Topic 2: Building Heat Balance & Heat Gains

Session Objectives
• To introduce the heat balance/nodal network method (zones)

• To explore heat gains – non-negligible heat input in heat

balance method, essential to predict ‘overheating’

CIVE3820 1
Heating and cooling load
• The amount of heating and cooling required to maintain design conditions
within a space (rooms or buildings).
• For peak heating loads during cold winter, contribution of solar radiation is
often neglected. Steady-state heat transfer is adequate for the estimation
of the peak heating load. Possible exceptions include buildings with
significant thermal storage.
• In the determination of peak cooling load, transient analysis must be used.
• Heat gains in an air-conditioned space are often instantaneous and varied;
• Cooling load generally differs from heat gains, because the radiation from the
internal surfaces and solar radiation through openings DO NOT heat the inside
air directly.
• The heat gains are often stored in building fabric and furniture. Structures
store energy and subsequently release it to the surrounding air.

2
2.1 Space cooling load, and heat balance method
• Often there is a reduction of peak cooling load due to thermal lag, because
of the storage effect of thermal mass (important in sizing cooling
equipment), also a shift in variation of the indoor temperature in time;
• The areas under the heat gain and actual cooling load curves, however, are
approximately the same.
• The cooling (and dehumidifying) equipment could be oversized, if the
thermal lag is not factored in.

Instantaneous heat gain and actual cooling load for

light, medium, and heavy weight construction

3
Heat balance method

• Equations for heat transfer with instantaneous heat gains are nonlinear
and the boundary conditions are time-dependent;

• Large number of these equations must be solved numerically, and the

overall solution framework is known as heat balance method.

• The heat balance equations are solved in combination with the transient
heat transfer equations through building fabric and external weather
data.

• Calculating cooling load can be difficult and time consuming.

4
Heat balances

Energy is always conserved. In thermal models, the building is considered an

enclosed envelope with a number of energy sources and sinks. The thermal
balance is the net amount of all heat losses and gains. The energy efficiency of
a building is defined through its thermal balance.

𝑸𝒊 - Internal heat gain

𝑸𝒔 - Solar heat gain
𝑸𝒔
𝑸𝑭 - Heat loss through building fabric (+, uk)
𝑸𝑭
𝑸𝑽 - Heat loss through ventilation
𝑸𝒊
𝑸𝑭
Heat sink (losses): 𝑸𝑭 + 𝑸𝑽 = 𝑸𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒌
𝑸𝑽 Heat source (gains): 𝑸𝒊 + 𝑸𝒔 = 𝑸𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆
(Eq. 1)
𝑸𝑭 Heat/thermal balance exists when:
𝑸𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒌= 𝑸𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 (Eq. 2)
https://www.educate-sustainability.eu/kb/content/thermal-balance-buildings 5
 If 𝑸𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒌 < 𝑸𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 the indoor air temperature is rising
If 𝑸𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒌 > 𝑸𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 the building is cooling down

If the building is cooling down, the net heat energy must be provided by a
heating system (i.e. 𝑄𝑝 - Heat input) , to compensate the heat losses to
maintain a comfort environment.

In real buildings heat flows are

balanced at both a microscopic and
𝑸𝒔 macroscopic level, or component and
𝑸𝑭 system level. We are concerned with
𝑸𝒊 macroscopic heat transfer processes.
𝑸𝑭
A boundary is drawn around the
𝑸𝑽
whole building to see how heat is
balanced overall.
𝑸𝑭

https://www.educate-sustainability.eu/kb/content/thermal-balance-buildings 6
We can also define boundaries within the building thermal system where
we can examine how heat flows are balanced. This makes the modelling
and computing task more tractable.

The building heat balance can be analysed as four connected heat balance
problems
1. Outside surfaces of each fabric element
2. Across or through each fabric element
3. Inside surfaces of each fabric element
4. Air of each room (or zone)

7
 ABSORBED CONVECTION LW
INCIDENT TO OUTSIDE RADIATION
SOLAR AIR

OUTSIDE FACE
HEATBALANCE

THROUGH THE
WALL CONDUCTION

SW RADIATION INSIDE FACE LW RADIATION

FROM LIGHTS FROM INTERNAL
HEATBALANCE SOURCES

LW RADIATION
TRANSMITTED EXCHANGE WITH
SOLAR CONVECTION OTHER
TO ZONE SURFACES
AIR

INFILTRATION AIR HEAT CONVECTION

VENTILATION
BALANCE FROM INTERNAL
EXHAUSTAIR
SOURCES

HVAC SYSTEM
AIR 8
1. Outside Surface Heat Balance

Convection to outside air (Qco)

Long wave radiation (QoLW)
Absorbed solar heat gain (QSOL)
Conduction into the wall (Qcond.out)

Heat balance equation for each outside surface:

QSOL + QoLW + Qco - Qcond.out =0 (Eq. 3)

The three basic means of heat transfer are

applicable.

