Environmental Control Chamber Laboratory

Two side-by-side temperature controlled rooms make up the Environmental Control Chamber Laboratory, which can be used for a variety of HVAC related research activities. Each room contains a full range of air conditioning equipment, including chilled-water coils, steam coils, and humidifiers, thus allowing each room to be individually controlled to specific temperatures and humidity conditions. For example, one room could be set to typical room air conditions (e.g. 70°F and 50% relative humidity) while the second room can be set to extreme summer outdoor conditions (e.g. 95°F ad high humidity). As a result the thermal performance of a variety of HVAC equipment and technologies, including air conditioners and refrigerators, can be investigated. Since the rooms are completely insulated and well instrumented, energy balances on the rooms, on the installed air conditioning equipment, and on the equipment being tested, form the basic for any research activity dealing with thermal performance.