Cold Air Distribution System

By R. V. Simha
Air Conditioning Consultant
Airtron, Bangalore
R. V. Simha is a graduate engineer in both mechanical and electrical engineering, with
over 40 years of e!erience in "VAC. "e has been a !racitising consultant for the last #$
years. "e is an active member of %S"RA& and AS"RA& South %ndia cha!ter.
Cold air distribution systems supply air at 40 45F instead of the conventional 55F to
cut down air flow rate, air handling unit size and duct dimensions !imilarly using high"
rise chilled water coils, water flow rate, pump capacity and pipe sizes can be cut down
#hus saving operating costs $hy not use more such systems in new %&'C designs for
commercial and office buildings(
)n a conventional air conditioning system *C'C+, the supply air temperature is about
55F*,-C+ for comfort air conditioning #his gives a temperature differential of .0F
*,,C+ between room /5F *.4C+ and supply air )n a cold air system *C'!+, the supply
air temperature will be at about 45F */C+ for a room temperature of /0F*.51C+
which, as will be seen later, is acceptable in C'! yielding a temperature differential of
-- -0F *05 -C+ 'ccordingly, in a C'!, the dehumidified air flow rate will be only
about 50"102 of the value in C'C for the numbers cited above 'lthough there is a great
deal more to C'!, this is its trademar3
Description
Figure 1 shows the summer schematic for the C'! #he inside design conditions are
/0F db and -52 rh #he return air is divided into two streams 4 the first is the 5uantum
of air that is e5ual to the outside air"flow rate and which is e6hausted through a heat
wheel #he second 4 the remainder of the return air is drawn bac3 directly by the '%7
#he incoming outside air is cooled and dehumidified by the first stream of the return air,
which as noted earlier, is e6hausted through the heat wheel #he '%7 therefore handles a
mi6ture of outside air, that emerges from the heat wheel 4 duly cooled and dehumidified
4 and the second stream of return air that arrives directly from the room )t is this
mi6ture that passes through the cooling coil of the '%7 Figure 2 shows the cooling
process on a psychrometric chart
8rine is supplied to the cooling coil at -5F *in lieu of 44 to 45F used in a C'C+ #hus,
the air that leaves the coil, can be at 40 45F
Low Room RH Enables Use o Hig! D"
#he selected room relative humidity is -52 #his low rh 4 even at /0F db, as can be
seen from the '!%9': Comfort Chart *Figure #+ is close to the comfort level obtained
at /4F db and 552 rh )n other words full advantage is ta3en of the lower relative
humidity that is readily achieved in the C'!, to elevate the room db to /0F #his, in
turn, increases the temperature differential between supply air and room correspondingly
4 that is to say, by about 4F #he resulting benefit will be a further reduction in the
dehumidified air flow rate
CAS Compared to CAC
)t is best however to study the C'! in relation to the conventional systems, using a
wor3ed e6ample
Consider the air conditioning re5uirements of an office area of ..,500 ft. ;ther relevant
design data is shown below<
, #he inside design conditions will be
a /4F db and 552 rh for C'C
b /0F db and -5 402 rh for C'!
. 'll other particulars are identical for both C'C and C'! and are listed below<
, 'rea ..500 ft.
. ;utside design conditions <
!ummer < db =5 deg F
wb 0- deg F
>onsoon < db 05 deg F
wb 0. deg F
- ;ccupancy < 450 persons
4 ;utside < 'ir ,5cfm per person
5 ?ights < . $@sft
1 'ppliances < ,03$
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Calculations
8ased on this data, three cases have been wor3ed out and analyzed in this article<
a C'C , < Conventional air conditioning
b C'C . < Conventional air conditioning with heat wheel
c C'! < Cold air system
For C'C ,, the air conditioning load estimates, including transmission and solar, have
been made using standard procedures essentially, the 'CD method e6emplified in the
Carrier !ystem Cesign >anual
For C'C . and C'!, the modified procedure is outlined below <
, :nter with supply air temperature of 45F
. Calculate !' flow rate as
- Calculate e6haust air and return airflow rates
4 Find heat wheel leaving conditions
5 7se mi6ture e5uations to arrive at entering conditions for the '%7 brine cooling
coil
1 Find 'CD using the 3nown parameters ie room db, supply air db and coil bypass
factor
/ Find $s"'CD *gr@lb+
0 Calculate $s of air leaving the coil *gr@lb+
= Calculate latent heat load due to ;' using the following formula<
$A cm % &'() % &'&* %
+Ent!alpy o air lea,ing !eat w!eel - Room Ent!alpy.
,0 'dd latent heat gain due to people to step = and arrive at 9?%
,, Calculate E$s"sa re5dF to meet the 9?% calculated in !tep ,0
,. Calculate EG$s"sa re5dF from !tep ,0
,- Chec3 with E$s"sa availF *as calculated in !tep 0+
,4 )f the discrepancy between E$s"sa re5dF and E$ssa availF is not acceptable,
enter the calculation with a value of supply air, other than 45F and repeat
procedure
Calculations have been made for the intermediate season also in addition to !ummer and
>onsoon !easons #he following months constitute the - seasons <
!ummer < >arch, 'pril H >ay
>onsoon < Iune, Iuly, 'ugust, !eptember and ;ctober
)ntermediate !eason < Jovember, Cecember, Ianuary and February
#he inside design conditions used for the intermediate season ie, =,F"db and /0F"wb
have been arrived at on the basis of )>C Cata *Climatological #ables of ;bservatories in
)ndia, ,=5, " ,=00 Fifth :dition ,===+
Results
#he highlights of the results of the study are shown in /ables 10 20 # and 1
/able - 1 2 Study o /R 3 CF4 Re5uirements o CAC610 CAC2 3 CAS
Sl'
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Description CAC 61 CAC62 CAS
!um >on )nt !um >on )ntK !um >on )nt
, #9 ,,0 00 0. 0= 1- 04 // 55 11
. 'CD 55 54 555 55 54 54
- )ndicated !ummer
cfm
4.-5= 4.-10
4 'dLusted !ummer
cfm
4.-5= 4.-10 ,=0/5
5 >onsoon cfm ..1=4 ../00 ,.000
1 !upply 'ir
#emperature
51 14 515 51 14 55 45 45

/able 2 2 8ower Re5uirements
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Description CAC CAS Remar9s
R/A" 6
1&)
:;o
H:
C<A
(&&
:;H:
C<A
(&&
:;H:
CAC 6 1 CAC 6 2
, Chiller 3$ ,15 ,,- ,00 %igher by
502
%igher by
-02
. Chilled water @
8rine Dumps 3$
,, /4 44 %igher by
.502
%igher by
.502
- '%7 Fan 3$ .. .. ,5 %igher by
502
%igher by
502
4 %eat $heel :6haust Fan
3$
- .. M M
5 9eheat 3$ !ee Jote
K
.5 .5 !ee Jote K !ee Jote K
1=) 1>&'1 1*1'( !ig!by 1&? !ig!by 2&?
Jote < K 9eheat for C'C has not been shown since it is not usually provided
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/able - # 2 C!iller Selection
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Description CAC CAS
R/A" - 1&)
:;o HRC
C<A - (&&
:;HRC
C<A - (&&
:;HRC
, #otal Capacity re5uired #9
3$
,,0
4.0
0=
-,5
/0
./51
. Jo of Chillers . . .
- Capacity re5uired per
Chiller
#9
3$
5=
.,0
445
,5/0
-=
,-/0
4 Capacity of !elected
Chiller
#9
3$
10
.,.
4-5
,54
-/4
,-..
