Principles of the Transfer Function Load Method Page 1 of 10

Principles of the Transfer Function Load Method

28.0 Load Calculations ›› 28.2 Principles of the Transfer Function Method ››

Principles of the Transfer Function Load Method

This help topic explains the key principles used to calculate building loads with the Transfer Function
Method. This method is used in the program for cooling design calculations and for energy simulation load
calculations. The explanation of Transfer Function Method principles requires covering a series of topics,
including discussion of:
1. Necessary considerations for analyzing heat transfer in buildings.
2. Principles of the Heat Balance Method, which is the most rigorous load method available.
3. Fundamental principles of the Transfer Function Method which evolved from the Heat Balance Method.
4. Fundamental procedures used to calculate Transfer Function loads.
5. Examples illustrating how loads are calculated using Transfer Function procedures.
.Each topic will be covered in a separate section below. A final section will summarize the discussions.
A. Heat Transfer Considerations for Buildings
Most who study the process of calculating loads for commercial buildings reach the conclusion that the
task is difficult and challenging because it involves:
a. The three modes of heat transfer: conduction, convection and radiation.
b. Many heat sources whose heat contributions vary with time and are usually not in phase with each
other.
c. Storage and discharge of heat from massive building elements such as walls, roofs and floors. This
results in transient rather than steady-state heat transfer processes.
d. Heat transfer processes that are interrelated.
To accurately estimate building loads, all of these factors must be considered.
To analyze building heat transfer, several key terms are used:
1. Heat Gain is the total quantity of heat entering a room from a specific heat source via the different
conduction, convection and radiation modes of heat transfer.
2. Load is the heat transferred to room air which must be removed by the air-conditioning equipment if the
zone is maintained at a constant air temperature.
3. Heat Extraction is the quantity of heat actually removed by the equipment as the zone temperature
varies.
To illustrate building heat transfer in a room and the use of these terms, consider the simple example of
lighting. Heat is gained from lights in the form of convected heat and radiated heat. Convected heat warms
the air in the room and thus immediately becomes a load. Radiated heat is absorbed by the surfaces of
walls, floors, ceilings and furnishings in the room. This causes the temperature of each surface to rise.
Heat is then re-radiated to other surfaces in the room, is convected to air in the room, and is conducted
into the mass adjacent to each surface. The absorption, storage, re-radiation and convection processes
occur over a period of time. Consequently, lighting heat gain occurring during the current hour will be
converted to a load during the current hour and a number of following hours. This is a transient heat
transfer process. Finally, cooling equipment is sometimes not able to remove the entire load from the room
as it occurs. As equipment responds to varying loads, the temperature in the room floats within the
thermostat throttling range. Over a long period of time, the total heat extracted by equipment may equal
the total load, but due to equipment and thermostat behavior, heat extraction and loads are not equal at
every point in time.
Calculations required to account for the key aspects of these thermal processes can be complex and
lengthy. The next section discusses the Heat Balance Method, which is the most rigorous approach to
solving the building heat transfer problem. This will lead to a discussion of the Transfer Function Method
which evolved from the Heat Balance Method.
B. The Heat Balance Method
The most rigorous method of calculating building loads is the Heat Balance Method. This method
evaluates each conduction, convection, radiation and heat storage process occurring in a building using
the fundamental laws of heat transfer and thermodynamics. Equations are written for each "node" in a
room, where a "node" represents a surface or mass element associated with the room. For a mass
element, the heat balance specifies in simple terms that:

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(Rate of Heat In) - (Rate of Heat Out) = Energy Storage Rate

