Load Calculations

THERMAL LOAD
• Thermal load
– The amount of heat that must be added or
removed from the space to maintain the proper
temperature in the space
• When thermal loads push conditions outside
of the comfort range, HVAC systems are used
to bring the thermal conditions back to
comfort conditions
 NEED FOR HVAC LOAD ESTIMATION

• Purpose of HVAC load estimation

– Calculate peak design loads (cooling/heating)
– Estimate likely plant/equipment capacity or size
– Provide info for HVAC design e.g. load profiles
– Form the basis for building energy analysis
• Cooling load is our main target
– Important for warm climates & summer design
– Affect building performance & its first cost
 Basic Concepts
• Heat transfer mechanism
– Conduction
– Convection
– Radiation
• Thermal properties of building materials
– Overall thermal transmittance (U-value)
(WATT/SQ.M KELVIN)
– Thermal conductivity (K) (WATT/M KELVIN)
– Thermal capacity (specific heat)
– THERMAL CAPACITY = U x AREA x TEMP. DIFFERENCE
 THERMAL PROPERTIES OF MATTER
• K: Thermal Conductivity: Is defined as the amount of heat passing through
1 meter depth of an uniform material when a temperature difference of 1
Kelvin exists between two sides of material. Unit: Watt/Meter Kelvin.
• U: Thermal Transmittance : Is defined as the amount of heat in watts
passing through 1 sq meter of a medium or a combination of media when
a temperature difference of 1 Kelvin exists between the two sides.
• Unit: Watt/Sq meter Kelvin.
• R: Resistivity is the resistance offered to the flow of heat by an object.
• U=K/L, Where L is depth/thickness of material. U is Overall Thermal
Transmittance. Watt/Meter Square Kelvin.
• U = 1/R
• R=L/K, where L is thickness of material.
On what all does thermal loads depend.

• A building survey will help us achieve a

realistic estimate of thermal loads
– Orientation of the building
– Use of spaces
– Physical dimensions of spaces
– Ceiling height
– Construction materials
– Surrounding conditions
– Windows, doors, stairways
 On what all does thermal loads depend

• Building survey (continued)

– People (number or density, duration of occupancy,
nature of activity)
– Lighting (W/m2, type)
– Appliances (wattage, location, usage)
– Ventilation (criteria, requirements)
– Thermal storage (if any)
– Continuous or intermittent operation
 Outdoor Design Conditions

• They are used to calculate design space loads

• Climatic design information
– General info: e.g. latitude, longitude, altitude, atm.
pressure
– Outdoor design conditions
• Derived from statistical analysis of weather data
• Typical data can be found in handbooks/databooks,
such as ASHRAE Fundamentals Handbooks
 Outdoor Design Conditions
• Climatic design conditions (ASHRAE 2001):
– Heating and wind design conditions
• Heating dry-bulb (DB) temp.
• Extreme wind speed
• Coldest month wind speed (WS) & mean coincident
dry-bulb temp. (MDB)
• Mean wind speed (MWS) & prevailing wind direction
(PWD) to DB
• Average of annual extreme max. & min. DB temp. &
standard deviations
 Indoor Design Criteria
• Basic design parameters: (for thermal comfort)
– Air temp. & air movement
• Typical: summer 24-26 oC; winter 21-23 oC
• Air velocity: summer < 0.25 m/s; winter < 0.15 m/s
– Relative humidity
• Summer: 40-50% (preferred), 30-65 (tolerable)
• Winter: 25-30% (with humidifier); not specified (w/o
humidifier)
– ASHRAE Standard 55-2004
• ASHRAE comfort zone
 Indoor Design Criteria
• Indoor air quality:
– Air contaminants
• e.g. particulates, VOC, radon, bioeffluents
– Outdoor ventilation rate provided
• ASHRAE Standard 62-2001
– Air cleanliness (e.g. for processing)
• Other design parameters:
– Sound level
– Pressure differential between the space &
surroundings (e.g. +ve to prevent infiltration)
Cooling Load
Principles
 Cooling Load Principles
• Terminology:
– Space – a volume without a partition, or a
partitioned space or group of rooms.
– Room – an enclosed space (a single load)
– Zone – a space, or several rooms, or units of
space having some sort of coincident loads or
similar operating characteristics
• Thermal zoning
 Cooling Load Principles
• Space and equipment loads
– Space heat gain (sensible, latent, total)
– Space cooling load / space heating load
– Space heat extraction rate
– Cooling coil load / heating coil load
– Refrigeration load
• Instantaneous heat gain
– Convective heat
– Radiative heat (heat absorption)
Convective and radiative heat in a conditioned space
 Cooling Load Principles
• Load profile
– Shows the variation of space load
– Such as 24-hr cycle
– What factors will affect load profile?
– Useful for operation & energy analysis
• Peak load and block load
– Peak load = max. cooling load
– Block load = sum of zone loads at a specific time
Peak load = max.
cooling load

Block load = sum of zone loads at a specific time

Cooling Load Components

• Cooling load calculations

• To determine volume flow rate of air system
• To size the coil and HVAC&R equipment
• To provide info for energy calculations/analysis
• Two categories:
• External loads
• Internal loads
 Cooling Load Components

