UNIVERSITY OF THE EAST – MANILA

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

DESIGN OF A CENTRALIZED AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

FOR A CONVENTION CENTER

SUBMITTED BY:
SARANGAYA, KADESH CHINO U.
20150151976
DELGADO, DALE JUSTIN R.
20150118379

SUBMITTED TO:
ENGR. DIOSDADO DOCTOR

DATE:
9/13/2021
 CHAPTER 1
1.1 Rationale

Heat flows from a region of high temperature to a region of low temperature. That is why
when dealing with air-conditioning, particularly air cooling, we must determine all possible
sources of heat. In order to determine the required cooling load capacity of a particular room,
computing for the total heat that exists within and being transferred into the room is what comes
first. The main function of air-conditioning systems is to provide comfort to the occupants
staying and preserve the condition of any materials stored within the premises. One of these is to
provide the desired cooling/heating effect. The computed cooling capacity therefore will be the
reference for designing the right Air Conditioning system.

Comfort describes a delicate balance of pleasant feeling in the body produced by the
surrounding. To achieve a comfortable environment, one must ensure some key factors like
temperature, humidity, air movement, and air cleanliness. It is essential for mechanical engineers
to achieve this state in designing air conditioning systems. In the Philippines, since the climate is
tropical and most of the time the temperature is high, the demand is very high for the installation
of air conditioning systems. Therefore, it should be taken into account the proper calculation of
heat loads.

According to Stoecker & Jones from their book “Refrigeration and Air Conditioning by
Stoecker & Jones “, there are four sources of heat that exists, considering an enclosed space, like
for example, in a room. These four sources of heat add up to the total cooling load and are
considered to affect temperature of a room greatly. These are (1) Heat through Transmission, (2)
Solar Heat, (3) Internal Heat Load, and (4) Infiltrating Heat. Each type of load has its own
method of computation. The hypothesis is that the sum of the computed heat from these four
sources of heat will be equal to the required cooling load and shall be the reference of designing
the entirety of the Air Conditioning System that will be installed in the given closed room/area.

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1.2 Theoretical Framework

The main goal for the paper is to apply this theory by computing the total cooling load
capacity of a given floor plan and design a best Air Conditioning System based on the results of
the calculation. Discovering, deciding, and choosing the correct method and basis for calculating
each type of cooling load plays an integral part on the paper. The paper will also show and
discuss the method on how to design the entire ducting system that should prove to be most
optimal design for the selected part of the given floor plan. Part of the designing process is to
also integrate the other requirements needed to keep a clean atmosphere within a conference
center.

1.3 Objectives

The primary requirement of the paper is to design an air-conditioning system for a floor
plan that is not less than 2000 square meters. The secondary requirement is to design an air-
conditioning system that will sustain the desired temperature within the selected region.

The step-by-step procedures are as follows:

1. Identify the design conditions required for calculating the theoretical cooling load
capacity.
2. Determine the transmission load or sensible heat gain of each room.
3. Compute for the solar load or fenestration through opaque and transparent materials.
4. Calculate the internal loads of occupants, lighting, and equipment.
5. Determine the heat gain from the infiltrating outside air.
6. Create a ducting layout to sustain the cooling load capacity for each rooms.
7. Determine the current air conditioning unit that is suitable for the given design
conditions.
 Page 2

1.3.1 Building Location and Description

Following the said objectives, the research will be focusing on a selected portion of the
whole second floor of a convention center located in Pasay City, Philippines as shown in figure
1-1. The approximate coordinates of the convention center are 14.5321° N, 120.9817° E. A
visual presentation on its geographical position is also shown on Figure 1-1

Building to be air-
conditioned

Figure 1.1: Map View of Convention Center

Source: Google Maps

1.3.2 Floor Plan

The figure below shows the chosen floor plan to be used for designing an air-
conditioning system. The floor plan shows the entire layout of the convention center’s second
floor. The rooms in this floor are also the second set of multipurpose halls that the convention
center has, including a number of meeting rooms. For design purposes, the entire air-
conditioning system will only cover the selected region as highlighted below which consists of 3
function rooms, 10 meeting rooms, and the pre-function lobby including the shop areas.
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Figure 1.2: 2nd floor plan(convention center)

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1.4 Conceptual framework

1.4.1 Zoning
“The organization of building rooms as defined for load calculations into zones and air-
handling units has no effect on room cooling loads. However, specific grouping and ungrouping
of rooms into zones may cause peak system loads to occur at different times during the day or
year and may significantly affected heat removal equipment sizes” (ASHRAE, 2009). Following
the said reminder, the floor plan will be subdivided into three zones as shown in figure 1-3. The
rooms grouped in each zone should have similar functions to easily balance the cooling load
capacity that the air-conditioning system will be distributing. Rooms to be air-conditioned are
labeled and listed accordingly including their floor area as shown in Table 1-1.

