Chapter 2

Space Heating and Cooling Load

Textbook to read:
Textbook#1, pp.158-159, 173-175, 249-254
1.Space heating load

Prior to the design of the heating system, an estimate must be

made of the maximum probable heat loss of each room or
space to be heated. The heating load is defined as the heat loss
including

(1) The heat transmitted through

the walls, ceiling, floor, glass or
other surfaces;

(2) The heat required to warm

outdoor air entering the space
2. Space cooling load

Heat gains of a building structure usually occur in the following

form

(1) Solar radiation through opening;

(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 and infiltration air;
(5) latent heat gains generated within the space.

Space cooling load is the rate at which energy must be removed

from a space to maintain the temperature and humidity at the
designed values.
Internal heat gains:
Internal heat gain from people, lighting and equipment are often a
significant component of the cooling load in commercial and
institutional buildings.
(1) People;
The sensible and latent heat
gains from people vary depending on
the level of activity.
(2) Lighting;
The sensible heat gain is related
with thermal radiation and convection.
(3) Equipment;
The operation of equipment
generates heat.
 Examples and tutorial questions

Q1. Suppose a space has a sensible heat loss of 29 kW

but has a latent heat gain of 39 kW. Air to ventilate the
space is heated from 13 oC, 35% RH to the required state
for supply to the space. The space is to be maintained at 24
oC and 50%RH. Find the volume flow rate of air that must

be supplied to satisfy the load condition. The specific heat

of air is 1.0 kJ/kg oC.

(Ans: 2.3 m3/s)

Q2. Describe a situation where the heat gain to the space
is (a) greater than; (b) less than ; and (c) equal to the
cooling load at a given time.

Ans:
a) The heat gain is generally greater than the cooling load during the
morning hours when sunlight first strikes a building and the internal loads
first begin. Heat is being stored in the building structure, furnishings, etc.
b) Late at night when occupants are not present, lights and equipment are
off and solar radiation is zero, the building gives up stored heat to the air,
which the equipment removes as cooling load. The heat gain may be quite
small, zero, or negative.
c) At some time during the day, probably early evening, as heat gain is
decreasing, and equilibrium condition can be established when heat gain
and cooling load are equal. Or, some interior zones, where the cooling load
is driven only by internal heat gains may reach equilibrium if the heat gain
remains constant for a number of hours.
 Q3. Estimate the heat loss from air at 120 oF
flowing in a 16-inch round duct. The volume
flow rate of air in the duct is 1000 ft3/min; The
duct length is 35 ft. The duct has 1 inch of
fibrous glass insulation. The overall heat
transfer coefficient is 0.2 Btu/hr-ft2-F. The
environment temperature is 12 oF. Determine
the temperature of air leaving the duct. The
density of air is 0.067 lbm/ft3; the specific heat
is 0.24 Btu/lbm-F.

(Ans: 117 oF)

Zone air temperature

(The minimum mass flow rate is about 30% of it)

(Ans: a=25892 Btu/hr, b=-265.3 Btu/hr-F)

Q5. A air-volume system has the following operating
parameters : zone air temperature ti =72 oF; air infiltration rate
180 ft3/min. The outdoor air is at 85 oF and has a specific volume
of 13.9 ft3/lbm; its specific heat is 0.243 Btu/(lbm-F). The total
convection portion of the internal heat gains is 1500 Btu/hr. The
surface temperatures, areas, and convection coefficients are
summarized as follows
surface Area Aj , ft2 tj , o F hC,j , Btu (hr-ft2-F)
North wall 360 72 0.56
East wall 360 73 0.56
South wall 280 77 0.56
South window 80 81.75 0.56
West wall 360 76 0.56
Roof 900 78 0.18
Floor 900 72 0.18

Find the sensible cooling load of the system. (Ans: 7160 Btu/hr)
Q6. If there is no system heat transfer, find the
zone air temperature in Q5.
(Ans: 77.4 oF)

Q7. If the linear reheat system is operating with

a=20511 Btu/hr and b=-2896.7 Btu/(hr-F), find
the zone air temperature in Q5.
(Ans: 72.9 oF)