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Section 4: AIR HANDLING SYSTEMS

This Section of the Energy Efficiency Manual shows you how to improve the efficiency of every major type of central air handling system. Many larger buildings use centralized air handling systems to provide cooling, heating, and ventilation. These systems are usually the largest user of energy in such buildings.

Typical modern air handling systems expend much of their energy consumption for auxiliary functions that provide no useful heating or cooling of the spaces. The most wasteful of these functions are “reheat” and the fan energy used to deliver air to the spaces in the building. Much of this energy consumption can be eliminated. The opportunities for optimizing efficiency are greatest when designing new buildings. However, major efficiency improvements can usually be made in existing systems.

Energy conservation methods differ for each type of system, so each type has its own Subsection. The first two Subsections provide opportunities for saving energy that are common to all air handling systems.