Value Engineering in HVAC Systems
1. Introduction
The Heating, Ventilating and Airconditioning (HVAC) system of a typical building office accounts for approximately more than 40% of the building's total energy consumption (Alptekin, 2019). Hence, highly efficient and low operating cost HVAC equipment are highly sought in residential and commercial infrastructures. Different HVAC manufacturers were relentlessly seeking a new technology that would offer the best comfort cooling and highly efficient low operating cost equipment. This is usually done through in-depth research and development in the field of HVAC. However, another way of achieving this is through conducting value engineering (VE) during the design stage of the HVAC system. A VE should be conducted before committing funds approval of systems, services, or design (Atabay & Galipogullari, 2013).
2. Methodology
This section provided the steps and procedures on how the VE would be conducted on designing an HVAC system. Under this are the sub-sections of the VE Job Plan from the information phase up to the development phase.
2.1 VE Job Plan
To identify the functions and the essence of the project, the authors would use the VE job plan. The Job Plan is a systematic approach on how the VE would proceed up to its implementation. According to Roseke, (2020) there are six (6) phases of the VE methodology. These are the
- Information,
- Function Analysis
- Creative
- Evaluation
- Development
- Presentation.
2.1.1 Information Phase
For this study, the client would like to cool the space of the said project that would maximize the cooling and minimize the overall cost. To give a further understanding of how it would comply with the client's requirements. The following information was presented from Table-1 up to Table-3A in the appendix. These are the project information with the required thermodynamic properties, type of HVAC system used, equipment used in the HVAC system, and its associated properties and costs. For the summary of the project information.
2.1.2 Functional Analysis Phase
The Functional Analysis Phase covered the needed function of the project. In this phase, an HVAC system's different types of functions would be determined, elaborated, and classified.
2.1.3 Creative Phase
After the Functional Analysis Phase, the Creative Phase would proceed. This phase would cover the generation of alternative ways of meeting the requirements and other options that would perform the desired function. Currently, there are different types of equipment used in the HVAC system.
2.1.4 Evaluation Phase
The Evaluation phase would present the weights of the alternatives and choose which ideas have the potential to improve the project generated on the Creative Phase.
2.1.5 Development Phase
This phase develops the selected options from the evaluation phase. This phase proposed the layouts of the different options. Such as the actual locations of the AC indoor and outdoor equipment, sizes of ducts, if any, and the location of fresh air intake and room air exhaust.
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