Heat Load Calculations

Building Survey
The orientation of the building is the
first parameter that a hvac engineer
should know before designing the
system required. The south west
corner of the building will susceptible
to the most intense heat rays from the
sun, if it is exposed: compared to all
other corners. So the heat transfer
through that part will be higher.

 Field sketches, complete

architectural drawings, civil
plans are the basic aspects of
the good survey. Every HVAC
engineer should be aware
about the importance of
building survey.

Use of Space
Application of the conditioned
space is another parameter.
Office, Hospitals, restaurants,
factories, machine shops, etc.
According to the application,
the air conditioning system will
differ.

Physical Dimensions of Air

conditioning Space
Length, breadth, height, of the
space; distance between floor
and ceiling; distance between
floor and false ceiling, is also
an important factor. The area of
the space to be air conditioned
is a very important data.

Columns and Beams

Size, depth, location of
beams and columns

Construction material
Type of material used for
construction is another data
with which the heat transfer
can be calculated. Different
type of materials will have
different type of heat
transmission coefficient.

Heat transmission
coefficient is defined as the
rate of heat transferred
through the building barrier.
It is determined by U = 1/(R1
+ R2 + R3 + ) where
R is the resistance offered
by different type of
materials.

Surrounding conditions
It should be checked
whether the exterior of walls,
windows and roofs are
shaded by adjacent
buildings or exposed to
sunlight, whether the
adjacent space is
conditioned or not.

Location of Doors and

Windows
Type, size, and Frequency of
use of the doors and
windows will affect the
amount of heat transfer.

Stairways, Lift corridors,

Escalators, and open to non
air conditioned areas
It is not easy to air
condition open spaces as
the level of infiltration will be
very high. This will result in
wastage of air conditioning.

Occupancy
Total number of people in the
space to be air conditioned. Each
and every human being will emit
a lot of heat energy due to the
metabolic activity of human body.
Duration of the occupancy and
nature of activity should also be
known.

Lighting
Type of lighting used
inside the space will be a
factor as the lights used
will emit lot of heat
energy. There are
different types of lights
according to which the
heat emitted differs.

The types of lights

commonly used are
incandescent, fluorescent,
recessed and exposed.
The amount of air flow
should be known or else
the estimate should be
done on th basis of
watts /sq.ft.

Appliances

There will be different

types of appliances and
equipments used in the space
to be air conditioned The
equipment will deliver some
heat inside the space to be
conditioned.

Business machines,
electronic equipment, etc can
be present in the area to be
conditioned. The location,
wattage rating, and whether it is
hooded or not are the different
types of parameters to be
checked.

Ventilation required

There are different standards set for

the different type of requirements.
CFM/sq. ft
CFM/person
CFM/room
These parameters should also be
taken in to account. Ventilation
requirement will in turn play a
important role in maintaining good
indoor air quality.

Indoor unit and outdoor unit

location

Parameters for indoor unit location

are
There should be no obstruction to
air flow and distribution of
conditioned air.
There should enough space for
servicing.
Piping and wiring work can be easily
connected.
There should be a solid wall or
ceiling to mount the unit.

Parameters for outdoor unit

location are
There should be good air
circulation
There should be no other major
heat interference.
The exhaust air should not be
sucked in once again for
recirculation.
The unit should not be kept
very close to corrosive
materials or environment.

Estimation of heat load

For summer air conditioning, the air

conditioned space has to be maintained
at a lower temperature than the
surrounding temperature. The moisture
level also should be maintained at a lower
level compared to the atmospheric level.
So there has to be heat transfer between
the conditioned space and the
surroundings.

After building survey a HVAC

engineer should know the amount
of heat transfer that should take
place between the space to be
conditioned and the surroundings.
For this heat load calculation and
estimation is required. Hence it is
required for the design and
selection of air conditioning
equipment.

General Procedure
To calculate a design
cooling or heating load
information about building
design and weather data at
design conditions should be
prepared.

Outside design conditions

The first important step is to
fix the peak outside
condition. ie; the date and
time of year when the peak
conditions can prevail.

Inside design conditions

Indoor air temperature to be
maintained in each space
should be dictated by the
application.

Solar transmission gain through

walls, roofs, glass and partitions
As a result of absorption of direct
radiation of sun temperature of wall,
roof, glass and partitions rises
above the ambient temperature.
This results in large temperature
difference with respect to the air
conditioned space. The heat
transfer coefficient or U-Factor
should be arrived.

Then compute the heat

transmission loss for each kind of
wall, glass, floor, ceiling and roof in
each building by multiplying the
heat transfer coefficient in each
case by area of the surface and
temperature difference between
indoor air and outdoor air or
adjacent lower temperature spaces.

Infiltration
Compute the heat loss associated with
infiltration through cracks and openings
of doors and windows. These values
depend on the kind of crack and temp.
difference of indoor and outdoor air. The
air blowing in the opposite direction of
the building, which is higher in moisture
content and temperature to infiltrate
through the cracks and openings. This
results in the sensible and latent heat
transfer to the conditioned space and
localized heat gains.

Ventilation
When positive ventilation
using outside air is provided
to the conditioned space
energy required to condition
this air to the temperature
required must be provided by
the unit. So associated load
due to fresh air should also be
calculated. This is consider as
a forced infiltration.

Internal Heat Gain

Internal heat gain through
occupancy, lights and other
appliances should also be
calculated. Human body through
metabolism generates heat within
itself and releases it by radiation,
convection, and evaporation from
the surface. Illuminants will convert
electrical power to light and
sensible heat.

Why we require fresh air

opening in the air
conditioning system?

Indoor Air Quality

Ventilation or outside fresh air in to
the air conditioned space is very
important. It is to replace the oxygen
consumed and to dilute the carbon
dioxide and pollutants in the air.
Pollutants are like bacteria, fungus,
dust materials, chemicals, etc.
Therefore it is important to remove
the contaminants so that we can
improve the indoor air quality.

Fresh air intake will never remove

the contaminants but they will
dilute them, so that the
contaminants can be kept in the
permissible limits according to the
standard levels. Odour removal is
handled by introducing fresh
outdoor air in to the air handling
unit. This air is mixed with the
return air to improve the air quality.
This should be be done before
getting the air treated at the
cooling coil.

Application
CFM(Vol.ofFresh air)
Office Space
20
Restaurants
20
Bars
30
Conference room
20
Operating rooms
30
Supermarkets
15
Auditoriums
15
Laboratries
20
Hotel rooms
30

The following steps can improve

indoor air quality
Maintain a slight positive pressure
inside the conditioned space so
that infiltration can be prevented.
Air filtration is very important so
that the particulates can be
prevented from passing on to the
conditioned space.

 Cleaning of supply, return and fresh air

ducts at the time of commissioning and at
regular intervals of operation.
The condensate should be prevented
from getting stagnant in the drain pan.
The condensate will become a breeding
point of bacteria and fungi.
Avoid fibre glass lined AHUs; since it is
inert by itself, once it becomes wet, then
it will become a collection area of
particulate material and microbial growth.

PROJECTS