Air Conditioning, Refrigeration and Equipment

Air conditioning and refrigeration systems are often oversized or undersized because heat loads were estimated rather than calculated. Once installed, they run with poor control settings, dirty coils, incorrect refrigerant charge and unbalanced airflow. Faults are treated by replacing parts rather than diagnosing causes. At the same time, the move away from high global warming potential refrigerants brings new flammability, safety and handling requirements that many maintenance teams have not yet met.

This programme builds understanding from principles to practice. It moves through five stages: the refrigeration cycle and psychrometrics, heat load calculation and equipment selection, the main system types and their components, operation, troubleshooting and maintenance, and energy efficiency together with refrigerant management and safety.

Built on recognised practice. The programme references ASHRAE methods for cooling load calculation, ASHRAE Standard 15 and ISO 5149 on refrigerating system safety, ASHRAE Standard 34 on refrigerant designation and safety classification, EN 378, ASHRAE Standard 62.1 on ventilation for acceptable indoor air quality, and the Montreal Protocol and its Kigali Amendment on the phase-down of HFCs. Participants apply the codes adopted in their own country.

Decisions this programme improves. Which system type and capacity suits a given load; how to read performance data and compare equipment efficiency; how to diagnose a fault before replacing parts; which maintenance tasks deliver the largest energy savings; and how to plan the transition to lower global warming potential refrigerants safely.

How it is delivered. Twenty hours across five sessions, built around one running case: an office and warehouse facility in a hot, humid climate with high cooling costs and recurring comfort complaints. Participants calculate a cooling load, select equipment, interpret operating pressures and temperatures from fault scenarios and prepare an energy and refrigerant improvement plan.

In-house option. For organisations, the programme can be tailored to your own equipment types, maintenance procedures and facility portfolio, including district cooling interfaces or cold storage where relevant.

Who Should Attend

Mechanical engineers: HVAC design, maintenance and facilities engineers

Technicians and supervisors: air conditioning and refrigeration technicians and maintenance supervisors

Facility managers: managers responsible for building services, energy use and maintenance contracts

Energy and sustainability staff: energy managers and staff responsible for efficiency and refrigerant reporting

Project and commissioning engineers: engineers who review, install or commission cooling systems

Objectives

Explain the vapour compression refrigeration cycle and the role of each main component

Use the psychrometric chart to analyse cooling, dehumidification and ventilation processes

Perform a cooling load calculation for a typical space and identify the main heat gains

Select air conditioning and refrigeration equipment to match calculated loads

Compare system types, including split, VRF, packaged units and chilled water systems

Diagnose common faults using pressures, temperatures, superheat and subcooling

Plan preventive and predictive maintenance to protect performance and reliability

Identify energy saving measures in operation, control and maintenance

Classify refrigerants by safety group and global warming potential and apply safe handling practices

Prepare a practical improvement plan for energy use and refrigerant management

Course Outline

Refrigeration Principles and Psychrometrics

Heat transfer, pressure and temperature relationships
The vapour compression cycle and pressure-enthalpy diagrams
Coefficient of performance and energy efficiency ratios
Psychrometric properties and processes
Comfort conditions and indoor air quality
Latent and sensible loads in humid climates

Cooling Load Calculation and Equipment Selection

Sources of heat gain: envelope, solar, occupants, lighting, equipment and ventilation
Cooling load calculation methods and software tools
Diversity, safety factors and the risks of oversizing
Reading manufacturer performance data
Selecting equipment for comfort and process cooling
Cold room and refrigeration load basics

Systems and Components

Compressors: reciprocating, scroll, screw and centrifugal
Condensers, evaporators, cooling towers and expansion devices
Split, VRF and packaged systems
Chilled water systems, pumps and air handling units
Controls, sensors and building management systems
District cooling interfaces

Operation, Troubleshooting and Maintenance

Normal operating readings and what they indicate
Superheat, subcooling and refrigerant charge diagnosis
Common faults: airflow, electrical, compressor and control problems
Leak detection, evacuation and charging practice
Preventive and condition-based maintenance
Water treatment and coil cleaning
Maintenance records and fault analysis

Energy Efficiency, Refrigerants and Safety

Energy saving through set points, scheduling and variable speed drives
Measuring and benchmarking cooling energy use
Refrigerant safety classification and global warming potential
HFC phase-down under the Kigali Amendment and the move to lower GWP refrigerants
Working safely with mildly flammable and flammable refrigerants
Refrigerant recovery, recycling and record keeping
Improvement plan for your facility

Competencies

Refrigeration cycle analysis

Psychrometric analysis

Cooling load calculation

Air conditioning and refrigeration equipment selection

System fault diagnosis and troubleshooting

Preventive and condition-based maintenance planning

Cooling energy efficiency improvement

Refrigerant safety and handling

Low global warming potential refrigerant transition planning

Kuala Lumpur

Explore professional training in Kuala Lumpur across Elite Academy’s full range of disciplines. The city’s position as a well-established Southeast Asian business hub with strong international connectivity makes it an attractive international setting for scheduled courses and programs arranged to your preferred topic and dates. Elite Academy can deliver its full range of professional training programs in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Because the city is a well-established Southeast Asian business hub with strong international connectivity, it provides a strong international environment for participants from organizations as well as individual professionals. The courses shown on this page represent the programs currently scheduled in Kuala Lumpur; they do not limit what can be delivered there. If your preferred course or date is not listed, you can request any program from our portfolio to be arranged in Kuala Lumpur, subject to scheduling and delivery requirements.