Cooling Load/Heat Load Calculations
Engineer stamped
Cooling and heating load calculations at any scale for industrial, commercial and multi-family projects, worked to the code adopted in the project's jurisdiction.
Load calculations are the foundation of every mechanical design. Get them wrong and the equipment is wrong, the ductwork is wrong, and the energy model built on top of them is wrong. We produce stamped load calculations.
What you get
- Room-by-room cooling and heating loads
- Ventilation rates to the governing code for the jurisdiction
- Air Balance Report
- A stamped document
Methodology
The building code governs. The first authority on any project is the state or local building code adopted in that jurisdiction. It sets the design conditions, the ventilation requirements and which standards apply. Where it references an ASHRAE standard, we work to the edition the code references, not the newest one published.
Load calculations. Commercial load calculations follow ASHRAE methods.
Ventilation. Rates follow whatever the adopted code requires. That is commonly ASHRAE Standard 62.1, but not always. Some jurisdictions and occupancies point to a different standard, and specialty work can be governed by something else entirely. The ventilation rate for a utility control enclosure, for instance, is set by the 1% hydrogen concentration limit (25% of hydrogen's lower flammable limit; IEEE 484 and IFC §1207.6.1.1, formerly §608), not by an occupancy table.
Inputs. Envelope assemblies, glazing, occupancy, lighting and equipment loads come off the drawings and the project's code, not from defaults. Where an assumption is unavoidable, it is stated on the output so the reviewer can see exactly what the number rests on.
Project types
Industrial, commercial and multi-family: multi-family buildings, retail, office space, medical, dental and veterinary clinics and outpatient surgery, restaurants, and substation control buildings and utility enclosures. Any size project.
Turnaround
Most load calculations get a preliminary fee instantly and are returned within 5 to 10 business days of scope confirmation, with rush turnarounds available when schedules require them. Larger multi-building projects are quoted individually.
Representative projects
Specialty Utility · Millwood, West Virginia
Substation Control Building / Utility Control Enclosure
A control enclosure with little margin on either side: too little ventilation and hydrogen accumulates off the battery bank, too much and the room will not hold temperature. Ventilation was derived from the manufacturer-published gassing rates for the batteries actually specified and sized to the one percent hydrogen limit in IEEE 484 and the International Fire Code, with cooling loads run to ASHRAE methods. Stamped and back in five business days.
- Method
- ASHRAE
- Scope
- Cooling + heating load calc
- Jurisdiction
- West Virginia
Multifamily · Lakewood Ranch, Florida
30-Unit Condominium Using Split System Heat Pumps
Thirty units on split-system heat pumps, which means equipment is selected per unit and a tonnage rounded up once is rounded up thirty times. Loads were run room by room for each unit type, with its own orientation, glazing and party-wall conditions, rather than one average for the whole building.
- Scope
- Room-by-room
- Units
- 30
- Equipment
- Split-system heat pumps
FAQs
How long does a load calculation take?
Most load calculations are returned within 5 to 10 business days of scope confirmation. Rush turnarounds are available when the schedule requires one. Larger multi-building projects are quoted individually.
What do you need from me to start?
The drawings, the project type, the square footage and the turnaround you need. Envelope assemblies, glazing, occupancy, lighting and equipment loads are taken from the drawings and the project's code. If something is missing, we send a list of what is still needed. See an example of a clear response.
Which states can you stamp in?
Adicot holds active professional engineer licensure in 12 states: Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia and Wyoming. Our principal is an NCEES Model Law Engineer, a designation that supports licensure applications in other U.S. jurisdictions, so ask us if your project is somewhere else.
How much does it cost?
Most projects are priced through the online quote tool: enter the project type and square footage, and the fee appears on screen. That figure is preliminary. The final fee is confirmed in writing after we review your documents and scope.
Which method and code do you work to?
The building code adopted in the project's jurisdiction governs. It sets the design conditions, the ventilation requirements and which standards apply. Commercial load calculations follow ASHRAE methods, and where the code references an ASHRAE standard we work to the edition the code references.
What is in the deliverable?
Room-by-room cooling and heating loads, ventilation rates to the governing code, and an air balance report, in a stamped document.
Can I use the free Cooling Load Ballpark Estimator instead?
Not for a permit. The Cooling Load Ballpark Estimator gives a pre-design ballpark from historical check figures. It is a quick check on a load calculation, not a load calculation, and it is not stamped.