5 Flow rate l@s
gpm
,0,
,1,1
/-5
,,/1
-15
504
1 Compressor #ype !crew !croll !croll
/ Dower input at Cesign 3$ 0.5 515 54
Conditions
0 N$ @ #9 ,4 ,- ,4
= #otal Dower 3$ ,15 ,,- ,00
,0 ;perating weight of each
machines
3gs .4,0 ,./0 ,./0
,, 9efrigerant Charge 3gs 51 .0 .0
,. ? 6 $ 6 % mtrs -, 6 ., 6
.,
.- 6 ,= 6 ,1 .- 6 ,= 6 ,1

Clic3 to view the clear picture
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CAS Features
#he following features of the C'! may be noted straight away<
a Dlant capacity *in the case of C'! H C'C .+ is determined by the enthalpy
difference between entering air and leaving air for the cooling coil *and not
directly by the heat gain calculations made using standard procedures+
b #he re5uired plant capacity is smaller in C'! *both with respect to C'C , and
C'C .+ #his is due to the use of heat wheel *)t may be noted incidentally that
the use of heat wheel has also brought down the load of C'C . as compared to
C'C ,+
c #he heat wheel is an integral part of the system )t plays a maLor role in the
reduction of plant capacity #he lowest enthalpy that the ;' can be cooled down
to by a heat wheel in an air conditioning system is the room enthalpy
'ccordingly, it is more effective, when room enthalpy is lower )n C'!, the room
enthalpy is .15. btu@lb as compared to .10 in the case of C'C
d #he air flow rate is reduced substantially ie, about 502 *from 4.,-10 cfm to
,=,0/5 cfm+
e 9eheat re5uirement has been recognized #his can be provided by adding a heat
recovery condenser in the chiller pac3age thus avoiding use of any e6ternal source
of energy
f 's noted already, the C'! uses a smaller air flow rate at a lower supply air
temperature #his calls for special supply air diffusers, which, are designed
specially to produce the necessary greater induction *or entrainment+ as compared
to standard diffusers used in a C'C 'lso, they are designed to avoid possibility
of condensation on the surface of the body of the diffuser, the temperature of
which will be lower than in a C'C
;ne manufacturer offers the following features <
O addition of insulation on top of housing
O modified wa6 *temperature sensor+ in the cooling thermostat
' second manufacturer has introduced Cirect Iet )nduction Ciffusers )n these
diffusers, triangular shaped air Lets are employed #hey produce an ideal
peripheral surface to cross"sectional area ratio to ma6imize induction effect
!upply air is introduced into the diffuserPs core, accelerated, shaped, and at an
angle that provides a low velocity, low pressure region at the diffuserPs outlet
#his design accomplishes higher induction ratios than round air Lets #he induced
room air impinges on the surfaces of the diffuser at a relatively high velocity and
maintains a surface temperature appro6imately ,.F above the diffuserPs supply
air temperature #his feature eliminates condensation problems with supply air
temperatures as low as -5F
)n these special diffusers, the velocities 3ept at a high value *,500 fpm, both at
design value and turn"down air flows+ create a high induction and rapid
entrainment of room air into the supply air #his mi6ing 5uic3ly raises the
temperature )n a /4F room, 40F supply air is warmed to /0F within .5
horizontal feet of the diffuser, with less than two inches of drop at both full and
part flows $ithin four horizontal feet of the diffuser, and less than three inches
drop, the air is warmed to room temperature 'll these diffusers have been tested
for their characteristics in state"of"the art laboratories and need to be imported
#hey are manufactured by such well 3nown names as 'cutherm *#hermafusers+,
#itus, etc,
g #he low room rh which, characterizes C'!, also helps improve the overall indoor
air 5uality ' crisp"cool sensation is e6perienced by the occupants
