Various types of air conditioning systems (also
called types of HVAC systems) have been designed to cater to the demands of HVAC in
various applications in the best economical and energy efficient way.
- In institutional, commercial, and residential buildings, air-conditioning systems are mainly for the Occupants’ health and comfort. They are often called comfort air conditioning systems.
- In manufacturing buildings, air conditioning systems are provided for product processing, or for the health and comfort of workers as well as processing, and are called processing air conditioning systems.
Based on their size, construction, and operating characteristics, air-conditioning systems can be classified as the following.
Individual Air conditioning System (Window or split ac)
An individual room or individual air conditioning system normally employs either a single, self-contained, packaged room air conditioner (installed in a window or through a wall) or separate indoor and outdoor units to serve an individual room (split air conditioner)you can see a split air conditioner in the figure shown above.“Self contained, packaged” means factory assembled in one package and ready for use.
Space Air conditioning System
These
air conditioning systems have their air-conditioning — cooling, heating and
filtration—performed predominantly in or above the conditioned space. Outdoor
air is supplied by a separate outdoor ventilation system (as a part of HVAC system).
Packaged Air conditioning System
These air conditioning
systems are installed with a single self
contained, factory-assembled packaged unit (PU) or two split units: an indoor
air handler, normally with duct work, and an outdoor condensing unit with
refrigeration compressor(s) and condenser. In a packaged system, air is cooled
mainly by direct expansion of refrigerant in coils called DX coils and heated
by gas furnace, electric heating, or a heat pump effect, which is the reverse
of a refrigeration cycle.
Central Air conditioning System
A central air
conditioning system in hvac system uses chilled water or hot water from a central plant to
cool and heat the air at the cooling or heating coils in an air handling unit
(AHU). For energy transport, the heat capacity of water is about 3400 times
greater than that of air. Central systems are built-up systems assembled and
installed on the site.
