FCU, or the block/zone
load for AHU/PAU. Then the water flow rate of each air side equipment (FCU,
PAU or AHU) can be determined by the following equation:

Q=m
& c pw (Tout − Tin )

where, Q: coil load (kW)

m&: chilled water flow rate (l/s)
cpw: specific heat capacity of water, 4.18 kJ kg-1K-1
(Tout - Tin): difference of chilled water out of and into the coil, typically 5.5
°C (for 12.5 °C out and 7 °C in)

3. Decide the Hydronic System to be used.

4. Draw the sketch of main pipes, risers, headers, branches, from the chiller and pumps
to the air side equipment.

5. Indicate the water flow rate of each equipment.

6. Determine the size of pipes by:

pressure drop: 100 - 400 Pa/m, preferably around 250 Pa/m
velocity: 1 - 3 m/s, preferably around 1.2 m/s
(for steel pipe, refer to Fig. 1 of Ch. 35 of 2001 ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook,
or the latest edition).

7. Determine the pressure drop of various pipe fittings and accessories (refer to Tables 1
and 2 of Ch. 35 of 2001 ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, or the latest edition).
In addition, determine the pressure drop of the chiller evaporator, cooling coil of air
side equipment, and control valve at air side equipment. The pressure drop of
evaporator and coil can be found from the catalogues of chiller and AHU
respectively. The pressure drop of modulating control valve should be determined
from the approach of “valve authority” (to be discussed in BST20532 HVAC
Services 2).

8. Identify the index circuit (or critical path) of the system.

9. Apply the safety factor where appropriate (usually 10-20%).

10. Size and select the pump according to pump curve. Usually horizontal split casing
pump would be selected, in order to facilitate the frequent needs of maintenance.

11. Don’t forget to size the condensate drain pipes from the FCUs, PAUs or AHUs, with
reference to Table F2. In particular those for FCUs, careful planning for the pipe
run is essential, since the minimum recommended fall of condensate drain pipe is
1:200, so this pipe cannot run too long due to the limited space between beam and

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false ceiling. Therefore it should be directed to the places with drainage facilities
(e.g. toilet or pantry) as soon as possible. If no such places nearby, additional pipe
ducts may be needed within the main function area, in order to accommodate the
condensate drain stack. The condensate drain stacks are commonly connected to
waste water drainage system before reaching the last manhole.

CONDENSER WATER PIPE & PUMP SIZING (& MAKE-UP WATER TANK)

Since launching the “Pilot Scheme for Wider Use of Fresh Water in Cooling Towers” by
WSD and EMSD in 2000, water-cooled chiller plant becomes popular for the new building
projects, in lieu of the air-cooled one which was used in the past by default. The criteria of
sizing condenser water pipe are same as item (6) in the last section for chilled water pipe.
However the heat balance equation in item (2) should be used carefully, the discrepancies of
condenser water design from that of chilled water are as follows:
y Q should be the heat rejection rate of the chiller. Remember the fundamental of vapour
compression refrigeration cycle: Qheat rejected from condenser = Qheat absorbed at evaporator + Wcompressor
y (Tout - Tin) is commonly 6 °C, since Tout = 38 °C and Tin = 32 °C for condenser water.
y In case of sea water cooling, specific heat capacity cpw should be that of sea water,
instead of fresh water. cpw of sea water is 3.62 kJ kg-1K-1.

Apart from the pressure drop of chiller condenser, pipe, fittings and accessories (modulating
control valve not commonly installed) for condenser water pump sizing, the involved static
head should be incorporated. Note that the typical condenser water circuit with cooling
tower (CT) is an open circuit, not a closed circuit like the chilled water system. Therefore
the static head to lift up the condenser water from the pump level (usually designed at
basement or G/F) to the cooling tower level (usually designed at open space or roof) should
be considered, similar to the idea of potable water supply system delivering water from sump
tank to roof tank. Such static head should be very large, luckily with the compensation of
the water column between the basin of cooling tower down to the suction of condenser water
pump, the actual static head for condenser water circuit Ps,cw can be determined as follows:

Ps,cw = Ps,pump discharge to CT nozzle – Ps,pump suction to CT basin

= ρ g (hCT nozzle – hpump discharge) – ρ g (hCT basin – hpump suction)
= ρ g (hCT nozzle –hCT basin) since hpump discharge = hpump suction

The vertical distance (hCT nozzle –hCT basin) depends on the configuration and size of cooling
tower, this can be easily found from the catalogue.