9
2. Inside Surface Heat Balance

Convection to the room air (Qci)

Radiant exchange with other surfaces (QiLW)
Radiant fluxes from internal sources (Qir)
Lights (QSW)
Redistributed fluxes transmitted through glazing (QSi)
Conduction out of the wall (Qcond.in)

Heat balance equation for each inside surface:

QSi + Qir + QSW + QiLW - Qci + Qcond.in =0 (Eq. 4)

10
3. Conduction Heat Transfer

Conduction out of the wall (Qcond.in)

? Conduction into the wall (Qcond.out)

- In general, these two are not equal; (conduction is a dynamic process with a
relatively long time-scale).

- Heat can be stored in (and discharged from) the layers of the fabric (the thermal
response due to thermal mass effect)

- In steady state conditions, when the fabric surface temperatures are constant and
the temperature distribution in the wall becomes stable, these two fluxes can be
assumed to be equal;

- If the fabric is too thin (e.g., light weight or insulation layer) to be able to store any
significant amount of heat, these two fluxes can also be assumed to be equal.

11
4. Air Heat Balance

All the (m in total) internal zone surfaces and

ventilation air being a closed system. All the heat
flows are in balance at any given time.

Convection from the zone surfaces (Qci)

Internal convective loads (Qia)
Sensible infiltration loads (Qinf)
Air load (e.g. HVAC) (QPa)

Heat balance equation for the room air:

𝑚
𝑑𝑇
𝜌𝑉𝑐𝑃 = ෍ 𝑄𝑐,𝑖 + 𝑄𝑖𝑎 + 𝑄𝑖𝑛𝑓 + 𝑄𝑃𝑎 (Eq. 5)
𝑑𝑡
𝑗=1

𝜌, c𝑃 and 𝑉 are the density, specific heat and

volume of air in the rooms, respectively

12
4. Air Heat Balance

Heat balance equation for the room air:

𝑚
𝑑𝑇
𝜌𝑉𝑐𝑃 = ෍ 𝑄𝑐,𝑖 + 𝑄𝑖𝑎 + 𝑄𝑖𝑛𝑓 + 𝑄𝑃𝑎
𝑑𝑡
𝑗=1

Assume the air conditioning system maintains

constant air temperature!

The rate of temperature change (dT/dt) can be set

to zero.
𝒎

𝟎 = ෍ 𝑸𝒄,𝒊 + 𝑸𝒊𝒂 + 𝑸𝒊𝒏𝒇 + 𝑸𝑷𝒂 (Eq. 5a)

𝒋=𝟏

13
Overall Heat Balance

Outside surface heat balance equation QSOL + QoLW + Qco - Qcond.out =0 (Eq. 3)

Inside surface heat balance equation QSi + Qir + QSW + QiLW - Qci + Qcond.in =0 (Eq. 4)

𝒎
𝒅𝑻
Air heat balance equation 𝝆𝑽𝒄𝑷 = ෍ 𝑸𝒄,𝒊 + 𝑸𝒊𝒂 + 𝑸𝒊𝒏𝒇 + 𝑸𝑷𝒂 (Eq. 5)
𝒅𝒕
𝒋=𝟏

14
 2.2 Heat gains – solar heat gain
1. (External) Solar heat gains;
2. Structural/fabric heat gains;
3. Internal heat gains.

1. (External) Solar heat gains;

Solar gains are transmitted to internal environment through glazing by solar radiation.
The mean solar heat gain to the internal environment is given by:

ഥ𝒔𝒆 = ഥ
∅ 𝑺𝒆 ത𝑰𝑻 𝑨𝒈 (Eq. 6)

ഥ
𝑺𝒆 : the mean solar heat gain factor/coefficient;
ത𝑰𝑻 : the mean total solar irradiance (𝑊/𝑚2 );

𝑨𝒈 : the area of glazing (𝑚2 );

* CIBSE Guide A, section 5.10.5.1 15

 Solar radiation

A Sankey diagram

Ultraviolet 310-380 nm
https://glassed.vitroglazings.com/topics/how-low-e-glass-works
Visible light about 380-780 nm.
Infrared light (or heat energy) at 780 nm and above

16
Solar gain factors for generic glazing/blinding
combinations

CIBSE Guide A. Table 5.20, Chapter 5

17
 Structural heat gain
2. The mean structural heat gains due to heat transmission through the building fabric is
calculated by summing the mean gains through the external opaque and glazed surfaces:

ഥ𝐟 = ෍ 𝑨𝑼 𝑻
∅ ഥ𝒆𝒐 (Eq. 7)

ഥ𝐟 : The mean fabric heat gain (W);

∅
𝑨: Surface area;
𝑼: U-value of the fabric surface;
ഥ𝒆𝒐 : The mean outside environmental temperature, or sol-air
𝑻
temperature. For glazing, the mean outside air temperature 𝑻 ഥ𝒂𝒐
is used, because the effect of solar radiation is already included
in the solar heat gains.

