MEE 515- HVAC

The Cooling Load

Amne El-Cheikh, PhD

 Outline
• Heat Gain, Cooling Load, and Heat Extraction Rate
• Application of Cooling Load Calculation Procedures
• Design Conditions
• Internal Heat Gains
• Overview of the Heat Balance Method
• Zone Air Heat Balance
 Cooling Vs Heating Loads
• Heating load: Steady-state heat transfer
• Cooling load: Transient analysis must be used since instantaneous heat gain
is quite variable:
1- the strong transient effect created by the hourly variation in solar radiation
2- the storage and subsequent transfer of energy from the structure and
contents to the circulated air
• This chapter describes two different methods for calculating cooling loads:
1- The heat balance method (HBM)
2- The radiant time series method (RTSM): Simplified approximation of the
HBM
Heat Gain, Cooling Load, and Heat Extraction Rate
• Heat gain is the rate at which energy is transferred to or generated within a space.
• It has two components, sensible heat and latent heat, which must be computed and tabulated separately.
Heat gains usually occur in the following forms:
1. Solar radiation through openings
2. Heat conduction through boundaries with convection and radiation from the inner surfaces into the space
3. Sensible heat convection and radiation from internal objects
4. Ventilation (outside air) and infiltration air
5. Latent heat gains generated within the space
• The cooling load is the rate at which energy must be removed from a space to maintain the temperature
and humidity at the design values
• The cooling load will generally differ from the heat gain because the radiation from the inside surface of
walls and interior objects as well as the solar radiation coming directly into the space through openings
does not heat the air within the space directly
• This radiant energy is mostly absorbed by floors, interior walls, and furniture, which are then cooled
primarily by convection as they attain temperatures higher than that of the room air
Heat Gain, Cooling Load, and Heat Extraction Rate
• Heat gain is the rate at which energy is transferred to or generated within a space
• It has two components, sensible heat and latent heat, which must be computed and
tabulated separately
• Heat gains usually occur in the following forms:
1. Solar radiation through openings
2. Heat conduction through boundaries with convection and radiation from the inner
surfaces into the space
3. Sensible heat convection and radiation from internal objects
4. Ventilation (outside air) and infiltration air
5. Latent heat gains generated within the space
Heat Gain, Cooling Load, and Heat Extraction Rate
• The cooling load is the rate at which energy must be removed from a space to maintain the temperature
and humidity at the design values
• The cooling load will generally differ from the heat gain because the radiation from the inside surface of
walls and interior objects as well as the solar radiation coming directly into the space through openings
does not heat the air within the space directly
• This radiant energy is mostly absorbed by floors, interior walls, and furniture, which are then cooled
primarily by convection as they attain temperatures higher than that of the room air
• Only when the room air receives the energy by convection does this energy become part of the cooling
load
• The heat storage and heat transfer characteristics of the
structure and interior objects determine the thermal lag and
therefore the relationship between heat gain and cooling load
• For this reason the thermal mass (product of mass and
specific heat) of the structure and its contents must be
considered in such cases
• The reduction in peak cooling load because of the thermal lag
can be quite important in sizing the cooling equipment
Heat Gain, Cooling Load, and Heat Extraction Rate
• The cooling loads have been calculated treating the heat gain as a steady periodic—i.e., a series of days,
all with the same solar heat gain
• The attenuation and delay of the peak heat gain is very evident, especially for heavy construction
• Figure 8-3 shows the cooling load for fluorescent lights that are used only part of the time
• The sensible heat component from people and equipment acts in a similar way
• The part of the energy produced by the lights, equipment, or people that is radiant energy is temporarily
stored in the surroundings
• The energy convected directly to the air by the lights and people, and later by the surroundings, goes into
the cooling load
Heat Gain, Cooling Load, and Heat Extraction Rate
• Consider the heat conduction through a wall or roof with a variable outdoor temperature and with a variable solar
radiation input on the outside surface
• Mathematical modeling leads to the heat conduction equation with nonlinear, time-dependent boundary conditions
• Walls are usually a complex assembly of materials and may have two-dimensional characteristics

• However, if the wall or roof is a single homogeneous slab, the governing differential equation is:

𝜕𝑡 𝑘 𝜕2𝑡
=
𝜕𝜃 𝜌𝑐𝑝 𝜕𝑥 2

- t : local temperature at a point in the slab, F or C

- 𝜃 : time, hr or s
𝑘
- ൗ𝜌𝑐𝑝 : thermal diffusivity of the slab, ft2/hr or m2/s
- 𝑥 : length, ft or m
• A nonlinear, time-dependent boundary condition at the outside surface is a significant obstacle in obtaining a solution
• This problem must be solved with a digital computer
• The overall solution framework is known as the heat balance method
Application of Cooling Load Calculation Procedures
• For most commercial buildings, one or several rooms with similar heat gain profiles may
be controlled by a single thermostat
• The area to be served by a single thermostat is usually called a zone
• However, some buildings will have multiple rooms with different heat gain profiles and
only one thermostat
• A commercial example might be a small retail building or office building with six rooms
and a single packaged rooftop unit
• Most houses and apartments fit into this category
Application of Cooling Load Calculation Procedures
• In this case, the peak cooling load may be determined by treating all of the rooms
together to estimate the block load for the entire zone
• The equipment is then sized on the block load and the air flow rate is proportioned
among the rooms
• Alternatively, each room can be modeled as a single zone
• The loads for each room each hour are then summed to find the hourly block load
• The equipment is sized according to the peak block load, and the air-flow to each zone
is proportioned according to the individual peak loads
• However, more uniform space temperature may be attained by proportioning the air to
each room using a load-averaging technique
• For this type of system, return air should flow freely from all rooms to a central return
Application of Cooling Load Calculation Procedures
• Questions to be raised by the designer:
1- Which dimensions should be used for walls, roofs, etc.—inside or outside?
2- What will the infiltration really be?
- Pressurized buildings have very low infiltration rates
- For non-pressurized buildings: infiltration rate is less than ½ ACH for tight buildings and between ½ and 2
ACH for loose buildings
3- Can lighting be estimated with a Watts/ft2 rule of thumb?
4- Can equipment heat gains be estimated with manufacturer’s nameplate data?
- For most electronic equipment, this will tend to over-estimate the heat gain significantly
 Design Conditions
• Selecting outdoor design conditions for cooling presents a problem similar
to that for heating: it is not reasonable to design for the worst conditions
on record because a great excess of capacity will result
• The heat storage capacity of the structure also plays an important role in
this regard
• A massive structure will reduce the effect of overload from short intervals
of outdoor temperature above the design value
• Tabulation of dry bulb and mean coincident wet bulb temperatures that
equaled or exceeded 0.4, 1, and 2 % of the hours during a year are given
• For example, a normal year in Boise, ID, will have about 35 hours (0.4 % of
8760 hours) at 96 F dry bulb or greater, about 88 hours at 94 F or greater,
and about 175 hours at 91 F or greater
Design Conditions
Design Conditions
• The daily range of temperature given in Table B-1 is the difference between
the average maximum and average minimum for the warmest month
• The daily range has an effect on the energy stored by the structure
• The local wind velocity for summer conditions is often taken to be about
7.6 mph (3.4 m/s)
• Peak wet bulb and dew-point temperatures are useful for sizing cooling
towers, evaporative coolers, fresh air ventilation systems, and desiccant
cooling and dehumidification systems
Design Conditions
• The hourly outdoor temperature is given by:
𝑡𝑜 = 𝑡𝑑 − 𝐷𝑅 𝑋
- 𝑡𝑑 : design dry bulb temperature, F or C
- 𝐷𝑅 : daily range, F or C
- X : percentage of daily range, from table 8-1, divided by 100
Internal Heat Gains
• Internal heat gains—people, lights, and equipment—are often a significant component of the
cooling load in commercial and institutional buildings
• Before showing how they are incorporated into the cooling load calculation, we will consider how
the levels of these internal heat gains may be estimated
1- People:
The heat gain from people has two components: sensible and latent
The total and the proportions of sensible and latent heat vary depending on the level of activity
Table 8-2 gives heat gain data from occupants in conditioned spaces
Note that the data in the last three columns were adjusted according to the normally expected
percentages of men, women, and children for the listed application
These data are recommended for typical load calculations
• Although the data are reliable, large errors are often made in the computation of heat gain from
occupants because of poor estimates of the periods of occupancy or the number of occupants
Internal Heat Gains
1- People:
Care should be taken to be realistic about the allowance for the number of people in a structure
It should be kept in mind that rarely will a complete office staff be present or a classroom be full
On the other hand, a theater may often be completely occupied and sometimes may contain more
occupants than it is designed for
With the exception of theaters and other high-occupancy spaces, most spaces are designed with
too large an allowance for their occupants
The latent and sensible heat gain for occupants should be computed separately until estimating the
building refrigeration load
The latent heat gain is assumed to become cooling load instantly, whereas the sensible heat gain is
partially delayed depending on the nature of the conditioned space
The sensible heat gain for people generally is assumed to be 30 % convective (instant cooling load)
and 70 % radiative (the delayed portion)
Internal Heat Gains
1- People:
 Internal Heat Gains
2- Lights:
• The rate of heat gain at any given moment can be quite different from the heat equivalent of
power supplied instantaneously to those lights
• Some of the energy emitted by the lights is in the form of radiation that is absorbed by the
building and contents, the absorbed energy is later transferred to the air by convection
• The manner in which the lights are installed, the type of air distribution system, and the mass of
the structure are important
• A recessed light fixture will tend to transfer heat to the surrounding structure, whereas a hanging
fixture tends to convect more heat directly to the air
• Some light fixtures are designed so that space air returns through them, carrying away heat that
would otherwise go into the space
• Lights left on 24 hours a day approach an equilibrium condition where the cooling load equals the
power input
• However, lights are often turned off to save energy, and hence the cooling load only approaches
the heat gain
 Internal Heat Gains
2- Lights:
• Once the lights are turned off, the cooling load decreases, but does not go to zero
immediately
• The primary source of heat from lighting comes from the light-emitting elements, or
lamps, although significant additional heat may be generated from associated
components in the light fixtures housing such lamps
• Generally, the instantaneous rate of heat gain from electric lighting may be calculated
from:
𝑞ሶ = 3.41𝑊𝐹𝑢 𝐹𝑠
- 𝑞ሶ : heat gain, Btu/hr (to obtain heat gain in W eliminate 3.41)
- W : total installed light voltage, W
- 𝐹𝑢 : use factor, ratio of wattage in use to total installed wattage
- 𝐹𝑠 : special allowance factor (ballast factor in the case of fluorescent and metal halide fixtures
 Internal Heat Gains
• 2- Lights:
• The total light wattage is obtained from the ratings of all lamps installed
• The use factor is the ratio of the wattage in use, for the conditions under which the load
estimate is being made, to the total installed wattage
• The special allowance factor is for fluorescent and metal halide fixtures or for fixtures
that are ventilated or installed so that only part of their heat goes to the conditioned
space
• For fluorescent fixtures, the special allowance factor accounts primarily for ballast losses
and can be as high as 2.19 for 32 W single-lamp high-output fixtures on 277V circuits.
• Rapid-start, 40 W lamp fixtures have special allowance factors varying from a low of 1.18
for two lamps at 277 V to a high of 1.30 for one lamp at 118 V, with a recommended
value of 1.20 for general applications
• Industrial fixtures other than fluorescent, such as sodium lamps, may have special
allowance factors varying from 1.04 to 1.37
 Internal Heat Gains
• 2- Lights:
• For ventilated or recessed fixtures, manufacturer’s or other data must be
sought to establish the fraction of the total wattage expected to enter the
conditioned space directly (and subject to time lag effect) versus that which
must be picked up by return air or in some other appropriate manner
• The heat from fixtures ranges from 40 to 60 % heat-to-return for ventilated
fixtures down to 15 to 25 % for unventilated fixtures
• The heat gain to the space from fluorescent fixtures is often assumed to be
59 % radiative and 41 % convective
• The heat gain from incandescent fixtures is typically assumed to be 80 %
radiative and 20 % convective
Internal Heat Gains
3- Miscellaneous Equipment:
• Estimates of heat gain for miscellaneous equipment tend to be even more subjective than for people and
lights
• At least two approaches are possible:
• 1- The preferable approach is to carefully evaluate the operating schedule and actual heat gain for each
piece of equipment in the space.
• 2- An alternative approach, applicable for office spaces with a mix of computers, printers, copiers, faxes,
etc., is to estimate the equipment heat gain on a watt-per-square-foot basis.
𝑞ሶ 𝑚 = 𝐶 𝑃ൗ𝐸 𝐹𝑙 𝐹𝑢
𝑚

- 𝑞ሶ 𝑚 : heat equivalent of equipment operation, Btu/hr or W

- P : motor power rating (shaft), hp or W
- 𝐸𝑚 : motor efficiency, as decimal fraction < 0.1
- 𝐹𝑙 : motor load factor
- 𝐹𝑢 : motor use factor
- C : constant = 2545 (Btu/hr)/hp = 1.0 W/W
Internal Heat Gains
3- Miscellaneous Equipment:
• The motor use factor may be applied when motor use is known to be intermittent with significant nonuse
during all hours of operation (e.g., an overhead door operator). For conventional applications, its value is 1.0
• The motor load factor is the fraction of the rated load delivered under the conditions of the cooling load
estimate
• This number may vary from hour to hour in the cooling load calculation. In Eq. 8-4, both the motor and the
driven equipment are assumed to be within the conditioned space
• If the motor is outside the space or airstream with the driven equipment within the conditioned space: 𝑞ሶ 𝑚 =
𝐶(𝑃)𝐹𝑙 𝐹𝑢
• When the motor is in the conditioned space or airstream but the driven machine is outside: 𝑞ሶ 𝑚 =
𝐶 1−𝐸𝑚ൗ𝐸𝑚 𝐹𝑙 𝐹𝑢
Internal Heat Gains
3- Miscellaneous Equipment:
• Equipment heat gain is commonly assumed to be about 70 % radiative and 30 % convective for cooling load
calculations
• For fan-cooled equipment, the radiative portion will be 20 % and the convective portion 80 %
• The measured radiative fractions for a laser printer and copier were 11 and 14 %, respectively.
• Two computers with monitors had radiative fractions of 22 % and 29 %
• Where no data are available, the maximum hourly heat gain can be estimated as 50 % of the total nameplate
or catalog input ratings
• Heat gain from hooded steam and electric appliances (assuming convective heat gain is removed by hood):
𝑞ሶ 𝑎 = 0.5(0.32)𝑞𝑖
- 𝑞𝑖 : Catalog or nameplate input rating
• For hooded fuel-fired appliances: 𝑞ሶ 𝑎 = (0.16/1.6)𝑞𝑖
Overview of the Heat Balance Method
Energy Balances in each zone: Solution of a set of energy balance equations for:
• The zone air
• Interior surfaces
• Exterior surfaces
Single Zone: six surfaces: four walls, a roof and a floor
Energy balance at exterior surfaces:

𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 = 𝑞"𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 + 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 + 𝑞"𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃

- 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 : conduction heat flux, Btu/(hr-ft2) or W/m2

- 𝑞"𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 : absorbed solar heat flux, Btu/(hr-ft2) or W/m2
- 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 : convection heat flux, Btu/(hr-ft2) or W/m2
- 𝑞"𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 : thermal radiation heat flux, Btu/(hr-ft2) or W/m2
Zone Air Heat Balance
• Energy balance at interior surfaces:

• 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 is not equal to 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 unless steady-state heat transfer conditions prevail
Likewise, the interior surface heat balance on the jth surface at time θ may be represented conceptually as:

𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 = 𝑞"𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 + 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 + 𝑞"𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃

- 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 : conduction heat flux, Btu/(hr-ft2) or W/m2
- 𝑞"𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑎𝑟,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 : absorbed solar heat flux, Btu/(hr-ft2) or W/m2
- 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 : convection heat flux, Btu/(hr-ft2) or W/m2
- 𝑞"𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 : thermal radiation heat flux, Btu/(hr-ft2) or W/m2
Zone Air Heat Balance
• In this case, solar radiation incident on the inside surface will have been transmitted through
fenestration first
• Energy balance for zone air:
• Assuming that the zone air has negligible thermal storage capacity:

෍ 𝐴𝑗 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 + 𝑞ሶ 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝜃 + 𝑞ሶ 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚,𝜃 + 𝑞ሶ 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙,𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣,𝜃 = 0

𝑗=1

- 𝐴𝑗 : area of the jth surface, ft2 or m2

- 𝑞ሶ 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝜃 : heat gain due to infiltration, Btu/hr or W
- 𝑞ሶ 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚,𝜃 : heat gain due to heating/cooling system, Btu/hr or W
- 𝑞ሶ 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙,𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣,𝜃 : convective portion of internal heat gains due to people, lights, or equipment, Btu/hr
or W
Transient Conduction Heat Transfer
• Calculation of transient conduction heat transfer through walls and roofs may be performed with a
number of different methods:
1. Lumped parameter methods—treating walls and roofs as a small number of discrete resistances and
lumped capacitances
2. Numerical methods—finite difference and finite element methods
3. Frequency response methods—analytical solutions requiring periodic boundary conditions
4. Z-transform methods—methods based on Z-transform theory, including response factors and
conduction transfer functions
• Due to their computational efficiency and accuracy, Z-transform methods have been widely used in
both design load calculations and building energy analysis applications
• Z-transform methods result in one of two formulations, utilizing either response factors or conduction
transfer functions
• The use of either response factors or conduction transfer functions (CTFs) is relatively straightforward
and is explained below
Transient Conduction Heat Transfer
• A more difficult task is determining the response factors or conduction transfer function coefficients
• While the determination of conduction transfer function coefficients is relatively complex, their use is
relatively straightforward
• The CTF coefficients multiply present values of interior and exterior surface temperatures, past values of
interior and exterior surface temperatures, and past values of surface heat flux
• The heat flux at the jth exterior surface for time θ is given by:

𝑁𝑦 𝑁𝑥 𝑁𝑞

𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 = −𝑌0 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 − ෍ 𝑌𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗,𝜃−𝑛 + −𝑋0 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 − ෍ 𝑋𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃−𝑛 + ෍ Φ𝑛 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝑛−𝜃

𝑛=1 𝑛=1 𝑛=1
• The heat flux at the jth interior surface for time θ is given by:

𝑁𝑧 𝑁𝑦 𝑁𝑞

𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 = −𝑍0 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 − ෍ 𝑍𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗,𝜃−𝑛 + −𝑌0 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 − ෍ 𝑌𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃−𝑛 + ෍ Φ𝑛 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝑛−𝜃

𝑛=1 𝑛=1 𝑛=1
Transient Conduction Heat Transfer
𝑁𝑦 𝑁𝑥 𝑁𝑞

𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 = −𝑌0 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 − ෍ 𝑌𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗,𝜃−𝑛 + −𝑋0 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 − ෍ 𝑋𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃−𝑛 + ෍ Φ𝑛 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝑛−𝜃

𝑛=1 𝑛=1 𝑛=1
• The heat flux at the jth interior surface for time θ is given by:

𝑁𝑧 𝑁𝑦 𝑁𝑞

𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 = −𝑍0 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 − ෍ 𝑍𝑛 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗,𝜃−𝑛 + −𝑌0 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 − ෍ 𝑌𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃−𝑛 + ෍ Φ𝑛 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝑛−𝜃

𝑛=1 𝑛=1 𝑛=1
Transient Conduction Heat Transfer
• One complicating feature is that current values of the interior and exterior surface temperature are not
usually known and must be determined simultaneously with the surface heat balances
• When a calculation is started, past values of the surface temperatures and heat fluxes are not known
• Therefore, it is usually necessary to assume past values for the initial calculation and then to iterate on the
first day of the calculation until a steady periodic solution is reached.
• CTF coefficients may be obtained with the load calculation program on the website
• A quick check on CTF coefficients may be made based on what should happen under steady-state conditions.
• Under steady-state conditions, the CTF formulation must yield the same heat flux as the steady-state heat
transfer equation:
𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑒𝑥𝑡,𝑗,𝜃 = 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 = 𝑈 𝑡𝑒𝑠,𝑗 − 𝑡𝑖𝑠,𝑗
𝑁 𝑦 𝑁 𝑁
• From this, it follows that: σ𝑛=1 𝑥
𝑌𝑛 = σ𝑛=1 𝑧
𝑋𝑛 = σ𝑛=1 𝑍𝑛
Example 8-2
• The wall from Example 8-1 has the exterior surface temperatures shown in
Table 8-5 imposed on it each day. The interior surface temperature is held
constant at 70 F. Find the resulting heat flux at the interior surface each hour.
Example 8-2- Solution
Outside Surface Heat Balance-Opaque
Surfaces
• Absorbed solar heat gain
• Exterior convection
• Exterior radiation
• Exterior surface heat balance
Absorbed Solar Heat Gain

It is usually calculated at the half hour

Exterior Convection
• Heat transfer coefficient:

1- Correlation for low-rise buildings:

- Yazdanian and Klems:
Exterior Convection

2- Correlation for high-rise building:

- Loveday and Taki:

0.5mph<Vs<9mph
0.2m/s<Vs<4m/s
Exterior Radiation
Exterior Surfaces:
• Surrounding Ground
• Vegetation
• Parking Lots
• Sidewalks
• Other Buildings
• The Sky
Exterior Radiation-Assumptions
1. Surfaces opaque, diffuse, isothermal and uniform
2. Surfaces gray with single values of absorptivity and emissivity
3. Radiation to sky: heat transfer to a surface with an effective sky
temperature
4. Other buildings: flat, featureless, plane vertical wall has a view
factor of 0.5 with the ground and 0.5 between the wall and the sky
5. Tground ≈ tair
Exterior Radiation-Assumptions
With these Assumptions:
Exterior Radiation-Assumptions
View factors:

Where α is the tilt angle of the surface from horizontal.

Linearization:

Then:
BLAST Program
Effective sky temperature = outdoor dry bulb temperature - 10.8 R(6K)
For non horizontal surfaces:
Exterior Surface Heat Balance Formulation
• Energy balance:

Where historical terms are given by:

• Replacing terms of solar radiation, exterior convection and exterior radiation and
solving for 𝑇𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 :

• Iteration is required to solve for 𝑇𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 :

Guess 𝑇𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 → ℎ𝑐 , ℎ𝑟−𝑔 , ℎ𝑟−𝑠𝑘𝑦 → 𝑇𝑒𝑠,𝑗,𝜃 → 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒
 Example 8-3
• Performing an exterior surface heat balance on a wall or roof where transient conduction heat transfer
occurs requires the simultaneous solution of both the heat balance equations and the CTF equations.
However, if the wall or roof has no thermal mass and the interior surface temperature is known, the
problem is somewhat simplified.
• Consider a horizontal roof at 40 deg N latitude, 97 deg W longitude on June 21at 12:00 P.M. CST. The roof
has no thermal mass; its U-factor is 0.2 Btu/(hr-ft2-F). It has an emissivity of 0.9 and a solar absorptivity
of 0.8. The interior surface temperature is held at 72 F.
• The following environmental conditions apply:
- The total horizontal radiation is 315 Btu/(hr-ft2)
- Outdoor air dry bulb temperature = 85 F
- Wind speed = 12 mph
- Sky temperature, based on the simple BLAST model, is 85 F − 10.8 F = 74.2 F
• Determine the exterior surface temperature, conductive heat flux, convective heat flux, and radiative
heat flux
Zone Air Heat Balance
• The basic form of the zone air heat balance was shown in an earlier section:
𝑁

෍ 𝐴𝑗 𝑞"𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝑖𝑛,𝑗,𝜃 + 𝑞ሶ 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛,𝜃 + 𝑞ሶ 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚,𝜃 + 𝑞ሶ 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑎𝑙,𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣,𝜃 = 0

