ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT ROOMS

1. If an electrical equipment room has a transformer in it, then the room must either
have an exhaust fan sized to dissipate the heat from the transformer, or the room
must be cooled by an AC only unit.
2. A heat pump or gas packaged unit cannot be used to cool the room, since in the
winter the unit would heat the room instead of cooling it.
3. The first step in designing the electrical room cooling system is to determine the
heat generated by the transformer. The simplest method is to use the following
table:

TRANSFORMER SIZE HEAT GENERATED

150 KVA and smaller 50 watts/KVA

151 – 500 KVA 30 watts/KVA
501 – 1000 KVA 25 watts/KVA
1001 – 2500 KVA 20 watts/KVA
Larger than 2500 KVA 15 watts/KVA

4. For example: A 75 KVA transformer would give off 50 watts/KVA x 75 KVA =

3750 watts
5. Converting watts to BTU/hr, multiply by 3.412
3750 watts x 3.412 = 12,795 BTU/hr
6. Thus, 12,795 BTU/hr is the “sensible” cooling load.
7. In the above example a 1 ½ ton AC unit could be used to cool the electrical room.
8. However, in most cases an exhaust fan would be used in lieu of an AC unit
(assuming the room is unoccupied).
9. The exhaust fan is sized using the sensible heat equation: Q = 1.08 (CFM) (TC)
10. In the above example, Q = 12,795 BTU/hr, TC = the temperature change of the
air in the room, and CFM = the exhaust fan airflow.
11. Generally, electrical equipment rooms only require ventilation to keep equipment
from overheating (i.e., not for human comfort). Accordingly, electrical rooms are
designed for 95 degrees Fahrenheit to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. If space
temperatures below 90 degrees Fahrenheit are required by equipment, then the
space will need to be air-conditioned.
12. If outside air is used to ventilate the electrical room, design temperature in the
room will be 10 – 15 degrees Fahrenheit above the outside design temperature.
13. In Phoenix, using outside air to cool electrical rooms is generally not a good idea
unless it is confirmed that the electrical equipment can operate at 125 degrees
Fahrenheit. If the equipment can operate at 125 degrees Fahrenheit, then TC = 10
degrees Fahrenheit, (125 – 115). Solving the sensible heat equation for CFM
CFM = Q/(1.08 x TC)
CFM = 12,795/(1.08 x 10) = 1185 CFM (of outside air @ 115 degrees Fahrenheit)
 ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT ROOMS

14. The more common method is to use conditioned air from the adjacent space to
cool the electrical room. In this case TC = 95 – 75 = 20 degrees Fahrenheit
(assuming the adjacent conditioned space temperature = 75 degrees Fahrenheit
and the equipment room space = 95 degrees Fahrenheit). Using conditioned air,
the fan flow rate is:
CFM = 12795/(1.08 x 20) = 592 CFM (of conditioned 75 degree Fahrenheit air)
15. Don’t forget to put a transfer duct from the adjacent space into the electrical
room.
16. If there are motors in the electrical room, the cooling load for each motor can be
estimated using the following table:

MOTOR SIZE COOLING LOAD

0 to 2 HP 190 watts/HP
3 to 20 HP 110 watts/HP
25 to 200 HP 75 watts/HP
250 HP and larger 60 watts/HP

e.g. a 10 HP motor cooling load would be Q = 10 x 110 x 3.412 = 3753 BTU/hr

17. For computer servers, assume 15,000 BTU/hr per server. Computer server rooms
must be air-conditioned (with no heat). Exhaust fans cannot be used because the
room temperature must be maintained at about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.