HARAMAYA INSTITUTE OF

TECHNOLOGY

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Air Conditioning System (Cooling and Heating Load Estimation)

By Firomsa D. (MSc. Thermal Engineering)

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 Cooling and Heating Load Estimation
Introduction
2.1 Heating and Cooling Load Calculations
ØThe heating and cooling load calculations are carried out to estimate the required capacity
of heating and cooling systems, which can maintain the required conditions in the
conditioned space.
ØTo estimate the required cooling or heating capacities, one has to have information
regarding the design indoor and outdoor conditions, specifications of the building,
specifications of the conditioned space (such as the occupancy, activity level, various
appliances and equipment used etc.) and any special requirements of the particular
application.

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 2.2 Cooling Load Calculations

ØThe total heat require to be removed from the space in order to bring it at the desired
temperature by the air conditioning and refrigeration equipment is called Cooling load.

The purpose of a load estimation is:

ØTo determine the size of the Air Conditioning that is required to maintain inside
design conditions during periods of maximum outside temperature.

The design load is based on;

ØInside and outside design conditions

ØIt is air conditioning capacity to produce and Maintain satisfactory inside conditions.

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 2.2.1 Objective of The Cooling Load Estimations
Cooling load calculations may be used to accomplish one or more of the following
objectives:
vProvide information for equipment selection, system sizing and system design.
vProvide data for evaluating the optimum possibilities for load reduction.
vPermit analysis of partial loads as required for system design, operation and control.
2.2.2 Terminology
Commonly used terms relative to heat transmission and load calculations are defined
below in accordance with ASHRAE Standard 12-75, Refrigeration Terms and Definitions.
Space – is either a volume or a site without a partition or a partitioned room or group of
rooms.
Room – is an enclosed or partitioned space that is usually treated as single load.

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Zone – is a space or group of spaces within a building with heating and/or
cooling requirements sufficiently similar so that comfort conditions can be
maintained throughout by a single controlling device.
Cooling Load Temperature Difference (CLTD) – an equivalent temperature
difference used for calculating the instantaneous external cooling load across
a wall or roof.
Sensible Heat Gain – is the energy added to the space by conduction,
convection and/or radiation.
Latent Heat Gain – is the energy added to the space when moisture is added
to the space by means of vapor emitted by the occupants, generated by a
process or through air infiltration from outside or adjacent areas.
Radiant Heat Gain – the rate at which heat absorbed is by the surfaces
enclosing the space and the objects within the space.

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Space Heat Gain – is the rate at which heat enters into and/or is generated within the conditioned
space during a given time interval.
Space Cooling Load – is the rate at which energy must be removed from a space to maintain a
constant space air temperature.
Space Heat Extraction Rate - the rate at which heat is removed from the conditioned space and is
equal to the space cooling load if the room temperature remains constant.
Dry Bulb Temperature – is the temperature of air indicated by a regular thermometer.
Wet Bulb Temperature– is the temperature measured by a thermometer that has a bulb wrapped in
wet cloth.
Dew point Temperature– is the temperature to which air must be cooled in order to reach
saturation or at which the condensation of water vapor in a space begins for a given state of
humidity and pressure.

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Relative humidity - describes how far the air is from saturation.
ØIt is a useful term for expressing the amount of water vapor when discussing the amount
and rate of evaporation.
ØOne way to approach saturation, a relative humidity of 100%, is to cool the air.
ØIt is therefore useful to know how much the air needs to be cooled to reach saturation.
Thermal Transmittance or Heat Transfer Coefficient (U-factor) - (W/m2.K )– is the rate
of heat flow through a unit area of building envelope material or assembly, including its
boundary films, per unit of temperature difference between the inside and outside air.
Thermal Resistance (R) – is the reciprocal of a heat transfer coefficient .
üThe value of R is also used to represent Thermal Resistivity, the reciprocal of the
thermal conductivity.

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 2.2.3 Components of cooling load
There are two components of cooling load imposed on air conditioning plant operating during
hot weather are as follows:
1) Sensible heat gain (SHG)
2)Latent heat gain (LHG)
1. Sensible heat gain (SHG)
ØA gain heat said to be SHG when there is a direct addition of heat to the enclosed space.
ØThe SHG may occur due to any one or all the following sources of heat transfer.
A) The heat flowing into the building by conduction through exterior walls, floors, ceilings,
doors and windows due to the temperature difference on their two sides.
B) The heat received from solar radiation. It consists of
i. The transmitted directly through glass of windows, ventilators, or doors
ii. The heat absorbed by walls and roofs exposed to solar radiation and later transferred on
to the room by conduction.

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C) The heat conducted through interior partition from rooms in the same building which
are not conditioned.

D) The heat given by off by lights, motors, machinery, cooking operations, industrial
processes and etc.

E) The heat liberated by the occupants.

F) The heat carried by the outside air which leaks in (infiltrating air) through the cracks in
doors, windows, and through their frequent openings.
G) The heat gain through the walls of ducts carrying conditions air through unconditioned
space in the building.
H) The heat gain from the fan work.
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2. Latent heat gain (LHG)
ØLHG is a gain heat, when there is an addition of water vapour to the air of enclosed
space.
ØThis LH is to be removed during the process of summer air conditioning.
ØThis LHG may occur due to any one or all of the following sources.
A. The HG due to moisture in the outside air entering by infiltration.
B. The HG due to condensation of moisture from occupants.
C. The HG due to condensation of moisture from any processes (cooking foods that takes
place within the conditioned space.
D. The HG due to moisture passing directly into the conditioned space through
permeable walls or partitions from the outside or from adjoining regions where the
water vapour pressure is higher.
The total heat gain (THG) to be removed air conditioning is the sum of SH and LH
loads.
THG = SHG + LHG

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 2.2.4 Principles of Cooling Load Calculations for Buildings
v The control of thermal environment in a building; requires measures to counteract
the heat and moisture gain or loss by a building.
v Heat transfer occurs if there is a temperature difference between the interior space
and the external environment.
v Solar radiation affects the heat transfer through opaque as well as diathermanous
materials, the transmission through the latter being very significant.
v The intensity of solar radiation varies from a minimum at sunrise and sunset, to
maximum at solar noon.
v The building material also has thermal capacity due to which it stores energy and
delays the transmission of energy.
vHeat transfer in buildings is always periodic.

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2.2.5 Assumptions for Cooling load calculations
ØDesign 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:
ØDesign outside conditions are selected from a long-term statistical database.
ØThe conditions will not necessarily represent any actual year, but are representative of the
location of the building.
ØDesign data for outside conditions for various locations of the world have been collected
and are available in tabular form in various handbooks.
ØThe load on the building due to solar radiation is estimated for clear sky conditions.
ØThe building occupancy is assumed to be at full design capacity.
ØAll building equipment and appliances are considered to be operating at a reasonably
representative capacity.

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For cooling load estimations; the Buildings Loads may be classified as:
•Externally loaded and Internally loaded.
In externally loaded buildings; the cooling load on the building is mainly due to heat
transfer between the surroundings and the internal conditioned space.
Ø Since the surrounding conditions are highly variable in any given day, the cooling
load of an externally loaded building varies widely.
Ø The total building cooling load consists of heat transferred through the building
envelope (walls, roof, floor, windows, doors etc.)
In internally loaded buildings: the cooling load is mainly due to internal heat generating
sources such as occupants or appliances or processes (equipment, and lights).
üThe percentage of external versus internal load varies with building type, site climate,
and building design.

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 Figure .1 Shows various components and heat transfer that constitute the cooling load on a building.
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 2.2.5.1 Estimation of external loads
A) Heat transfer through opaque surfaces
B) Heat transfer through fenestration
C) Heat transfer due to infiltration
D) Miscellaneous external loads
A) Heat transfer through opaque surfaces: This is a sensible heat
transfer process.
The heat transfer rate through opaque surfaces such as walls, roof, floor,
doors etc. is given by:
Qopaque = U.A.CLTD
Where; U: is the overall heat transfer coefficient and
A: is the heat transfer area of the surface on the side of the
conditioned space.
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CLTD: is the cooling load temperature difference.
Ø For sunlit surfaces, CLTD has to be obtained from the CLTD tables (ASHRAE)
Ø For surfaces which are not sunlight or which have negligible thermal mass (such as doors), the
CLTD value is simply equal to the temperature difference across the wall or roof.
ØFor example, for external doors the CLTD value is simply equal to the difference between the
design outdoor and indoor dry bulb temperatures, Tout-Tin.
ØFor interior air conditioned rooms surrounded by non-air conditioned spaces, the CLTD of the
interior walls is equal to the temperature difference between the surrounding non-air
conditioned space and the conditioned space.
ØObviously, if an air conditioned room is surrounded by other air conditioned rooms, with all of
them at the same temperature, the CLTD values of the walls of the interior room will be zero.

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B) Heat transfer through fenestration: Heat transfer through transparent surface such as
a window, includes heat transfer by conduction due to temperature difference across the
window and heat transfer due to solar radiation through the window.
The heat transfer through the window by convection is calculated :
Qwindow = U*A*CLTD
Where, CLTD being equal to the temperature difference across the window and A equal to
the total area of the window.
The heat transfer due to solar radiation through the window is given by:
Qtrans = Aunshaded * SHGFmax * SC*CLF
Where; Aunshaded : is the area exposed to solar radiation,
SHGFmax and SC are the maximum Solar Heat Gain Factor and Shading
Coefficient, respectively, and CLF is the Cooling Load Factor.

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v The unshaded area has to be obtained from the dimensions of the external shade and
solar geometry.
vSHGFmax and SC are obtained from ASHRAE tables based on the orientation of the
window, location, month of the year and the type of glass and internal shading device.
C) Heat transfer due to infiltration: Heat transfer due to infiltration consists of both
sensible as well as latent components.
vThe sensible heat transfer rate due to infiltration is given by:
, = , ( )= , ( )

where is the infiltration rate ( in m3/s), and p,m are the density and specific
heat of the moist, infiltrated air, respectively. are the outdoor and
indoor dry bulb temperatures.
ØThe latent heat transfer rate due to infiltration is given by:

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 , = ( )= ( )
vwhere hfg : is the latent heat of vaporization of water, Wo and Wi are the outdoor
and indoor humidity ratio, respectively.
vThe infiltration rate depends upon several factors such as the tightness of the
building that includes the walls, windows, doors etc. and the prevailing wind speed
and direction.
vThe infiltration rate is obtained by using either the air change method or the crack
method. The infiltration rate by air change method is given by:

D) Miscellaneous external loads: In addition to the above loads, if the cooling coil
has a positive by-pass factor (BPF > 0), then some amount of ventilation air directly
enters the conditioned space, in which case it becomes a part of the building cooling
load.
ØThe sensible and latent heat transfer rates due to the by-passed ventilation air can be
calculated using equations above by replacing with Vo with Vvent*BPF.

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 , = , ( )= , ( )
, = ( )= ( i)
Where Vvent is the ventilation rate and BPF is the by-pass factor of the cooling coil.
2.2.5.2 Estimation of internal loads
ØThe internal loads consist of load due to occupants, lighting, equipment and
appliances and products stored or processes being performed in the conditioned
space.
A) Load due to occupants: The internal cooling load due to occupants consists of
both sensible and latent heat components.
ØThe rate at which the sensible and latent heat transfer take place depends mainly on
the population and activity level of the occupants.
ØSince a portion of the heat transferred by the occupants is in the form of radiation, a
Cooling Load Factor (CLF) should be used similar to that used for radiation heat
transfer through fenestration.
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ØThus the sensible heat transfer to the conditioned space due to the
occupants is given by the equation:

Q s, occupants = ( No of people) (Sensible Heat Gain/person )*CLF

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Table 2. Shows typical values of total heat gain from the occupants and also the sensible
heat gain fraction as a function of activity in an air conditioned space.
vHowever, it should be noted that the fraction of the total heat gain that is sensible
depends on the conditions of the indoor environment.
Activity Total heat gain, W Sensible heat gain fraction
Sleeping 70 0.75
Seated, quiet 100 0.60
Standing 150 0.50
Walking @ 3.5 kmph 305 0.35

Office work 150 0.55

Teaching 175 0.50
Industrial work 300 to 600 0.35
Total heat gain, sensible heat gain fraction from occupants
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The value of Cooling Load Factor (CLF) for occupants depends on:

vThe hours after the entry of the occupants into the conditioned space, the total hours spent in the conditioned
space and type of the building.

vValues of CLF have been obtained for different types of buildings and have been tabulated in ASHRAE
handbooks.

vSince the latent heat gain from the occupants is instantaneous the CLF for LHG is 1.0, thus the LHG due to
occupants is given by:

Q l, occupants = (No. of people ) (Latent heat gain/person )

B) Load due to lighting: Lighting adds sensible heat to the conditioned space.

Ø Since the heat transferred from the lighting system consists of both radiation and convection, a Cooling Load
Factor is used to account for the time lag.

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 Thus the cooling load due to lighting system is given by:
Q s, lighting =(Installed wattage) (Usage Factor) (Ballast factor) (CLF)
ü The usage factor accounts for any lamps that are installed but are not
switched on at the time at which load calculations are performed.
ü The ballast factor takes into account the load imposed by ballasts used in
fluorescent lights.
ü A typical ballast factor value of 1.25 is taken for fluorescent lights, while it
is equal to 1.0 for incandescent lamps.
ü The values of CLF as a function of the number of hours after the lights are
turned on, type of lighting fixtures and the hours of operation of the lights
are available in the form of tables in ASHRAE handbooks.
C) Internal loads due to equipment and appliances: The equipment and
appliances used in the conditioned space may add both sensible as well as
latent loads to the conditioned space.

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Ø Again, the sensible load may be in the form of radiation and/or convection.

Thus the internal sensible load due to equipment and appliances is given by:

Q s, appliances = (Installed wattage ) (Usage Factor) * CLF

Ø The installed wattage and usage factor depend on the type of the appliance or
equipment.

Ø The CLF values are available in the form of tables in ASHARE handbooks.

The latent load due to appliances is given by:

Q I, appliance = (Installed wattage) (Latent heat fraction)

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Table 2. shows typical load of various types of appliances

Appliance Sensible load, W Latent load, W Total load, W

Coffee brewer, 0.5 gallons 265 65 330
Coffee warmer, 0.5 gallons 71 27 98
Toaster, 360 slices/h 1500 382 1882
Food warmer/m2plate area 1150 1150 2300

Ø For other equipment such as computers, printers etc., the load is in the form of
sensible heat transfer and is estimated based on the rated power consumption.
Ø The CLF value for these equipment may be taken as 1.0 as the radiative heat
transfer from these equipment is negligible due to smaller operating temperatures.

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Example 1
An air conditioned room that stands on a well ventilated basement
measures 3 m wide, 3 m high and 6 m deep. One of the two 3 m walls
faces west and contains a double glazed glass window of size 1.5 m by 1.5
m, mounted flush with the wall with no external shading. There are no
heat gains through the walls other than the one facing west. Calculate the
sensible, latent and total heat gains on the room, room sensible heat factor
from the following information. What is the required cooling capacity?

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 The full information tabulated as the following:
Inside conditions: 25oC dry bulb, 50 percent RH
Outside conditions: 43oC dry bulb, 24oC wet bulb
U-value for wall: 1.78 W/m2.K
U-value for roof: 1.316 W/m2.K
U-value for floor: 1.2 W/m2.K
Effective Temp. Difference (ETD) for wall: 25oC
Effective Temp. Difference (ETD) for roof: 30oC
U-value for glass: 3.12 W/m2.K
Solar Heat Gain (SHG) of glass: 300 W/m2
Internal Shading Coefficient (SC) of glass: 0.86
Occupancy: 4 (90 W sensible heat/person) (40 W latent heat/person)
Lighting load: 33 W/m2of floor area
Appliance load Infiltration: 600 W (Sensible) + 300 W(latent) 0.5 Air Changes per Hour
Barometric pressure: 101 kPa

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Solution
From Psychrometric chart:
v For the inside conditions of 25oC dry bulb, 50 percent RH:
Wi = 10 x 10-3 kg/kg dry air
v For the outside conditions of 43oC dry bulb, 24oC wet bulb:
Wo = 0.0107 kg/kg dry air,
ρair = density of dry air = 1/Vs = 1/0.913 m3/kg = 1.095 kg/m3
1.External loads:
a)Heat transfer rate through the walls: Since only west wall measuring 3m x 3m with a glass
windows of 1.5m x 1.5m is exposed; the heat transfer rate through this wall is given by:
Qwall = Uwall * Awall* ETDwall = 1.78 x (9-2.25) x 25 = 300.38 W (Sensible)
b)Heat transfer rate through roof:
Qroof = UroofAroofETDroof = 1.316 x 18 x 30 = 710.6 W (Sensible)
c) Heat transfer rate through floor: Since the room stands on a well-ventilated basement, we
can assume the conditions in the basement to be same as that of the outside (i.e.,

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43oC dry bulb and 24oC wet bulb), since the floor is not exposed to solar
radiation, the driving temperature difference for the roof is the temperature
difference between the outdoor and indoor, hence:
Qfloor = UfloorAfloorETDfloor = 1.2 x 18 x 18 = 388.8 W (Sensible)
d)Heat transfer rate through glass: This consists of the radiative as well as
conductive components.
Since no information is available on the value of CLF, it is taken as 1.0.
Hence the total heat transfer rate through the glass window is given by:
Qglass = Aglass [Uglass(To-Ti)+SHGFmaxSC] = 2.25[3.12 x 18 + 300 x 0.86]
= 706.9 W (Sensible)
e)Heat transfer due to infiltration: The infiltration rate is 0.5 air changes
per hour (ACH), converting this into mass flow rate, the infiltration rate in
kg/s is given by:

