Room Flow Pro
Room Flow Pro
Room Flow Pro
Prepared by:
Armin Rudd
Building Science Corporation
Westford, MA 01886
(revised 19-Dec-06)
1.0 Introduction
A design process is described for sizing cooling and heating system capacity, for specifying the
airflow and duct sizes to each conditioned space, and for specifying the free area needed to
transfer air supplied to closed rooms back to the central return. This design process involves
using a computerized version of the industry standard ACCA Manual J calculation procedure,
with specific parameters specified to properly handle infiltration, ventilation, glazing, and airflow
velocities for ducts. This process is particularly suited for Building America houses (also
Environments for Living™ and Engineered for Life™ Platinum level).
The program RHVAC, version 8, from EliteSoft was used for this example (check the internet
for the latest updates). An Excel worksheet was developed to collate the information from
RHVAC and perform additional calculations to come up with final project specifications.
When setting up the building model, some specific parameters need to be input properly for
evaluation of the Building America (BA) houses.
2.0 Infiltration
All of the BA houses are constructed to have a low building envelope air leakage rate and a
controlled mechanical ventilation system. The ventilation system slightly pressurizes the house
when the air handler unit blower is operating. During that time, a small amount of conditioned
air leaves the building through unintentional leakage pathways to outside, restricting air exchange
to exfiltration not infiltration. While the air handler unit blower is not operating, some air
infiltration will naturally occur. Based on tracer gas measurements in many of the homes
3.0 Ventilation
The design ventilation rate is input according to Equation (1). For three bedroom houses, using a
33% fan duty cycle, the intermittent outside air flow usually falls in a range of 60 to 85 cfm. We
often specify 80 cfm for the design outside airflow. For large houses with high ceilings and
relatively few bedrooms, the result of Equation (1) can be small or even less than zero; however,
the minimum design ventilation rate should be 40 cfm for a three bedroom house. For houses
with two systems, all 80 cfm can be put on one system, or it can be split up between systems.
The ventilation airflow rate is calculated according to the following equation, but limited to a
minimum equal to Q& cont :
I
(Q& cont ) − ( V (1 − f ))
Q& cfan = 60
f (1)
where:
Q& cfan = intermittent outside air flow rate through the central fan (ft3/min)
Q& = continuous outside air flow rate required (ft3/min)
cont
I = estimate of natural air change when central fan is not operating (h-1)
V = volume of conditioned space (ft3)
f = fan duty cycle fraction
4.0 Glazing
Use the National Fenestration Research Council (NFRC) rated and labeled U-value and Solar
Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC). The spectrally selective glazing used in BA homes often has a U-
value of 0.35 and a SHGC of 0.35. Use Eq. 2 to convert from the older Shading Coefficient (SC)
to SHGC if necessary.
For cooling load calculations, interior shading should be selected as Drapes-Medium 100%
closed. While this may not always be the case in actuality, we have found that system sizing will
be too inflated if at least this interior shading is not selected, and this matches well with the new
IECC Chapter 4 Reference Design internal shade specification of 0.7 for summer. Use no insect
or external shade screens, and use ground reflectance equal to 0.20 except ground reflectance
equal to 0.32 for glass adjacent to concrete areas such as a patio.
Because ducts are ducts are always located inside conditioned space for BA houses, duct gain and
loss factors should be set to zero.
One appliance will be equal to 600 Btu/h. Put one appliance in the laundry, and two appliances
(1200 Btu/h) in the kitchen. If a Children’s/Recreation Retreat, Theatre Room or other equivalent
space exists, then put one appliance there.
Gain from people will be set at 230 Btu/h sensible and 200 Btu/h latent, per person. People will
be placed around the house as follows:
- 2 people in the master bedroom and one person in each secondary bedroom;
- 2 people in the family room or in the living room if there is no family room;
- for houses with auxiliary recreation room, add one person there.
For the outdoor design temperature, use the 0.4% cooling drybulb temperature listed in the
ASHRAE 2001 Handbook of Fundamentals. Indoor conditions will be set at 75 F drybulb and 63
F wetbulb (50% RH).
The building design load shall be calculated for the worst case elevation at the solar orientation
that produces the highest heat gain.
For equipment selection, indoor and outdoor coils should be matched. The equipment will be
selected to meet the design sensible load at the actual outdoor and indoor design conditions (not
ARI standard conditions of 95 outdoor and 80/67 indoor). Count at least one-half of the unused
latent capacity as additional sensible capacity according to ACCA Manual S .
HVAC designers and contractors often oversize cooling equipment to try to compensate for high
occupancy, large thermostat setbacks, unusual loads, poor initial design, or inadequate
distribution. Our experience has shown that typical air conditioner sizing generally results in
cooling system over-sizing by about 40% to 50%. The following factors weigh against over-
sizing:
In humid climates, a correctly sized system does a better job of humidity control than an
oversized system. This is because the system runs longer and the evaporator coil remains colder.
