Chapter 5

COOLING LOAD
Cooling load is the total heat required to be removed from an enclosed space in
order to bring it to the desired temperature & humidity conditions by the air
conditioning/refrigerating equipment.
Cooling Load = Total Heat Removed = Sensible Heat Removed + Latent Heat Removed

Need/Purpose of Cooling Load Estimation:

Cooling Load estimation is necessary to determine the size or capacity of air
conditioning & refrigerating equipment required to maintain desired internal
conditions.

Internal & External Sources of Cooling Load:

Internal
Sources
of
Cooling
Load
External
Sources of
Cooling Load

Sources of Cooling Load: Cooling load for a house, office, restaurant, theatre,
lab, etc. can be classified into:
 SENSIBLE HEAT GAIN: MSBTE S-23, 22,19, 18, 17, 15, W-23, 22, 18, 16, 15
Any heat source that increases the temperature (DBT) of air in the
conditioned space causes sensible heat gain.

Types/Sources of Sensible Heat Load:

1. People/Occupant Load
2. Air Infiltration Load
3. Equipment/Appliance/Lighting Load
4. Wall Heat (Conductive) Load
5. Solar Heat Load
6. Ventilation Load
7. Product Load
8. Process Load
9. Duct Heat Gain (for Central AC)
  LATENT HEAT GAIN: MSBTE S-23, 22,19, 18, 17, 15, W-23, 22, 18, 16, 15
Any source that increases the water vapor or moisture to air in the
conditioned space causes latent heat gain as this moisture need to be
condensed by rejecting latent heat.

Types/Sources of Latent Heat Load:

1. People/Occupant Load
2. Air Infiltration Load
3. Process Load
4. Product Load
5. Ventilation Load

PEOPLE/OCCUPANT LOAD:
The human body in a conditioned space is a source of both sensible and latent heat loads.
The heat gain from occupants is based on:
a) Average number of people expected to be present in conditioned space
b) Nature of Activity of occupants in conditioned space
c) Age of occupants
d) Gender of occupants
e) Body structure, eating habits & metabolism of occupants

On an average human body liberates heat equal to heat liberated by a 200 W bulb.
When asleep, human body liberates heat equal to heat liberated by 60 W bulb.

 The occupants add LATENT HEAT in the form of water vapor added due to body sweat &
respiration.
 The occupants add SENSIBLE HEAT due to increase in body temperature above the conditioned
space temperature.

CALCULATION OF PEOPLE/OCCUPANT LOAD:

SENSIBLE HEAT added due to the occupants is obtained as
Q Sensible = N x SHG x CLF
Where N = No of people/occupants
SHG = Sensible Heat Gain/occupant (Activity dependent) CLF = Cooling load Factor = 1 (if not given)

LATENT HEAT added due to the occupants is obtained as

Q Latent = N x LHG x CLF
Where N = No of people/occupants
SHF = Latent Heat Gain/occupant (Activity dependent)
CLF = Cooling load Factor = 1 (if not given)

Total People/Occupant Load = Q Sensible + Q Latent

AIR INFILTRATION LOAD:

Outside air entering a conditioned space is a source of both sensible and latent heat loads.
SENSIBLE HEAT is added as the outside air temperature is above the conditioned space temperature.
LATENT HEAT is added as when the outside air has more moisture compared to inside air.
SOURCES: The infiltration air is the air that enters a conditioned space from outside through
a) Window/door cracks,
b) Window/door openings &
c) Partition walls.

CAUSES: Air infiltration is caused due to

a) Pressure & density difference between outside & conditioned space air.
b) Wind Velocity

CALCULATION OF AIR INFILTRATION LOAD: Air infiltrating load can be calculated by following
methods:
 Crack Length Method: Used where high accuracy is required.
 Air Change Method: This is commonly adopted in most cases. According to this method,

Amount of infiltrated air = L x W x H x Ac m3/min

60

Where L = Room length in m

W = Room width in m
H = Room height in m
Ac = Air changes/hour
Ac is determined based on type of room or building from standard charts.

Door Air Infiltration through door openings to outside considering the frequency of door openings is
calculated separately and added to air infiltration through windows, walls & cracks.

WALL HEAT (CONDUCTION) LOAD:

The heat gain through a building structure such as walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, etc. due to
temperature difference between the outside and inside air constitute a major source of SENSIBLE HEAT
LOAD.

This load can be calculated as Q = UA(Th -Tc)

Where
U = Overall heat transfer coefficient
U= 1 .
1/h1+L/K+1/h2
h1 & h2 = Convective heat transfer coefficients
K = Thermal conductivity of wall material
L = Thickness of wall
Th & Tc = Outside & Inside air temperature
A = Wall area

SOLAR HEAT LOAD:

The solar heat gain into the conditioned space constitute a major source of SENSIBLE HEAT LOAD.
It consists of:
 Direct Solar Heat transmitted through glass windows, doors,
 Indirect Solar Heat gained by walls, roofs, windows, etc. exposed to solar radiations. These surfaces
radiate heat to the room after getting heated up.
Factors affecting solar heat gain:
1) Altitude angle of sun
2) Clearness of sky
3) Position of surface
4) Nature of surface
5) Latitude, month, etc.

