Design-operation-performance coupling in contemporary HVAC systems: A system-level review


Yılmaz Y. N., Alvur E., Mert Cüce A. P., Cüce E.

Green Technology & Innovation, cilt.2, sa.1, ss.225-247, 2026 (Hakemli Dergi)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Derleme
  • Cilt numarası: 2 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.65582/gti.2026.013
  • Dergi Adı: Green Technology & Innovation
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Other Indexes
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.225-247
  • Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems play a decisive role in the  energy  consumption,  indoor  environmental  quality,  and  carbon  footprint  of contemporary buildings. Despite significant advances in high-efficiency equipment and  control  technologies,  a  persistent  gap  remains  between  nominal  efficiency ratings  and  realised  in-use  performance.  This  discrepancy  is  primarily  driven  by dynamic operating conditions, part-load behaviour, climatic variability, and cross-layer misalignment between system design, operational control, and environmental demands.  This  review  adopts  a  system-level perspective to examine how HVAC performance  is  shaped  through  the  coupling  of  design  configuration,  equipment modulation  capability,  supervisory  control  architecture,  and  sensible-latent  load interaction.  Rather  than  treating  system  typologies,  control  strategies,  and performance  metrics  as  isolated  domains,  the  study  organises  existing  literature within a structured design-operation-performance coupling framework. Centralised, decentralised,  and  hybrid  HVAC  configurations  are  critically  reviewed  with particular emphasis on part-load thermodynamics, ventilation-humidity interaction, and control coordination under real building conditions. The analysis reveals thatnominal  efficiency  indicators  such  as  the  coefficient  of  performance  (COP)  and seasonal ratings represent equipment potential rather than guaranteed operational outcomes. Performance degradation commonly emerges from conservative sizing practices,  limitedturndown  capability,  inadequate  supervisory  coordination,  and humidity-dominated operating regimes, especially in ventilated and humid climates. The review further highlights that effective performance realisation depends less on individual  component  efficiency  and  more  on  the  coherence  between  system architecture,   modulation   strategy,   and   control   hierarchy.   By   synthesising experimental  findings,  field  studies,  and  simulation-based  research,  this  work provides an integrated evaluation logic for interpreting HVAC efficiency beyond static  ratings.  The  proposed  framework  supports  more  reliable  performance assessment,  informs  design  and  commissioning  practices,  and  contributes  to narrowing the persistent gap between predicted and realised HVAC performance in contemporary low-carbon buildings.