LOAD ESTIMATION

In an air conditioning design, it is important to calculate accurately the load (cooling load for
summer and heating load for winter). It is necessary again to know about the heat sources and
their nature before taking the job of design of air conditioning system.
An important consideration in this exercise is the date and time for which these
calculations are made.
Date:
-depend on local climatic condition.
-although the longest day in summer is June 21, the hottest and most humid day may
occur in July.
-similarly, the coldest day may occur in January or even February, instead of on
December 21.
Time:
Though the maximum temperature may occur outside at 1 or 2p.m. , the maximum heat
gain of the room may occur at 3 or 4p.m.. Due to the direct radiation through the glass on the
west side.
Further, the purpose of use of the building also governs the choice of time. For example,
an office building which is not used at night. But in winter season, the maximum heating load
may occur at night. Therefore, the time for heating load calculation may be taken during the
early hours of the morning. Similarly, in summer an office building may have maximum
cooling load at 7p.m., but since no occupants would be present at that time, the time for load
calculations may be taken as 4 or 5p.m.
SOURCES OF HEAT:
The air conditioning system used has to carry out two types of loads known as sensible heat
load and latent heat load.
A.SOURCES CONTRIBUTING TO SENSIBLE HEAT:
1) Heat flows through the exterior walls, ceilings, floors, windows and doors due to
temperature difference between their two sides.
2) Load due to solar radiation is divided into forms
a) Heat transmitted directly by radiation through glass of windows and ventilators.
b) Heat from the sun will be absorbed by the walls and roofs and later on transferred to
room by conduction.
3) Heat received from the occupants.
4) Heat received from different equipments which are commonly used in air conditioning
building.
5) Heat received from the infiltrated air from outside through cracks in doors, windows and
ventilators and through their frequent openings.
6) Miscellaneous heat sources
a) Heat gained through ducts carrying the conditioned air and passing through the
unconditioned space.
b) Heat transferred through interior partition of rooms in the same building which are not
air conditioned.

B.SOURCES CONTRIBUTING TO LATENT HEAT:

1) The latent heat load from the air entering into the air conditioning space by infiltration.
2) latent heat load from occupants.
3) latent heat load from cooking foods and from stored materials
4) Moisture passing directly to the air conditioning space through permeable walls where
water vapour pressure is higher.
The above mentioned sources add the water vapour into the air conditioning space which
should be removed absorbing its latent heat by cooling apparatus.
The total heat load to be removed by the air conditioning system is the sum of the loads
A and B and extra loads added by the following sources.
a) Fresh air taken from outside adds sensible heat and latent heat loads on the air
conditioner and not in the room.
b) The heat gain from the fan work (sensible heat) is added in the fresh air and it is also
removed in the air conditioner, if the fan is installed before the air conditioner.
COOLING LOAD ESTIMATE:
This load is classified as the room load, that which falls on the room directly and total load,
that falls on the air conditioning apparatus.
A. Room Sensible heat(RSH)
i) Solar and transmission heat gain through walls, roof etc.
ii) Solar and transmission heat gain through glass.
iii) Transmission heat gain through partition walls, ceiling, floors etc.
iv) Infiltration
iv) Internal heat gain from people, power, lights, appliances etc.
v) Additional heat gain not accounted above, safety factor etc.
vi) Supply duct heat gain, supply duct leakage lost and fan horse power.
The sum of the above gives room sensible heat (RSH). For the purpose of
psychrometric analysis, the following component is also included in the RSH.
viii) By passed outside air load.
The sum of item(i) to (viii) gives the effective room sensible heat(ERSH).
B. Room latent heat (RLH)
i) Infiltration
ii) Internal heat gain from people, steam, appliances etc.
iii) Vapour transmission
iv) Additional heat gain not accounted above, safety factor etc.
v) Supply duct leakage loss.
The sum of the above gives room latent heat (RLH).
vi)by passed outside air load.
The sum of items(i) to(vi) above gives effective room latent heat(ERLH).
The sum of items A and B above gives the effective room total heat(ERTH). But the sum
of items (i) to (vii) of A and (i) to (v) of B gives the room total heat(RTH).

Grand total on air conditioning apparatus:

A. Sensible heat
(i) ERSH
(ii) Sensible heat of the outside air that is not bypassed.
(iii) Return duct heat gain, return duct leakage gain.
Sum of items (i) to (iii) gives the total sensible heat(TSH).
B. Latent heat:
(i) ERLH
(ii) Latent heat of outside air which is not bypassed.
(iii) Return duct leakage gain.
The sum of the items (i) to (iii) above gives the total latent heat (TLH).
Finally the sum of A and B above gives the grand total heat (GTH).
ERSH = RSH+ (BPF)*OASH
ERLH= RLH+ (BPF) *OALH
Effective sensible heat factor (ESHF) is given by
ESHF = ERSH/ERSH+ERLH = ERSH/ERTH

DETERMINATION OF ADP AND DEHUMIDIFIED AIR QUANTITY (cmm) d USING

ESHF:
 (cmm)d = ERSH/0.0204(ti - tadp)(1 - B)
= ERSH/0.0204(ti t2')
The condition air at 2 is able to balance RSH and RLH and state 2 lies on RSHF line.
The condition air at 2 is able to balance the bypassed OASH and OALH in addition to
the room load and hence state 2' lies on ESHF line.
Effect of BPF
Smaller BPF => i) higher ADP
ii) more heat transfer surface since more rows necessary for a smaller
BPF.
Longer BPF = > i) Lower ADP
ii) less heat transfer surface since less rows necessary for larger BPF.

HIGH LATENT COOLING LOAD APPLICATION:

Sometimes a situation may arise when the GSHF line dose not intersect the saturation
line at a point where a very low value of ADP is obtained. In the former case it is not
possible to design a cooling coil which satisfies the SHF of the room and in the later case
an extremely uneconomical refrigerating machine would result.
Such a situation arises when the latent heat is very high in comparision with the
total heat load due to very high humid outdoor design condition or when very high internal
latent heat loads are present.
In this situation, an appropriate ADP is selected and the air is reheated to the
RSHF line after leaving the cooling coil as shown in figure below.
 There are two alternatives to reheat. They are:
i) change the room design condition to a condition of higher humidity. This will make the
GSHF line intersects the saturation curve.
ii) use a coil of lower BPF. So that ESHF is increased and a higher ADP is obtained.
Even though these methods may not eliminate the need for reheat completely, they
can reduce the reheat requirements.

All outdoor air condition:

In some application such as operation theatres in hospitals, 100 percent fresh air is
taken. In this connection, the following three situations may come across.

Case I:
Dehumidified air quantity is equal to the ventilation air requirement.
(cmm)o = (cmm)d
The fresh air is directly taken through air conditioning apparatus and is then supplied to
the room.
 Case II:
(cmm)d < (cmm)o
There are two alternatives:
(i) When the difference in air quantities is very small, then a coil of large BPF may be
used. The effect of this is to raise the leaving air temperature from the coil and hence to
increase the necessary supply air quantity.
(ii) When the difference in air quantities is large, then it is necessary to condition the
outdoor air and then it is reheated to increase the supply air temperature so that a larger
quantity of supply air is required.

Case III:
(cmm)d > (cmm)o
In this calculations have to be repeated by taking the outdoor air equal to the calculated
dehumidified air quantity.

TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION OF AIR:

AIR HANDLING SYSTEM:

This system consists of three parts:

1. Various inlets to return air duct and various outlets for supply air duct.

2. The duct system including return duct, supply duct and air conditioning apparatus
comprising dampers, filters, coil or air washer.

3. Fan to provide necessary energy for movement of air.

ROOM AIR DISTRIBUTION:
The requirement of good air distribution is to create a proper combination of temperature,
humidity and air motion in the occupied zone which is normally at 1.8m above the floor
level. Factors considered in air distribution system are-

Draft: It is defined as any localized feeling of coolness or warmth of any portion of the body
due to both air motion and air temperature with humidity and radiation considered constant.
The warmth and coolness is measured above or below the controlled room condition of
24.4oC DBT at the centre of the room and air moving at approximately 9.1m/min.

Blow or Throw: It is the distance travelled by the supply air stream in

the horizontal direction on leaving the air outlet and reaching a
velocity of 15m/min at a height of 1.8m above the floor level. The
desirable length of the blow is 3/4th of the distance to the opposite
3
side of the wall, i.e., H= 4 L (fig.2)

Drop: It is the vertical distance, the air moves after it leaves the
outlet and reaches the end of the throw.
Spread: It is the angle of divergence of an air stream after it
leaves the outlet. The spread can be maintained in horizontal
and vertical plane is required.

Induction or Entrainment ratio: The air leaving the outlet is

called primary air. The supply air entrains some room air called
the secondary air. The sum of primary air and secondary air is
called total air. The induction ratio is defined as the ratio of
total air to primary air.

TYPES OF SUPPLY AIR OUTLETS:

The outlets may be classified as high side wall, low side wall, ceiling and floor outlets
according to their location. Outlets may be classified by their construction features.
Accordingly, there are four basic types of outlets.
(i) Grille outlets
(ii) Slot diffuser outlets
(iii) Ceiling diffuser outlets
(iv) Perforated ceiling panels

Grille outlets: They may have adjustable bar grilles which are the most common types with
vertical and horizontal vanes. They may have fixed bar grilles in which case vanes are not
adjustable. Grille outlets are used in high side wall location. They are not applicable in
ceiling location for comfort application as they create draft conditions.

Slot diffuser; It is an elongated outlet with an aspect ratio of 25:1 and a maximum height of
7.5cm. This is applied in high side wall locations or along the perimeter of the floor. They
should not be installed in ceilings as it creates high draft.

Ceiling diffuser: They are mounted in ceilings. Multipassage round, square or rectangular are
the most common types. They consist of a series of flaring rings which may be adjustable
pattern or variable area type.

Perforated ceiling outlets: They use the confined space above the ceiling as a supply plenum.
Air is delivered to the room through holes or slots.

Selection and location of outlets:

The selection and location of supply air outlets is governed by the following considerations:
(i) The amount of air supplied through the outlets should be proportional to the load in the
space.
(ii) The selection of the type of outlets is governed by the ceiling height and occupancy
density.
(iii) The location of the outlets is governed by the condition of the uniform air distribution
and rapid temperature equalization.
(iv) The size of the outlet should be selected from the manufacturers catalogue data which
gives the details concerning the air velocity, air quantity, distribution pattern, sound levels,
throw, spread, drop, etc.

DUCT SYSTEM DESIGN:

Principle: The total energy required to be given to the air by the fan must be equal to the
pressure losses encountered in the duct design system. The fan delivers energy to the air in
the form of static pressure and dynamic pressure. The total pressure given by the fan is used
in overcoming pressure losses caused by various obstacles in the path of the flow in the room.
Dynamic losses in duct
The dynamic losses in duct are caused by the following:
(i) changes in direction due to elbows, bends, tees etc.
(ii) changes in area or velocity due to enlargement, contraction, suction and discharge
openings, dampers etc.
Dynamics pressure losses is proportional to the velocity pressure
Pd = KPv = K(V2/2)
where, Pd = pressure drop
Pv = velocity pressure
K = dynamic loss coefficient
V = downstream velocity

Frictional resistance losses

The frictional resistance of a duct of any cross section is given by the fanning equation as
follows:
Hf = fL(V2/2g) / Rh ..(i)
Where, Hf = pressure losses due to friction
F = friction factor
L = length of duct
V = velocity
Rh = hydraulic dimension
4cross sectional area
= wetted perimeter

RECTANGULAR EQUIVALENT OF CIRCULAR DUCTS:

Ducts of rectangular sections are more economical for carrying the air compared with circular
sections. Ducts are designed on circular cross section basis and are converted to equivalent
rectangular section. The frictional loss of rectangular section is calculated after converting the
rectangular section into equivalent diameter.
There are two methods for finding out the equivalent cross section
A) The rectangular duct carrying the same quantity of air as circular duct and pressure drop
per unit length in both cases is same.
The velocity of air in the duct is given by V = Q/60A
 Where, Q = quantity of air in m3/min
A = cross sectional area in m2
V = velocity of air in m/sec
We have the frictional resistance loss of a duct of any cross section is
Hf = fL/Rh *(V2/2g)
Hf = fL/Rh * 1/2g * (Q/60A)2
For a circular duct of diameter D
Hf = fL/D * 1/2g * (Q/60A)2
=> Q = [(2g*602*Hf) / (f*L)]1/2 * (A2*D)1/2

= [(2g*602*Hf) / (f*L)]1/2 * [4A2(D2/4) (D/4)]1/2

= [(2g*602*Hf) / (f*L)]1/2 * [4A3(1/P)]1/2

Where P = wetted perimeter = D

Thus, Q = [(2g*602*Hf) / (f*L)]1/2 * [4A3(1/P)]1/2 .. (1)

Thus for the given condition, the factor [A3(1/P)]1/2 in eqn (1) must be the same for
both the ducts.

[A3(1/P)]1/2circular = [A3(1/P)]1/2rectangular

=> (D2/4)3/D = (a.b)3/2(a+b)

Where a and b are the two sides of the rectangular duct and D is the diameter
of the circular duct.

=> ( 2D5)/64 = (a.b)3/2(a+b)

=> D5 = 64/22 [(a.b)3/(a+b)]

=> D = 1.265[(a.b)3/(a+b)]5

B) The air velocity through rectangular duct is same as circular duct and pressure drop
per unit length of the duct in both cases is same.
We have the frictional resistance loss of a duct of any cross section is

Hf = fL/Rh *(V2/2g)
=> V = [(2g*Hf) / (f*L)]1/2 [Rh]1/2
 For a circular duct of diameter D
Rh = D
Thus, V = [(2g*Hf) / (f*L)]1/2 [D]1/2
= [(2g*Hf) / (f*L)]1/2 [4(D2/4)(1/D)]1/2
= [(2g*Hf) / (f*L)]1/2 [4(A/P)]1/2
For the given condition, the factor [(A/P)]1/2 must be same for both the cases
Thus, [(A/P)]1/2circular = [(A/P)]1/2rectangular
=> [(D2/4)/D]1/2 = [(a.b)/2(a+b)]1/2

=> (D2/4)/D = (a.b)/2(a+b)

=> D = 2(a.b)/(a+b)

VARIABLE AIR VOLUME (VAV) SYSTEM :

The required cooling load of an air conditioned space can be met by the air, either by varying
the temperature difference between supply air and room air or by varying the quantity of air
flow rate or air volume. The volume of air being supplied to a room can be varied by
providing automatic or manual volume control devices in the supply air duct just before it
enters the room. This thus involves providing automatically controlled dampers in supply
duct of individual rooms and therefore may be costly but here the control is very precise with
respect to reheat systems or double duct systems.
Since volume of air supplied is reduced with reduction in load, the refrigeration and fan
power follow closely the actual air conditioning load of the building.
Variable air volume system can be used for interior or perimeter zones with common or
separate fan systems, common or separate air temperature control and with or without
auxiliary heating devices.

ZONING OF AIR:
It is the air distribution system by which different amount of air at different conditions
may be supplied to different space as per requirement. For example, if a room is to be placed
at some different temperatures and at different humidity where a room is situated near about
it, required 100% fresh air circulation, controlling or zoning of air will be necessary by
installing separate air handling units.