Fancoilunit

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AFanCoilUnit(FCU)isasimpledeviceconsistingofa
heatingandorcoolingheatexchangeror'coil'andfan.Itispart
ofanHVACsystemfoundinresidential,commercial,and
industrialbuildings.Afancoilunitisadiversedevicesometimes
usingductwork,andisusedtocontrolthetemperatureinthe
spacewhereitisinstalled,orservemultiplespaces.Itis
controlledeitherbyamanualon/offswitchorbythermostat,
thisinturncontrolsthethroughputofwatertotheheat
exchangerusingacontrolvalveand/orthefanspeed.
Duetotheirsimplicityandflexibilityfancoilunitscanbe
moreeconomicaltoinstallthanducted100%freshair
systems(VAV)orcentralheatingsystemswithairhandling
unitsorchilledbeams.Unitconfigurationsarenumerous
includinghorizontal(ceilingmounted)orvertical(floor
mounted).
NoiseoutputfromFCUslikeanyotherformofair
conditioningisprincipallydowntodesignoftheunitandthe
buildingmaterialsaroundit,acorrectlyselectedFCU
particularlythosefromtheUKcanoffernoiselevelsaslowas
NR25(http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/nrnoiserating
d_60.html)orNC25(http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/nc
noisecriteriond_725.html)
TheoutputfromanFCUcanbeestablishedbylookingatthe
temperatureoftheairenteringtheunitandthetemperatureoftheairleavingtheunit,coupledwith
volumeofairbeingmovedthroughtheunit.Thisisasimplisticstatementasthereisfurtherreadingon
sensibleheatratios(http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/shrsensibleheatratiod_700.html)aswellas
thespecificheatcapacityofairthatbothhaveaneffectonthermalperformance.

Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Designandoperation
DC/ECmotorpoweredunits
Areasofuse
Installation
Unitventilator
Europeanmarket
References
Seealso

Designandoperation

Itshouldbefirstappreciatedthat'FanCoilUnit'isagenerictermthatisappliedtoarangeofproducts.
Also,theterm'FanCoilUnit'willmeandifferentthingstousers,specifiersandinstallersindifferent
countriesandregions,particularlyinrelationtoproductsizeandoutputcapability.
FanCoildesignfallsprincipallyintotwomaintypesblowthroughanddrawthrough.Asthename
suggestsonetypethefansarefittedsuchthattheyblowthroughtheheatexchanger,andtheotherthe
fansarefittedafterthecoilsuchthattheydrawairthroughit.Drawthroughunitsareconsidered
thermallysuperiorasordinarilytheymakebetteruseoftheheatexchanger,Howevertheyaremore
expensive,astheyrequireachassistoholdthefanswheretypicallyablowthroughunitconsistsofaset
offansboltedstraighttoacoil.
Afancoilunitmaybeconcealedorexposedwithintheroomorareathatitserves.
Anexposedfancoilunitmaybewallmounted,freestandingorceilingmounted,andwilltypically
includeanappropriateenclosuretoprotectandconcealthefancoilunititself,withreturnairgrilleand
supplyairdiffusersetintothatenclosuretodistributetheair.
Aconcealedfancoilunitwilltypicallybeinstalledwithinanaccessibleceilingvoidorserviceszone.
Thereturnairgrilleandsupplyairdiffuser,typicallysetflushintotheceiling,willbeductedtoandfrom
thefancoilunitandthusallowsagreatdegreeofflexibilityforlocatingthegrillestosuittheceiling
layoutand/orthepartitionlayoutwithinaspace.Itisquitecommonforthereturnairnottobeducted
andtousetheceilingvoidasareturnairplenum.
Thecoilreceiveshotorcoldwaterfromacentralplant,andremovesheatfromoraddsheattotheair
throughheattransfer.Traditionallyfancoilunitscancontaintheirowninternalthermostat,orcanbe
wiredtooperatewitharemotethermostat.However,andasiscommoninmostmodernbuildingswitha
BuildingEnergyManagementSystem(BEMS),thecontrolofthefancoilunitwillbebyalocaldigital
controlleroroutstation(alongwithassociatedroomtemperaturesensorandcontrolvalveactuators)
linkedtotheBEMSviaacommunicationnetwork,andthereforeadjustableandcontrollablefroma
centralpoint,suchasasupervisorsheadendcomputer.
Fancoilunitscirculatehotorcoldwaterthroughacoilinordertoconditionaspace.Theunitgetsitshot
orcoldwaterfromacentralplant,ormechanicalroomcontainingequipmentforremovingheatfromthe
centralbuilding'sclosedloop.Theequipmentusedcanconsistofmachinesusedtoremoveheatsuchas
achilleroracoolingtowerandequipmentforaddingheattothebuilding'swatersuchasaboilerora
commercialwaterheater.
Fancoilunitsaredividedintotwotypes:Twopipefancoilunitsorfourpipefancoilunits.Twopipe
fancoilunitshaveone(1)supplyandone(1)returnpipe.Thesupplypipesupplieseithercoldorhot
watertotheunitdependingonthetimeofyear.Fourpipefancoilunitshavetwo(2)supplypipesand
two(2)returnpipes.Thisallowseitherhotorcoldwatertoentertheunitatanygiventime.Sinceitis
oftennecessarytoheatandcooldifferentareasofabuildingatthesametime,duetodifferencesin
internalheatlossorheatgains,thefourpipefancoilunitismostcommonlyused.
Fancoilunitsmaybeconnectedtopipingnetworksusingvarioustopologydesigns,suchas"direct
return","reversereturn",or"seriesdecoupled".SeeASHRAEHandbook"2008Systems&Equipment",
Chapter12.
Dependingupontheselectedchilledwatertemperaturesandtherelativehumidityofthespace,itis
likelythatthecoolingcoilwilldehumidifytheenteringairstream,andasabyproductofthisprocess,it
willattimesproduceacondensatewhichwillneedtobecarriedtodrain.Thefancoilunitwillcontaina

