⇐ Return to list of articles


HVAC Design Air Conditioning Systems

Most HVAC designers know what it takes to design a good system, but many forget a crucial step. Maintenance forethought and good labeling.

HVAC systems provide air conditioning, an important part of your facility; providing thermal comfort and improved indoor air quality, leading to higher productivity in the workplace. Air conditioning and refrigeration are provided through the removal of heat. All air conditioning systems work on the basic principle that cold is the absence of heat.

An air conditioning system provides cooling, ventilation, and humidity control for all or part of a building. Heat can be removed through convection, radiation, or heat pump systems, through a process called the refrigeration cycle. Refrigeration conduction mediums called refrigerants include water, air, ice, and chemicals.

Four elements are essential to the refrigeration cycles in order for a cooling effect to be created. The system refrigerant starts its cycle in a gaseous state, the compressor pumps the gas up to a high temperature and pressure, then it enters a heat exchanger (the condenser) where energy (heat) is released to the outside. During this process the refrigerant condenses into a liquid, which is returned indoors to another heat exchanger (the evaporator). The liquid refrigerant absorbs energy (heat) from the inside air as evaporates it, then it returns to the compressor to repeat the cycle.

Heat is absorbed from indoors, and transferred outdoors, resulting in cooling of the building through the refrigeration process. The system may include a reversing valve that can switch the process from cooling in warm months, to heating in cold months. By reversing the flow of the refrigerant, the refrigeration cycle is changed from cooling to heating allowing a facility to be heated and cooled by the same HVAC system.

Keeping the air conditioning system in your facility properly maintained includes maintaining and updating your industrial safety labels. The SafetyPro facility maintenance label printer provides you with all the on-demand facility labels you need. Simply select your warning symbols and input your custom label text and print as many as you need. Creating custom facility labels has never been easier.

Tags: HVAC design, HVAC maintenance, HVAC labeling