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Introduction
Background
A. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equations, data, rules of thumb, and other
information contained within this reference manual were assembled to aid the beginning engineer and
designer in the design of HVAC systems. In addition, the experienced engineer or designer may find
this manual useful as a quick design reference guide, field manual, and teaching tool.
B. The following pages compile information from various reference sources listed in Part 52 of this
manual, from college HVAC class notes, from continuing education design seminars and classes, from
engineers, and from personal experience. This document was put together as an encyclopedic type
reference in contract specification outline format where information could be looked up quickly, in lieu
of searching through volumes of textbooks, reference books and manuals, periodicals, trade articles,
and product catalogs.
Rules of Thumb
A. Rules of thumb listed herein should be used considering the following
1. Building loads are based on building gross square footage.
2. Building loads generally include ventilation and make-up air requirements.
3. These rules of thumb may be used to estimate system loads during the preliminary design stages of a
project.
4. Building loads for construction documents should be calculated using the ASHRAE Handbook of
Fundamentals or similar computational procedure in lieu of using these rules of thumb for final designs.
When calculating heating and cooling loads, actual occupancy, lighting, and equipment information should be
obtained from the Owner, Architect, Electrical Engineer, other design team members, or from technical
publications such as ASHRAE.
B. Many of the rules of thumb listed within this reference manual were developed many years ago. I
have received many questions when conducting seminars regarding these rules of thumb. The most
often asked question is Are the cooling and heating load rules of thumb still accurate with the mandate
of energy codes and tighter and improved building envelope construction? The answer to this question
is yes. The reason the cooling rules of thumb are still accurate is that the internal loads have increased
substantially and cooling loads have switched from building-envelope-dependent, to lighting-dependant,
and now to people-and-equipment-dependent (more people and equipment placed in the same area).
The reason the heating load rules of thumb are still reasonably accurate is that the ventilation air
(outdoor air load dictated by code) has increased.
Codes and Standards
A. Code items contained herein were included more for comparison purposes than for use during
design. All code items (i.e., ICC, ASHRAE, NFPA) are subject to change, and federal, state, and local
codes should be consulted for applicable regulations and requirements.

2/28/2009 10:03 AM