purposedesigneddriptraywithdrainconnectionforthispurpose.Thesimplestmeanstodrainthe
condensatefrommultiplefancoilunitswillbebyanetworkofpipeworklaidtofallstoasuitablepoint.
Alternativelyacondensatepumpmaybeemployedwherespaceforsuchgravitypipeworkislimited.
Speedcontrolofthefanmotorswithinafancoilunitispartlyusedtocontroltheheatingandcooling
outputdesiredfromtheunit.Somemanufacturersaccomplishspeedcontrolbyadjustingthetapsonan
ACtransformersupplyingthepowertothefanmotor.Typicallythiswouldrequireadjustmentatthe
commissioningstageofthebuildingconstructionprocessandisthereforesetforlifeatafixedspeed.
OthermanufacturersprovidecustomwoundPermanentSplitCapacitor(PSC)motorswithspeedtapsin
thewindings,settothedesiredspeedlevelsforthefancoilunitdesign.Asimplespeedselectorswitch
(OffHighMediumLow)isprovidedforthelocalroomoccupanttocontrolthefanspeed.Typicallythis
speedselectorswitchisintegraltotheroomthermostat,andissetmanuallyoriscontrolled
automaticallybythedigitalroomthermostat.BuildingEnergyManagementSystemscanbeusedfor
automaticfanspeedandtemperaturecontrol.FanmotorsaretypicallyACShadedPoleorPermanent
SplitCapacitor.MorerecentdevelopmentsincludebrushlessDCdesignswithelectroniccommutation.
Comparedtounitswithasynchronous3speedmotors,thefancoilunitswithbrushlessmotorswill
reducethepowerconsumptionupto70%.[1](http://heinenhopman.com/en/merchant/fancoilunit/)

