Hello,
I have the following doubt: Suppose that a building has an HVAC system designed for all office and working areas, but for the restrooms and locker rooms, which are occupied every shift (3 per day), there is only mechanical ventilation. How should I design my baseline model? Should I include heating & cooling units in restrooms and locker rooms and do it as well for the proposed? Or should I not include this areas as conditioned spaces?
Thanks in advance,
Santiago
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
March 5, 2012 - 4:47 pm
Always model the Baseline according the Table G3.1.1A unless one of the exceptions under G3.1.1 applies to part of the building. They sound like conditioned spaces to me.
Santiago Rodriguez
Revitaliza Consultores65 thumbs up
March 5, 2012 - 6:44 pm
None of the exceptions of G3.1.1 applies to the zones of the building I am modeling, so therefore I have used the same HVAC system for all zones for Baseline. For the Proposed model, for the areas that are only mechanically ventilated, should I include the same HVAC system as baseline?
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
March 5, 2012 - 7:15 pm
Almost always model the Proposed as designed. There are very few exceptions to this one.
Santiago Rodriguez
Revitaliza Consultores65 thumbs up
March 5, 2012 - 7:45 pm
Thank you Marcus,
I still do not have it clear why the areas that are mechanically ventilated should be considered as conditioned space. I have read the definitions in Section 3 of Ashrae about conditioned space, and the areas I mention do not fall into the cooled space, heated space or indirectly conditioned space.
Is there anywhere else a description of when mechanically vent. spaces should be considered as a conditioned space?
Thanks again.
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
March 6, 2012 - 9:02 am
Where does the air come from that is exhausted? If it comes from the outside then you are correct it is not a conditioned space. If is comes from the inside then it is indirectly conditioned.
Santiago Rodriguez
Revitaliza Consultores65 thumbs up
March 6, 2012 - 11:32 am
The air comes from the outside, so I will treat these areas as not conditioned.
Thanks Marcus.
Katherine Ann Resurreccion
Arcadis Philippines, Inc.159 thumbs up
March 12, 2012 - 11:45 pm
for fans such as what Santiago is referring to, ventilators in unconditioned spaces that doesnt affect any conditioned spaces, should we consider those as process loads (like vent fans in the parking garage)?
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
March 13, 2012 - 8:46 am
Yes this would be a process load like parking garage ventilation.