Concentration of to6ic substances will also be lower and chances of formation of
mildew are reduced @ eliminated
%igh humidity problems have generally been well identified in >onsoon 'sia
$e are no less familiar in our own country which is also a part of >onsoon
'sia #he C'! is particularly adapted to tac3le this problem
h Chilled water flow rates are substantially lower *,5 gpm @ ton as coils are
selected for .0 to .-F rise as compared to the conventional value of 0 to ,0F
#his reduces pumping, piping and pipe insulation re5uirements
Clic3 to view the clear picture
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/able - 1 2 Comparati,e Study o Costing or CAC - 10 CAC - 2 3 CAS
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Description CAC - 1
Amount 6 Rs'
CAC - 2
Amount 6 Rs'
CAS
Amount 6 Rs'
, #rane 'ir Cooled 8rine Chilling
>achine
.0/5000
, #rane 'ir Cooled $ater Chilling
>achine
4,,0000 .0/5000
. Chilled 8rine Dumpsets 11000
. Chilled water Dumpsets ,40000 ,00000
- Couble s3in Composite 'ir
%andling 7nit
000000 =00000 /00000
4 %eat $heel 100000 100000
5 !heet metal wor3 010000 010000 0.0,00
1 #hermal insulation 400000 400000 .00000
/ 'coustic )nsulation 45500 45500 .0000
0 Chilled 8rine Diping ,-1100
= First Charge of :thylene Qlycol -0000
,0 Chilled $ater Diping .,5-00 .,,000
,, %ot $ater Diping ,44,00
,. Controls -.0500 .==100 .00400
,- :lectrical $or3 -.0500 .==100 .00400
/$/AL >22>)&& (*=&>&& (1()(&&

CAS "eneits 3 Ad,antages
C'! 8enefits H 'dvantages #he benefits and advantages of C'! can now be listed <
a Dlant capacity reduced from ,,0 ton to // ton *reduction -52+ with respect to
C'C , and 00 ton to // ton *reduction ,.2+ with respect to C'C .
b 'ir flow rate reduced from 4.,-10 cfm to ,=,0/5 cfm *reduction of 502+
c Connected power reduced from ,=0 3$ to ,55 3$ without reheat and ,/0 3$ to
,55 3$ with reheat *reduction of .52 and ,-2 respectively+
d ;verall indoor air 5uality superior
e Chances of mold and mildew formation are eliminated
f ?ower '%7 noise levels
g Cucting will occupy less space in the false ceiling
's a result,
O ?arger floor"to"false ceiling heights *1F to =F+ can be achievedR this will offer
greater freedom and fle6ibility in false ceiling design
O >ore space will be available in the void above the false ceiling for other
services
O )n some cases, it may be possible to gain an e6tra floor*s+ in a multistorey
building, because of reduction in height of the ducting that the smaller duct sizes
will permit
h Dlant capacity re5uired and performance less sensitive to ventilation re5uirements
For e6ample, when ventilation rate is increased from ,5 cfm @ person to .0 cfm @
person, the increase in plant capacity in the case of C'! is about 52 as compared
to ,.2 in C'C ?i3ewise, there is no increase in reheat re5uirement of .13$
wor3ed out for ventilation rate of ,5 cfm@ person
i ?ower first cost in electrical wor3, CQ set capacities, transformer capacities,
ma6imum demand charge, deposit with :lectricity 8oards, etc
L ?ower ducting cost
3 ?ower piping cost
l ?ower pumping cost
m ?ower energy costs
n Costing < #he estimated cost for the three cases considered is shown below <
First Cost
@in Rs' La9!sA
Energy Cost
@in Rs' La9!sA
Alt - 1 Alt - 2 Alt - 1 Alt - 2
C'C /- 11 ,0 ,5
C'! 1. ,.5
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#he above costs include chillers, pumpsets, '%7s, sheet metal wor3, diffusers, fire
dampers, volume control dampers, thermal insulation *50 mm :D! or e5uivalent for all
ducting+, acoustic lining, chilled water @ brine piping, controls and electrical wor3R also,
import duty has been calculated at 552 for chillers and special diffusers *for C'! only+
%eat wheel, &FC for '%7 fan motors, hot water pumpsets, hot water coil and hot water
piping have also been included for C'!
#he estimate for C'C . also includes a heat wheel
Suantities for sheet metal wor3 with diffusers and other accessories, thermal insulation,
acoustic lining etc, have been ta3en from schematic layouts that were prepared for this
study
' comparative study of costing has been furnished in /able - 1 )t will be seen that while
C'! is about ,/2 less e6pensive than C'C ,, it is about /2 less, when compared with
C'C . :ven if, C'C . is considered as the alternative to compare with, it is clear
that first cost 4 and also energy cost *shown above+ 4 is not a constraint in decision"
ma3ing on the choice of C'!
CAS or Hot Dry Climate
'lthough, the above study has been made for a warm humid coastal climate typified by
>umbai, the C'! has been applied *abroad+ for hot dry areas also with appropriate
changes in detailed design
CAS B /SS @/!ermal Storage SystemA
C'! is often regarded as something, which should necessarily go with #!! in order to be
viable and attractive )t will be seen however, from the foregoing, that it is an attractive
alternative to C'C even when there is no #!! to prop it 'part from technical
considerations, it is competitive in price and energy consumption is lower )t is therefore
attractive and viable on its own
#he same remar3 applies to #!! also ie, it is viable and attractive on its own $hen the
two are combined, additional benefits will accrue $here 45F water would have been
used, #!! produces -5F *,/C+ :thylene Qlycol #his can be provided directly to a
C'! instead of inserting an interface, li3e a plate heat e6changer, to raise it to 45F to
suit C'C )f this is done, the cost of producing brine can be e5uitably debited to #!! and
C'!, ma3ing each system, in combination with each other, more viable
$hen the beneficial effect of #!! in reducing the installed plant capacity is ta3en into
account, the capacity of C'! is further reduced to half ie plant capacity will be only
about 40 ton as compared to ,,0 ton for C'C , and 00 ton for C'C . )nevitably, this
will translate to further reductions in first cost and energy cost
C'! Dlants have been gaining in popularity over the past decade in the 7! and other
advanced countries #he earliest #!! installations in this country are about a dozen years
old and there are over -0 #!! installations at the present time, including the largest one
4 the #idal Dar3 installation at Chennai, which went into stream recently %owever, to
this writerPs 3nowledge, C'! has not been provided for any proLect so far either with
#!! or on its own
' partial list of C'! installations is given below <
a -4 storey #aipei $orld #rade Centre, #aipei, #aiwan ;ffice 8uilding
b Nouri Corporation, Qreenboro, Jorth Carolina, 7! ;ffice 8uilding
c Dublic 7tilities ;perations Centre, 9iverside, California, 7! ;ffice 8uilding
Conclusions
$ith todayPs emphasis on energy conservation and indoor air 5uality, there is a clear case
for considering C'!, preferably with #!!, for all commercial buildings and office
buildings
C'! benefits and advantages come at no e6tra cost
"ibilograp!y
, ?ow #emperature air with high )'S for tropical climates by >i3e !cofield
'!%9': Iournal, >arch ,==-
. Cold 'ir !ystems < !leeping Qiant by Calvin C >acCrac3en %D'C, 'pril
,==4
- '!%9':Ps Jew Cesign Quide for Cool #hermal !torage by Charles :
Corgan"9eprinted, ;ctober ,==4
4 ?ow #emperature 'ir with %igh )'S for Cry Climates by C >ichael !cofield,
and Jicholas % Ces Champs '!%9': Iournal, Ianuary ,==5
5 )ce !torage !ystem 9educes 9etailerPs 7tility Costs by #homas ' 8arlett and
9ic3 Froebe %D'C, 'pril ,==5
1 )ce !torage !ystem 'ssures Cata Center Cooling by 'nnette > !iverling H
Narl I Nressler %D'C, 'pril ,==5
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