AE 455Advanced Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning System Design

3 credits · Architectural Engineering · Penn State

This focuses on the development of skills necessary to identify HVAC system types appropriate for a given building and to perform a system selection exercise to determine the best of several design alternatives based on criteria including indoor environmental quality, energy and water use, construction cost, operating and maintenance cost, and life-cycle cost. The first portion of the course is preparation for a team design project in which the team identifies alternatives for a projected building based on the owners' project requirements that comply with applicable standards for indoor environmental quality and energy efficiency. The project culminates in a report and oral presentation to a jury. By the end of the course, students will be able to recognize and distinguish among common types of HVAC systems; select system alternatives suitable for a given application; perform a budget-level mechanical system construction cost estimate; perform a life-cycle cost analysis including construction, operation, and maintenance costs; and perform and document a system selection process to recommend the best solution among several alternatives. Topics considered include schematic diagram development for HVAC systems, system selection procedures, HVAC system types, mechanical construction cost estimating, life-cycle cost analysis, and standards commonly used in the design of HVAC systems.