Thermal performance of an Air Handling Unit enclosure

The customer
A manufacturer of components for Heating Ventilation and Air Conditining – HVAC.

Scope of work
Predict the performance of a casing for Air Handling Units. Calculation of thermal transmittance and thermal bridge factors according to EN1886.

At a glance
The study has supported the design phases of a new Air Handling Unit. The FEA modeling of the casing allowed to calculate the values of Thermal Transmittance (T) and Thermal Bridge Factor (Tp) through the simulation of the tests according to EN1886: 2008, starting from the 3D model and the materials used. Simulation has the valuable advantage of describing the performance of the model box in all its components and understanding the contribution of each element to overall performance. It is thus possible to predict the performance of the casing and optimize all its elements before the physical realization of the prototype.

Results and accuracy
The T and Tb parameters according to EN1886:2008 have been estimated with very high accuracy. The comparison with the laboratory results showed the perfect agreement between the simulated and real values, with a deviation of less than 2%.