Trane Air Conditioning Clinic Books

These clinics are comprehensive and detailed courses used to educate on the fundamentals heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC). Each clinic includes a student workbook, with corresponding quiz questions/problems.

Trane Technologies Inc is a manufacturer of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and building management systems and controls.

Introduction to HVAC Systems

Topics include:

Requirements for occupant comfort
Five “loops” (airside loop, chilled-water loop, refrigeration-equipment loop, heat-rejection loop, controls loop)
Factors that affect decision to choose a chilled-water versus a direct expansion (DX) system
Packaged versus split systems
Common HVAC system types
Single-zone versus multiple-zone systems
Constant-volume versus variable-air-volume systems
Packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC)
single-zone packaged DX rooftop
DX split system
Chilled-water terminal system (fan coils, classroom unit ventilators, blower coils)
Two-pipe versus four-pipe systems
Water-source heat pump systems
Dedicated outdoor-air systems
Single-zone VAV
Multizone system
Three-deck multizone system
Changeover-bypass system
Multiple-zone VAV system
Rooftop VAV system
Self-contained DX VAV system
Chilled-water VAV system
Double-duct VAV system
Factors that impact the selection of the HVAC system

Psychrometry

Topics include:

Sensible and latent heat
Heat and moisture change
Elements of the psychrometric chart
Sensible heat ratio (SHR)
Determining required airflow (cfm) and refrigeration (tons)
Analyses of basic systems at full and part load (modulating coil, reheat, face-and-bypass, variable volume)

Cooling and Heating Load Estimation

Presentation of cooling and heating load estimating procedures to used for accurate HVAC equipment selections. The clinic presents the ASHRAE Cooling Load Temperature Difference (CLTD), Solar Cooling Load Factor (SCL), and Cooling Load Factor (CLF) method.

Topics include:

Human comfort
Indoor and outdoor design conditions
Cooling load estimation
Conduction heat gain and loss
Solar heat gain
Internal heat gain
Infiltration
Ventilation
Fan heat gain
Heating load estimation
Single-space psychrometric analysis (sensible heat ratio or SHR, supply airflow, supply air temperature, coil load)
Single-space psychrometric analysis (block load versus sum-of-peaks)
Plenum versus space heat gains
Benefits of computerized load analysis

Refrigeration Cycle

Topics include:

Principles of heat transfer
Sensible heat
Latent heat of vaporization
Refrigerants
Mechanical refrigeration cycle components (compressor, condenser, evaporator, expansion device)
Pressure–enthalpy (P-h) chart (superheat, subcooling, refrigeration effect, heat of compression)

Refrigeration Compressors

Introduction of the common compressor types used in air-conditioning applications, including reciprocating, scroll, helical-rotary (screw), and centrifugal.

Topics include:

Review of the basic refrigeration cycle
Open, semi-hermetic, and hermetic compressors
Types of compressors (reciprocating, scroll, helical-rotary, centrifugal)
Principles of compressor operation
Methods of compressor capacity control (cylinder unloaders, cycling, slide valve, inlet vanes, variable-speed)
Methods of system-level control (direct expansion versus chilled water, constant volume versus VAV)
Preventing evaporator freeze-up (sensing suction temperature, hot gas bypass)

Refrigeration System Components

Topics include:

Review of the refrigeration cycle
Condensers (air-cooled, water-cooled, evaporative) and their control
Evaporators (finned-tube, shell-and-tube) and their control
Thermostatic expansion valve
Superheat and subcooling
Solenoid valve
Liquid line filter drier
Moisture-indicating sight glass
Suction line filter
Hot gas muffler
Shutoff valve
Access ports.

Refrigerant Piping

Topics include:

Suction line
Discharge (hot gas) line
Liquid line
Hot gas bypass line
Traps
Double risers
Refrigeration accessories required
Insulation

Fundamentals Of HVAC Acoustics

Topics include:

Sound waves and frequency
Broadband sound and tones
Octave bands and one-third octave bands
Sound power and sound pressure
Decibels and loudness
A-weighting
Noise Criteria (NC) and Room Criteria (RC)
Sones and phons
Acoustical analysis procedure
Source-path-receiver model
Computerized analysis tools
Attenuation and regeneration
Sound transmission
Sound absorption
Sound reflection
Room effect
Equipment sound rating
Free field
Reverberent field
Semireverberent field
Industry rating standards
Reverberent room method
ARI Standard 260

Centrifugal Water Chillers

Topics include:

Centrifugal compressor
Condenser
Expansion device (orifice plates)
Economizer
Evaporator
Motor
Starter
Controls
Refrigeration cycle
Purge system
Compressor capacity control (surge, inlet vanes, multi-stage compressor, adjustable frequency drive or variable speed drive)
Maintenance considerations
Condensing temperature control
Constant or variable evaporator water flow
Heat recovery
Free cooling
Short water loops
ARI Standard 550/590

