Packaged Air Conditioners

Packaged Air Conditioners

The window and split air conditioners are usually used for the small air conditioning capacities up to 5 tons. The central air conditioning systems are used for where the cooling loads extend beyond 20 tons. The packaged air conditioners are used for the cooling capacities in between these two extremes. The packaged air conditioners are available in the fixed rated capacities of 3, 5, 7, 10 and 15 tons. These units are used commonly in places like restaurants, telephone exchanges, homes, small halls, etc.
As the name implies, in the packaged air conditioners all the important components of the air conditioners are enclosed in a single casing like window AC. Thus the compressor, cooling coil, air handling unit and the air filter are all housed in a single casing and assembled at the factory location.
Depending on the type of the cooling system used in these systems, the packaged air conditioners are divided into two types: ones with water cooled condenser and the ones with air cooled condensers. Both these systems have been described below:

Packaged Air Conditioners with Water Cooled Condenser

In these packaged air conditions the condenser is cooled by the water. The condenser is of shell and tube type, with refrigerant flowing along the tube side and the cooling water flowing along the shell side. The water has to be supplied continuously in these systems to maintain functioning of the air conditioning system.
The shell and tube type of condenser is compact in shape and it is enclosed in a single casing along with the compressor, expansion valve, and the air handling unit including the cooling coil or the evaporator. This whole packaged air conditioning unit externally looks like a box with the control panel located externally.
In the packaged units with the water cooled condenser, the compressor is located at the bottom along with the condenser (refer the figure below). Above these components the evaporator or the cooling coil is located. The air handling unit comprising of the centrifugal blower and the air filter is located above the cooling coil. The centrifugal blower has the capacity to handle large volume of air required for cooling a number of rooms. From the top of the package air conditioners the duct comes out that extends to the various rooms that are to be cooled.
All the components of this package AC are assembled at the factory site. The gas charging is also done at the factory thus one does not have to perform the complicated operations of the laying the piping, evacuation, gas charging, and leak testing at the site. The unit can be transported very easily to the site and is installed easily on the plane surface. Since all the components are assembled at the factory, the high quality of the packaged unit is ensured.

Package AC with Water Cooled Condenser

 

Packaged Air Conditioners with Air Cooled Condensers

In this packaged air conditioners the condenser of the refrigeration system is cooled by the atmospheric air. There is an outdoor unit that comprises of the important components like the compressor, condenser and in some cases the expansion valve (refer the figure below). The outdoor unit can be kept on the terrace or any other open place where the free flow of the atmospheric air is available. The fan located inside this unit sucks the outside air and blows it over the condenser coil cooling it in the process. The condenser coil is made up of several turns of the copper tubing and it is finned externally. The packaged ACs with the air cooled condensers are used more commonly than the ones with water cooled condensers since air is freely available it is difficult maintain continuous flow of the water.
The cooling unit comprising of the expansion valve, evaporator, the air handling blower and the filter are located on the floor or hanged to the ceiling. The ducts coming from the cooling unit are connected to the various rooms that are to be cooled.

Types of Air Conditioning Systems

Types of Air Conditioners

There are various types of air conditioning systems. The application of a particular type of system depends upon a number of factors like how large the area is to be cooled, the total heat generated inside the enclosed area, etc. An HVAC designer would consider all the related parameters and suggest the system most suitable for your space.

Window Air Conditioner

Window air conditioner is the most commonly used air conditioner for single rooms. In this air conditioner all the components, namely the compressor, condenser, expansion valve or coil, evaporator and cooling coil are enclosed in a single box. This unit is fitted in a slot made in the wall of the room, or often a window sill.

Split Air Conditioner

The split air conditioner comprises of two parts: the outdoor unit and the indoor unit. The outdoor unit, fitted outside the room, houses components like the compressor, condenser and expansion valve. The indoor unit comprises the evaporator or cooling coil and the cooling fan. For this unit you don’t have to make any slot in the wall of the room. Further, the present day split units have aesthetic looks and add to the beauty of the room. The split air conditioner can be used to cool one or two rooms.

Packaged Air Conditioner

 

 

Packaged air conditioner: An HVAC designer will suggest this type of air conditioner if you want to cool more than two rooms or a larger space at your home or office. There are two possible arrangements with the package unit. In the first one, all the components, namely the compressor, condenser (which can be air cooled or water cooled), expansion valve and evaporator are housed in a single box. The cooled air is thrown by the high capacity blower, and it flows through the ducts laid through various rooms. In the second arrangement, the compressor and condenser are housed in one casing. The compressed gas passes through individual units, comprised of the expansion valve and cooling coil, located in various rooms.

Central Air Conditioning System

4) Central air conditioning system: The central air conditioning system is used for cooling big buildings, houses, offices, entire hotels, gyms, movie theaters, factories etc. If the whole building is to be air conditioned, HVAC engineers find that putting individual units in each of the rooms is very expensive initially as well in the long run. The central air conditioning system is comprised of a huge compressor that has the capacity to produce hundreds of tons of air conditioning. Cooling big halls, malls, huge spaces, galleries etc is usually only feasible with central conditioning units.