Don’t forget to size the make-up water tank for the condenser water circuit, since there is
continuous water loss mainly from evaporation (due to evaporative cooling) when the
cooling tower is in operation. The total water losses (including drift loss and bleed-off) may
account for 1% of the condenser water flow rate. According to design practice, a 4-hour
water storage would be provided for this make-up purpose.

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QUICK-CHECK TABLES

Tables F1 and F2 provide a quick-check of sizes of both the chilled water pipes and condensate drain pipes. For condenser water pipes, please
directly use “flow rate” in Table F1 for pipe sizing purpose, NOT the left part of table under the heading of “Cooling Load”.

Cooling Load Flow Rate Pipe Size Velocity Pressure

∆T = 5 °C ∆T = 5.5 °C ∆T = 6 °C Drop
kW TR kW TR kW TR l/s mm m/s Pa/m
4.0 1.1 4.4 1.2 4.8 1.4 0.189 20 0.6 250
7.9 2.3 8.7 2.5 9.5 2.7 0.378 25 0.7 300
15.9 4.5 17.5 5.0 19.1 5.4 0.756 32 0.8 270
23.8 6.8 26.2 7.5 28.6 8.1 1.135 40 0.9 260
46.2 13.1 50.8 14.5 55.4 15.8 2.2 50 1.1 280
79.8 22.7 87.8 25.0 95.8 27.2 3.8 65 1.2 250
132 37.6 146 41.4 159 45.2 6.3 80 1.3 250
294 83.6 323 92.0 353 100 14 100 1.7 260
525 149 578 164 630 179 25 125 2.0 280
861 245 947 269 1033 294 41 150 2.3 260
1596 454 1756 499 1915 545 76 200 2.3 200
2247 639 2472 703 2696 767 107 250 2.3 120
3570 1015 3927 1117 4284 1218 170 300 2.3 120
4221 1201 4643 1321 5065 1441 201 350 2.3 110
5292 1505 5821 1656 6350 1806 252 400 2.3 80
7287 2073 8016 2280 8744 2487 347 450 2.3 80
9009 2562 9910 2819 10811 3075 429 500 2.3 70
10500 2986 11550 3285 12600 3584 500 550 2.3 60
12600 3584 13860 3942 15120 4300 600 600 2.3 53
Table F1: Chilled Water Pipe Sizing Table (for Quick-check Only)

Condensate Drain φ (mm) 25 32 40 50 80 100

Pipe Sizing TR ≤5 ≤ 30 ≤ 50 ≤ 170 ≤ 300 ≤ 430
Table F2: Condensate Drain Pipe Sizing Table

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APPENDIX G

DUCTS, GRILLES, FITTINGS & ACCESSORIES

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G1. Ducts and Fittings

The type of ducts used in HVAC contain:

• Rectangular duct: fabricated at site so the most flexible to fit space, but highest
pressure loss.
• Circular duct: prefabricated, lowest pressure loss.
• Oval duct: prefabricated, medium pressure loss but suitable for tight ceiling
space.
• Flexible duct: usually circular, and for flexible connection between main duct
and equipment.

The material used for ductwork depends on the carrying air characteristics and usage:

Characteristics/Usage Material
General Galvanized steel
Fire rated “Promat” or “Dura Steel”
Kitchen exhaust Stainless steel
Corrosive uPVC

The fittings will include the following type:

• Bend
• Tee
• Reducer/Expander (also called “transformation”)
• Wye

G2. Air Grilles and Diffusers

To distribute or remove the conditioned air effectively, different type of grilles are
applied:
• Square diffuser: generally applied, especially to suit the 600 x 600 ceiling grid.
This may be 1-, 2-, 3- or 4-way flow.
• Slot diffuser: adopted in VAV (variable air volume) system due to its longer
throw distance.
• Circular diffuser: similar usage as slot diffuser.
• Linear air grille: for continuous air supply or coordination with the interior
design.
• Return/exhaust air grille/register: to remove air from the air-conditioned space.
For return air grille/register, the air is back to AHU or FCU; for the exhaust one,
the air will be thrown outside of the building.
• Door louvre: installed for transferring air through door instead of ductwork.
• External louvre: mounted at external wall for fresh air intake or exhaust air
outlet.
• Jet nozzle: to supply conditioned air at long distance, usually more than 10 m.

