Pages From Inter-Model, - Analytical, - and - e
Pages From Inter-Model, - Analytical, - and - e
Pages From Inter-Model, - Analytical, - and - e
INTRODUCTION
systems should provide good comfort and high efficiency at minimum cost. Oversized
HVAC systems compromise indoor comfort, reduce system efficiency, and increase the
initial investment and energy cost. (Khattar et al. 1987; Reddy and Claridge 1993; Neal
and O’Neal 1994; Proctor et al. 1995; James et al. 1997). Since load calculation is the
main factor affecting the selection of HVAC system capacities, it is essential to use a
reliable heating and cooling load calculation procedure to obtain high efficiency and good
quality both for the design and energy utilization of a residential HVAC system.
concepts: heat gain, cooling load, and heat extraction rate. Heat gain is the rate at which
energy enters into or is generated within a space. Heat gains can occur in various forms
such as solar radiation, heat conduction, internal heat gain, ventilation and infiltration air,
etc.
Cooling load is the rate at which energy must be removed from a space to
maintain the temperature and humidity at the design values. The space heat gain usually
does not equal the space cooling load. This is because the radiant heat gains must first be
absorbed by the surfaces enclosing the space and the objects in the space. Only when the
surfaces and objects receiving the radiant heat become warmer than the surrounding air,
1
will some of this energy be transferred to the air by convection and become a part of the
cooling load.
The heat extraction rate is the rate at which energy is removed from the space by
the cooling and dehumidifying equipment. It equals the space cooling load only if the
space conditions are kept constant by the operating equipment. Although the heat
extraction rate is usually not calculated for commercial building equipment selection,
Since the subject of this validation work is a newly developed residential load
calculation procedure based on the heat balance method, it is of interest to consider the
conditioning, building heating and cooling load calculations have gone through a
Conditioning Engineers) until 1992. The load calculation development history both in
presented for calculating cooling loads in the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals.
These are the transfer function method (TFM), the cooling load temperature
2
difference/solar cooling load/ cooling load factor (CLTD/SCL/CLF) method, and the
The three methods are directly or indirectly an approximation of the heat balance
method (to be discussed in more detail later). This is because calculating cooling load for
a space inevitably involves the calculation of a conductive, convective, and radiative heat
balance for each room surface and a convective heat balance for the room air. Exact
solutions of space cooling load by heat balance procedures requires a rigorous and
laborious calculation of the heat balance equations and is impractical for widespread or
routine use without the speed of modern digital computers (ASHRAE 1997). Due to the
limited computer capability available in earlier days, various simplified forms of the heat
balance procedure were developed for routine cooling load calculation purposes.
funded a research project entitled “Advanced Methods for Calculating Peak Cooling
Loads (RP-875)” in 1996. As the goal of this project, two new methods -- the Heat
Balance (HB) method (Pedersen, et al. 1997) and the Radiant Time Series (RTS) method
(Spitler, et al. 1997) -- have been developed. As mentioned before, the heat balance
concept is the foundation of the three simplified methods recommended by the 1997
programs in one form or another for many years. It was first implemented in NBSLD
(Kusuda 1967), and has also been applied to BLAST and TARP by Walton (1981, 1983).
The heat balance method is introduced for load calculation purposes because it
has the potential to be the most accurate method for calculating space heating and cooling
3
loads and may be the most understandable method to practicing engineers. It accounts for
all energy flows in their most basic, fundamental form and does not impose any
simplifications on the solution technique (Strand et al., 1999). It calculates space heating
or cooling load by solving the heat balance equations for each of the outside and inside
zone surfaces and for the zone air. Transient conduction heat transfer through building
heat exchanges at both external and internal surfaces are treated separately, with internal
radiant exchange calculated by the method of mean radiant temperature with balance
(Walton 1980). The heat balance method is also the first ASHRAE load calculation
Derived from the heat balance method, the radiant time series method is the new
effectively replacing the TFM, TETD/TA and CLTD/SCL/CLF methods (Spitler, et al.
1997). Sharing many heat transfer sub-models with the heat balance method, the radiant
time series method is most similar to the transfer function method and can be shown
Experimental validation of both the heat balance method and the radiant time
series method has been done in test cells at Oklahoma State University (Chantrasrisalai,
et al. 2003; Iu, et al. 2003). As a result of the development and validation work, the heat
balance method and the radiant time series method are presented in the 2001 ASHRAE
methods.
