I have a question. As I understand it, if the operating fan/pump BHP is available I should be reporting it on the Air-Side HVAC tab, in lieu of the nominal (overestimated) HP as it makes a very significant difference. My question is, if a manufacturer provides formula specific to their product to calculate their fan's operating BHP, rather than providing a fan curve or reporting it directly, is that still a valid method of deterimining operating BHP in the eyes of a LEED reviewer?
It's my first rodeo, so I neglected to narrate how I came to the BHP estmate in my initial submission. Since BHP wasn't listed in the mfg cutsheets, the reviewer indicated I should use the nominal HP as indicated on the cutsheets. I'm getting ready to send in the narritive, data sheets with the fan power formula, and my calculations in for final review and I don't want this being rejected because the fan BHP isn't reported directly by the mfg.
Tyler Thumma
7GroupLEEDuser Expert
67 thumbs up
November 6, 2020 - 9:07 am
First, keep in mind that BHP does not account for the fan motor efficiency, so you still need to factor that in when determining the operating power (just like the Baseline fan power formula in Section G3.1.2.10). The result will be higher than the BHP but likely still lower than the nominal HP.
Using the manufacturer's formula for calculating operating power should be a valid method.