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Square Diffuser Slot Diffusers (Troffers) Circular Diffuser

Return Air Grille Return Air Grille (with Filter) Supply Air Grille

External Louvre Jet Nozzle Laminar Flow Diffuser

In the selection of the required air grilles or diffusers, the followings are the major
design criteria:
• Air volume flow rate
• Throw
• Drop
• Air velocity/noise criteria/pressure drop limitation

G3. Dampers

Dampers, similar to the valves in water pipework, can be used for isolation,
regulation, commissioning of ductwork according to their design purpose. The
common types include:
• Volume control damper: for isolation, regulation and commissioning purpose.
This can be manual or motorized.
• Fire damper: to stop fire/smoke spread and form part of the fire
compartmentation.
• Splitter damper: applied at wye to commission the air flow to/from 2 directions.
• Non-return damper: to confine the air flow in one direction.
• Constant flow damper: to keep the air flow constant, i.e. not more or less.

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• Fire damper: to stop fire spread and form part of the fire compartmentation, and
activated either by the fire signal from the central fire control panel or by the
fusible link.
• Smoke damper: to stop the spread of smoke in case of fire, and activated when
fire signal is received at the central fire control panel.

Air valves which can regulate the air amount are alternative to the dampers, however
they are more expensive.

Parallel Bladed Volume Control Damper Opposite Bladed Volume Control Damper

Smoke Damper Fire/Smoke Dampers

G4. Measuring and Control Devices

In the ductwork, measuring devices would be installed for monitoring different

characteristics of air flow, these will include:
• Temperature sensor
• Pressure sensor
• Orifice or venturi: to measure the air volume flow rate.
• Thermostat: to keep the room air temperature at the preset value (e.g. 24 °C)
• Humidistat: to maintain the room air relative humidity at the preset value (e.g. 50
%RH)

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G5. Accessories

Apart from some accessories mentioned in the part of “basic components”, there are
more:
• Silencer: usually installed at the outlet of duct section of AHU or PAU, so as to
maintain the supply air at the design noise level.
• Internal lining: wrapped on the inner surface of ductwork for acoustic
requirement.
• Flexible connector: to be installed at the ductwork where it is connected with the
vibrating equipment such as fans.
• Thermal insulation: to prevent heat loss/gain of the transferred air of the system.
Apart from wrapping the required ductwork, it is also for the related equipment.
The types include:
∗ fibre glass: for general ductwork
∗ polystyrene: for plant room and externally installed ductwork
∗ thermal board: directly used to construct ductwork
Refer to D4 of Appendix D for more information about thermal insulation.
• Access panel: to access inside the ductwork for maintenance.

Silencers Access Panel

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APPENDIX H

AIR DISTRIBUTION DESIGN

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DESIGN PROCEDURES

1. Determine the air volume flow rates based on load calculation. For VAV systems,
evaluation should include the range of flow rates from minimum occupied to design
load.

2. Select the tentative diffuser type and location within the room.

3. Determine the room's characteristic length L (refer to Table 3 of Ch. 32 of 2001

ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, or the latest edition).

4. Select the recommended T0.25/L ratio (refer to Table 4 of Ch. 32 of 2001 ASHRAE
Fundamentals Handbook, or the latest edition).

5. Determine the throw distance T0.25 by multiplying the selected T0.25/L by L.

6. Select the appropriate diffuser size from the manufacturer's catalogue based on T0.25,
together with other necessary criteria such as the noise level, outlet velocity and/or
pressure loss limitation.

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APPENDIX I

DUCT & FAN SIZING

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DUCT SIZING PROCEDURES

• Duct sizing methods:

o Equal-friction method
o Empirical-velocity method
o Static-regain method
o T-method

• Useful information for duct sizing:

o Circular duct sizing chart (refer to Fig. 9 of Ch. 34 of 2001 ASHRAE Fundamentals
Handbook, or the latest edition).
o Change of duct size from circular to rectangular (refer to Table 2 of Ch. 34 of 2001
ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, or the latest edition).
o Velocity limitation at different NC levels (refer to Table F1).

