SHEET METAL AND AIR CONDITIONING CONTRACTORS' NATIONAL ASSOCIATION

Overview:

The purpose of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is to establish an indoor environment within which building inhabitants can live, work, and play.  The indoor environment impacts the quality of life, productivity, and well being of building inhabitants.  As people spend an increasing amount of time inside buildings, HVAC systems and their associated control systems are becoming more important and complex.  As a result, it is imperative that the HVAC contracting firm's office and field personnel understand not just the part of the HVAC system that they normally work on but the entire system, how the various subsystems and components work, and the interrelationship between the different subsystems and components.  The objective of these webinars is to provide an overview of HVAC systems, the equipment and components that comprise them, and how they work.

Summary:

• This session builds on Session 1 by introducing the basics of HVAC systems.

• This session will first discuss the purpose of an HVAC system and then cover thermal comfort along with the importance of HVAC systems in promoting indoor air quality (IAQ), controlling building system energy use, and sustainable construction. 
• The four basic elements of any HVAC system are presented followed by a discussion of space conditioning methods and HVAC system categories. 
• The principles and practices discussed in this chapter will be illustrated though the operation of a simple unitary HVAC system and a description of the mechanical refrigeration cycle. 
• This session will give webinar participants an overall understanding of HVAC system principles and operation. 
• Chapter III/HVAC System Basics and Chapter IV/Unitary HVAC Systems are covered in this session.

Who Should Attend: 

• These webinars are intended for the HVAC contractor's office and field personnel who need a better understanding of the overall HVAC system and its operation.  This includes project managers, estimators, foremen, craft workers, service personnel, and others.

The text for these webinars is HVAC Systems: Understanding the Basics published by the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association, Inc. (SMACNA).  This text is available from SMACNA in DVD format at www.smacna.org.