ABSTRACT

Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) is the technology for indoor and
automotive ambient comfort. HVAC facilitates in managing the pleasant climate inside the
cabin by controlling the degree of hotness/coolness.

There were times when having an air conditioner in a car was considered one of the big
features, but today air conditioners have become standard equipment even in entry-level
automobiles. The desire for even more comfort and luxury has led to the development of the
climate control system inside an automobile. The primary purpose of automatic climate
control is to manage the temperature of a given area for the comfort of onboard passengers.

HVAC was first introduced into automobiles in the early 1960s, and is available in most of
the highend vehicles today. It is a complex system consisting of mechanical/electronic
switches or knobs in the frontend. The backend of the system comprises one or more blower
motors, actuators (for fresh air circulation control, air-flow control and temperature control),
and refrigeration unit coupled with many ducts through which air is transferred to the cabin.

The basic principle behind the operation of HVAC unit is conduction and convection. Heat is
transferred from a low-temperature region to a high-temperature region in the vehicle, due to
the pressure difference. This process of heat transfer is called Refrigeration. Figure 1 shows
the cycle diagram of the complete refrigeration process.
BRIEF BACKGROUND AND THEORY

The Thermodynamics Cycles Of Automotive Air Conditioning System

The system conditions the air by cooling it and removing moisture to make you more
comfortable while you drive. There are three types of air conditioning systems: orifice tube,
expansion valve or a combination of the two which is found in rear air conditioning systems.
The air conditioning system is made up of the following components: compressor, condenser,
evaporator, orifice tube (or expansion valve), and an accumulator (or receiver-drier). Each of
these components serves a different purpose.
Theoretical Background On Heating, Ventilating And Air Conditioning System

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the technology of indoor and
vehicular environmental comfort. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable
indoor air quality. HVAC system design is a subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based
on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. Refrigeration is
sometimes added to the field's abbreviation as HVAC&R or HVACR, or ventilating is
dropped, as in HACR (as in the designation of HACR-rated circuit breakers).

Heaters are appliances whose purpose is to generate heat (i.e. warmth) for the vehicle.
This can be done via central heating. Such a system contains a compressor, condenser,
evaporator, drier and expansion valve. The heat can be transferred by convection, conduction,
or radiation.

Ventilating or ventilation is the process of exchanging or replacing air in any space to

provide high indoor air quality which involves temperature control, oxygen replenishment,
and removal of moisture, odours, smoke, heat, dust, airborne bacteria, carbon dioxide, and
other gases. Ventilation removes unpleasant smells and excessive moisture, introduces
outside air, keeps interior building air circulating, and prevents stagnation of the interior air.

An air conditioning system, provides cooling and humidity control inside the vehicle.
Outside, fresh air is generally drawn into the system by a vent into the indoor heat exchanger
section, creating positive air pressure. Typical fresh air intake is about 10%.Air conditioning
are provided through the removal of heat. Heat can be removed through radiation,
convection, or conduction.

Theoretical background on the heating and cooling loads

As pertains to heating and cooling equipment, a load is a rate of heat transfer. Not a
single quantity of heat, but an amount of heat that must be continually removed or added to
maintain the desired indoor temperature. In the coldest time of winter, the peak heating load
is the amount of heat that must be added over an hours time to keep the space warm. In the
hottest time of summer, the peak cooling load is the amount of heat that must be removed in
an hour to maintain a comfortable room temperature.

What causes heating and cooling loads? A summer cooling load is a heat gain to the
vehicle. The sun provides all of the heat that comes in through the exterior of the vehicle. A
winter heating load is a heat loss that is caused by loss of heat from the warm physical mass
of the vehicle to the cold air surrounding the vehicle. Heat is lost through the walls,
windows,and roof.

It is important to know the peak heating and cooling loads on a building so that the
HVAC equipment can be adequately sized. An undersized HVAC system will not be able to
maintain the desired indoor temperatures. An oversized HVAC system will be inefficient, and
struggle to maintain comfort conditions, particularly with humidity control during summer
months.

Theoretical Background On Refrigerants

The refrigeration cycle uses four essential elements to cool.

The system refrigerant starts its cycle in a gaseous state. The compressor pumps the
refrigerant gas up to a high pressure and temperature.

From there it enters a heat exchanger (sometimes called a condensing coil or

condenser) where it loses energy (heat) to the outside, cools, and condenses into its
liquid phase.

An expansion valve (also called metering device) regulates the refrigerant liquid to
flow at the proper rate.

The liquid refrigerant is returned to another heat exchanger where it is allowed to

evaporate, hence the heat exchanger is often called an evaporating coil or evaporator.
As the liquid refrigerant evaporates it absorbs energy (heat) from the inside air,
returns to the compressor, and repeats the cycle. In the process, heat is absorbed from
indoors and transferred outdoors, resulting in cooling of the building.

Theoretical Background On Compressor, Condensers And Evaporators

One kind of evaporator is a kind of radiator coil used in a closed compressor driven
circulation of a liquid coolant. That is called an air-conditioning system to allow a
compressed cooling chemical to evaporate from liquid to gas within the system while
absorbing heat from the enclosed cooled area, for example a refrigerator or car air
conditioning, in the process. This works in the closed A/C or refrigeration system with a
condenser radiator coil that exchanges the heat from the coolant, such as into the ambient
environment. A different kind of evaporator can be used for heating and possibly boiling a
product containing a liquid to cause the liquid to evaporate from the product.

In systems also involve heat transfer, a condenser is a device or unit used

to condense a substance from its gaseous to its liquid state, by cooling it. In so doing,
the latent heat is given up by the substance and transferred to the surrounding environment.
Condensers can be made according to numerous designs, and come in many sizes ranging
from rather small (hand-held) to very large (industrial-scale units used in plant processes).
For example, a refrigerator uses a condenser to get rid of heat extracted from the interior of
the unit to the outside air. Condensers are used in air conditioning, industrial chemical
processes such as distillation, steam power plants and other heat-exchange systems. Use of
cooling water or surrounding air as the coolant is common in many condensers.