Ductwork Velocity (m/s)

Design Noise Riser / Dropper Main Branch in Runout to Diffuser and Return / Extract
Criteria in Shaft and Ceiling Void Diffuser Diffuser Grille
Main Header Plenum Boxes
NC30 7 3.5 3.0 2.0 2.5
NC35 8 4.0 3.5 2.5 3.0
NC40 9 4.5 4.0 2.5 3.0
NC45 10 5.0 4.5 2.5 3.0
NC50 10.5 6.0 5.0 3.0 3.5
NC55 10.5 6.5 6.0 3.0 3.5
NC60 and above 11.0 7.0 6.0 3.5 4.0
External Louvres --- --- --- --- 3.5 for Exhaust
2.5 for Intake

Table I1: Maximum Velocity for Ductwork in Respect to NC Level

• Useful information for fan sizing:

o Loss of fittings and accessories (for rectangular fittings refer to Tables CR3-1 to
SR7-17 of Ch. 34; for round fittings refer to Tables CD3-1 to SD5-25 of Ch. 34 of
2001 ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook, or the latest edition).
o Total fan static pressure
= P straight duct + P fittings + P accessories + P equipment + P air terminal units + P miscellaneous
o Total fan pressure
= Total fan static pressure + Fan outlet velocity pressure
o Apply the safety factor where appropriate (usually 10-20%, not for equipment and
terminals).

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WORKED EXAMPLE
Air Side Design

3 5

Diverging Wye
Tee 2
4

RAD 1

External
Louvre AHU SAD Smooth
Elbow

OAD

Useful Information
• The AC area is 6000 mm × 9000 mm, each grid is 1500 × 1500 mm.
• The east side is an external wall, and the perimeter zone is 3 m from this wall.
• 600 × 600 supply air diffusers would be used.
• A separate plant room is used to install the AHU, the west side is also an external wall
and the outdoor air can be acquired through the external louvre.
• For the components of the AHU, from upstream to downstream, they are the mixing
plenum, panel filter, cooling coil and centrifugal fan.
• A silencer would be installed at the outlet of AHU and within the plant room.

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APPENDIX J

TYPES OF PUMPS & FANS

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J1. Types of Water Pumps

These are the essential equipment to circulate and pressurize the chilled, condenser or
hot water of HVAC systems for cooling or heating purpose. The common types are:
• Horizontal split casing pump
• Vertical split casing pump
• End suction pump
• In line pump

Horizontal Split Casing Pump The Cover Removed for Maintenance

End Suction Pump In-line Pump

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J2. Types of Fans

These are the essential equipment to drive and pressurize the air for cooling, heating
or ventilation purpose. The common types are:
• Centrifugal fan
• Axial fan
• Propeller
• Cabinet fan

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APPENDIX K

TYPICAL SYSTEM CONTROL ARRANGEMENT

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K1. Water Side System

Chillers
• Part load operation (by designed leaving chilled water temperature)
• Fail safe control (during power failure, chillers set to “no load”)
• Constant flow control

Chillers & water pumps

• Sequencing control (with overlapping operation margin)
• Changeover to standby pump
• On-off interlock (by decoupler or energy meter)
• Start-stop sequencing control (start: PP→MV→CH; stop: CH→PP→MV)
• Skip control

K2. Air Side System

Air Handling Units (AHUs)

F.A.

S.A.
C.C. R.A.

CH.W.R.
CH.W.S.

Primary Air Units (PAUs)

P.A.
C.C. F.A.
T

CH.W.R.
CH.W.S.

Fan Coil Units (FCUs)

S.A.
C.C.

TS R.A.

CH.W.R.
CH.W.S.

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K3. Override Control

The override control would be provided to completely shut down the mechanical
ventilation and air conditioning equipment stipulated by FSD requirement of each
floor by the common fire signal. An override control panel which is installed and
located adjacent to the central fire control panel would include the following
provision:
• automatic shut down control (activated by fire signal)
• manual/auto mode selector
• manual on/off switch
• manual reset

K4. Control Centres

K4.1 Building Management System (BMS)

Due to the sophsiticated and user-friendly nature of the computer, BMS becomes the
standard provision of the overall HVAC systems, as well as other building services
systems or any building operation and management installations in Hong Kong SAR.
Standard softwares for this purpose are easily available and comparable. The
development of the open system communication protocol “BACnet” enhances the
integration of different control components and equipments from different
manufacturers, that in turn guarantees to fulfill the requirements of any control
provisions. You are advised to keep abreast in this aspect through retrieving
information from latest engineering journals and catalogues.

