ATLANTA – Guidance to help designers improve the performance and efficiency of design as it relates to load calculations is contained in a new book from ASHRAE.
Load Calculation Applications Manual focuses on two methods for calculating cooling loads in non-residential buildings – the heat balance method and the radiant time series method (RTSM).
Author Jeffrey Spitler noted that understanding these methods is crucial when answering three primary design questions – what is the required equipment size; how do the heating/cooling requirements vary spatially within the building; and what are the relative sizes of the various contributors to the heating/cooling load?
“Cooling load calculations are performed primarily to answer the first and second questions, providing a basis for specifying the required airflow to individual spaces within the building,” Spitler said. “Answers to the third question help designers make choices to improve the performance or efficiency of the design.”
                                                    

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