Direct Solar heat load may be calculated as

Q (Solar) = A x SC x SCL
Where A = Area
SC = Shading Coefficient (from Manufacturer’s product data)
SCL = Solar Cooling load Factor (from ASHRAE Handbook)

APPLIANCE/LIGHTING LOAD:

Appliance Load: The appliances (Hair Dryer, Grill, Stove, etc.) frequently used in conditioned space may
be electrical, gas fired, oil fired or steam heated. This results in addition of SENSIBLE HEAT LOAD and
hence should be considered in cooling load estimation.

Lighting Load: The SENSIBLE HEAT gained from electric lighting is calculated as

Q = Total Wattage X Use Factor X Allowance Factor

Where Use Factor = 1 (for residential & commercial applications)

Use Factor < 0.5 (for industrial applications)
Allowance Factor = 1.2 for fluorescent lights due to ballast heat
Allowance Factor = 1 for incandescent & other lights (no ballast)

POWER EQUIPMENT LOAD:

The power equipments such as fan, blowers, motors, etc. add SENSIBLE HEAT to the conditioned space.
The power consumed is partially converted into heat thereby adding sensible heat to conditioned space.
The sensible heat added by these equipments is given by
Q = Power Rating of Equipment in kW x Load Factor
Equipment Efficiency

PRODUCT LOAD:
The products brought into an air conditioned space like COLD STORAGE may add SENSIBLE HEAT &
LATENT HEAT (due to addition of excess moisture or due to freezing requirement of products as well as
PRODUCT REACTION OR RESPIRATION HEAT).
Sensible Heat Added SH = m Cp ΔT
tc
Where m = Mass of product
Cp = Specific Heat of product
ΔT = Temperature difference initial & final storage temperature
tc = Cooling time
 Latent Heat Added LH = m hfg
tf
Where m = Mass of product
hfg = Latent Heat/kg of product
tf = Freezing time
Product reaction or respiration heat: During maturing of certain food items, respiration heat is evolved
which is obtained as
QR = m x Evolution of heat per kg of product per hour

VENTILATION LOAD:
The ventilation or outside air brought into conditioned space to maintain correct oxygen level and minimize
odor, fumes, etc. may add SENSIBLE HEAT as well as LATENT HEAT (due to addition of excess
moisture).

The total ventilation load is calculated by determining the following:

i. Average number of occupants in the conditioned space.
ii. Nature of activity in the conditioned space.
iii. Amount of air infiltration into the conditioned space
iv. Design of the conditioned space Process Load:

PROCESS LOAD:
It is the heat added due to any process taking place in conditioned space like cooking, painting, etc. Process
Load may be in the form of SENSIBLE HEAT as well as LATENT HEAT (due to addition of excess
moisture).

Process load is calculated by adding the sensible & latent heat added per hour. It is important for
INDUSTRIAL PROCESS AIR CONDITIONING.

THERMAL (HEAT) EXCHANGE OF HUMAN BODY WITH ENVIRONMENT: MSBTE S-21, 18, W-17, 15
The human body is a machine consuming food and producing work. It cannot tolerate wide variation in the
environmental temperature & humidity. The human body maintains its thermal equilibrium with the
surroundings by automatically using one or more of the three modes of heat transfer viz. EVAPORATION,
CONVECTION & RADIATION.

Human body feels comfortable when heat produced by BODY

METABOLISM (QM) is equal to the HEAT DISSIPATED to the
surroundings and the HEAT STORED (QS) in the body
i.e. QM – W = QE ± QC ± QR ± QS
Where
QE = Heat lost by evaporation from body
QC = Heat lost or gained by convection
QR = Heat lost or gained by radiation

The METABOLIC HEAT produced by body depends on:

o 1. Type & rate of food consumed (Calorie Intake).
o 2. Nature of human activity performed.
o 3. Body structure & build.
The stored energy (QS) may become positive or negative depending upon the metabolism
rate and heat dissipation or addition rate, The human body feels cold when stored energy
(QS) becomes negative as heat is dissipated by the body and body temperature falls and vice versa
when stored energy is positive.
The heat stored in the body has minimum & maximum limits which when exceeded may cause illness or
death. Normal body temperature is 37 oC. It is dangerous if body temperature falls below 36.5 oC or rises
above 40.5 oC. The body VISCOMETER CONTROL MECHANISM reduces blood supply to the outer
tissues when temperature falls and increases blood supply when temperature rises above normal temperature.

The human body feels comfortable when the stored heat in the body is zero and the body temperature doesn’t
change and following conditions are maintained:
a. TEMPERATURE in the range 23 to 25 oC.
b. HUMIDITY ranging from 55-60% (for Summer) & 40-45% (for Winter).
c. Pure, odorless & clean air.
d. Proper air circulation & distribution.
d. Noiseless atmosphere.

Comfort Condition:
'Human comfort is that condition of mind, which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment’
Human comfort depends on physiological and psychological conditions of human beings. Human comfort
is provided by human-friendly environment by controlling the properties of air and its circulation.

HUMAN OR THERMAL COMFORT