* CIBSE Guide A section 2.8.4.

18
Structural heat gain

ഥ𝒆𝒐 : The mean outside environmental temperature, or sol-air

𝑻
temperature.

It is a hypothetical temperature that determines the rate of heat flow into an

external surface, taking into account convection from the surrounding air,
shortwave (SW) solar radiation and radiative (LW) exchange to the
surrounding (other buildings, ground and sky)

Solar energy absorbed at the outside surfaces of walls and roofs is partly
transmitted to the interior of the building. The absorbed radiation has the
same effect as a rise in the outside temperature and the calculation of energy
gain is facilitated by the concept of ‘sol-air temperature’.

This is defined as an outside temperature that, in the absence of solar

radiation, would give the same temperature distribution and rate of energy
transfer through the wall or roof as exists with the actual outside air
temperature and incident solar radiation.
19
Internal heat gains
3. The internal heat gain is the sensible and latent heat emitted from occupants,
lighting and machines/appliances etc. within the space.

Sensible heat gains will be both convective and radiant in nature; Latent gains
are mainly due to the occupants.

σ(∅𝐢𝒏 𝒕𝐢𝒏 )
ഥ𝐜 =
∅ (Eq. 8)
𝟐𝟒
ഥ𝐜 : The mean internal heat gain (W);
∅
∅𝐢𝒏 : The instantaneous heat gain from internal heat source n (W);
𝒕𝐢𝒏 : The duration of internal heat source n (h);

20
 Internal heat gains

Internal heat gain is removed by air conditioning or ventilation, and/or results in an

increase in the temperature and humidity within the space.

Typical internal heat gain sources:

• Bodies (human and animal);
• Lighting;
• Computers and office equipment;
• Electric motors;
• Kitchen appliances and other domestic equipment.

Estimate internal heat gains for a building using Benchmark values:

* CIBSE Guide A. (Table 6.1 and 6.2)

21
 Internal heat gains
No published data of internal heat gains for other types of buildings?

Estimate the internal heat gain from each source:

• Bodies (human and animal);

Source: ASHRAE Handbook: Fundamentals (2001).

22
Internal heat gains
No published data of internal heat gains for other types of buildings?

Estimate the internal heat gain from each source:

• Lighting;

- All electrical energy used for lighting is ultimately released as heat;

- The energy is emitted by means of conduction, convection or radiation, which
percentage depends on lamp type, the position and the manner in which the
luminaire is mounted;

▪ Where the lamp is suspended from the ceiling or wall-mounted, all the heat input
(can be obtained from the manufacturer’s data) appears as an internal heat gain.

▪ For surface-mounted lamp below a false ceiling, some of the total heat input will
results in a heat gain to the ceiling void.

23
 Internal heat gains
No published data of internal heat gains for other types of buildings?

Estimate the internal heat gain from each source:

• Personal computers (PC) and office equipment;

• see CIBSE for the heat gains from printers and other office equipment.

Source: CIBSE Guide A. 24

Internal heat gains
No published data of internal heat gains for other types of buildings?

Estimate the internal heat gain from each source:

• Electric motors; (e.g., machinery in a workshop; escalator, lift, etc.)

• Kitchen appliances and other domestic equipment.

(estimated by 15 to 45% percentage of the actual energy consumption of the
appliance with hoods, and 50% without hoods)

- see CIBSE for tables/appendix of measured data

25
Heat gains – detecting overheating in CIBSE
Swing (deviation), mean-to-peak, in heat gains

• Heat gains vary over the time;

• Variations in (a) heat gains due to solar radiation, (b) outside air temperature and
(c) internal heat gains must be determined separately and summed to obtain the
total swing in heat gains.

CIBSE method of determining the peak inside environmental temperature:

1. Mean heat gains from all sources;

2. Mean internal space temperature;
3. Swing, from mean-to-peak, in heat gains from all sources;
4. Swing, from mean-to-peak, in the internal space temperature

• Calculate the above items in turn;

• Obtain the peak internal space temperature from steps 2 and 4.

