VRF Systems

Heat pump or heat recovery? Heat pump systems offer individual zone temperature control with single mode operation, providing either heating or cooling. Heat recovery systems provide simultaneous heating and cooling and require a branch controller.

How often will you manage humidity? With outdoor air treatment only, ventilation equipment will bring outside air to a space-neutral dew-point temperature. If space humidity is a concern, a terminal system at design- and part-load operation—as well as ventilation systems—is necessary.

How should ventilation air be conditioned? Supplying air ventilation to a building requires a filter and fan setup at a minimum. Many building energy codes also require exhaust-air energy recovery. As a result, a basic ventilation system might consist of an energy recovery ventilator (ERV). For additional air treatment, including humidity control, there often needs to be a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) too.

Should the system be controlled with independent or integrated controls? Controls are necessary to enable and operate commercial VRF and ventilation systems. In some applications, it might be acceptable to control both systems independently. In other cases, close coordination may require an integrated control system.