Marine Air Conditioning System and Ventilation System

Air Conditioning
Air conditioning (often referred to as A/C, AC, or aircon) is the process of altering the
properties of air (primarily temperature and humidity) to more comfortable
conditions, typically with the aim of distributing the conditioned air to an occupied
space such as a building, house or vehicle to improve thermal comfort and indoor
air quality. In common use, an air conditioner is a device that lowers the air
temperature. The cooling is typically achieved through a refrigeration cycle, but
sometimes evaporation or free cooling is used. Air conditioning systems can also be
made based on desiccants.
In the most general sense, air conditioning can refer to any form of technology that
modifies the condition of air (heating, cooling, (de-)humidification, cleaning,
ventilation, or air movement). However, in construction, such a complete system of
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning is referred to as heating, ventilation, and
air conditioning (HVAC -as opposed to AC).
History
The basic concept behind air conditioning is said to have been applied in ancient
Egypt, where reeds were hung in windows and were moistened with trickling water.
The evaporation of water cooled the air blowing through the window. This process
also made the air more humid, which can be beneficial in a dry desert climate. In
Ancient Rome, water from aqueducts was circulated through the walls of certain
houses to cool them. Other techniques in medieval Persia involved the use of
cisterns and wind towers to cool buildings during the hot season.
Modern air conditioning emerged from advances in chemistry during the 19th
century, and the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in
1902 by American inventor Willis Carrier. The introduction of residential air
conditioning in the 1920s helped enable the great migration to the Sun Belt in the
United States.

Ventilation System
Marine Ventilation Systems
Marine ventilation is of great importance.
The purpose of quality marine ventilation systems is twofold:
it contributes to maintenance of a vessel by reducing the growth of mold and
removing musty air and it benefits the comfort level onboard as well.
Ventilation is a necessity for the performance of engines and other equipment and
for keeping cargo fresh.
Marine ventilation systems both move the air and equalize humidity levels inside
and outside the boat.
Custom-built marine ventilation systems
Heinen & Hopman has over 50 years of experience in providing all types of vessels
in different marine sectors (merchant, naval, offshore and yachting) with high
quality heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems that are
resistant to extreme environmental conditions. Our systems are innovative and
always up to date and therefore we can offer our clients the best quality possible.
We design bespoke marine ventilation systems adapted to your requirements.
Commonly supplied ventilation systems are:

Air handling units

Engine room ventilation
Water separators/mist eliminators
Cargo hold ventilation
Spin-filters
Goosenecks
Cabin units
Axial/centrifugal fans

It is defined as the circulation of air around a space to clean and refresh it, but not
changing the temperature. It also forms an integral part in the air conditioning
system. Shipboard ventilation not only serves to ventilate the cargo spaces, but also for
the human living spaces also. Thus, it removes carbon dioxide and enriches the space

with oxygen. By doing so, we are also decreasing the heat that present all around and
moisture that may be present.
Shipboard ventilation may be divided in several groups such as accommodation spaces,
sanitary spaces, stores and provisions, engine room and cargo holds.

Methods of ventilation
There are two methods which are used in the ventilation process:

Natural Ventilation
This type of ventilation as name suggests, involves natural methods for circulation of air.
The difference of temperature and wind pressure causes the natural ventilation to take
place. Actually what happen is that, the hot air has a less specific density and it tends to
move upward. Opposite to it, cold air is heavy and moves on the down side. And hence it
leads to flow of air. In natural ventilation, cowls and scoops are used to trap the
atmospheric air. Natural ventilation is mainly adopted on small ships and also the inland
vessels. In this system, the ducts are designed to operate on the velocity of 3.5 m/sec
and flow co-efficient of 0.5. It has several advantages such as simple design, low cost,
little or no maintenance. But in the case of low wind speed, the natural ventilation is not
good. So, this was all from this system.

Mechanical ventilation
As name suggests, it uses the power driven devices for carrying out the ventilation. Fans,
blowers etc are some of the devices that are used to carry out the ventilation in the
mechanical ventilation.
This helps the manufacturer to use the small ducts system, supply of air is not affected by
the weather conditions that are present outside.
In this type of system, the quantity of air handled is less and hence this makes it more
economical as compared to the natural ventilation.
It is generally preferred to have the vacuum system in living and common
spaces. Vacuum system is used to remove the contaminated air from toilets and
galleys. The capacity of blowers and fans are decided on the basis of the quantity of air
need to be handled.

What is Low velocity system in ventilation?

A low velocity System is one in which the velocity of air at the beginning of main duct is 5
to 10 m/s and successively lower there after which results in low frictional resistance.
Thus in this system we require a fan which is having low power rating, but the only
problem with this type of arrangement is that it will require large sized and expensive
ducts and installation will be difficult.

What is High velocity system in ventilation?

In high velocity system, velocity of air at the beginning of the main duct is 15 to 30 m/s.
Since it includes a high power fan that will produce a high air pressure,
it requires small sized ducts and would result in economy of material, low manufacturing
and installation cost easy installation on board ship. This system will have high recurring
cost and will also result in high noise levels.
Also since the machinery will be running at high speed, the frictional loses in this system
will be more.