Psychrometric Performance Testing for HVAC&R Components and Equipment

Psychrometric chambers or rooms are widely used for testing unitary HVAC&R equipment. They are capable of accurately controlling temperature and humidity. Feedback control enables each room to maintain a specific temperature and humidity set point. Knowledge of the individual components such as support equipment and instrumentation allows users to collect accurate data. It will also help produce/collect repeatable data, which is a very important aspect for psychrometric performance testing. This chapter introduces best practices for preparation of psychrometric performance measurements, including selection and setup of instrumentation. Computational fluid dynamics approaches will be introduced to help researchers design psychrometric performance test systems. Overall, this chapter will provide researchers with a solid foundation for their component or system performance tests to reduce the time spent on costly iterative improvements of facilities and test setups.