Cooling load rule of thumb

We design a lot of heating and air conditioning systems at Energy Vanguard. Alexander Bell , who goes by Andy, is our design wizard, and I've been getting involved with the process again lately. When I talk to potential clients, a lot of them tell me their contractor wants to size their air conditioner using a rule of thumb. The rule is usually something like this: Install one ton of air conditioning capacity for every or square feet of conditioned floor area. How far off are they? Let's take a look.

After designing a multitude of HVAC systems for all sorts of buildings, you should be able to. The calculator uses the building square footage, building usage type and building shape to automatically determine the maximum and minimum overall tonnage and electrical usage of the equipment for multiple HVAC systems. This will help you to select equipment, space plan for any mechanical rooms and ceiling space and create a budget. Also by providing electrical values for the equipment, the electrical engineer can also plan for utility service, transformers and panels. However, this guide focuses exclusively on the USCS.

General: 1. Total Heat — Sq. Room Sens.

Rule of thumb. Rules of thumb have be used for decades when sizing HVAC systems. Sometimes they are successful and fairly accurate, but sometimes they are not. Managers use them because they are quick and easy. The most common rules of thumb for temporary cooling are based on the area of the space served.