The air treatment unit: main components

The UTA (Air Treatment Unit) is the main equipment for air treatment in an air conditioning system. They are not sources of heat or cold production per se, but obtain it through external sources (boilers or refrigeration machines) via water pipes or through a refrigerant gas. Its main components are:

• Outside air intake
• Filter
• Fan
• Heat exchangers
• Humidifier

It is therefore a climate control unit capable of modifying the most important aspects that define air quality within an air-conditioned space: cleanliness and air renewal, temperature control and relative humidity control. Its mission is to provide a volume of treated air and distribute it through the ducts to the different rooms.

Main components of a climate control unit

• Air intake: the air to be treated can be outside air or mixed air. The former is essential for the climate control unit to perform one of its main functions which is to ventilate the air-conditioned spaces. The climate control unit's mission is to introduce the renewed air, which once treated, is sent into the rooms. Occasionally, the climate control unit draws air from the return ducts, which is then mixed with ventilating air. All this mixed air is treated together before being introduced into the premises.

• Filters: filters trap particles to clean the air that will subsequently be pushed out. The type of filter changes depending on the spaces that will be conditioned. The air that circulates through classrooms in a school is not the same as that which is introduced into a home. In this regard, as a higher level of filtration is demanded for the air to be treated, not only must the air be purified by removing the particles it contains, but also all microorganisms with the incorporation of electrostatic or activated carbon filters. This way, unpleasant odors are also avoided.

• Humidity control: is carried out in the cooling battery, where excess water vapor condenses. During winter, the humidifier and the droplet separator prevent condensed water from entering the distribution circuit.

• Fan: it is the electromechanical element that must generate the flow and reach the necessary static pressure to subsequently distribute the air conditioning throughout the installation.

UTA: Construction characteristics

An air treatment unit consists of a structure and an enclosure. The structure is usually made of extruded aluminum profiles with pressure-molded nylon joints. This forms the base which can also contain galvanized steel supports. Regarding the enclosure, it is made up of sandwich-type panels with a baked exterior and galvanized steel interior. The insulating core is usually made of high-density rock wool with thermo-acoustic properties.