• External loads
• Heat gain through exterior walls and roofs
• Solar heat gain through fenestrations (windows)
• Conductive heat gain.
• Heat gain through partitions & interior doors
• Infiltration of outdoor air
 External Loads
1.Heat gains from Walls and roofs
–sensible
2.Solar gains through fenestrations
–Sensible
3.Outdoor air
–Sensible & latent

Internal Loads
1.People
–Sensible & latent
2.Lights
–sensible
3.Appliances
–Sensible & latent
Cooling Load Components
• Internal loads
• People
• Electric lights
• Equipment and appliances
• Sensible & latent cooling loads
• Convert instantaneous heat gain into cooling load
• Which components have only sensible loads.
 Cooling Load Components
• Cooling coil load consists of:
• Space cooling load (sensible & latent)
• Supply system heat gain (fan + air duct)
• Return system heat gain (plenum + fan + air duct)
• Load due to outdoor ventilation rates (or
ventilation load)
 Cooling Load Components
• Space cooling load
• To determine supply air flow rate & size of air
system, ducts, terminals, diffusers
• It is a component of cooling coil load
• Infiltration heat gain is an instant. cooling load
• Cooling coil load
• To determine the size of cooling coil &
refrigeration system
• Ventilation load is a coil load
 System Heat Gain
•These are sometimes external to the air conditioned space
•HVAC equipment also contributes to heat gain
–Fan heat gain
–Duct heat gain
• Space Heat Gain V/s Cooling Load (Heat
Storage Effect)
• Space Heat Gain is ≠ to Space Cooling Load
• The heat received from the heat sources
(conduction, convection, solar radiation,
lightning, people, equipment, etc...) does not
go immediately to heating the room air. Only
some portion of it is absorbed by the air in the
conditioned space instantaneously leading to
a minute change in its temperature.
• Most of the radiation heat especially from sun,
lighting, people is first absorbed by the internal
surfaces, which include ceiling, floor, internal walls,
furniture etc. Due to the large but finite thermal
capacity of the roof, floor, walls etc., their
temperature increases slowly due to absorption of
radiant heat. The radiant portion introduces a time
lag and also a decrement factor depending upon
the dynamic characteristics of the surfaces. Due to
the time lag, the effect of radiation will be felt even
when the source of radiation, in this case the sun is
removed.
• COOLING LOAD METHODOLOGY –
CONSIDERATIONS & ASSUMPTIONS
• Design cooling load takes into account all the loads
experienced by a building under a specific set of
assumed conditions. The assumptions behind design
cooling load are as follows:
• a. Weather conditions are selected from a long-term
statistical database. The conditions will not necessary
represent any actual year, but are representative of
the location of the building. ASHRAE has tabulated
such data.
• b. The solar loads on the building are assumed
to be those that would occur on a clear day in
the month chosen for the calculations.
• c. The building occupancy is assumed to be at
full design capacity.
• d. The ventilation rates are either assumed on
air changes or based on maximum occupancy
expected.
• e. All building equipment and appliances are
considered to be operating at a reasonably
representative capacity.
• f. Lights and appliances are assumed to be operating
as expected for a typical day of design occupancy.
• g. Latent as well as sensible loads are considered.
• h. Heat flow is analyzed assuming dynamic
conditions, which means that heat storage in
building envelope and interior materials is
considered.
• i. The latent heat gain is assumed to become cooling
load instantly, whereas the sensible heat gain is
partially delayed depending on the characteristics of
the conditioned space.
• According to the ASHRAE regulations, the
sensible heat gain from people is assumed
30% convection (instant cooling load) and 70%
radiative (delayed portion).
• j. Peak load calculations evaluate the
maximum load to size and select the
refrigeration equipment. The energy analysis
program compares the total energy use in a
certain period with various alternatives in
order to determine the optimum one.
• k. Space (zone) cooling load is used to
calculate the supply volume flow rate and to
determine the size of the air system, ducts,
terminals, and diffusers. The coil load is used
to determine the size of the cooling coil and
the refrigeration system. Space cooling load is
a component of the cooling coil load.
• l. The heat transfer due to ventilation is not a
load on the building but a load on the system.
• Thermal zoning is a method of designing and
controlling the HVAC system so that occupied
areas can be maintained at a different
temperature than unoccupied areas using
independent thermostats. A zone is defined as
a space or group of spaces in a building having
similar heating and cooling requirements
throughout its occupied area so that comfort
conditions may be controlled by a single
thermostat.
• When doing the cooling load calculations,
always divide the building into zones. Always
estimate the building peak load and individual
zones airflow rate. The building peak load is
used for sizing the refrigeration capacity and
the individual zone loads are helpful in
estimating the airflow rates (air-handling unit
capacity).
• In practice the corner rooms and the
perimetric spaces of the building have
variations in load as compared to the interior
core areas. The following facts may be noted:
• a) The buildings are usually divided into two
major zones.
• • Exterior Zone: The area inward from the
outside wall (usually 12 to 18 feet, if rooms do
not line the outside wall). The exterior zone is
directly affected by outdoor conditions during
summer and winter.
• • Interior Zone: The area contained by the
external zone. The interior zone is only slightly
affected by outdoor conditions and usually
has a uniform cooling.
• b) Single-zone models shall be limited to open
floor plans with perimeter walls not exceeding
40 feet in length.
• c) For large building footprints, assume a
minimum of five zones per floor: one zone for
each exposure (north, south, east & west) and
an interior zone.