How Do HVAC Systems Work in Large Spaces?

HVAC systems are an essential part of any building, whether it’s residential, commercial, or industrial. The latest sustainability trends and optimization of building performance have encouraged people to learn about commercial HVAC systems and how they work.

An HVAC system helps in controlling the temperature, managing humidity, and improving air quality for residents and machinery in any commercial space. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at how HVAC systems work in large spaces.

Components of a Commercial HVAC System

Needless to say, a commercial system is used in larger buildings like businesses, restaurants, and enterprises. They are known to be much more robust and consist of many different parts that work together to provide a comfortable indoor environment.

Let’s take a look at a few main components of a commercial HVAC system:

Thermostat

The thermostat controls the system by sending it a signal to generate cool or hot air based on the temperature setting.

Furnace

This is the largest component of an system that’s meant to provide the heat.

Heat Exchanger

This is located inside the furnace and it’s used to heat the air that’s pulled in through the furnace.

Refrigerant Lines

The refrigerant lines help transform refrigerant substances into liquid form.

Ductwork and Vents

The ductwork and vents are needed to provide cooled or heated air into the commercial building.

How Do These Systems Work?

As we’ve established, a system is needed for three different processes such as heating, ventilation, and cooling. All of these processes require an individual unit that once combined together, makes up your system that is controlled by a central thermostat. Here are the system working principles you need to learn about to understand how they work:

Heating

If your HVAC system came with a furnace, the central thermostat will begin the heating process by sending a signal to the furnace. As a result, a gas valve inside the furnace will open and ignite the gas burning, generating heat that will be used to heat the heat exchanger. As the heat flows through the heat exchanger, it will be turned into air.

After that, it will be distributed through an internal motor and fan and transferred to the ductwork and vents that are located all over the commercial space.

Ventilation

An HVAC system is rendered useless if it doesn’t have a proper ventilation system because ventilation allows a sufficient amount of fresh air to circulate throughout your commercial space without interrupting any of the cooling and heating processes.

Ventilation works by releasing harmful contaminants that are produced during the heating and cooling procedures through vent pipes and flues and letting new air enter the space in a controlled manner.

Air Conditioning

Air conditioners, on the other hand, use refrigeration to cool the air. Substances that are used to absorb the heat are called refrigerants and they start in a gas form. A compressor compresses the gas and raises the temperature.

When it’s pressurized properly, it’s sent into a condensation coil that releases the heat and transforms it into a cooler liquid. A blower is used to absorb the warm air and transfer it over an evaporator. This causes the liquid to become a cooler gas again that absorbs the heated air and cools it effectively.

Now that you’ve learned how HVAC systems work, you’ll be able to get the most out of them and fulfill your dream of having a comfortable and energy-efficient commercial building.