Part 10. All-Air Systems | Chapter 6.

Dual Conduit System

room. Part 3 may be used as a guide for the details and the thermostat T4 in the secondary air fan discharge
sizing. controls the outdoor, return and exhaust air dampers to
maintain a mixture temperature of 50-55 F. This provides
INSULATION cool air for the secondary air system. The exhaust air
dampers relieve excess air to the outdoors.
Insulation is recommended for both air systems to
prevent excessive heat gain or loss. Vapor sealed Night and Weekend Operation
insulation is used on ducts located outside the
conditioned areas. Duct insulation without a vapor seal is The day-night switch is placed in the night position,
used within conditioned areas. Weatherproofing is and the return air damper in the primary air system is
required on ducts exposed to the outdoors. open when the primary air fan is operated. To reduce
heating costs, the outdoor air damper is closed and the
CONTROLS primary air system is operated with only return air. The
secondary air fan is not operated during these periods.
A basic pneumatic control arrangement is shown in Economical operation can be obtained by controlling the
Fig. 28. primary air fan from a thermostat which is located in a
typical space and which cycles the fan to maintain a
CENTRAL APPARATUS CONTROLS minimum temperature in the building. See Fig. 29 for
control diagram.
Either electric or pneumatic controls may be used for
the central apparatus and the sequence of operation is UNITS CONTROLS
identical.
Summer Operation Either electric, pneumatic or self - contained controls
During summer the day-night switch is left in the day may be used for the unit control.
position. The outdoor air damper M1 in the primary air The only control required in the room is a thermostat
system opens when the primary air fan is started. The to operate the damper in the secondary system to
secondary air fan and return air fan are then started, as modulate the secondary air as the load changes.
well as the refrigeration cycle which provides cooling to
the dehumidifiers. The primary air reheat coil valve V2 is SYSTEM MODIFICATIONS
controlled by a fan discharge thermostat T2 which is reset
from an outdoor air thermostat T3 located outside the This section enumerates certain variations that can
outdoor air dampers but protected form the sun The be incorporated in a Dual Conduit System. These
preheat coil valve V1 in the primary air system is variations adapt the system for specific applications or for
controlled by a thermostat T1 located immediately after certain requirements such as a low first cost or low
the preheat coil. the outdoor air damper for the operating cost.
secondary air system and the exhaust air damper are in
their normally closed positions, while the return air OTHER APPARATUS ARRANGMENTS
damper for the secondary system is in its normally open
position. The return air damper for the primary air system An arrangement with one apparatus and two fans is
is initially balanced to admit the design return air quantity shown in Fig. 30, and another with one apparatus and
to the system. A static pressure regulator SPR1 in the one fan is shown in Fig. 31. These arrangements have a
secondary air duct system controls the variable inlet lower first cost; however, they generally sacrifice
vanes of the secondary air fan. If there is a return air fan, ventilation air at partial loads, and have slightly higher
the same static pressure regulator also controls the operating costs. Their operation is similar to the
variable inlet vanes of the return air fan. The control arrangement shown in Fig. 26.
motors for the inlet vanes are normally equipped with
positive positioning devices since ample power is INTERIOR SPACES
required to operate these vanes.
In addition to serving as the source of secondary air
Winter Operation for the Dual Conduit System, the secondary air apparatus
can be increased in size to serve the interior zone. This
The winter operation is similar to summer operation can be arranged with either a variable volume air system
except that the refrigeration equipment is shut down and or a constant volume air system. When used with a

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Part 10. All-Air Systems | Chapter 6. Dual Conduit System

constant volume system, space terminal units must be Outdoor air for ventilation is available from the
carefully selected since the air quantity serving the secondary air system because it is necessary to provide
interior zone is increased at partial load on the exterior the cooling capacity for the internal loads by using
spaces. This arrangement can be applied to buildings outdoor air when the refrigeration equipment is shut
having many open areas with few private offices. down.
RETURN AIR IN A CEILING PLENUM OF SINGLE
SERIES WATER FLOW STORY BUILDINGS
When two separate dehumidifiers are operated at The roof transmission load in an interior space of a
different apparatus dewpoints, it may be practical to single story building with air returned thru a ceiling
connect their water sides in series. This may mean saving plenum requires special attention. Since the return air
in pipe and pump size as well as reduction in first cost of passing thru the plenum above the room can be a
the refrigeration machine required. variable amount due to throttling of the secondary air
quantity, and since it can vary because of the location of
AIR TERMINAL UNIT LEAKAGE
An examination of the secondary air terminal units is
required to determine if a tight shutoff can be
accomplished. Some terminal units do not close off
tightly and, therefore, tend to overcool the space at
minimum loads.
For example, if the secondary air quantity is 85% of
the total air supplied to the space and the secondary
terminal unit has a minimum leakage of 15%, the
minimum cooling available from the secondary terminal
unit is 15% of 85% or 12.8%. This 12.8% plus the primary
air capacity of 15% means that the minimum load in the
room must not be below 27.8% (12.8 + 15) of full load if
overcooling is to be prevented. This condition may occur
when the outdoor temperature is near the indoor
temperature, when the space is unoccupied with the
lights off, and when there is reheat in the primary air
system. However, if this condition occurs in an isolated
case, transmission thru the walls, floor, etc. to
surrounding spaces tends to offset the overcooling
capacity of the terminal units. If overcooling becomes a Fig.29 – ELECTRICAL CONTROL DIAGRAM, FOR
problem, it may be prevented by keeping the lights on NIGHT FAN CONTROL
when the air conditioning is operating during these
periods.
VENTILATION THRU THE SECONDARY AIR SYSTEM
The system may be designed to use all return air for
the primary air apparatus and to supply ventilation air thru
the secondary air system. This permits the use of only
one outdoor air intake, and saves on costs for heating the
primary air.
OPERATING ECONOMY
In winter, greater economy may be obtained by
operating the primary apparatus with return air only to
reduce the energy required to head the air.

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Part 10. All-Air Systems | Chapter 6. Dual Conduit System

FIG.30 – TYPICAL DUAL CONDUIT SYSTEM, DUAL – FAN, SINGLE APPARATUS

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Part 10. All-Air Systems | Chapter 6. Dual Conduit System

FIG.31- TYPICAL DUAL CONDUIT SYSTEM , SINGLE FAN, SINGLE APPARATUS

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