An oversized unit will short-cycle, sending a quick burst of cold air that will satisfy the
thermostat before much moisture has been removed. Air conditioners are least efficient during
the first few minutes after they start; short cycling increases the amount of time the system is
operating at this lower efficiency. In addition, less air handler operation increases air
stratification and stagnation. Although a fan cycling control will reduce air stagnation and
stratification, we do not intend fan cycling to excuse poor design or poor workmanship. We
intend to size the cooling system to appropriately to meet the design load, calculated according to
ACCA Manual J, and to provide good air distribution for improved indoor air quality and thermal
comfort.
Between building air tightening, getting ducts inside conditioned space, and using high
performance windows, the system size can be reduced and pay for those upgrades. In no case,
for the Building America program, should the cooling system total capacity be sized higher than
110% of the ACCA Manual J total load.
The size, or capacity, of cooling and heating systems should be specified based on the house
orientation that creates the highest total load. This usually depends on the location of glazing. At
minimum, the four N, E, S, W orientations should be considered. It may be advisable to also
consider the four off-angle orientations of NE, SE, SW, NW as well, especially if there is a lot of
off-angle, unshaded glass.
For non-heat pump systems, specifying the heating system capacity is straightforward; the output
capacity of the heating appliance must match the calculated heat loss. Usually, the first available
size in furnaces or boilers is well beyond the required heating capacity for energy-efficient
homes. To get longer heating cycles, multiple stage heating equipment can be used. Heat pump
sizing is more involved and is not covered here. Usually, the heat pump capacity is set by the
more dominant cooling system size requirement.
For cooling systems, size the equipment based on 100% of the total cooling load (not the sensible
cooling load) at the actual outdoor design condition (not the ARI rated condition) and for the
realistically expected evaporator air flow (if you don’t know then assume 125 Pascal [0.5” wc]
external static pressure). The combination of indoor coil and outdoor units should be ARI rated.
Total external static pressure is defined as the pressure differential between the return side and the
supply side of the air handler cabinet, and should not exceed the manufacturers specification,
usually 125 Pa (0.5” water column).
If the total cooling load is more than 15% of the way toward the next larger cooling system size,
then specify the larger size. Major manufacturers produce cooling systems in the following
tonnage increments: 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, and 5. One ton of cooling is equal to 12,000 Btu/h
which is the heat rate required to melt one ton (2,000 lb) of 32 F ice in 24 hours.
Especially for dry climates, most excess latent capacity converts to sensible capacity, so sizing by
total load helps avoid a common mistake of over-sizing. In dry climates, system efficiency can
be improved by increasing the size of the indoor unit (blower and evaporator coil) relative to the
outdoor unit (compressor and condenser) by one-half ton. Upsizing the indoor unit increases the
air flow per ton of cooling and raises the evaporator coil temperature, usually increasing the rated
efficiency. For systems with a fixed metering device (non-thermal expansion valve system), this
one-half ton mismatch usually requires a change in the orifice size according to the manufacturers
specification. More than a one-half ton mismatch is not recommended even for dry climates, and
for humid climates, do not upsize the indoor coil relative to the outdoor unit.
For humid climates, sizing by total cooling load will tend to cause the system to have longer
runtimes, which is good for humidity control. However, using this sizing methodology, at design
conditions and steady-state operation, we don’t expect the system to operate more than 80% of
any given hour. Of course for this to be true, the system must be installed and maintained
properly, meaning proper refrigerant charge and proper air flow (see our other guideline,
“Refrigeration System Installation and Startup Procedures”).
When setting up criteria for the mechanical system, some velocity constraints and duct size
constraints should be set to obtain appropriate duct sizing from the program, as follows:
1. Set the supply trunk minimum velocity to 500 ft/min and the maximum to 750 ft/min.
2. Set the supply runout minimum velocity to 400 ft/min and the maximum velocity to
500 ft/min.
3. Set the runout duct type to round flex and the minimum runout duct diameter to 4”.
4. Set the maximum runout flow to 120 cfm (see below for splitting up flow for closed
rooms).
5. Set the return air trunk minimum velocity to 250 ft/min and the maximum velocity to
550 ft/min.
6. Set the duct size schedule for supply runouts to 4” through 8” ducts in one inch
increments.
For community scale homebuilding, it is not practical to specify the cooling and heating system
size and duct layout based on actual orientations for each house, although that would be ideal. It
For example, a room facing west with a 20% glazing to floor ratio may require 200 cfm, while if
it faced north it may require only 100 cfm. That is a 2-times factor, or about the difference
between an 8" and 6" supply duct. Using the average orientation method, the flow would have
been specified at about 150 cfm and a 7" duct. Depending on the actual orientation of the
constructed house, adjustment of registers would be required to increase or decrease the air flow
50 cfm. However, if the room air flow was sized based on the house orientation that created the
highest system load, and that orientation happened to cause that bedroom to face north, then the
flow would have been specified at 100 cfm. Then, if the house was built with that room facing
west, it would be nearly impossible to make enough register adjustments to get 200 cfm to that
room (i.e. one extreme to the other).