K4.2 Central Control Console (CCC)

If BMS is not applied, a CCC would be provided for the purpose of central control of
the entire HVAC systems. The CCC is usually installed in the AC Control Room, it
is a free standing control station with a mimic diagram and all related control and
monitoring provision. The main details are stated as follows.

Mimic Diagram
To indicate the schematic of water/air side of HVAC systems and include a set of
status indicating lights and associated test buttons for each of the ensuing equipment:
• chillers
• pumps
• boilers (where applicable)
• calorifiers (where applicable)
• cooling towers (where applicable)
• energy meter (for differential bypass system only)
• flow meter (for decoupler system only)
• AHUs
• PAUs
• main ventilating fans
• motorized valves
• chemical feed pumps

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Control Panel for Equipment

For each of the aforesaid equipment, a set of control and monitoring provisions
include:
• on-off push button (remote control)
• running-hour meter
• timer (where necessary)

General Provisions
• display of chilled water temperatures at inlet/outlet of each chiller, main supply
pipe and main return pipe.
• recorder for daily temperature profile of main chilled water supply/return,
start/stop frequency of chillers and cooling load of plant.
• electric quartz clock

K4.3 Local Motor Control Panel (LMCP)

The CCC can be used to centrally and remotely control all main equipment of HVAC
systems, however a LMCP would be also provided nearby each equipment to allow
local control for maintenance or operation purpose. Common provisions on the
front panel of a LMCP include:
• power on indicating light
• “ON” indicating light
• “FAULT” indicating light
• local/remote selector switch
• on/off push button
• filter clog indicating light (where necessary)
• ammeter
• voltmeter

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APPENDIX L

PACKAGED & UNITARY EQUIPMENT

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L1. Packaged Type Air Conditioning Units

The packaged type air conditioning units are very commonly used in the premises
under 100 TR. The main feature of this equipment is that air ductwork can be
directly connected from this unit without connecting chilled water supply, but
conditioned air can be provided. Basically it contains three of the four essential
components in a refrigeration system – evaporator, compressor and expansion device.
Since it has nearly included the whole refrigeration system, it is called the “packaged”
unit. For the configuration of the remaining component condenser, there are two
types of packaged units, depending on the heat rejection approach, as follows.

a. Air-cooled Packaged Type Unit

Typically it is installed at rooftop and conditioned air is delivered from there

to different floors of the building. Usually it is applied in low-rise building
or premises in which open space is available to install this unit for air-cooling
purpose.

On the other hand, sometimes the term “air-cooled packaged unit” may be
applied to the air conditioning equipment used in central computer rooms.
However the usage of such term is not exact, and in fact for this equipment,
the condenser is separated from the main body and installed as an outdoor unit
together with a cooling air fan, therefore it is similar to the configuration of a
split type air conditioner, but just providing larger cooling capacity.

Indoor Unit Outdoor Unit

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b. Water-cooled Packaged Type Unit

The condenser is installed inside the main body of the

packaged unit, and a pair of cooling water pipes is
connected to it for heat dissipation purpose. This is
commonly used in scheduled premises in Hong Kong,
such as restaurants, cinemas, industrial processes, etc.,
where fresh water is legally available for cooling
purpose.

L2. VRV Systems

VRV (Variable Refrigerant Volume) System has been prevailing in Hong Kong for
decade, in fact this system has been widely used even in high-rise buildings in Japan
for long time. Basically it is a split type air conditioner, however only one outdoor
unit can centrally handle more than 10 nos. of indoor units. Since during partial
load of the area served by each indoor unit, the refrigeration system would be turned
off or operating in half speed, then the refrigerant flow for this indoor unit should be
reduced. Then the centralized outdoor unit would vary the flow to that indoor unit
and the overall refrigerant flow would be adjusted accordingly.

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