AIR CONDITIONING LOAD
By
Chandana Dalugoda
Abstract
This paper describes the load calculation principles
and the plant selection with psychrometric analysis.
Present day plant managers and maintenance engi­
neers require brief knowledge in air conditioning for
selecting equipment particularly in light commercial
range A / C systems. Calculating a heat load in air con­
ditioning would be the prim requirement, however
elaborate calculations are not required. Magnitude of
the air conditioning systems in this nature falls into
light commercial range. For those who require simple
form of calculating the load and selecting a plant be
described towards the end of the article.
This paper gives an actual calculation methods as well
as rule of thumbs and first cut analysis which may be
particularly important to all mechanical and civil en­
gineers who are not in the air conditioning field.
1.0 Introduction
Scope of this article is firstly to give a brief under­
standing of the standard practice and secondly giving
a simple steps to do a heat load as in'the case for first
cut analysis or use of rule of thumb check figures.
However these methods shall have limited applica­
tions such as in-house small air conditioning jobs.
Air conditioning can be classified in to two groups, as
Human Comfort A / C and industrial A / C . In this arti­
cle; our study is limited to Human comfort A / C with
cooling and de-humidification only. We shall ignore
the heating part of the A / C system for convenience of
study.
Air conditioning provides controlling of following
factors in a given environment:
1. Dry bulb temperature
2. Relative Humidity
3. Filtration and
4. Air movement
79
CALCULATIONS
In summer air conditioning, dry bulb and the relative
humidity of the room should be lowered to achieve
comfort conditions. To accomplish this, total heat gen­
erated in the room should be transferred to outdoors
by using an air conditioning plant. To select the air
conditioning plant we must have a fair idea of the heat
load generated in the room.
2.0 Purpose of Heat Load Calculations
Heat load calculations provide the basic data for se­
lecting the AC system and equipment and also pro­
vide the basis of sizing the associated ducting and
piping.
Usually, heat load is computed for peak load and par­
tial load and then it is compared to achieve any load
reductions.
3.0 Building survey
First step for a proper heat load calculation is to ob­
tain an accurate physical data of the building, weather
it is a multi-storied complex or a small room.
1. Building plan - civil layout or sketch of the space
to be air-conditioned with all the exterior walls
adjacent rooms shown. Ceiling height, beam
heights etc.
2. Orientation of the building - compass points-
North /south direction.
3. Effect of other building structures - shading ef­
fects by other buildings, reflective surfaces by
parking lots, windows etc.
4. Weather data - Climatic conditions of the area of
the building.
Chandana Dalugoda, lEng.(EC), AM C1BSE, AM Inst. R.
AIE(SL) Member ASHRAE.
 Figure 1: Air conditioning ess without prc-heat/rchcat
5. TYPE OF SPACE USED FOR - WEATHER THE SPACE USED 5.0 Load calculation methods
FOR OFFICE, BANK, RESTAURANT, CONFERENCE HALL, FAC­
TORY, BEDROOM ETC. THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF LOAD CALCULATION PROCEDURES
ESTABLISHED BY ASRHAE SUCH AS;
6. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS - TYPE OF MATERI­
ALS AND THICKNESS, COLOUR OF THE ROOF, WALLS, 1. TRANSFER FUNCTION METHOD (TFM)
GLASSES, FLOOR FINISHES ETC. 2. COOLING LOAD TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE METHOD
7. TYPE OF EQUIPMENT - WATER ANALYSES REPORT OR (CLTD/SCL/CLF)
SAMPLE TO DETERMINE WEATHER WATER COULD BE USED 3. TOTAL EQUIVALENT TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE METHOD
AS CONDENSER MEDIA OR AIR COOLED SYSTEM IS PRE­ (TETD)
FERRED INSTEAD.
THE TRANSFER FUNCTION METHOD IS DIRECTLY USED IN COM
8. SUITABLE LOCATION OF EQUIPMENT
PUTER PROGRAMMES. TETD METHOD, DESCRIBES AN ALTER­
9. ELECTRICAL POWER AVAILABILITY NATE COOLING LOAD CALCULATION METHOD PREFERRED FOR EX­
10. MODE OF OPERATION - TIME OF DAY EQUIPMENT OP­ PERIENCED DESIGNER, REQUIRE GREATER FLEXIBILITY IN USING
JUDGEMENT IN COMPUTING COOLING LOADS. CLTD METHOD
ERATION.
IS THE MANUAL PROCEDURE OF CALCULATING LOADS, WHICH
DESCRIBES IN THIS ARTICLE.
4.0 Components of the heat load
CARRIER E-20 IS ANOTHER FAMOUS LOAD CALCULATION PROCE­
THERE ARE TWO BASIC COMPONENTS OF THE AIR CONDITION­
DURE, WHICH IS THE SAME METHOD, USED IN CI .TL )/S( "I /
ING HEAT LOAD;
CLF.
1. OUTDOOR LOADS
6.0 Load Calculation Procedure
2. INTERNAL LOADS
(CLTD/SCL/CLF) Method
OUTDOOR LOAD IS DUE TO OUTSIDE WEATHER CONDITIONS
OUTDOOR (EXTERNAL LOADS) AND INTERNAL LOADS ARE
AND THE SUN EFFECT THROUGH THE BUILDING ENVELOPE.
THESE ARE SOLAR HEAT GAIN FROM THE SUN AND THE TRANS­ CALCULATED USING;
MISSION HEAT GAIN (CONDUCTION) DUE TO TEMPERATURE
Q = U.A. (CLTD) WHERE, U-FACTOR AND TL, T2 HAVE TO
DIFFERENCE THROUGH THE BUILDING STRUCTURE.
BE CALCULATED. IN SOME CASES, U - FACTORS ARE GIVEN FOR
VARIOUS MATERIALS AND DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS. IT IS
INTERNAL LOADS DUE TO HEAT GENERATION FROM THE PEOPLE,
PREFERRED THAT ALL THE U-FACTORS ARE CALCULATED FOR THE
LIGHTS, APPLIANCES, ELECTRIC MOTORS, OUT-DOOR AIR FOR
PARTICULAR COMPOSITE WALLS AND OTHER MATERIALS. IN
VENTILATION AND BY PASS AIR THROUGH THE COOLING APPA­
APPENDIX A, USEFUL U-FACTORS AND SUNGAIN TEMPERA­
RATUS.
TURE DIFFERENCE ARE INCLUDED FOR TYPICAL CASES THAT CAN
BE USED IN QUICK HEAT LOAD CALCULATIONS.

