HVAC System Design for a Medical Office in Manchester, England

For this ASHRAE Student Design Competition project, students were challenged to select an optimized HVAC system for a new three-story medical office building in Manchester, England. The team evaluated three system options—two VAV systems with reheat (paired with water- or air-cooled chillers) and a VRF system with heat recovery and dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS). Using tools like DesignBuilder and HVAKR for energy modeling and load analysis, the team considered life cycle cost, maintainability, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency. Ultimately, the recommended solution was a VAV system with reheat, an air-cooled chiller, and an electric heat pump—balancing long-term performance and budget while meeting stringent ASHRAE standards for healthcare environments.