In large and complex buildings, there will be many spaces that have different inside design conditions. The reason for this is that it is very difficult, in many cases, to provide an air-handling unit that discharges supply air at a given set of conditions to satisfy the various spaces with different design conditions. Common practice is to combine areas with similar design requirements into a zone. Each zone is then served by a separate air-conditioning unit independently of the other zones.
In some cases, a zone may be satisfied by use of reheat coils to satisfy the zone requirements. However, reheating the low-temperature supply air consumes energy.
Hence, this practice is in disfavor and in many cases prohibited by building codes and governmental policies. Other formerly well-established systems, such as multizone and dual-duct systems, are also considered energy consumers and are also in disfavor. Exceptions that permit these systems by codes and statutes are for specific types of manufacturing or processing systems, or for areas where the cooled space must be maintained at very specific temperatures and humidities, such as computer rooms, libraries, operating rooms, paper and printing operations, etc. The most common system in use for zone control with central air-handling equipment is the variable-air-volume system. (See Art. 13.31.)
(H. E. Bovay, Jr., Handbook of Mechanical and Electrical Systems for Buildings,
McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, New York.)
