HVACR416 - Design

Heat Loss / Heat Gain

Part 1
Why?

• The primary function of Air Conditioning is to

maintain conditions that are…
o Conductive to human comfort
o Required by a product or process within a space.
How?

• To perform this function the equipment installed

must be of proper capacity and controlled
throughout the year.

• Proper capacity is determined by actual PEAK

load.

• Partial load conditions are handled by other

controls during the year.
Loads

• It is impossible to measure the actual loads in a

peak condition.

• Loads must be estimated based on heat gains and

heat losses.

• The heat gain and heat loss will not ever equal the
exact equipment size as there are other
considerations.
System Design

• Proper system design takes into account:

o Building Heat Load
o Building Requirements
o People Requirements and Comfort
o Air Flow
o Humidity
o Energy Costs
A few items you need to know

• The amount of heat instantaneously coming into a

space.

• A heat loss is the amount of heat instantaneously

leaving a space.
ASHRAE

• American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air

Conditioning Engineers.

• ASHRAE is the body that sets the standards for all

heating, ventilation and air conditioning formulas
and calculations.
BTU

• The BTU is the British Thermal Unit.

• 1 BTU = the amount of heat it takes to raise 1

pound of water one degree.

• All heating and air conditioning calculations are

based on the BTU.

• 12,000 BTU’s is equal to 1 Ton.

CFM

• Cubic Feet Per Minute

• The CFM is the measurement used for air flow.

• 400 CFM of air is the standard for 1 Ton of Air

Conditioning.
Square Foot

• Used to measure floor and wall space.

• This is Length x Width

• If a space is 12’ long and 12’ wide it is 144 sq. ft.

• A space 12 inches by 12 inches = 1 sq. ft.

Cubic Foot

• A cubic foot is a measurement of length, width and

height.

• The cubic foot is used for a measurement of

VOLUME.

• For example a room that has a ceiling height of

10ft and a length of 10ft and a width of 10ft has a
volume of 1000 cu. ft. (or ft3)
Infiltration

• Heat that moves into and out of a structure through

doors, cracks, and holes in a building.

• Infiltration is uncontrolled air/heat movement.

• Infiltration gets worse the larger the temperature

variance from inside to outside.
Ventilation

• A planned and controlled movement of air and

heat into or out of the building envelope.

• Ventilation occurs in rest-rooms, through air

exchangers, or over grills in kitchens.

• Some ventilation is mechanical, some is natural.

Natural Ventilation

• Remember Hot Air Rises

• Cool Air Falls

• Heat moves from hot to cold.

• Air moves from high pressure to low pressure

environments.

• All of these points are used in natural ventilation.

 Sensible Heat & Latent Heat
• Sensible Heat is…..
• The heat that is measurable.

• Latent Heat is……

• Heat that is not measurable and causes a change
in state.
o For example water to steam
o Ice to water
o Water to ice
o Vapor to liquid
o Liquid to vapor
Types of Heat
• Conduction:
o Heat transfer from one molecule to another within a
substance or from one substance to another.

• Convection:
o Heat transfer from one place to another using a fluid.

• Radiation:
o Heat transfer via rays, or infra-red light. The sun is an
example of Radiation.
Load Estimating

• The first step in load estimating is to organize the

sources of heat as internal or external loads.

• This is done through a building survey.

External Loads

• External loads are loads that have conducted heat,

solar heat and outside air load from ventilation or
infiltration.
Internal Loads

• Internal heat may come from people, lights, electric

motors, office machines, computers, appliances,
kitchen equipment, and processes.

• Internal heat may also come from the equipment

you are using to cool the space.
How external heat affects a space?

• The heat that flows through a wall or other

structure depends on the temperature difference
on the two sides.

• The larger the temperature difference the greater

the heat flow.

• The lower the temperature difference the lower the

heat flow.
Heat Flow

• The amount of heat flow also depends on the area,

and the type of construction.

• The type of construction is known as the “U

Factor”.

• The total heat flow is known as Q and is a

measure of BTU/hr or BTU’s per hour.
Heat Flow

OUTSIDE – 95 degrees INSIDE – 70 degrees

Tw = Temperature Warmer
Tc = Temperature Cooler
Area
Area

Q = BTU/H of Heat Transfer

Wall
12ft long and
10ft high

U = Heat Transfer Factor of the Wall

Heat Transfer

• The formula for heat transfer is:

o Q = U x Area x (Temp W – Temp C)

• In English this translates to total conducted heat

(Q) is found by multiplying the U factor by the Area
by the temperature difference across the wall.
Heat Transfer Example

• For example – a 30 ft long by 10 ft high partition

wall has a temperature of 90 degrees on the
unconditioned (outside) side and 80 degrees on
the conditioned (inside) side.

• From a set of “U” factor tables, the value of a

typical 8 inch masonry partition is .40 BTU / sq. ft. /
degree temp difference
Heat Transfer Example

• The wall has an area of 300 sq. ft.

• The temperature difference is 10 degrees.

• The conducted heat is calculated out to .40 x 300 x

10 which equals 1200 btu/hr.
Heat Transfer

• In addition to heat transfer through walls and

partitions heat can enter a building through:
o The roof
o The walls
o The windows

• Glass is a great conductor of heat.

Heat Transfer Example

• If the same area of wall in the last example:

o 30’ x 10’ = 300 sq. ft.

Was single paned glass with a U factor of 1.13 then:

Q = 1.13 x 300 x 10 or 3390 BTU/hr.

Heat Transfer

• One square foot of ordinary window passes as

much heat as about 4.5 sq. ft of residential wall, or
4 sq. ft. of residential ceiling, or 3.5 sq. ft. of
commercial wall, or 3 sq. ft. of commercial ceiling.