ASSESSMENT OF THE NATURE AND TYPES OF HVAC BUILDING SERVICES INSTALLATIONS USED IN HOTELS IN OWERRI AND THEIR CONFORMITY TO ASHRAE STANDARD

Abstract

The Proliferation of Hotels and the corresponding high need for excellent Heating, Ventilation and Air Condition (HVAC) systems to provide a year-round indoor comfort in buildings regardless of the type or temperature outside in Owerri are in no way parallel with any city in Imo State and South East at large. According to the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC), (2007) HVAC systems account for between 40-50% of the public building energy usage. In view of this, this paper sought to determine the type and nature of HVAC Building service installations used in the Hotels in Owerri, ascertain the variations between HVAC installations with the standard requirement as stipulated by ASHRAE Standard 62.1 and 62.2 in the quest to avoid energy wastage. The research was pursued by means of literature review and field survey entailing the use of a well-structured questionnaire and a checklist adapted from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard for HVAC installation. The result revealed among others that the most common type of HVAC systems used in the hotels is Unit Packaged HVAC equipment, some of which were old and worn out and that occupants/customers are at liberty to use the HVAC system any time of the day in the Hotel. Also the result revealed that the HVAC installations were not consistent with specifications of ASHREA Standard 62.1 and 62.2. HVAC components system has not been of adequate maintenance and the installations have not been consistent with the ASHREA Standard. Therefore, the study recommends HVAC installation conformity with the Standards

Keyword: Type of HVAC system, Installation to Conformity