Development and qualification of a room used to investigate component and system performance characteristics of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems

An environmentally controlled room that can be used to investigate component and system performance characteristics of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems was developed and qualified. The room has two air supply distribution systems, one is a conventional air distribution system where conditioned air is delivered from the ceiling diffusers, and the second is an underfloor air distribution system where conditioned air is delivered through diffusers located in the floor. The development required extensive construction work for the two air distribution systems and the surface temperature control, data acquisition, and recording systems. The room surfaces were divided into thirteen separate zones that can be independently maintained at specified temperatures. This was accomplished through the use of a Daikin central condenser unit and thirteen separate Daikin fan-coil units that supplied conditioned air to each of the thirteen zones. A computer-controlled instrumentation measurement system was implemented per the ASHRAE standards for testing. The under floor air distribution system was tested and shown to have a leakage rate that was within acceptable limits. Other tests, which included the measurement of airflow velocities around baseboard heaters and from ceiling and floor air distribution diffusers and the ability to control room surface temperatures over an extended period of time, were conducted to qualify the environmentally controlled room.