80
External Loads 9. Lights

Conduction through ~q">3.41wF ,F (CLFr

u a

1. Roof W = watts input from electrical plans, W

2. Wall F ul = lighting use factor
q = UA (CLTD) F H = lighting special allowance factor
CLF = cooling load factor by hour of occupancy

U = design heat transfer coefficient (U-factor) 10. Power

Btu/fh-ft^F) q = 2545 P E (CLF)P
2
A = Area calculated from building plans, ft
CLTD = cooling load temp, difference, °F P = horse power ratings from electrical plans
E F = efficiency factor
Conduction through
CLF = cooling load factor by hour of occupancy
3. Glass
4. Partitions 11. Appliances
5. Ceiling = q (CLF)
6. Floor 1 sensible M

1 latent
q = UA(t -t )
> f

q^ . = sensible heat gain per appliance, Btu/hr

U = design heat transfer coefficient (U-factor)
Btu/(h.ft .°F)2
q^ = latent heat gain per appliance, Btu/hr
A = Area calculated from building plans, ft 2
CLF = cooling load factor
t a = temp, of adjacent space, °F Infiltration Load
t r = room design temp., °F
12. Infiltration of air (Sensible)
Solar Gain through
q = 1.10 (CFM) (t -t)
s o

7. Glass
CFM = volume flow rate of infiltrating air, ft3/min
q = A(SC) (SCL) t o = outdoor temp.
A = Area calculated from building plans, ft 2
t r = room design temp.
SC = shading coefficient, dimensionless 13. Infiltration of air (Latent)
2
SCL = solar cooling load factor, Btu/fh.ft )
q = 4840 (CFM) (w^w^
Internal Loads
CFM = volume flow rate of infiltrating air, ft3/min
8. People w o = moisture content for outdoor air, lb/lb

^1 sensible = N F q, (CLF)
d hg
w r = moisture content for room air, lb/lb

^ latenl = N F In*
d Ventilation Load

14. Ventilation air (Sensible)

N = number of people in space q s= 1.10 (CFM) (t,-^
F d = diversity factor
CFM = volume flow rate of ventilation air, ft,/min
q^ = sensible heat gain per person, Btu/hr.
person t o = outdoor temp.
q^ = latent heat gain per person, Btu/hr. person t r = room design temp.
CLF = cooling load factor by hour of occupancy

81
15. Ventilation air (Latent) Design Dry Bui = 90 °F
Design Wet Bui = 81°F
q 1= 4840 (CFM) (v^-w^
M e a n Daily rang = 15 °F
CFM = volume flow rate of ventilation air, ftVmin Wind speed = 6 knots
w o = moisture content for outdoor air, lb/lb These data required to determine the peak solar time
w r = moisture content for room air, lb/lb and the month of the year and to compute the solar
gain through glasses. These data are very useful to
16. Heat gain in air distribution system determine the solar gain through glass during morn­
ing hours of the East exposure and the evening of the
q = U A (t,-t) d
West exposure of a building.
U = design heat transfer coefficient (U-factor)
Btu/(h.ft2.°F) 9.0 Indoor Design Conditions
2
A = out side surface area of duct, ft Indoor design conditions are given in A S H R A E for
t n = temp, of duct surface, °F deferent space utilisation.
t r = room design temp., °F For commercial and public buildings, inside design
conditions would be
N O T E : The heat gains of duct system must be consid­
ered when the ducts are not in the conditioned space. SPACE USED FOR "F RH%
Total heat gain from ducts would be 1 to 3 % of the DB
room sensible heat gain, when the ducts are not in the
Office Buildings 74/78 40/50
conditioned space and insulate.
Restaurants 74/78 55 / 60
Grand Total Heat Libraries & M u s e u m s 68/72 40/55
Airport Terminals 74/78 50/60
Grand total heat (GTH) in Btu/h is the addition of the
above individual loads from 1 to 16. However tropical climates with high relative humid­
G T H could be given in Tons of Refrigeration (TR); ity such as Sri Lanka is find it difficult to maintain in­
T R = G T H / 12'000. door conditions of 5 0 % R H by a normal air condition­
In SI units, K W = T R x 3.517. ing. Therefore it is much appropriate to maintain in­
R

door conditions between 55 to 6 5 % R H which is still

Computing the required airflow rate and the coil con­ in the comfort zone.
ditions are discussed in Psychrometric Analysis in the
preceding sections. 10.0 Outdoor Air Requirement for
Ventilation
7.0 Typical Format of Cooling Load
Indoor air quality largely depends on the amount of
A S H R A E cooling loads are more accurate and load outdoor air brought in to the conditioned space. This
can be calculated for deferent ours of the day and as a outdoor air is mainly required for respiration of peo­
standard feature, load is calculated for three different ple, and to keep the C 0 level d o w n to accepted lev­
2

times of the day.
For simplicity of the calculation, chart given in
Apendix-1 describes the (CLTD/SCL/CLF) method.
els. . Air quantity is proportional to the total occu­
pancy for given application. Outdoor air quantities
per person are derived to achieve m a x i m u m concen­
tration of 1000 p p m of C O or below.
z

Typical values are:

8.0 Weather Data Office - 20 CFM/person

Auditorium - 15 CFM/person
Weather data should obtain form the observatory of
the particular area or from the A S H A R E tables. For Sri Have out door air according to A S H R A E standards.
Lanka following weather data is given in A S H A R E . However, considering the quality of the buildings and
excessive infiltration in Sri Lanka, these fresh air rates
Country = Sri Lanka should be corrected to suit our conditions, hence 10
City = Colombo CFM/person would be suitable for most of the cases.
Latitude = 6° 54'N
Elevation = 24 ft

82
11.0 Psychrometric Analysis CFM OT = volume flow rate of out door air, ftVmin
CFM ra = volume flow rate of return air, ff/min
The heat load computed as above is then be used to
determined various parameters for selection of equip­ CFM M = volume flow rate of supply air, frVmin
ment and design of the air distribution system.
Coil Leaving Temperature
1. Room sensible heat factor (RSHF)
t, = t . + BF (t -1 . )
2. Supply air flow rate, CFM
3. Bypass Factor t >d = temp, apparatus dew-point, °F db
4. Coil entering conditions, °F db, Pre-heating
°Fwb
5. Coil leaving conditions, °F db, In winter season, although refrigeration is not re­
°Fwb quired for controlling the dry bulb temperature, it is
required to control the relative Humidity. Hence, air
6. Pre-heating (sensible heating)
conditioning machine has to run despite low ambient
7. Re-heating (sensible heating) conditions. In these conditions, mixed air temperature
entering the coil becomes too low, and heating is re­
Typically an air conditioning system undergoes 'cool­
quired, which is usually a waste full of energy. Con­
ing and de-humidification' process with' heating and
sequently air undergoes a sensible heating process.
humidification' process.
Return air duct heat gain also part of this sensible
If we consider the return air duct heat gain and fan
heating process.
motor and supply air duct heat gain, there will be an
additional process, namely, sensible heating. Re-heating
Room sensible heat factor (RSHF) Re-heating is sensible heating, usually occur after air
v leaves the coil before it enters the room. This is mainly
RSHF = Room sensible heat
due to Fan motor heat and supply duct heat gain.
Room sensible + Room latent
However, re-heating is used effectively and economi­
NOTE: Refer to Figure-1 cally for reducing the RH% of a given space.

RSH = add 1 tol2 (only sensible portion) Also it requires in spaces where high latent load are
RLH = add 8+11+13 (only latent portion) prevails with low RSHF values.

Supply air flow rate - VS A 12.0 First cut Analysis

V SA = Room sensible heat Schematic design phase of a project require to deter­
1.10x(t -t,) mine the air-conditioning load for the building, which
r

is in a rough assumption stage. There would not be

t, = temp, of air leaving coil, °F db any data for building survey, such as window materi­
t = room design temp., °F db als, wall materials, number of people, number of
r
lights, etc. In this event, designer should use check
Bypass Factor - BF figures, past experience etc. to determine the rough air
conditioning load.

Coil Entering Temperature

= (CFM xtJ + (CFM xt J

w H f

t e = temp, entering coil, °F db

to a = temp, outdoor air, °F db
t ra = temp, room, °F db

83
SELECTED DESIGN CRITERIA FOR FIRST CUT Following areas require specific calculations to deter­
ANALYSIS (ASHRAE) mine the load, hence do not apply check figures.

General : Computer R o o m s with closed control, Operation

Theatres with 75%~100% fresh air, Printing Plants,
2
450 ± 100 ft /TR Garment Factories, hotels etc.
2
1.5 cfm/ ft for exterior spaces
2
0.6 cfm/ ftfor interior spaces
13.0 Plant Selection
400 cfm/ T R
Usually plant selection requires following data form
Offices
the heat load calculations and Psychrometric analysis;
500 ffVTR, based on;
2
1. Sensible hat load
1.5 W / ft for lights
2
0.75 W / ft for fans 2. Latent heat load
2
0.25 W / ft for p u m p s 3. SHF
2
1.0 W / ft for electrical misc.
2
4. Temp, entering coil, °F db
200 ft /person for occupancy
5. Temp, leaving coil, °F db
Restaurants
6. Supply air quantity
150 ffVTR, 7. Fresh air quantity

Shopping centres 8. Fan Total Pressure required

2
400 ft /TR, However w e m a y not require all of the above for a
small A / C job, hence following points could be the
However, above data differs greatly with the country desirable requirements.
and the weather conditions that you're working with.
If w e consider the Sri Lanka conditions, following Sensible Load
check figures would be much appropriate for first cut
Total sensible load should be equal or higher than the
analysis.
equipment sensible heat Capacity (SHC). If the equip­
Offices - Ground floor levels ment S H C of the equipment is smaller than the load,
room designed dry bulb temperature could not
2
220 ft /TR, based on; achieve and discomfort results. Therefore all ways
2
1.5 W / ft for lights match the S H C and the sensible load and to do this
Ground floor level you require equipment performance curves / tables.
less windows Because of the standard capacity data in catalogues
400-350 cfm /TR are based on standard outdoor/indoor conditions
2
200 ft /person for occupancy they should be corrected for the particular design con­
ditions that the designer has selected before selecting
Offices - Upper floor levels equipment
2
190 ft /TR Latent Load
Banks As shown in the above Total latent capacity of the
2 room also match with equipment latent heat capacity
190 ft /TR banking area
(LHC), unless, relative Humidity control would be
2
220 ft /TR, other areas impossible.
Restaurants Usually most of the general A / C applications have
2
8 0 % S H L and 2 0 % L H L of a building. All n e w Pack­
190 ft /TR
aged equipment / factory charged room air condi­
Computer rooms- normal tioners are also having a similar ratio of the S H C and
L H C . Hence it is not a problem in selecting packaged
2
200 ft /TR equipment for a normal comfort application. H o w ­
ever, spaces like Auditoriums, Theatres, and restau­
rants, Conference halls have much higher Latent heat
loads and the above rule m a y not be true.

84
14.0 Conclusion References

Heat load is depend upon various factors due to 1. ASHRAE -1997 Fundamentals Volume
weather conditions, building materials, occupancy, 2. ASHRAE - Cooling & Heating Load Manual
equipment etc., hence it cannot be guess or use rule of
3. Air conditioning System Design Manual
thumb. However it is, a close assumption could be
made with check figures if we use common sense.

Appendix 1

ITEM 1
AERA (FT ) CLTD U-FACTOR BTU/HR

SOLAR GAIN LOAD - GLASSES

GLASS (N)

GLASS (S)

GLASS (W)

GLASS (E)

SOLAR & TRANSMITION GAIN LOAD - WALLS & ROOF

WALL (N)

WALL (S)

WALL (W)

WALL(E)

ROOF

TRANSMITION GAIN • OTHERS

ALL GLASS

PARTITION

CEILING

FLOOR

INFILTRATION

INTERNAL HEAT

PEOPLE

POWER

LIGHTS

APPUANCES

ROOM SENSIBLE HEAT RSH

OUTDOOR AIR

LATENT HEAT

PEOPLE

STEAM

APPUENCES

OUTDOOR AIR

OUTDOOR AIR HEAT

SENSIBLE

LATENT

G R A N D TOTAL

85