4
1.2 Residential Cooling Load Calculation Procedures
cooling load calculation is somewhat different because of some unique features inherent
in residential buildings.
and their constructions usually have less thermal mass (product of mass and specific
heat). Loads from the residential envelope usually compose a much greater fraction of the
total building load. The internal heat gains of residences, especially those from occupants
and lights, are relatively small. Current ASHRAE design procedure (ASHRAE 1997)
assumes that residences usually will be occupied and conditioned for 24 hours a day,
Residential load calculation usually must be done with a quick and simple
method. This limits the usage of whole building energy analysis programs (such as DOE-
usually allow the possibility of comprehensively describing the buildings. For example,
an energy analysis program may allow the user to specify fairly detailed information on
the cracks and openings of a building in order to compute the infiltration load. This level
5
of input can be overwhelming for the typical residential HVAC system designer. Instead,
In general, most single-family detached houses use constant air volume systems
with one return and a single central thermostat to control the temperatures of all rooms
fluctuate through out the house. It usually results in temperature swings of several
acceptable from the standpoint of the occupants’ comfort. These temperature swings also
result in inter-zone heat transfer and heat storage in building elements, which have the
effect of moderating peak loads. Inter-zone airflow driven by the air distribution system
interactions, including inter-zone heat transfer and inter-zone air flow, contribute to the
result that the peak or peak total load of the building is significantly less than the sum of
peak room loads. For individual units in multifamily buildings that do not have exposures
facing all directions, the load-moderating effect is not as significant as in the single-
family detached houses, and the loads are usually closer to the sum of the room peak
buildings, the capability to simultaneously model all zones to reflect this feature becomes
one of the primary requirements of the detailed reference tool used to evaluate a
6
Air supply register
Bedroom 2 Bedroom 3
Master zone
Bath room Utility room Great room
Garage
Figure 1-1 Schematic floor plan for a single family detached house with master-slave control
important issue in this case. If the zone containing the central thermostat is called the
“master” zone (Figure 1-1), and other zones are called “slave” zones accordingly, this
problem can then be briefly described as the master-slave zone control problem. Because
controlled at the design set point in all rooms. The master zone temperature can be well
controlled by the thermostat. The slave zone air temperatures will float depending on the
relation between the zone load and the output of the air conditioning system. The slave
zones may maintain reasonable temperatures if they have load profiles similar to that of
the master zone. Poor zone configurations can result if the slave zones have load profiles
significantly different than the master zone. This “master-slave” zone control problem is
All the features discussed above make the residential load calculation a unique
problem. The load calculation techniques developed for commercial buildings therefore
7
1.2.2 Prior Residential Cooling Load Calculation Procedures
Prior to the development of the Residential Heat Balance (RHB) load calculation
procedure, there were three common procedures in use for residential cooling load
based on research project RP-342 of ASHRAE (McQuiston et al. 1984). The second is
America (ACCA), including the widely used Manual J Seventh Edition (Rutkowski
1986) and Manual J Eighth Edition (Rutkowski 2002). Sharing an ASHRAE heritage,
Manual J is based on pre-RP-342 data, and in some cases, techniques that date from the
1950s. The third is the procedure stated in Standard CAN/CSA-F280-M90 (CSA 1990).
Though differing in many details, this family of methods uses the same general
approach to residential load calculation. For cooling load calculations, cooling load
load factors (GLF) are used since peak cooling conditions occur intermittently for
different rooms during several hours of the day, and buildings do not reach steady state.
difference so that the steady state formulation can be used for cooling load from opaque
surfaces. The GLF is the effective cooling load produced by a unit area of glazing. It is
defined and generated for the same purpose as the CLTD. The values of CLTD and GLF
vary with building construction, orientation, environmental climate, and residence type.
8
With CLTD and GLF pre-calculated, the cooling load for each opaque element is
computed as the CLTD multiplied by its U-factor and area. Cooling load from
fenestration gain is computed as the GLF multiplied by the glazing area. The cooling load
of the building fabric is then obtained by summing up cooling loads for opaque elements
the CLTD/SCL/CLF method in residential buildings. It is not only conceptually clear but
also simple to implement, in that each building element creates a load per unit area and
component loads” approach is an approximation considering the fact that the real load in
transfer, heat storage effects in the space and the possibility that some heat gains are
reflected or conducted back out again (as explained by Rees, et al. 1998) may cause this
fenestration gain profiles), all prior methods use single design condition in the cooling
load calculation. The single design-condition cooling load calculation has long been
problematic. To avoid over-predicting zone loads with the “sum up the component loads”
approach and account for heat gain diversity (heat gains generally occur at different times
over the day), semi-empirical adjustments such as multi-hour averaging were used to
derive the cooling load factors in prior methods. However, for multi-family units with
9
limited exposure (apartments), it is more appropriate to use the “sum up the component
loads” approach, as the dominant fenestration gains peak simultaneously in this case. To
deal with such configurations, prior methods have used alternative factors and/or
There is also concern about the accuracy in terms of the derivation of the
CLTD/GLF values. The CLTD/GLF values are derived based on the cooling loads
calculated by the transfer function method, which is already an approximation to the heat
balance method. (The Heat Transfer Multipliers (HTM) in ACCA Manual J are derived
from the ETD or CLTD values (which are based on the TFM method) recommended by
th
the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals (1985 for the 7 Edition, 1989 and 1997 for the
th
8 Edition), supplemented by information from other sources that the manual does not
list.) The approximate nature of the transfer function method and its associated errors are
therefore unavoidably brought into the results derived from this method. With the
development of the computer based heat balance load calculation procedure, there is no
apparent reason why this most fundamental method should not be used directly to derive
the CLTD/GLF values (if it is still needed) instead of the transfer function method.
