F-11
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Imperial dimensions are converted to metric and rounded to the nearest millimetre.
ENGINEERING GUIDE - TERMINAL UNITS
Terminal Unit Types
Fan Powered- Parallel
The basic parallel fan powered terminal
(sometimes referred to as Intermittent)
consists of an air inlet assembly similar to
a single duct, a housing, a blower/motor
assembly with back draft damper, a mixing
chamber, a return air opening/plenum
opening and a high voltage connection
(see Figures 35 and 36). The discharge
air from the parallel fan powered terminal
is a combination of primary air and fan air
volume. During cooling operation, the fan
is not in operation and only the primary air
is discharged. During heating operation, the
fan is energized which pumps plenum air
into the mixing plenum where it is mixed
with the primary air and then discharged
from the terminal unit. The fan in a parallel
fan terminal is sized for the heating airflow
required for the zone.
Standard accessories for a parallel fan
powered terminal include: inlet and
discharge attenuators, different liners, low
temperature, electric reheat, hot water
reheat, return air filter, ECM motor, PSC
motor.
Due to access requirements for high voltage
electrical enclosures where the connections
for the terminal controls and motor are
contained as well as fused (if present), it is
recommended that the designer consider
using a door interlock switch. Most local
codes require a main disconnect and the
integral interlock switch is an economical
choice. Also, most local codes require a
minimum of 3 ft clearance in front of a high
voltage enclosure. Care should be taken
when selecting an installation location for
the terminal unit.
A standard height parallel fan powered
terminal has the blower/motor assembly
installed with the blower inlets and the
motor oriented in the horizontal position.
The standard height parallel fan powered
terminal is typically no taller than 20 in.
A low profile construction style is available
with a typical height no taller than 12.5 in.
Due to the height restrictions, the typical
low profile parallel fan powered terminal
will have the blower motor installed such
that the motor and blower intake opening
are oriented to the bottom of the terminal
housing.
The overhead parallel fan powered terminal
unit typically has bottom access panels to
allow maintenance.
One weakness in a parallel fan powered
terminal is that when the fan is in operation,
they can generate significant levels of sound
power, in particular radiated sound. Also,
when the fan cycles on and off, there is a
change in the ambient background noise
that occupants can become aware of and
in some cases, may lead to complaints
about noise. Care should be taken to not
Terminal Units
Engineering Guide
CONTROL TIP
When using a parallel FPU for reheat when the central air handler is not in operation,
it is advised to ensure that the control sequence closes the primary valve prior to
turning on the fan, particularly when using electric reheat. The issue is that the
fan discharge air will take the path of least resistance and if the primary air valve
is open, without the air handler in operation, there is a chance that some of the
fan discharge air will not go through the electric reheat coils and then to the zone,
but instead will discharge through the primary air valve. If there is not sufficient
airflow across the electric reheat coils, nuisance tripping of the electric reheat
thermal limits is a distinct possibility.
Dead Band
Reheat
Re-circulated Air
Max. Primary Air
Max. Cooling
Air Volume
Tset-point
Zone calls for heating Zone calls for cooling
Full Volume
cfm to Zone
Min. Primary Air
select too large of a capacity and to locate
the unit over an unoccupied space in
the building such as a closet, or hallway.
Most designers prefer to limit the overall
airflow capacity of the parallel fan powered
terminal to no more than 3,000 cfm, with
many preferring no greater than 2,500 cfm
depending upon the type of occupancy and
building construction.
Another weakness in parallel FPUs is the
leakage of primary air through the back draft
damper on the fan and the mixing chamber
housing. Recent research by ASHRAE and
Texas A and M University (Furr, 2007) have
demonstrated that many of the energy
savings due to the intermittent fan cycling
are offset and in fact may be significantly
less than the energy loss associated with
the conditioned primary air leaking into the
return plenum space through the back draft
damper and the mixing chamber housing.
It is recommended that if leakage through
the back draft damper is of concern that
the designer either use a different terminal
type, or require that the leakage from the
terminal housing as an assembly be limited
and certified to some specified amount.
Figure 35: Parallel or Intermittent Fan
Powered Terminal
Figure 36: Parallel or Intermittent Fan
Powered Terminal Air Pathway
Figure 37: Variable or Parallel FPU with Minimum Primary Air and Water reheat