Development of Operating Strategies for Return Fan in HVAC System Considering Differential Pressure
The pressure difference in buildings causes indoor and outdoor airflow, significantly impacting the indoor thermal environment and building energy consumption due to the introduction of outdoor air. The pressure difference in buildings is highly variable, influenced by outdoor wind speed, indoor–out...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/21/5289 |
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| author | Hye-In Lee Hyo-Jun Kim Jin-Hyun Lee Young-Hum Cho |
| author_facet | Hye-In Lee Hyo-Jun Kim Jin-Hyun Lee Young-Hum Cho |
| author_sort | Hye-In Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The pressure difference in buildings causes indoor and outdoor airflow, significantly impacting the indoor thermal environment and building energy consumption due to the introduction of outdoor air. The pressure difference in buildings is highly variable, influenced by outdoor wind speed, indoor–outdoor temperature differences, and heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system operation, making it difficult to consider this factor during general HVAC system operation, potentially leading to an imbalance in indoor and outdoor pressure differences. Therefore, this study proposes an appropriate operation strategy for HVAC system return fans considering indoor–outdoor pressure differences. The proposed strategy involves adjusting the return fan airflow to maintain a constant indoor airflow balance, thereby controlling the indoor–outdoor pressure difference, satisfying the indoor thermal environment, and reducing HVAC system energy consumption. To evaluate the proposed strategy, dynamic simulations using TRNSYS and TRNFLOW were utilized, targeting one floor of an office building equipped with a variable air volume (VAV) system. The evaluation results showed that the maximum pressure difference decreased from −142 Pa to −18 Pa compared to the existing strategy, and the total energy consumption of the HVAC system was reduced by 29%, highlighting the importance of considering pressure differences during HVAC system operation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e0d22d570d104a599d33058138c79bb9 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj-art-e0d22d570d104a599d33058138c79bb92025-08-20T02:13:14ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732024-10-011721528910.3390/en17215289Development of Operating Strategies for Return Fan in HVAC System Considering Differential PressureHye-In Lee0Hyo-Jun Kim1Jin-Hyun Lee2Young-Hum Cho3ENERGYX, Seoul 06128, Republic of KoreaR&D Center, BETECH, Daegu 41228, Republic of KoreaArchitecture Research Institute, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of KoreaSchool of Architecture, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of KoreaThe pressure difference in buildings causes indoor and outdoor airflow, significantly impacting the indoor thermal environment and building energy consumption due to the introduction of outdoor air. The pressure difference in buildings is highly variable, influenced by outdoor wind speed, indoor–outdoor temperature differences, and heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system operation, making it difficult to consider this factor during general HVAC system operation, potentially leading to an imbalance in indoor and outdoor pressure differences. Therefore, this study proposes an appropriate operation strategy for HVAC system return fans considering indoor–outdoor pressure differences. The proposed strategy involves adjusting the return fan airflow to maintain a constant indoor airflow balance, thereby controlling the indoor–outdoor pressure difference, satisfying the indoor thermal environment, and reducing HVAC system energy consumption. To evaluate the proposed strategy, dynamic simulations using TRNSYS and TRNFLOW were utilized, targeting one floor of an office building equipped with a variable air volume (VAV) system. The evaluation results showed that the maximum pressure difference decreased from −142 Pa to −18 Pa compared to the existing strategy, and the total energy consumption of the HVAC system was reduced by 29%, highlighting the importance of considering pressure differences during HVAC system operation.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/21/5289differential pressurereturn fan controloperating strategyHVAC system |
| spellingShingle | Hye-In Lee Hyo-Jun Kim Jin-Hyun Lee Young-Hum Cho Development of Operating Strategies for Return Fan in HVAC System Considering Differential Pressure Energies differential pressure return fan control operating strategy HVAC system |
| title | Development of Operating Strategies for Return Fan in HVAC System Considering Differential Pressure |
| title_full | Development of Operating Strategies for Return Fan in HVAC System Considering Differential Pressure |
| title_fullStr | Development of Operating Strategies for Return Fan in HVAC System Considering Differential Pressure |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development of Operating Strategies for Return Fan in HVAC System Considering Differential Pressure |
| title_short | Development of Operating Strategies for Return Fan in HVAC System Considering Differential Pressure |
| title_sort | development of operating strategies for return fan in hvac system considering differential pressure |
| topic | differential pressure return fan control operating strategy HVAC system |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/21/5289 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hyeinlee developmentofoperatingstrategiesforreturnfaninhvacsystemconsideringdifferentialpressure AT hyojunkim developmentofoperatingstrategiesforreturnfaninhvacsystemconsideringdifferentialpressure AT jinhyunlee developmentofoperatingstrategiesforreturnfaninhvacsystemconsideringdifferentialpressure AT younghumcho developmentofoperatingstrategiesforreturnfaninhvacsystemconsideringdifferentialpressure |