The worksheet in Figure 2 lists each room/space for an example house with the respective air
flow and duct size for each orientation. If the builder wants only one mechanical plan per house
plan, the ducts should be installed for the average of all four orientations, when the house is
balanced, the technician should refer to the worksheet to get close to the flows listed for the actual
orientation.
Another alternative is to specify two mechanical plans for each house plan, one for the front of
the house facing north or south, and one for the front facing east or west. In that case, the room
flows and duct sizes would be specified separately for the average of the north/south-facing
orientations and the east/west-facing orientations. There are often only two or three duct size
differences compared to the average of all orientations, but in some cases, those differences can
be important. It is therefore ultimately left up to the designer to know his climate and market.
Often, HVAC contractors only want to stock flexible duct sizes in two-inch increments (4”, 6”, 8”
and so on). This is a mistake for energy-efficient, low-load houses because the gap between 4",
6", 8" is too large to properly dial in the air flow. Top-notch contractors should be willing to
stock and install 5" and 7" ducts. For energy efficient houses with cooling systems that are not
over-sized, it can be important to use the less common 5” and 7” duct sizes in order to accomplish
the desired air balance.
Here are some design considerations that should be followed by the installing contractor to
further reduce the risk of cool air complaints when using fan cycling. Do not feed a supply
register with a duct larger than 8" diameter, except possibly for high ceilings in open areas. Do
not feed a supply register in a bedroom with a duct larger than 6" and keep the duct velocity
below 500 ft/min, which should keep the volume flow below 100 cfm. Reasonable care should be
taken to avoid blowing air directly on beds. This will prevent cool air complaints in winter when
fan cycling occurs without heat. This is especially important for master bedrooms, so focus there
first. For example, use two supply registers in the master bedroom as opposed to one large
register; always split an 8" duct into two 6" ducts for master bedrooms.Do not use 9" or larger
ducts for supplies, except for high ceilings in open areas and for trunk lines. Also, do not use
larger than 6" duct in a bedroom and keep the duct velocity below 500 ft/min, which should keep
the register velocity much lower. Reasonable care should be taken to avoid blowing air directly
on beds. This will prevent cool air complaints in winter, due to fan cycling without heat, which is
integral to our ventilation air distribution and whole-house mixing strategies. This is especially
important for master bedrooms, so focus there first. For example, use two supply registers in the
master bedroom as opposed to one large register; always split an 8" duct into two 6" ducts for
master bedrooms.
As a guide, Table 1 shows air flow in ft3/min as a function of flexible duct diameter (in) and air
velocity (ft/min).
There are a variety of commercially available duct calculator tools (also known as ductulators)
that are easy and accurate to use for sizing ducts if you know the flow rate and friction loss or
velocity. To size by flow rate and friction loss, use the following guidelines in Table 2:
Table 2 Friction loss guidelines for sizing ducts with duct calculator tool
Figure 1 System and duct sizing worksheet based on ACCA Manual J calculations
Width Height
Supply trunk 32.91 7 33x7 Main Trunk
Return grille 0.00 20 0x20 Return Grille
Main ceiling transfer grille 13.19 16 13x16 Ceiling Grille
Condensing unit size (nominal) Outdoor Condensing Unit
Airhandler size (nominal) 95 Ton Airhandler
Total air flow by load (cfm) 1132
Total airflow at 400 cfm/ton (cfm) 1200
Return grille design velocity (fpm) 350
Return grille free area (%) 80%
Supply trunk design velocity (fpm) 750
Total transfer airflow (cfm) 411
In order to keep supply air from pressurizing closed rooms by more than 3 Pa, transfer grilles or
jump ducts are installed to allow supply air to flow back to the central system return. The transfer
areas and ducts are sized based on Equation (3). To calculate the finished grille size, no more
than 80% free area should be assumed, requiring that the transfer area be divided by at least 0.8.
Q& Q&
A= = (3)
1.07 3 1.853
As a general rule of our own, no room will have less than a 6” diameter jump duct, and master
bedrooms usually will have between a 10” and 12” diameter jump duct, or equivalent transfer
area. Master bedrooms are the hardest to transfer from since they have the largest air flow,
including air flow to the master bath and walk-in closet. If more than 250 cfm needs to be
transferred back to the main return area, it may be advisable to run a dedicated return duct to that
area instead.
Central return ducts should have at least one 90 degree bend between the air handler unit and the
central return grille, and the air speed at the face of the return grille should be designed at 350
ft/min. This keeps noise in check while allowing enough negative pressure in the return box to
draw in outside air with the central-fan-integrated supply ventilation system. To size the return
grille, use Equation (4) and divide the result by 0.8 to account for about 80% free area, which is
normal for stamped return grilles.
Q&
A= (4)
v