Preliminary Analysis for Sizing Packaged HVAC Systems. The Roles of Heat Recovery and Compressor Energy Consumption

Abstract

Nowadays a person spends on average more than 90 percent of his or her time inside the confined environments: school, work, restaurants, home, etc. The time spent inside the confined environment, provides for it to be comfortable for the occupants themselves. Indoor environmental quality is technically referred to as Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) and is understood as the set of environmental conditions inside buildings that can affect the well-being, health and productivity of the people who reside there. The article addresses the topic of sizing a rooftop unit considering the different configurations in terms of heat recovery. Simulations were carried out for all types of heat recovery by varying the percentage of occupants of an environment and external temperature. It is expected that thermodynamic recovery would be the most efficient of all, however for certain operating conditions it is not always guaranteed.