[BLDG-SIM] What constitutes a floor for 90.1? - clarification

David S Eldridge DSE at grummanbutkus.com
Fri Jun 1 09:12:44 PDT 2007


For what it's worth, in the User's Manual they use the term "stories" in
the text describing how to select the baseline HVAC system.  The table
in the User's Manual still uses "floors".  
 
Also the User's Manual further muddies the waters in their system
selection where they use say "Less than three floors OR less than 75,000
square feet", could sometimes contradict the standard which says three
floors or less AND less than 75,000 square feet for system 3.  The
user's manual seems to have a gap for three floor buildings less than
75,000 square feet...maybe there's an errata to clarify.
 
If I was a reviewer and you were trying to win me over (I'm not), the
percentage of conditioned floor area for the basement would be the
strongest argument for exclusion.  The economics of serving a building
through some vertical distance from the roof to your mail room probably
wouldn't keep the "normal" design from including whatever they would
have included for just a three floor building, as opposed to a full-size
basement that might require additional "System 3" units to fit on an
ever more crowded roof, plus space for duct shafts.  So practically,
your building is three floors.
 
For projects out there with full-size basements requiring multiple
"System 3" units, I'd lean towards the basement counting as a fourth
floor and requiring System 5.
 
Just some thoughts!
 
David
 
 


________________________________

	From: BLDG-SIM at gard.com [mailto:BLDG-SIM at gard.com] On Behalf Of
Lynn Qualmann
	Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 5:02 PM
	To: BLDG-SIM at gard.com
	Subject: [BLDG-SIM] What constitutes a floor for 90.1? -
clarification
	
	
	My original message (below) may be misleading - the mail room is
part of a larger, seldom-occupied basement (~10% of total floor area)
that includes some parking and mechanical/electrical rooms.
	 
	My apologies for any confusion.

________________________________

	From: Lynn Qualmann 
	Sent: Thursday, May 31, 2007 2:07 PM
	To: BLDGSIM (bldg-sim at gard.com)
	Subject: What constitutes a floor for 90.1?
	
	
	To Whomever may be able to shed some light -
	 
	I am modeling a non-res building <75,000 sqft for LEED
certification. It has 3 above-grade floors and a basement with a small
(~0.4% of total building floor area), normally-occupied mail room. The
number of floors influences the baseline HVAC system according to 90.1,
but 90.1 specifically excludes basements under its definition of a
story. Table 3.1.1A of Appendix G, which designates the baseline HVAC
system types, refers to the number of floors as one of the determinants
of the baseline HVAC system. The definition of a floor in 90.1 does not
so clearly address basements. My question is whether this should be
considered a 3- or 4-floor building? My sense is that it should be
considered 3, but I would like to get some verification if any is
available.



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