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minf = density of air x (ACH x volume of the room)/3600 = 1.095 x (0.5 x 3x3x6)/3600
minf = 8.2125 x 10-3 kg/s
Sensible heat transfer rate due to infiltration, Qs,inf;
Qs,inf = minfcpm(To-Ti) = 8.2125 x 10-3 x 1021.6 x (43 – 25) = 151 W (Sensible)
Latent heat transfer rate due to infiltration, Ql,inf:
Ql,inf = minfhfg(Wo-Wi) = 8.8125x10-3 x 2501x103(0.0107-0.0099)=16.4 W (Latent)
2.Internal loads:
a) Load due to occupants: The sensible and latent load due to occupants are:
Qs,occ = No.of occupants x SHG = 4 x 90 = 360 W
Ql,occ = No.of occupants x LHG = 4 x 40 = 160 W
b) Load due to lighting: Assuming a CLF value of 1.0, the load due to lighting is:

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Qlights = 33 x floor area (Afloor)= 33 x 18 = 594 W (Sensible)
c) Load due to appliance:
Qs,app = 600 W (Sensible)
Ql,app = 300 W (Latent)
ØTotal sensible and latent loads are obtained by summing-up all the sensible and latent
load components (both external as wall as internal) as:
Qs,total = 300.38+710.6+388.8+706.9+151+360+594+600 = 3811.68 W
Ql,total = 16.4+160+300 = 476.4 W.
Room Sensible Heat Factor (RSHF) is given by:
RSHF = Qs,total/Qtotal = 3811.68/4288.08 = 0.889
To calculate the required cooling capacity, one has to know the losses in return air ducts

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Ø Ventilation may be neglected as the infiltration can take care of the
small ventilation requirement.

Hence using a safety factor of 1.25, the required cooling capacity is:

Ø Required cooling capacity = 4288.08 x 1.25 = 5360.1 W ≈ 1.53 TR

1TR = 210 kJ/min = 3.5 kW

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2.3 Air Conditioning system
Ø Air conditioning system is the branch of engineering science which deals with the
study of conditioning air (supplying and maintaining desirable internal atmospheric
conditions for human comfort, irrespective of external conditions.
Ø And also deals with conditioning of the air fro industrial purpose, food storage and
processing, and other materials.
Ø The system which effectively controls air conditions to produce the desired effects
upon the occupants of the space known as Air Conditioning System.

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2.3.1 Factor affecting comfort air conditioning
Temperature of air
ØMaintenance of any desired temperature within enclosed space.
ØHuman being feels comfortable when the air is 210C with 56% relative humidity.
Humidity of air
üControl of humidity of air means the decreasing or increasing of moisture contents
of air.
üFor a summer air conditioning, RH should not be less than 60% whereas for
winter air conditioning, RH should not be more than 40%.
Purity of air
Ø The proper filtration, cleaning and purification of air is essential to keep it from
dust and others.
Motions or circulations of air should be controlled.
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2.3.2 Equipments Used in an Air Conditioning system
1.Circulation fan: move air to and from the room.
2. Air conditioning unit: a unit that consists of cooling and dehumidification
processes for summer air conditioning or heating and humidification processes for
winter air conditioning.
3. Supply duct: directs the conditioned air from the circulating fan to the space to be
air conditioned at proper point.
4. Supply outlet: distributes the conditioned air in the room.
5. Return outlet: it openings in the room surface which allow the room air to enter
the return duct.

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6. Filters: remove dust, dirt and other harmful bacteria from the air.
2.3.3 Classification of Air Conditioning system
Ø According to the purpose
1.Comfort air Conditioning system
2.Industrial air Conditioning system
Ø According to season of the year
1.Winter air Conditioning system
2.Summer air Conditioning system
3.Year-round air Conditioning system

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ØAccording to the arrangement of equipment
1. Unitary air Conditioning system
I.Window unit: self-contained units of small capacity of 1TR - 3TR, and are
mounted on a window or through a wall.
II.Vertical packed units: the capacity of 5 to 20 TR and are installed adjacent to
the space to be conditioned which is useful for restaurant, bank or small office.
2. Central air Conditioning system
Ø This is the most important ACS, adopted when the cooling capacity required
is 25 TR or more and also adopted when the air flow is more than 300 m3/min
or different zones in a building are to be air conditioned.

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