Absorption Water Chillers

Topics include:

Absorption refrigeration cycle (generator or concentrator, condenser, evaporator, absorber, heat exchanger)
System fluids (water, lithium bromide)
Equilibrium chart
Single-effect versus double-effect chillers
Indirect-fired versus direct-fired chillers
Chiller/heaters
Capacity control methods (energy valve, AFD)
Causes of crystallization and methods of prevention
Purge operation
General maintenance considerations (corrosion inhibitors)
Cooling-water temperature limitations
Combination gas-and-electric plants
Special considerations for direct-fired chillers
ASHRAE Standard 15
ARI Standard 560

Helical-Rotary Water Chillers

Topics include:

Helical-rotary compressor
Oil separator
Condenser (water-cooled or air-cooled)
Expansion device
Liquid/vapor separator
Evaporator
Starter
Controls
Refrigeration cycle
Refrigerants
Compressor capacity control (slide valve operation)
Maintenance considerations
Air-cooled versus water-cooled condensing
Condensing temperature control
Constant or variable evaporator water flow
Short water loops
ARI Standard 550/590

Air Conditioning Fans

opics include:

Static pressure vs. velocity pressure
Fan performance curves
Fan—system interaction
Basic types of fans (forward curved – FC, backward inclined – BI, backward curved – BC, airfoil – AF, plug or plenum, vaneaxial, and variable-pitch vaneaxial – VPVA)
Methods of fan control (riding the fan curve, discharge dampers, inlet vanes, variable-speed drive, and variable-pitch blade control)
Static pressure control
System effects
Acoustics
Effect of actual conditions–altitude
Equipment certification standards

Variable Air Volume (VAV) Systems

Topics include:

Explanation of VAV
Components of a VAV system
Terminal unit types (cooling only, reheat, parallel and series fan powered, dual duct)
Terminal unit controllers (pneumatic, electronic, DDC)
Diffusers
Supply duct design
Interior vs. perimeter spaces
System control modes
Fan modulation
Static pressure control
System-level ventilation
Freeze protection for coils
Part-load space humidity control
Building pressure control

Water-Source Heat Pump Systems

Topics include:

Operation of a heat pump
Components of a heat pump
Types of heat pumps
Components of a WSHP system
System benefits and issues/challenges
System configurations (cooling tower/boiler, ground-coupled, types of ground heat exchangers, hybrid systems)
System-level control issues
Maintenance considerations
Ventilation
Acoustics
Space humidity control
Condensate management
Airside and waterside economizers
Building pressurization
Equipment rating standards

Chilled-Water Systems

Topics include:

Vapor-compression and absorption chiller types
Air-cooled vs. water-cooled condensers
Packaged vs. split components
Equipment rating standards (ARI 550, 590, and 560)
ASHRAE Standard 90.1
Components of a chilled-water system
Coil control (3-way valves, 2-way valves, face-and-bypass dampers)
Chiller plant design concepts (parallel, series, and primary-secondary or decoupled)
Combined energy (hybrid) plants
Low-flow systems
Variable-primary-flow (VPF) systems
Heat recovery
Sidecar arrangement
Free cooling (plate-and-frame heat exchanger, refrigerant migration)
Chilled-water system control (chiller sequencing, swing chiller, failure recovery, contingency planning, system optimization, and operator interface)

HVAC System Control

Topics include:

Control loops
Types of control action (two position or on/off, floating, proportional, proportional-integral or PI, and proportional-integral-derivative or PID)
Pneumatic, analog-electric, and microprocessor-based (DDC) controls
Unit-level control versus system-level control
Example: unit-level control loops for a VAV air handler
Examples of system-level control (occupied versus unoccupied modes, morning warmup mode, changeover in a two-pipe system, water loop temperature control in a WSHP system)
Examples of system optimization strategies (fan-pressure optimization, optimum start, chilled-water reset, WSHP loop optimization)
Normally-open versus normally-closed actuators
Common functions of a building automation system (responding to complaints, graphical user interface, time-of-day scheduling, centralized alarms and diagnostics, remote access, reports, preventive maintenance, integration with other systems, multiple-site support)
Network terminology
Dedicated vs. shared networks
Communication protocols (BACnet, LonTalk)
Interoperability

Ice Storage Systems

This clinic focuses on glycol-based ice storage systems, which use an ice-chiller to cool a heat transfer fluid—often a mixture of water and antifreeze, such as glycol—to a temperature below the freezing point of water. This fluid is pumped through an ice storage tank, causing water inside the tank to freeze.

Topics include: