HVAC Sizing

This 25-minute course offers a comprehensive understanding of 'HVAC Design Days and System Sizing,' a critical methodology for determining maximum heating and cooling demands under extreme weather conditions. Through detailed technical instruction using EnergyPlus simulation technology, participants will learn to configure, execute, and interpret design day analyses that ensure HVAC systems are adequately sized for occupant comfort during the most challenging environmental conditions.

Key Course Content

This course establishes the fundamental concept of design days as idealised extreme weather conditions used to determine building maximum heating and cooling demands, helping you understand the critical importance of accurate HVAC sizing for comfort maintenance during worst-case scenarios. You'll explore the distinction between automated design day selection from EPW climate files versus manual configuration for specific project requirements, and learn how the comprehensive simulation framework delivers temperature, humidity, zone loads, and peak demand analysis across summer and winter design conditions for effective system sizing decisions.

You'll master sophisticated design day setup methodologies including automated summer and winter design day nomination using climate file extremes for streamlined analysis workflows, and manual design day configuration enabling precise control over design month, day selection, dry bulb temperatures, daily temperature ranges, and humidity conditions for specialised project requirements. The course teaches you sophisticated results interpretation including peak cooling and heating load analysis presented in both watts per square metre and kilowatt formats, zone-by-zone performance assessment for identifying critical spaces requiring enhanced HVAC capacity, and detailed temporal analysis revealing load patterns across 24-hour design day periods. You'll also learn advanced visualisation techniques for solar load analysis, internal heat gain assessment, and understanding the critical relationship between building orientation and peak demand timing.

The course extensively covers detailed zone-by-zone performance evaluation including air temperature versus operative temperature analysis revealing HVAC control effectiveness, relative humidity distribution patterns, and carbon dioxide concentration analysis indicating ventilation adequacy during peak occupancy. You'll gain comprehensive experience with HVAC system evaluation including air terminal performance analysis for VAV systems, heat recovery system integration assessment, VRF system configuration under extreme conditions, and component sizing validation across air handling units and distribution systems. Advanced topics include unmet hours analysis identifying system capacity inadequacies, carbon dioxide exceedance analysis revealing ventilation system performance gaps, comprehensive system comparison workflows, and professional data extraction techniques for integration into design documentation whilst emphasising systematic validation of HVAC sizing decisions through iterative system optimisation based on design day performance analysis.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, participants will be thoroughly equipped to execute comprehensive design day analyses, interpret complex HVAC performance results accurately, and make informed system sizing decisions that ensure occupant comfort and indoor air quality under extreme environmental conditions using Better Building's advanced simulation capabilities.

Course Completion

A Certificate of Completion will be awarded upon achieving an 80% pass mark on the final quiz.

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