ASHRAE has released a new standard that provides a test method to determine the heat gain generated by office equipment.
The growing use of plug loads coupled with insufficient data on how much energy they generate present a challenge to engineers in determining how to best cool a building.
ASHRAE/ANSI Standard 203-2014, Method of Test for Determining Heat Gain of Office Equipment Used in Buildings, prescribes methods of test to determine the range and average operating heat gains of electrical equipment for use in cooling load calculations.
The standard applies to plug-load type electrical equipment. Plug loads (computers, monitors, printers, projectors, etc.) use between 20% to 50% of a building’s energy.
Increased use of computers and advances in building techniques and building envelopes have made heat gain from electrical equipment a larger factor in engineering cooling systems.
“Most plug loads operate at a fraction of their nameplate electrical load, so, as a result, produce significantly less heat load than engineers may use in their cooling load calculations based on those nameplate values,” according to an ASHRAE statement. “This can result in over-sizing of air-conditioning equipment, resulting in extra initial cost for that equipment as well as higher operating cost.”
Related Stories
| Oct 12, 2010
From ‘Plain Box’ to Community Asset
The Mid-Ohio Foodbank helps provide 55,000 meals a day to the hungry. Who would guess that it was once a nondescript mattress factory?
| Oct 11, 2010
HGA wins 25-Year Award from AIA Minnesota
HGA Architects and Engineers won a 25-Year Award from AIA Minnesota for the Willow Lake Laboratory.
| Oct 8, 2010
Union Bank’S San Diego HQ awarded LEED Gold
Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building located at 530 B Street has been awarded LEED Gold certification from the Green Building Certification Institute under the standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council. Gold status was awarded to six buildings across the United States in the most recent certification and Union Bank’s San Diego headquarters building is one of only two in California.
| Oct 6, 2010
Windows Keep Green Goals in View
The DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has almost 600 window openings, and yet it's targeting LEED Platinum, net-zero energy use, and 50% improvement over ASHRAE 90.1. How the window ‘problem’ is part of the solution.
| Sep 21, 2010
New BOMA-Kingsley Report Shows Compression in Utilities and Total Operating Expenses
A new report from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and Kingsley Associates shows that property professionals are trimming building operating expenses to stay competitive in today’s challenging marketplace. The report, which analyzes data from BOMA International’s 2010 Experience Exchange Report® (EER), revealed a $0.09 (1.1 percent) decrease in total operating expenses for U.S. private-sector buildings during 2009.
| Sep 13, 2010
Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ
With more than 250 LEED projects in the works, Enermodal Engineering is Canada's most prolific green building consulting firm. In 2007, with the firm outgrowing its home office in Kitchener, Ont., the decision was made go all out with a new green building. The goal: triple Platinum for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: O&M.
| Aug 11, 2010
CTBUH changes height criteria; Burj Dubai height increases, others decrease
The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH)—the international body that arbitrates on tall building height and determines the title of “The World’s Tallest Building”—has announced a change to its height criteria, as a reflection of recent developments with several super-tall buildings.