DC/ECmotorpoweredunits
ThesemotorsaresometimescalledDCmotors,sometimescalledECmotorsandoccasionallyEC/DC
motors.DCstandsforDirectCurrentandECstandsforElectronicallyCommutated.
DCmotorsallowthespeedofthefanswithinaFanCoilUnittobecontrolledbymeansofa010Volt
input'Signal'tothemotor/s,thetransformersandspeedswitchesassociatedwithACFanCoilsarenot
required.Uptoasignalvoltageof2.5Volts(whichmayvarywithdifferentfan/motormanufacturers)
thefanwillbeinastoppedconditionbutasthesignalvoltageisincreased,thefanwillseamlessly
increaseinspeeduntilthemaximumisreachedatasignalVoltageof10Volts.FanCoilswillgenerally
operatebetweenapproximately4Voltsand7.5Voltsbecausebelow4Voltstheairvolumesare
ineffectiveandabove7.5VoltstheFanCoilislikelytobetoonoisyformostcommercialapplications.
The010Voltsignalvoltagecanbesetviaasimplepotentiometerandleftorthe010Voltsignal
voltagecanbedeliveredtothefanmotorsbytheterminalcontrolleroneachoftheFanCoilUnits.The
formerisverysimpleandcheapbutthelatteropensuptheopportunitytocontinuouslyalterthefan
speeddependingonvariousexternalconditions/influences.Theseconditions/criteriacouldbethe'real
time'demandforeitherheatingorcooling,occupancylevels,windowswitches,timeclocksorany
numberofotherinputsfromeithertheunititself,theBuildingManagementSystemorboth.
ThereasonthattheseDCFanCoilUnitsare,despitetheirapparentrelativecomplexity,becomingmore
popularistheirimprovedenergyefficiencylevelscomparedtotheirACmotordrivencounterpartsof
onlyafewyearsago.Astraightswap,ACtoDC,willreduceelectricalconsumptionby50%but
applyingDemandandOccupancydependentfanspeedcontrolcantakethesavingstoasmuchas80%.
InareasoftheworldwheretherearelegallyenforceableenergyefficiencyrequirementsforFanCoils
(suchastheUK),DCFanCoilUnitsarerapidlybecomingtheonlychoice.
ExamplesofEC/DCFanCoilUnits:
AbilityProjects[2](http://www.abilityprojects.com/products)

Areasofuse

Inhighrisebuildings,fancoilsmaybeverticalitystacked,located
oneabovetheotherfromfloortofloorandallinterconnectedbythe
samepipingloop.
Fancoilunitsareanexcellentdeliverymechanismforhydronic
chillerboilersystemsinlargeresidentialandlightcommercial
applications.Intheseapplicationsthefancoilunitsaremountedin
bathroomceilingsandcanbeusedtoprovideunlimitedcomfortzones
withtheabilitytoturnoffunusedareasofthestructuretosave
energy.

Installation
Inhighriseresidentialconstruction,typicallyeachfancoilunit
requiresarectangularthroughpenetrationintheconcreteslabontop
ofwhichitsits.Usually,thereareeither2or4pipesmadeofABS,
steelorcopperthatgothroughthefloor.Thepipesareusually
insulatedwithrefrigerationinsulation,suchasacrylonitrile
butadiene/polyvinylchloride(AB/PVC)flexiblefoam(Rubatexor
Armaflexbrands)onallpipesoratleastthecoollines.

Unitventilator
Aunitventilatorisafancoilunitthatisusedmainlyinclassrooms,hotels,apartmentsand
condominiumapplications.Aunitventilatorcanbeawallmountedorceilinghungcabinet,andis
designedtouseafantoblowoutsideairacrossacoil,thusconditioningandventilatingthespacewhich
itisserving.

Europeanmarket
TheFanCoiliscomposedofonequarterof2pipeunitsandthreequartersof4pipeunits,andthemost
soldproductsare"withcasing"(35%),"withoutcasing"(28%),"cassette"(18%)and"ducted"(16%).[1]
Themarketbycountrywassplitin2010asfollows:

Countries

SalesVolumeinunits[2] Share

Benelux

33725

2.6%

France

168028

13.2%

Germany

63256

5.0%

Greece

33292

2.6%

Italy

409830

32.1%

Poland

32987

2.6%

Portugal

22957

1.8%

Russia,UkraineandCIScountries

87054

6.8%

ScandinaviaandBalticcountries

39124

3.1%

Spain

91575

7.2%

Turkey

70682

5.5%

UKandIreland

69169

5.4%

EasternEurope

153847

12.1%

References
1.EuroventMarketIntelligencehttps://www.euroventmarketintelligence.eu/
2.EuroventMarketIntelligencehttps://www.euroventmarketintelligence.eu/

Seealso
Thermalinsulation
HVAC
Construction
Intumescent
Firestop

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