CE3HVD: Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Design

Module code: CE3HVD

Module provider: School of Construction Management and Engineering, School of Built Environment

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Mehdi Shahrestani, email: m.shahrestani@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The aim of this module is to provide students with the knowledge and techniques to assess the thermal and energy performance of buildings and design appropriate heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems considering climate conditions, type of the building, occupancy patterns and profiles, required indoor thermal conditions and indoor air quality. 

In this module, students will be able to further develop the knowledge they gained in the module of “Building Services Fundamentals and applications (CE2BSA)” and learn a new simulation package to assess the thermal and energy performance of buildings and building environmental services. This integrated approach enables the theories and concepts learnt in CE2BSA to be used and applied in this module to help better understand the function of building services as well as their application.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Calculate the maximum cooling and heating demand of a building,
2. Simulate a simple building and its associated heating ventilation and air conditioning systems using the introduced software package for modelling,
3. Design heating, cooling, and ventilation systems for a building together with sizing the main components of the system,
4. Understand the professional and ethical responsibilities.

Module content

• Categorisation of central heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, 
• Distribution of heating and cooling as well as providing ventilation in buildings, 
• Thermal comfort analysis at the design stage, 
• Overheating in the indoor environment, 
• Professional and ethical responsibilities,  
• Control strategies for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems and their impacts on the energy performance and energy-related emissions of the building, 
• Simulation of buildings and air conditioning systems using a simulation package, 
• Estimation of heat loss in buildings, 
• Sizing the design capacity for the main components in a simple heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

This module is to be delivered through a series of lectures, seminars, practical classes, and workshops. Both in-person sessions and digital methods are used in this module to introduce the concepts and approaches relevant to the simulation of buildings and their relevant energy and environmental systems. Students will be offered an opportunity to consolidate their knowledge and understanding gained in this module by visiting a relevant exhibition centre.

Study hours

At least 15 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Exercises will be provided in practical sessions to provide students with an opportunity to test their understanding of the topics discussed in lectures and prepare students for summative assessments. 

Reassessment

Additional costs