VRV or VRF?

Daikin then registered the VRV term, which stands for Variable Refrigerant Volume, as an official trademark. When other HVAC companies created their own VRV system iterations, they adopted the name VRF, or Variable Refrigerant Flow. Herein lies the root of the VRV vs VRF ambiguity. Eventually, VRF became the more common term for these types of systems. This is the term we will use for the rest of this article.
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Considered the "Rolls-Royce" of HVAC technologies, VRF systems are based on several principles:
The communication lines connect the outdoor and indoor units as part of a closed-loop network. This is an essential part of any VRF setup.
As for control, each indoor unit is controlled by its own wired control panel, while it is also possible to use wireless remotes (IR) and centralized controllers, which allow controlling all indoor units from one location.
In general, the system receives inputs from the user (e.g., desired temperatures) and the surroundings (outside ambient temperatures). Based on this data, it implements its logic in order to get to the desired conditions, while optimizing power consumption.
The ability to make adjustments in response to outdoor conditions is one of the main factors that make VRF systems so efficient compared to traditional water-cooled systems, which are based on chillers and fan coils.
To better understand how VRF works, let's look at a typical application scenario with one outdoor and multiple indoor units.
When another indoor unit is turned on, the outdoor unit recalculates the requirements of all indoor units and then increases the compressor's output to meet demand. This is, in fact, a continuous process that starts whenever a variable pertaining to the VRF system’s operation changes. As described, this system is fully automatic and regulates its power consumption based on the demand generated by indoor units in conjunction with the ambient temperature outside.
Users influence the desired indoor comfort conditions by modifying the operation mode (on/off), operation state (cool/heat/fan/dry/auto), setpoint temperature, and fan speed (high/medium/low/auto). Controlling those parameters is the only thing required to properly operate a VRF system.
Heat Pump Systems (Common) – Heat pump-based HVAC VRF systems allow all indoor units to both heat or cool, but the system cannot handle both activities at the same time. However, “fan” and “dry” modes can be set independently by each indoor unit.
Heat Recovery Systems (Less Common) – The most sophisticated sub-variation of VRF setups, heat recovery systems enable both cooling and heating by each indoor unit, independently and simultaneously.
Home automation systems are often preferred in the residential market, while building management systems (BMSs) are more commonly used in commercial facilities. However, integrating VRF/VRV systems with BMSs and home automation platforms can be complex and expensive.
Introducing CoolMaster, a universal, plug-and-play VRF/VRV gateway that natively supports all major HVAC, BMS, and smart home brands: facilitating a simple, reliable integration.
While integrating VRF/VRV HVAC systems with BMS and home automation platforms provides improved control capabilities, these systems cannot usually access more complex service data.
Would you like to proactively and intelligently diagnose and service your VRF HVAC? Check out CoolAutomation's solutions for HVAC service providers and professionals: