HVAC – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) is the technology of indoor and vehicular environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. Refrigeration is sometimes added to the field's abbreviation as HVAC&R or HVACR, or ventilating is dropped as in HACR (such as the designation of HACR-rated circuit breakers).

HVAC is important in the design of medium to large industrial and office buildings such as skyscrapers and in marine environments such as aquariums, where safe and healthy building conditions are regulated with respect to temperature and humidity, using fresh air from outdoors.

Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning is based on inventions and discoveries made by Nikolay Lvov, Michael Faraday, Willis Carrier, Reuben Trane, James Joule, William Rankine, Sadi Carnot, and many others.[1]

The invention of the components of HVAC systems went hand-in-hand with the industrial revolution, and new methods of modernization, higher efficiency, and system control are constantly introduced by companies and inventors worldwide. The three central functions of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning are interrelated, especially with the need to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality within reasonable installation, operation, and maintenance costs. HVAC systems can provide ventilation, reduce air infiltration, and maintain pressure relationships between spaces. The means of air delivery and removal from spaces is known as room air distribution.[2]

The starting point in carrying out an estimate both for cooling and heating depends on the exterior climate and interior specified conditions. However before taking up the heat load calculation, it is necessary to find fresh air requirements for each area in detail, as pressurization is an important consideration.

In modern buildings the design, installation, and control systems of these functions are integrated into one or more HVAC systems. For very small buildings, contractors normally capacity engineer and select HVAC systems and equipment. For larger buildings, building services designers and engineers, such as mechanical, architectural, or building services engineers analyze, design, and specify the HVAC systems, and specialty mechanical contractors fabricate and commission them. Building permits and code-compliance inspections of the installations are normally required for all sizes of buildings.[citation needed]

Although HVAC is executed in individual buildings or other enclosed spaces (e.g. think NORAD's underground headquarters), the equipment involved is in some cases an extension of a larger district heating (DH) or district cooling (DC) network, or a combined DHC network. In such cases, the operating and maintenance aspects are simplified and metering is necessary to bill for the energy that is consumed, and in some cases energy that is returned to the larger system. (For example, in a DHC network at a given time a building may be utilizing chilled water for air conditioning, but the warm water it returns may be utilized by another building for heating or the overall DH portion of the DHC network, likely with energy added to boost the temperature.)[3][4][5]

Basing HVAC on a larger network helps provide an economy of scale that is often not possible for individual buildings, for utilizing renewable energy sources such as solar heat,[6][7][8] winter's cold,[9] the cooling potential in some places of lakes or seawater for free cooling, and the enabling function of seasonal thermal energy storage.

The HVAC industry is a worldwide enterprise, with roles including operation and maintenance, system design and construction, equipment manufacturing and sales, and in education and research. The HVAC industry was historically regulated by the manufacturers of HVAC equipment, but regulating and standards organizations such as HARDI, ASHRAE, SMACNA, ACCA, Uniform Mechanical Code, International Mechanical Code, and AMCA have been established to support the industry and encourage high standards and achievement.

A heater is an object that emits heat or causes another body to achieve a higher temperature. In a household or domestic setting, heaters are usually appliances whose purpose is to generate heating (i.e. warmth). Other types of heaters are Ovens and Furnaces.

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HVAC - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia