VRF/VRV Design w/ Jordan Cummings
HVAC School - For Techs, By Techs
Bryan Orr
4.9 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 February 2019
⏱️ 66 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode, Jordan Cummings comes on the podcast to review application-based system selection considerations for VRF/VRV systems.
A VRF/VRV system works a bit like a hydronics system, but it provides hot or cold air to various zones in a space, not water. The key to having a reliable and long-lasting VRF system is a good installation. Proper maintenance practices, including pulling deep vacuums for dehydration, will also improve the performance and life of a VRF system.
When you choose a system to install, you have to determine if you want a heat pump or heat recovery system. Occupant type will play a major role in that equipment selection. Budget is also a variable, but it is typically less of a concern than occupant type and building purpose.
Some VRF/VRV systems that have been primarily designed for cooling may need to provide heating in low-ambient conditions. In many cases, these will close fresh-air dampers and recirculate discharge gas. Some units may even have auxiliary heat or be backed up by other heating equipment. Defrost is also something you'll need to consider in low-ambient applications.
Sizing is another important part of VRF/VRV selection and design. Consider nominal capacity but don't accept it as a hard and fast value. Keep your design conditions in mind; which temperatures and humidity percentages are you trying to maintain? What is the outdoor air temperature? Also, think about the piping total equivalent length and the estimated total distance between the outdoor unit and the farthest indoor unit.
Jordan and Bryan also discuss:
- Buildings with cooling towers and boilers
- SEER vs. IER
- Aurora VRV equipment and technology
- Connection ratio
- Air handler unit and branch box selection
- Control boxes and accessory selection
- Discharge air control
- Condensate control
- Maintenance concerns for VRF/VRV systems
- Indoor unit turn-down
Learn more about Refrigeration Technologies HERE.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | and The following podcast is made possible by our great sponsors. |
| 0:19.0 | Carrier and carrier.com makers of all sorts of great equipment controls and everything else you know carrier |
| 0:26.0 | but who we use for equipment at Kalo services my company here in central Florida |
| 0:31.0 | and you can find out more at carrier.com. Field Piece at |
| 0:34.1 | Field Piece. Field Piece makes a lot of great instruments but specifically |
| 0:37.4 | I've been talking a lot about the MR 45 recovery machine and the VP85 vacuum pump. If you haven't taken a look at these two |
| 0:46.2 | products, ask for them at your local supplyhouse or take a look at truetech tools.com. |
| 0:51.5 | You're going to like the features and benefits of this vacuum pump and recovery machine. |
| 0:55.6 | They're very quick, they're very quiet, they use DC motors. |
| 0:59.4 | They work better even at lower temperatures and with voltage drop. |
| 1:02.3 | There's a lot to like about the |
| 1:03.8 | field piece MR 45 and VP 85. Also want to thank our sponsor |
| 1:09.6 | refrigeration technologies they make a lot of great products and one of them that you're going to |
| 1:14.0 | want to take a look at is the EVAP plus cleaner that can be used in evaporator |
| 1:18.1 | coils. It is a non-wince cleaner. You don't need to rinse it. It uses enzymes in |
| 1:22.3 | order to break down the nasty stuff without using harsh |
| 1:24.8 | chemicals. Our customers like it, our technicians like it, and we use it on every maintenance. |
| 1:29.7 | That's Evapplus from refrigeration technologies. Find out more by going to |
| 1:33.9 | refriger tech dot com or you can also find many of their products at truetech tools. |
| 1:38.2 | Also navac at navac global.com if you haven't taken a look at their hydraulic expanding swedge tool. It works all the way from 3 eighths to inch and |
| 1:47.0 | an 8th, which is exactly what we need out there in the field. The model is the NTE 11H. That's the NTE 11H. Really nice tool, very compact. I saw it at 8, demonstrated |
| 1:56.7 | at HR and it does the job from 3 8ths to inch and an 8th. Find out more by going to Navac Global.com |
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