Term:Air Handling Unit [AHU]

An air handling unit is a common piece of a mechanical equipment that regulates and circulates air as part of a heating and cooling system for buildings.

Air handling units are typically located in mechanical rooms, basements or on roof tops and are one of the primary pieces of equipment in the space.

The function of an air handling unit is to take air either from inside the building or from outside air, heat it, cool it, and possibly humidify it, and force it through the ductwork in the building. The air handling unit than works in combination with devices such as fan coil units to distribute air on to the floor plate of a building.

Air handling units typically contain a few major parts including:

• A container or enclosure to contain the air.
• An inlet and outlet (supply and return air)
• A fan
• Filters to clean or scrub the air
• Louvres or dampers to control the flow both in and out of the unit