Terminal Box Minimum Airflow Optimization of Single Duct Air Handling Units

Terminal boxes control space conditions in variable air volume (VAV) air-handling unit (AHU) systems. Terminal boxes either modulate airflow with a control damper or adjust discharge air temperature with a reheat coil. Terminal boxes will have a significant amount of simultaneous heating and cooling and AHUs will consume more fan power if the minimum airflow is higher than required. On the other hand, conditioned space will have indoor air quality (IAQ) problems with less air circulation if the minimum airflow is less than required. The objective of this study is to optimize the minimum airflow ratio to improve thermal environment and save energy consumption. In this study, the problem of current fixed minimum airflow ratio of terminal box is analyzed and variable minimum airflow ratio as an alternative is suggested. The results of this study show that variable minimum airflow ratio can stably maintain the set room air temperature and reduce energy consumption for varying heating loads compared to the conventional fixed minimum airflow ratio.