Since a surface has no mass, its heat balance equation for a surface in the room is:
(Rate of Heat In) - (Rate of Heat Out) = 0
To define the rate of heat in and out at each node, all convection, conduction and radiation processes
must be represented. Typically these take the form of differential heat transfer equations or linearized
forms of these equations. By solving all heat balances for a room simultaneously, the total rate of heat
convection to room air can be determined. This defines the room load.
To illustrate how this works, consider the calculation of loads due only to heat gain from lighting. The heat
transfer processes involved with converting lighting heat gain to load will be described first, followed by a
summary of how the Heat Balance Method would be used to solve the heat transfer problem.
One portion of lighting heat gain is convective. Thus, it warms the room air directly and is immediately
converted to a room load. The remainder of the heat gain is thermal radiation which strikes various
surfaces in the room. Each surface absorbs a portion of the radiated heat and reflects the rest to other
surfaces. The absorbed portion warms each surface which initiates further heat transfer processes. For a
wall, for example, this can create a thermal gradient between the surface and the interior mass of the wall.
Therefore, some heat might be conducted from the surface into the wall mass where it is stored. When
conditions change later, causing the wall surface to cool, the stored heat is discharged by being conducted
back to the wall surface. The warm wall surface also can create a temperature gradient between the wall
surface and room air leading to convection which converts the heat to a load. Finally, the elevated surface
temperature causes a thermal radiation exchange between the wall surface and other surfaces in the
room, where similar processes are occurring. These processes are continually occurring and changing.
Using the Heat Balance Method to solve this heat transfer problem would require writing heat balance
equations for each surface and mass element considering each process involved:
1. Convection of heat from the light to room air.
2. Radiation from the light to each surface in the room.
3. Conduction, convection and radiation exchange for each surface in the room.
4. Conduction and heat storage for each mass element in contact with a surface.
Once equations have been formulated, they must be solved simultaneously each hour to evaluate the ebb
and flow of heat in the room.
Note that the processes described above are not isolated. Each surface in the room is also receiving heat
from other sources such as people, appliances, solar heat gain and heat conducted through walls and
roofs. To determine the total heat convected to room air (i.e., the load), all processes must be
simultaneously evaluated.
The results of such an analysis can be highly accurate, insofar as input data describing sources of heat
gain and the physical and geometric properties of the room allow. While computer programs have been
written to perform these calculations, they typically require powerful computer hardware, detailed input
data and long calculation times. Using desktop computers for typical design applications, the Heat Balance
Method tends to be difficult to use. However, its comprehensive approach to modeling the actual heat
transfer processes in a building are desirable. The next section describes the Transfer Function Method
which evolved from the Heat Balance Method and, using key assumptions, shortens calculation times and
is able to provide sophisticated, accurate building load estimates.
C. Fundamental Transfer Function Principles
The Transfer Function Method is the culmination of work first published in 1967 by two scientists working
for the Canadian National Research Council. The method is based on an idea known as the "Response
Factor Principle". This principle states that for a specific room, the thermal response patterns (i.e., how a
heat gain is converted to load over a period of time) for each specific type of heat gain will always be the
same. That is, for a specific room, a 1000 BTU/h heat gain through an exterior wall will cause the same
response over a period of hours as a 2000 BTU/h heat gain. The sizes of the loads will differ, but the heat
gain to load conversion pattern will be the same.
The Response Factor Principle is in turn based on three additional principles:
1. The Principle of Superposition: The total room load is equal to the sum of loads calculated separately
for each heat gain component.
2. The Principle of Linearity: The magnitude of the thermal response to a heat gain varies linearly with the
size of the heat gain.
3. The Principle of Invariability: Two heat gains of equal size occurring at different times will produce the
same thermal response in a room.

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Together, these principles allow the simplification of the Heat Balance Method analysis for a building:
1. The Principle of Superposition can be used to break the heat transfer problem into manageable units
since it allows loads due to each identifiable heat gain component to be computed separately. For
example, loads due to an exterior wall heat gain, and a lighting heat gain can be computed separately
and then added together to determine the total room load. By contrast, the heat balance method
requires all heat gains in a room to be considered simultaneously.
2. The Principle of Superposition also allows the effects of heat gains each hour to be considered
separately. For example, a lighting heat gain this hour will cause loads in the current hour and a number
of following hours. This is because a portion of the heat gain is thermal radiation which is absorbed by
the walls, floor and furnishings of the room, and is then convected to room air over time. When lights
are on for several hours, the load in any one hour is due to heat gain during the current hour, and heat
gains in a number of previous hours. With the Principle of Superposition, the pattern of loads due to
each hourly heat gain can be computed separately and then added together to determine the total
lighting load each hour. By contrast, the heat balance method requires the effects of heat gains for the
current hour and previous hours to be considered simultaneously.
3. The Principles of Linearity and Invariability permit a vast reduction in the number of calculations needed.
Because the pattern of loads resulting from each type of heat gain will be invariable, the pattern only
needs to be determined one time via heat balance computations. Then, because the magnitude of each
load is a linear function of the size of the heat gain, load patterns due to each hourly heat gain can be
easily computed using simple algebraic equations. By contrast, the heat balance method requires
solving a series of heat balance equations simultaneously each hour.
D. Fundamental Transfer Function Procedures
With the Transfer Function Method, a general mathematical relationship which defines load as a function
of heat gain and time is determined for each heat gain component in a room. This relationship is then used
to quickly calculate loads for each hour. The mathematical relationship is expressed in what is called a
Room Transfer Function Equation which looks like this:
Qo = voqo + v1q1 + v2q2 - w1Q1 - w2Q2
In this equation:
1. Q represents a load. The subscripts refer to specific points in time. Subscript 0 is the current hour, 1 is
the previous hour and 2 is two hours previous.
2. q represents a heat gain. The subscripts 0, 1 and 2 have the same meaning as for loads.
3. vo, v1, v2, w1 and w2 are transfer function coefficients. Values of these coefficients vary for each type of
heat gain and room due to the different heat transfer processes involved in converting each kind of heat
gain into a load. ASHRAE has published tables of these coefficients for different heat gain components,
room types, and building weights.
In words, the Room Transfer Function Equation says that the load for the current hour (Qo) is a function of
the heat gain for the current and preceding two hours, plus the loads for the preceding two hours. Because
loads for the preceding two hours are themselves dependent on a series of heat gains for prior hours, this
hour's load is really dependent on the effects of heat gains from many preceding hours.
To use the Room Transfer Function Equation, transfer function coefficients must first be obtained. Then for
any type of heat gain, calculating loads is a two-step process:
1. Determine the heat gains for a series of hours.
2. Use the heat gains and transfer function coefficients together in the Room Transfer Function Equation
to calculate the loads.
The following two sections provide examples of how loads for an internal heat gain (lighting) and a
transmission heat gain (wall) are calculated.
E. Transfer Function Example for Lighting Loads
For this example, suppose lights are turned on and operated at a constant 10,000 BTU/h rate of heat gain
for six hours and are then turned off. For a specific type of room and lighting fixture, the Room Transfer
Function coefficients published by ASHRAE are:
vo= 0.55 , v1= -0.49 , v2= 0.0
w1= -0.94 , w2 = 0.0
Transfer function load calculation results for a sequence of 12 hours are shown in Table 1.