26
 Heat gains – detecting overheating in CIBSE
First two steps of CIBSE method :

1. Mean heat gains from all sources (total gain to environment node):

ഥ𝒕𝒆 = ∅
∅ ഥ𝒔𝒆 + ∅
ഥ𝒇 + ∅
ഥ𝒄 (Eq. 9)

Solar gains Structural heat gains Internal heat gains

2. Mean internal space temperature:

ഥ 𝒕𝒆 + ∅
∅ ഥ 𝒕𝒂
ഥ𝒊 =
𝑻 (Eq. 10)
𝑪𝒗 + σ(𝑨𝑼)

For clear glass:

ഥ𝒕𝒂 : total gain to the air node
∅
ഥ𝒕𝒂 = 𝑪𝒗 𝑻
∅ ഥ𝒂𝒐
𝑪𝒗 = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟑𝑵𝑽: ventilation coefficient ഥ𝒂𝒐 : mean outside air temperature
𝑻

27
Worked example 5

A single office module is situated on an intermediate floor, facing south, in a building

located in London. Assume a mean-to-peak swing/deviation of 10% for the internal
operative temperature. Estimate the internal peak operative temperature in August.

Data

28
 A single office module is situated on an intermediate floor, facing south, in a building
located in London. Assume a mean-to-peak deviation of 10% for the internal operative
temperature. Estimate the internal peak operative temperature in August.

Data (from CIBSE guide A):

ഥ𝒆𝒐 = 𝟐𝟔. 𝟗℃
Mean outside environmental temperature 𝑻

ഥ𝒂𝒐 = 𝟏𝟗. 𝟖℃
Mean outside air temperature 𝑻

Mean solar gain factor for double glazing clear glass ഥ

𝑺𝒆 = 𝟎. 𝟔𝟕

Mean solar irradiance for south facing surfaces 𝑰ത𝒆 = 𝟏𝟕𝟕 𝑾Τ𝒎𝟐

Constant air change rate for office 𝑵 = 𝟑 𝑨𝑪𝑯

29
Step 1 : Mean heat gains from all sources
ഥ𝒕𝒆 = ∅
∅ ഥ𝒔𝒆 + ∅
ഥ𝒇 + ∅
ഥ𝒄

Solar gains ഥ𝑠𝑒 = 𝑆𝑒ҧ 𝐼𝑇ҧ 𝐴𝑔 = 0.67 × 177 × 7 = 830.13𝑊

∅

Structural heat gains ഥf = ෍(𝐴𝑈)𝑇ത𝑒𝑜

∅

= 3.08 × 0.49 × 26.9 + 7 × 2.94 × 19.8

= 448.08 𝑊

σ(∅i𝑛 𝑡i𝑛 ) 792 + 1280 + 1584

Internal heat gains ഥc =
∅ = = 152.33 𝑊
24 24

ഥ𝑡𝑒 = ∅
∅ ഥ𝑠𝑒 + ∅
ഥ𝑓 + ∅
ഥ𝑐 = 1430.54 𝑊

30
Step 2 : Mean internal space temperature
ഥ 𝑡𝑒 + ∅
∅ ഥ 𝑡𝑎
𝑇ത𝑖 =
𝐶𝑣 + σ(𝐴𝑈)

ഥ 𝑡𝑎 = 𝐶𝑣 𝑇ത𝑎𝑜 = 0.33 × 3 × 55.44 × 19.8 = 1086.73 𝑊

∅

ഥ 𝑡𝑒 = 1430.54 𝑊
∅

ഥ 𝑡𝑒 + ∅
∅ ഥ 𝑡𝑎 1430.5 + 1086.7
ത
𝑇𝑖 = = = 32.70 ℃
𝐶𝑣 + σ(𝐴𝑈) 0.33 × 3 × 55.44 + 22.1

Peak internal space temperature

𝑇ത𝑖,𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 = 𝑇ത𝑖 × 1 + 10% = 35.97 ℃ (risk of overheating)

31
• Calculating the swing internal space temperature is more complicated. (out of
the scope of this module)

• For complex situations (e.g. where there is shading), manual calculations are
unlikely to be practicable. The shaded area for each hour of the day is difficult
to determine (e.g. IES Suncast).

• Example demonstrated for just a single room, not applicable for large size
buildings. (computer programs/software is needed)

32
Summary
• Had an introduction to heat balance method /nodal network method;
developing heat balance equations for external surface, internal surface
and indoor air; three/four heat balance equations made total heat
balance;

• Estimation of heat gains for use in heat balance method, and to predict
‘overheating’

33
34