Figure 1.3: Zone divisions

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 It is also important to take note that only rooms that will be occupied with delegates will
only have ducts for air-conditioning. Therefore, the cooling load capacity for the storage rooms
are no longer needed. That being said, the only rooms that will be considered are mainly the
function rooms, all the comfort rooms, the shop rooms, meeting rooms, and the main lobby.
Although the main lobby is an open area and are vertically connected to the ground lobby, the
design will only include the load from the second floor.

a. Zone 1 – Function rooms

This zone solely consists of the three function rooms, including the comfort rooms
stationed inside the premises. These function rooms are most commonly used for banquets,
conferences, and theater setups.

Figure 1.4: Function Rooms

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b. Zone 2 – Front Lobby

The front portion of the whole floor is called the Pre-Function lobby where participants or visitors
are first accommodated and situated before the start of an event. For research and design purposes,
only the heat load for the whole second floor lobby will only be computed and considered.

Figure 1.5: Pre-function Lobby

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 c. Zone 3 – meeting rooms
The last zone encompasses the entirety of the meeting rooms for the whole building.
It can host just a few select delegates or, when combined and customized to preferences, up to
300 attendees. It is most used for small-scale corporate and social functions, company board
meetings, training seminars, and also as break-out rooms for plenary sessions in the convention
center’s larger spaces. 

Figure 1.6: Meeting Rooms

The table below shows the list of all the rooms, pathways, and lobbies in all three zones including their
corresponding floor areas. These areas shall also be the same areas to be air conditioned, which will be further
discussed in the next chapter.

ZONE # ROOM AREA in m2 ORIENTATION

1 FUNCTION ROOM1 964.77 None(inner room)

1 FUNCTION ROOM 2 960.48 None(inner room)
1 FUNCTION ROOM 3 963.44 None(inner room)
1 A1(comfort rooms) 14.00 None(inner room)
1 A2(comfort rooms) 14.06 None(inner room)
1 A3(comfort rooms) 13.96 None(inner room)
TOTAL AREA 2930.71
Table 1.1: Zone 1 Area Measurements

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ZONE # ROOM AREA in m2 ORIENTATION

2 A1(Male CR) 43.81 None(inner room)

2 A2(Female CR) 49.94 None(inner room)
2 PWD comfort room 4.44 None(inner room)
2 A3 43.85 SOUTH/EAST
2 A4 35.04 SOUTH
2 A5 (Front Lobby) 2494.54 EAST
TOTAL AREA 2,672.43
Table 1.2: Zone 2 Area Measurements

ZONE # ROOM AREA in m2 ORIENTATION

3 Theater room 1 82.25 None(inner room)

3 Meeting room 2 88.90 None(inner room)
3 Meeting room 3 88.90 None(inner room)
3 Meeting room 4 88.90 None(inner room)
3 Meeting room 5 88.90 None(inner room)
3 Meeting room 6 88.90 None(inner room)
3 Meeting room 7 88.90 None(inner room)
3 Meeting room 8 93.10 None(inner room)
3 Meeting room 9 93.10 None(inner room)
3 Meeting room 10 127.74 NORTH
3 Female comfort room 57.95 NORTH
3 Male comfort room 51.29 NORTH
3 Hallway 1 89.66 None(inner room)
3 Hallway 2 137.67 None(inner room)
3 Hallway 3 32.81 None(inner room)
3 Shop 1 64.70 NORTH/EAST
3 Shop 2 46.20 NORTH
3 Elevator Lobby 128.16 None(inner room)
3 PWD comfort room 4.3954 None(inner room)
TOTAL AREA 1542.425
Table 1.3: Zone 3 Area Measurements

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