The Smart Growth Blog

Different HVAC system types, what’s the difference?

Written by Geoff Brown | Sep 14, 2023

In this episode of FAQ with AGIQ, we touch on the different system types, what those differences are, and what it means to you as a cultivator. In broad terms, there's three different system types that can be applied to facilities. And those systems fall under again, one of those three categories.


Episode Transcription:
In this episode of FAQ with AGIQ, I'm going to talk about the different system types, what those differences are, and what it means to you as a cultivator. In broad terms, there's three different system types that can be applied to facilities. And those systems fall under again, one of those three categories.

One is a custom system of some kind that's typically going to be in a very large facility. It looks like either a four-pipe chilled water system or some other kind of industrial refrigeration system. Customer handlers or custom fan coil units, totally, totally custom system. They're quite expensive to implement. They're quite expensive to get good redundancy on. They don't scale particular elegantly, but they tend to give very precise control.

The second broad category is a decoupled system and that has a cooling solution of some kind, most typically comfort cooling rooftops, but could also be a two-pipe chilled water system coupled with in room or ducted dehumidifiers that provide the dehumidification component that the cooling is typically missing and is always missing during lights off.

Those systems are quick and relatively inexpensive to implement, but they're typically more energy intensive and much harder to fine tune control on, because you've got two separate systems that are fighting each other in that same space. The third type of system is a unitary product, and it provides the cooling dehumidification and heating in a single piece of equipment.

And so that allows you to have, again, a single source for all of the demands of the room. They're quick and easy to implement, but they don't quite achieve the precision and control that a custom system does. Each of these system types has pros and cons, and so you need to evaluate your building and your facility with your mechanical engineer, with trusted advisers, with other growers, to figure out what they like and don't like about each of the system types and which is most appropriate for your building, for your facility.

Again, pros and cons of each. All can be successfully employed, but you know, as purveyors of unitary product, we certainly believe that we're doing things the right way.

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