𝑗=1
• The heat balance may be cast in several forms:
 Solving for the required system capacity to maintain a fixed zone air temperature
 Solving for the zone temperature when the system is off
 Solving for the zone temperature and system capacity with a system that does not maintain a fixed zone
air temperature. As defined in Section 8-1, this is equivalent to determining the heat extraction rate
• For the purposes of design cooling load calculations, the first formulation is usually of the most interest
• The second formulation may be useful when modeling setback conditions or to help determine thermal
comfort for naturally cooled buildings
• The third formulation is the most general—with a fairly simple model of the system it is possible to model
the first condition (by specifying a system with a very large capacity) or to model the second condition (by
specifying a system with zero capacity)
• Before each formulation is covered, each of the heat transfer components will be briefly discussed
Zone Air Heat Balance
1- Convection from Surfaces:
• Convection from surfaces has already been discussed in Section 8-9. The
total convection heat transfer rate to the zone air is found by summing
the contribution from each of the N surfaces:
Zone Air Heat Balance
2- Convection from Internal Heat Gains:
• Convection from internal heat gains is found by summing the convective
portion of each individual internal heat gain:
Zone Air Heat Balance
3- Heat Gain from Infiltration:
• The methods used to estimate the quantity of infiltration air were discussed in Chapter 6 when the heating
load was considered
• The same methods apply to cooling load calculations. Both a sensible and latent heat gain will result and are
computed as follows:

• Wind velocity and direction usually change from winter to summer, making an appreciable difference in the
computed infiltration rates for heating and cooling
• The direction of the prevailing winds usually changes from winter to summer
• This should be considered in making infiltration estimates because the load will be imposed mainly in the
space where the air enters
• During the summer, infiltration will enter the upper floors of high-rise buildings instead of the lower floors
Zone Air Heat Balance
4- System Heat Transfer:
• The system heat transfer is the rate that heat is transferred to the space by the
heating/cooling system
• Although, the zone air heat balance can be formulated to solve for system heat
transfer when the zone air temperature is fixed, it is convenient to be able to
represent the system and determine the zone air temperature and heat extraction
rate simultaneously
• It is convenient to make a simple, piecewise linear representation of the system
known as a control profile
• This usually takes the form:
- a and b are coefficients that apply over a certain range of zone air temperatures
- ti is the zone air temperature
• Note that 𝒒ሶ 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎,𝜽 is positive when heating is provided to the space and
negative when cooling is provided
• When the zone air temperature is fixed, it is equal in magnitude but opposite in
sign to the zone cooling load
Example 8-8
• A small, variable air-volume system with electric reheat has the following operating parameters and control strategy that
apply to a particular zone:

• Both the flow rates and minimum fraction are determined upstream of the reheat coil (i.e., the density may be
determined from the supply air temperature and an assumed pressure of one atmosphere). It is controlled with the
following strategy:

• Assuming linear modulation of the terminal unit and the reheat coil, determine the amount of heating or cooling
provided by the system for the following zone temperatures: 50, 67, 70, 72, 76, 80 F. Then, calculate the coefficients a
and b for the piecewise linear function:

• For purposes of determining thermodynamic properties, assume the air exiting the cooling coil is approximately saturated
Zone Air Heat Balance Formulations
• The simplest formulation of the zone air heat balance is to determine the
cooling load (i.e., for a fixed zone air temperature, determine the required
system heat transfer)
 Example 8-9
• Find the sensible cooling load for the zone from the preceding examples.
The convective portion of the internal heat gains is 1500 Btu/hr. The
infiltration rate is 1 air change per hour and the outdoor air is at 85 F, and
has a specific volume of 13.9 ft3/lbm. The surface areas, temperatures, and
convection coefficients are summarized in the table below:
Zone Air Heat Balance Formulations
• Likewise, the zone air heat balance can be formulated to determine the
instantaneous zone temperature when there is no system heat transfer.
Setting the system heat transfer rate equal to zero and solving for the zone air
temperature gives:
 Example 8-10
• Find the zone air temperature for the zone from Example 8-9 if there is no
system heat transfer. All other details (surface temperatures, infiltration rate,
internal heat gains) are the same.
Zone Air Heat Balance Formulations
• Finally, the zone air heat balance can be formulated to determine the zone
temperature when there is system heat transfer. Substituting the piecewise
linear expression for system capacity into the zone air heat balance and
solving for the zone air temperature gives:
 Example 8-11
• Find the zone air temperature for the zone from Example 8-9, if the system
described in Example 8-8 is operating. All other details (surface
temperatures, infiltration rate, internal heat gains) are the same.