[Bldg-sim] New Rules of Thumb for Design Loads

Jim Dirkes jim at buildingperformanceteam.com
Tue Oct 29 06:10:46 PDT 2013


Dear Christian,
I do not know of any such resources!  
What do you think about creating a "typical" building and trying out various envelope, lighting, plug load and HVAC options in your climate to see the impact of each? That should not be too daunting a task.

James V Dirkes II, PE, BEMP, LEED AP
www.buildingperformanceteam.com 
Energy Analysis, Commissioning & Training Services
1631 Acacia Drive, Grand Rapids, MI 49504 USA
616 450 8653


-----Original Message-----
From: bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org [mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Christian Kaltreider
Sent: Tuesday, October 29, 2013 9:06 AM
To: bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: [Bldg-sim] New Rules of Thumb for Design Loads

Hello Group,

Does anyone know of any articles/papers/publications which address peak design loads for buildings as energy codes evolve?  I am looking for basic rules of thumb for sf/ton (cooling) and btuh/sf (heating).  People use these rules of thumb all the time for initial assessments, sanity checks on simulation results, etc, but I'm not sure that the rules of thumb are being updated as energy codes become more aggressive.  For example, the engineers I have been around since I entered the engineering world (granted, that was only a few years ago) seem to always go back to 400 sf/ton as a standard value, then adjust up or down depending on building characteristics.  I haven't seen this  number change as buildings improve, or as I move to different climate zones.  To be clear, I am interested in design loads, not annual energy usage.

(Note:  Before anyone lambasts me for even bringing up rules of thumb for design, I'll go ahead and say that I know they are gross estimations at best, and should be used with extreme caution and judgment.  Nonetheless, I see them used all the time, so I might as well get as good numbers as I can.
And a project I am on right now actually requires it (by owner) in preliminary design.)

Thanks for your help,
Christian


Christian Kaltreider, LEED AP | Energy Analyst Sud Associates, P.A. | T 828.255.4691 | F 828.255.4949 | www.sudassociates.com



 



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