Background:

Air conditioning and refrigeration is closely related to the living standard of people and is the most important engineering system in many types of buildings. This course will describe the basic principles of air conditioning and refrigeration, and discuss the design factors and practices.

Educational Objectives:

• To introduce students to the basic requirements for thermal comfort and good indoor air quality in the built environment.
• To enable students to understand the fundamental principles of air conditioning and refrigeration.

• To explain key concepts of air conditioning and refrigeration.
• To design and select HVAC&R systems in buildings.

The course covers the application of the theories of heat and mass transfer, fluid flow and system control to the design and study of air conditioning and refrigeration systems which have become indispensable for modern commercial and industrial buildings.

The teaching/learning will be supported by audio/visual aids, Web-based resources and class discussions. Satisfactory attendance rate and active class participation are expected and required.

Lectures and Assigned Readings

The detailed list of lecture/topics is contained in the Course Schedule. The lectures provide the conceptual framework for the course and will also be supplemented with assigned readings if necessary. Students are recommended to complete all the assigned readings on their own time so that questions which may arise can be discussed more fully. Students are expected to have a working understanding of the lecture and reading materials, whether they are present in class or not.

Practical Work

The students have the opportunity to perform laboratory experiments or to undertake mini-projects to better understand the application of knowledge acquired.

Assignments

Students are required to prepare and submit assignments at the end of certain lectures. The purpose is to encourage you to: 1) absorb the information disseminated in class; 2) reflect on this information and consider how it may be applied in practice; and 3) articulate the outcome of these reflections in written form.

Examination

A written examination will be conducted at the end of the course. The examination marks will comprise eighty (80) percent of the final grade for the course. Additional information about the examination paper will be provided over the course.

Assessment Method:

Assessment will be based on the following components:

(a) Practical Work (10%)

(b) In-course Assessment (10%)

(c) Examination (80%)

Submissions of assignments or reports for the in-course assessment should be punctual. Late submission may receive reduction in marks.

References:

Some useful references are selected and shown below. Students may consult the lecturers if they have any questions about the topics.

(a) Design Guides and Databooks:-

• ASHRAE 581-RP Project Team, 1993. Air-conditioning Systems Design Manual, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA. [697.93 A51]
• Bell, A. A., 2000. HVAC: Equations, Data, and Rules of Thumb, McGraw-Hill, New York. [697.000151 B4] [* available in eBook]
• Carpenter, J. H., 1984. Air Conditioning System Design Guidelines, Carrier Air Conditioning, Syracuse, NY. [P 697.93 C29]
• Carrier Corporation, 1965. Handbook of Air Conditioning System Design, McGraw-Hill, New York. [697.93 C3]
• CIBSE, 2003. Refrigeration and Heat Rejection, CIBSE Guide B4, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, London. [697.93 R33 C]
• CIBSE, 2001. Ventilation and Air Conditioning, CIBSE Guide B2, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, London. [697.9 V4]
• Grondzik, W. (ed.), 2007. Air-conditioning Systems Design Manual, Second Edition, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA and Butterworth-Heinemann, Burlington, MA. [697.93 A298 G87] [From ScienceDirect]
• Pedersen, C. O., et al., 1998. Cooling and Heating Load Calculation Principles, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA. [697 C77]
• Race, G. L., 2002. Design Checks for HVAC: A Quality Control Framework for Building Services Engineers, Application Guide AG 1/2002, Building Services Research and Information Association, Bracknell, Berkshire, England. [697 R1][697 R1 d] (printed and CD-ROM versions)
• Race, G. L. and Mitchell, S., 2003. A Practical Guide to HVAC Building Services Calculations, Building Services Research and Information Association, Bracknell, Berkshire, England. [697 R1 p] [697 R1 p8] (printed and CD-ROM versions)
• Trane Company, 2000. Cooling and Heating: Load Estimation, Trane Company, La Crosse, Wisconsin. [697.93 A29 T02]
• Trane Company, 1996. Trane Air Conditioning Manual, Trane Company, La Crosse, Wisconsin. [697 T77]
• Wickham, F. (ed.), 1998. Air Conditioning: Load Estimation, 3rd ed., Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and Institute of Refrigeration Heating Air Conditioning Engineers, Auckland, New Zealand. [697 A64 DA9]

• Burr, R. W., et al., 1998. Fundamentals of Air System Design, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., Atlanta, GA. [697 F98]
• Fenton, D. L., 2000. Fundamentals of Refrigeration, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA. [621.56 F34]
• Hegberg, R. A., 1999. Fundamentals of Water System Design, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., Atlanta, GA. [697 H46]
• Kavanaugh, S. P., 2006. HVAC Simplified, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA. [697 K2]
• Johnson, R. R., 1999. Fundamentals of HVAC Systems, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., Atlanta, GA. [697 J68 f]
• Mcdowall, R., 2007. Fundamentals of HVAC Systems, SI edition, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., Atlanta, GA. [697 M13] [From ScienceDirect]
• Meredith, D. B., 2000. Fundamentals of Heating and Cooling Loads, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., Atlanta, GA. [697 M55]
• Sauer, H. J., Howell, R. H. and Coad, W. J., 2001. Principles of Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA. [697 S2 p]

• ASHRAE, 2009. ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals 2009, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., Atlanta, GA. [ebook via Knovel]
• ASHRAE, 2005. ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbook 2005, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Inc., Atlanta, GA. [AV 697 A82 H05]
• Jones, W. P., 2001. Air Conditioning Engineering, 5th ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford & Boston. [697.93 J79 a] [From ScienceDirect]
• Jones, W. P., 1997. Air Conditioning Applications and Design, 2nd ed., Arnold, London. [697.93 J79]
• Wang, S. K., 2001. Handbook of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, New York. [697.93 W24 h][* available in eBook]
• Wang, S. K., Lavan, Z. and Norton, P., 2000. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering, CRC Press, Boca Raton. [697.93 W246 a]
• Will, H. M. (ed.), 1999. The First Century of Air Conditioning, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc., Atlanta, GA. [697.93 F52]

• Air conditioning and refrigeration [Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century]
• Air conditioning - Wikipedia
• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning (ASHRAE)  http://www.ashrae.org
• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers [Wikipedia]
• ASHRAE and Industry History http://www.ashrae.org/aboutus/page/150
• The History of Air Conditioning http://www.air-conditioners-and-heaters.com/air_conditioning_history.htm
• Willis Carrier the "father" of the modern air conditioning http://www.air-conditioners-and-heaters.com/willis_carrier.htm
• How Air Conditioners Work http://www.howstuffworks.com/ac.htm
• How air conditioning works [National Museum of Denmark] http://www.natmus.dk/cons/tp/aircon/aircon1.html
• Air Conditioning System [by Mr. K P Cheung of HKU Arch] http://www.arch.hku.hk/~kpcheung/new2001/ac/s
• Air Conditioning [www.bsenotes.com]
• Science: Comfort, Heat Transfer, Thermal Transmission, Properties of Air [www.bsenotes.com]
• Refrigeration [www.bsenotes.com]