Commercial Air Conditioning (AC) Services
How are HVAC systems different in Commercial Buildings?
In warehouses, large business offices, malls, big department stores and other sizeable buildings, an ac split-system approach is often used. The condensing unit normally exists on the roof and can be quite large. the condensing unit normally exists on the roof and can be quite large. Alternatively, there may be many smaller units on the roof, each attached inside to a small air handler that cools a specific zone in the building.
In larger buildings and particularly in multi-story buildings, the ac split-system approach begins to run into problems. By running the pipe between the condenser and the air handler, you exceed distance limitations or the amount of duct work and the length of ducts becomes unmanageable. At this point, it's time to think about a chilled-water ac system.
In a chilled-water ac system, the entire air conditioner lives on the roof or behind the building. It cools water to between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit. This chilled water is then piped throughout the building and connected to air handlers as needed. There's no practical limit to the length of a chilled-water pipe if it's well-insulated.
In
all of the systems described
above, air is used to
dissipate the heat from
the outside coil. In large
systems, the efficiency
can be improved significantly
by using a cooling tower.
The cooling
tower creates
a stream of lower-temperature
water. This water runs
through a heat exchanger
and cools the hot coils
of the air conditioner
unit. It costs more to
buy the system initially,
but the energy savings
can be significant over
time, especially in areas
with low humidity, so
the system pays for itself
fairly quickly.
-
Cooling
towers come in all shapes
and sizes and they all
work on the same principle:
- A cooling tower blows air through a stream of water so that some of the water evaporates.
- Generally, the water trickles through a thick sheet of open plastic mesh.
- Air blows through the mesh at right angles to the water flow.
- The evaporation cools the stream of water.
- Because some of the water is lost to evaporation, the cooling tower constantly adds water to the system to make up the difference.