nonexistent (ASHRAE RP-342, 1984). The widely used crack length methods require an
unreasonably large amount of input for a simplified method (Spitler 2000). Its accuracy
depends on the accuracy of the air leakage data for individual buildings and the
designer’s experience. The ASHRAE method uses the simple mathematical linear model
10
(Bahnfleth et al. 1957; Coblentz and Achenbach 1963) to estimate the infiltration rate,
which relates the air changes per hour as a linear function of the wind velocity and the
1984).
Another concern regards the validation of the prior procedures. Although the
and expensive (if empirical test is performed), the validity of a load calculation procedure
is very important. Unfortunately, none of the prior procedures has been thoroughly
evaluated and validated since their development. Systematic testing of the prior
questions exist concerning the accuracy of the resulting loads, the method of deriving the
CLTD and GLF values, the method of estimating some important component loads, and
the validity of the prior methods. A new heat balance based residential cooling load
attention must be paid to consider and model the inter-zone thermal interactions and
master-slave zone controls. It is also desirable that the new procedure be well tested and
the system design resulted from the new procedure be carefully evaluated.
11
1.2.3 Heat Balance Based Residential Cooling Load Calculation
Procedure
Cooling Load Calculation Procedures and Data” (Barnaby et. al. 2004). In this project, a
new residential loads calculation procedure - Residential Heat Balance (RHB) – was
diversity that are problematic in prior procedures, which use single design condition. The
For calculation of sensible cooling load, RHB applies the general approach of the
ASHRAE Heat Balance (HB) method. As the heat transfer equations are solved in their
most basic, fundamental form in the heat balance method, prior concerns about the “sum
up the component loads” approximation are eliminated. The concern regarding the
approximate accuracy of the transfer function method, which is used in the derivation of
the CLTD/GLF factors of the prior methods, is also eliminated. Considering the unique
features of residential load calculation, RHB includes algorithms for calculating sensible
cooling loads with temperature swing and addresses the master-slave zone control
problem.
12
As part of 1199-RP, the ResHB computer program was developed as the
reference implementation of the RHB procedure. The ResHB source code is derived from
the ASHRAE Loads Toolkit (Pedersen et. al. 2001). An additional utility program,
RHBGen, was also developed to automatically generate and run parametrically varied
The RHB development also involved review, refinement, and extension of the
ASHRAE Loads Toolkit models. Component models and assumptions used for RHB are
considered appropriate for residential application. For example, the AIM-2 infiltration
model was selected for RHB (Walker and Wilson 1990, 1998, and “enhanced model” in
buildings. Details of the component models and assumptions of RHB are documented in
the project final report (Barnaby et. al. 2004) and are summarized in the literature review
One concern left and deserving detailed investigation is the validity of RHB. As a
newly developed cooling load calculation procedure, no validation has been conducted
prior to the work described in this dissertation. Independent and objective assessment of
RHB is clearly necessary in view of the important effect it will have on the residential
Theoretically, RHB includes the most fundamental heat balance method, which
potentially is the most accurate method. However, individual heat transfer mechanisms
13
temperature swing and master-slave zone control need to be checked. Cooling loads
calculated by ResHB and hence the system capacity and design need to be evaluated.
a word, a thorough validation of RHB is highly desirable and has not been done yet.
1.3 Objective
evaluation of the new heat balance based residential cooling load calculation procedure -
RHB. Three types of testing methods will be applied to validate RHB: inter-model
reference tool to evaluate RHB. A parametric analysis tool will be developed for
Cooling loads calculated by ResHB will be compared to that calculated by the reference
tool. System designs resulting from ResHB will also be evaluated by detailed simulations
with the reference tool. Inter-model validation of RHB is discussed in detail in Chapter 4.
test suite that the author has previously developed together with other colleagues in
Oklahoma State University: the Analytical Verification Test Suite for Whole Building
Energy Simulation Programs -- Building Fabric (ASHRAE 1052-RP, Spitler, et al. 2001).
The test suite consists of sixteen individual tests, each with the objective to test the ability
including convection, conduction, solar radiation, long wave radiation and infiltration.
14
Tests appropriate for application to RHB will be done and analysis and diagnosis will be
made based on the test results. Analytical verification of RHB is presented in Chapter 5.
Wayne, IN. ResHB input files will be created for the house and ResHB-calculated
cooling loads and room temperatures will be compared to measured data. Experimental
15