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Table 1. Lighting Load Calculations for 12 Hours

Hour Heat Gain Qo Q1 qo q1

(BTU/h) (BTU/h) (BTU/h) (BTU/h) (BTU/h)
1 10,000 5,500 0 10,000 0
2 10,000 5,770 5,500 10,000 10,000
3 10,000 6,024 5,770 10,000 10,000
4 10,000 6,262 6,024 10,000 10,000
5 10,000 6,487 6,262 10,000 10,000
6 10,000 6,697 6,487 10,000 10,000
7 0 1,396 6,697 0 10,000
8 0 1,312 1,396 0 0
9 0 1,233 1,312 0 0
10 0 1,159 1,233 0 0
11 0 1,090 1,159 0 0
12 0 1,024 1,090 0 0

In Figure 1 the heat gain and load profiles resulting from this calculation are shown for the 12-hour period.
Note that the loads are smaller than the heat gains while the lights are on. This is because a large portion
of the heat gain is thermal radiation. This radiant heat is absorbed by the mass of the floor, walls and
furnishings in the room, stored in the mass and then convected to room air to become a cooling load over
a period of several hours. This process causes a delay between the time a heat gain occurs and the time
its full effects as a cooling load appear. In general, the amount of delay depends on the nature of the heat
gain and the building construction. For example, heavier construction tends to absorb and hold heat longer
than light construction.

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Also note that cooling loads continue after lights are turned off and the heat gains cease. Again this is due
to the radiant heat and the heat storage effects. When the lights are turned off, some radiated heat from
the previous six hours is still stored in the room mass and continues to be convected to room air over time.
Thus, this example illustrates that the Transfer Function Method models the transient build-up and
discharge of heat in a building. This is an important consideration when trying to accurately estimate loads.
Most heat gain components, both internal and transmission heat gains, involve a radiant component and
thus result in transient load behavior. The Transfer Function Method accounts for the transient heat
transfer process by using the appropriate transfer function coefficients and the same 2-step calculation
procedure.
More important, the Transfer Function Method can be used to easily compute loads resulting from any
hourly sequence of heat gains. This ability provides tremendous flexibility. For example, if varying heat
gains rather than constant heat gains were used in the previous example, a different load profile would
result. However, the calculation process would be the same. The new sequence of heat gains would
simply be used in the Room Transfer Function equation to determine the new profile of cooling loads.
F. Transfer Function Example for Transmission Loads
While all loads are computed with the same 2-step procedure, wall and roof transmission loads involve
special considerations for the calculation of heat gain. This is because there is a delay between the time
heat gain occurs at the outer surface of a wall or roof and the time the heat gain reaches the interior
surface of the wall or roof. Thus, the heat gain calculation must consider the transient heat transfer
through the wall or roof. In contrast, for the lighting example, determining heat gains only required knowing
when the lights were on and the lighting fixture wattage. Because transfer functions are useful for
representing transient heat transfer processes, transfer function principles can be used to determine the
heat gain through a wall or roof as well as the conversion of the heat gain into a load.
Taking an exterior wall as a specific example, the first step in the process is to determine the heat gain at
the interior surface of the wall using a "Conduction Transfer Function Equation" which is written as:
qo/A = boteo + b1te1 + b2te2 + b3te3 + b4te4 + b5te5 + b6te6
- d1q1 -d2q2- d3q3- d4q4 - d5q5 - d6q6 - trc Σ cn
This transfer function equation is more complicated than the Room Transfer Function equation we
examined earlier, but its components can be easily dissected:
1. q represents a heat gain. The subscript o refers to the heat gain for the current hour. Subscript 1 refers
to the heat gain for the previous hour. Subscript 2 refers to the heat gain two hours previous, and so
forth.
2. te represents the sol-air temperature for the exterior surface of the wall. The sol-air temperature is an
"effective" measure of the heat gain at the exterior surface of the wall. It isn't the actual temperature of
the surface. Instead it is a temperature that would give the actual exterior heat gain when used in place
of the ambient dry-bulb if 100% of the heat gain was convection, rather than a combination of
convection and solar radiation. Subscripts 0 through 6 refer to the same time intervals defined for q
above.
3. b, d, and cn are conduction transfer function coefficients. Values of these coefficients vary depending on
the construction of the wall or roof being analyzed. Thus, they account for the different rates of heat
transfer and storage involved with different building materials.
4. trc is the indoor air temperature.
5. A is the exterior wall surface area.
Figure 2 shows the sol-air temperatures and interior wall heat gains for one 24-hour period. As mentioned
previously, the sol-air temperature is an effective measure of the exterior surface heat gain due to both
convection from outdoor air and solar radiation. Because an east-facing wall was used in the example, the
sol-air temperature curve shows the effects of large morning heat gains due to solar radiation and smaller
afternoon heat gains due to reduced sunshine but warmer outdoor air temperatures. The heat gain curve
reveals the transient heat transfer processes involved. While the sol-air temperatures peak at 8am, the
interior wall heat gains for this medium-weight wall do not peak until 2pm. This reveals the time it takes for
heat to be conducted through this specific type of wall construction.

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Once the interior wall heat gains have been calculated, the second step in the process is to calculate the
resulting loads using the Room Transfer Function Equation. Figure 3 shows the pattern of loads resulting
from this calculation. Note that loads are smaller than the heat gains for the hours when the heat gains are
largest. This is because as the heat gains increase, some of the heat is being stored in the mass of the
room so there is a delay before its effects on the room loads occur. Eventually all this heat is converted to
load and this is why loads are larger than heat gains during the nighttime hours.

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Considering Figures 2 and 3 together we can see that the Transfer Function Method allows us to consider
the transient heat transfer process involved in first transferring heat through the wall and then converting
the heat gain into a room load.
As already mentioned for the lighting example, the Transfer Function Method can be used to calculate
loads for any sequence of heat gains encountered. For a wall or roof this means that for any pattern of
ambient temperatures and solar flux as well as any wall or roof construction, accurate loads can be
computed. Since weather conditions vary significantly from season to season and at different latitudes, this
flexibility is essential for computing accurate loads in all situations.
G. Heat Extraction Method Principles
The Transfer Function Method also provides procedures for calculating how HVAC equipment removes
heat from rooms in the building. This is referred to as the equipment "heat extraction rate". The procedures
discussed in the preceding sections calculate loads assuming room temperature is maintained at a fixed
level. However, in actual practice room temperatures vary within the thermostat throttling range, between
cooling and heating setpoints, and when setpoints are set-up or set-back during unoccupied periods. The
float of room temperature has a significant influence on the cooling or heating provided by the equipment.
These considerations are also essential when computing pulldown and warm-up loads resulting from the
change from unoccupied to occupied period thermostat setpoints.
Heat extraction procedures are involved in the system analysis process as follows:
1. Zone loads are computed using the heat gain and room transfer function principles outlined in the
preceding sections. These loads are calculated assuming the HVAC equipment operates 24 hours a
day and maintains a fixed zone temperature. Results of this calculation are reported as zone sensible
load components on program reports. Zone sensible loads are also used to determine zone and system
supply airflow rates.
2. Operation of the air handling system is then simulated using the zone load data and heat extraction
procedures to determine how the equipment and thermostats respond to loads and extract or add heat
to the zones. The zone temperature varies within the thermostat throttling range during operation, or
within the deadband between cooling and heating setpoints. These simulation procedures are ultimately
used to determine the total system heat extraction and the resulting system coil loads.

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Heat extraction procedures make use of a simple model of thermostat and equipment control, and a
"Space Air Transfer Function" to determine how the thermostat and equipment respond to room loads.
This section describes the basic procedures used in this analysis.
First of all, the heat extraction method uses the following simple linear model for the thermostat control:
ERt = Wt + S Tr,t
where:
ERt = Heat extraction for time t, BTU/h or W.
Wt = Intercept for linear control profile BTU/h or W.
S = Slope of linear control profile, BTU/h-F or W/K.
Tt = Room temperature for time t, F or C.

Figure 4 illustrates thermostat control and heat extraction behavior for a situation in which the cooling
setpoint is 72 F, the heating setpoint is 70 F and a 4 F throttling range is used. Within the cooling setpoint
throttling range (72 F to 76 F), the thermostat calls for cooling and the HVAC equipment heat extraction is
a linear function of zone temperature. Above the upper end of the throttling range, the heat extraction rate
is fixed at its maximum value.
Within the heating setpoint throttling range (70 F to 66 F), the thermostat calls for heating and the HVAC
equipment heat addition rate is a linear function of zone temperature. Below the lower end of the throttling
range, heat addition is fixed at its maximum value.
Between the thermostat setpoints (70 F to 72 F), the thermostat does not call for cooling or heating.
However, if air is still being introduced into a zone, some amount of uncontrolled heat extraction or heat
addition will be occurring.

Using this model, the equipment heat extraction rate and the room air temperature are related by the
"Space Air Transfer Function Equation" which has the following appearance.
po(ERo - Qo) + p1(ER1 - Q1) = go(Trc - Tro)
+ g1(Trc - Tr1) + g2(Trc - Tr2)
In this equation:
1. ER represents heat extraction values.

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2. Q represents a zone sensible load.

3. Trc is the assumed constant room temperature used to calculate loads from heat gains.
4. Tr is the actual room temperature considering heat extraction behavior.
5. po, p1, go, g1, g2 are space air transfer function coefficients. Reference coefficients are published by
ASHRAE. Before using the coefficients in calculations, they are modified based on the building
construction weight, the envelope U-value and area for a zone and the zone infiltration rate.
6. The subscripts for each component of the equation refer to different hours. 0 refers to the current hour.
1 refers to the previous hour. 2 refers to two hours previous.
In words, the Space Air Transfer Function Equation says that the heat extraction rate for the current hour
depends on the load for the current hour and previous hour, the heat extraction rate in the previous hour,
and the room temperatures during previous hours. The equation therefore accounts for the fact that as
room temperature and heat extraction rates vary, heat builds up and is discharged by the building mass
and air mass for the zone.
To determine the heat extraction rate for a zone, the thermostat equation and the space air transfer
function equation must be solved simultaneously using known values of the thermostat setpoint, its
throttling range, the maximum and minimum equipment heat extraction rates (ERmax, ERmin, EAmin,
EAmax), zone sensible loads and room temperatures for preceding hours.
To illustrate the results of this procedure, Figure 5 shows load, heat extraction and room temperature
profiles for a scenario in which HVAC equipment operates for the period 8am to 10pm, and is off for the
remaining hours of the day. The figure shows the cooling load profile calculated using the room transfer
function procedures and assuming a constant room temperature. The actual room temperature profile
shows that during the 8am to 10pm operating period, the equipment maintains the zone within the
thermostat throttling range of 72 F to 76 F. During the off hours, the zone temperature floats above the
throttling range. During this period, heat is accumulated in the building mass. When the equipment
operating period begins at 8am, this accumulated heat is removed in addition to the hourly cooling loads.
This results in a pulldown component of the load.

H. Summary
At first the "Transfer Function Method" may sound mysterious and complicated. But as we have seen in
this discussion it is based on several straightforward principles. And, once given transfer function
coefficients, loads are calculated using simple algebraic equations. While the equations are complex

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enough that computing loads by hand is not practical, with a desktop computer, loads can be quickly
determined.
The results of these calculations can yield important benefits such as the ability to analyze the realistic
transient heat transfer which occurs in all buildings. Loads can also be accurately computed for any heat
gain sequence and wall or roof construction. Consequently, resulting loads are specific and customized for
each application analyzed, accounting for local weather conditions, building construction and operating
schedules. The value of these benefits is obvious for HVAC design work.

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