Forum discussion
NC-2009 EAc4: Enhanced Refrigerant Management
Here's a stumper for y'all.
A "heat pipe" uses refrigerant migration (without compressors) between two coils for heat recovery. If I am using a heat pipe system, do I include that refrigerant charge in my calc for EAc4? If I do, how do I determine the tonnage?
LEEDuser is supported by our premium members, not by advertisers.
Go premium forTo post a comment, you need to register for a LEEDuser Basic membership (free) or login to your existing profile.
Bill Swanson
Sr. Electrical EngineerIntegrated Design Solutions
LEEDuser Expert
734 thumbs up
April 19, 2011 - 2:25 pm
There doesn't seem to be a lot of practical, usable numbers available for this technology. I'll let anyone else jump in here, I have no experience with heat pipe.
I'd say if the refrigerant is part of the HVAC&R equipment then it should be included in the credit calc. I see one company uses de-ionized water.
Regarding tonnage, I thought this was a load calculation based on climate, internal loads, and building envelople. A ton of cooling is equal to a ton of cooling, regardless of the equipment doing it. If a room needs 10 tons of cooling then that's the size of the heat pipe system specified.
The type of heat pipe, ambient temp, and orientation will affect how much energy it can transfer. I think it's up to the manufacturer to tell you a tonnage. And you may need to do a watts to ton conversion.
Interesting links I found. Now I know a little more about heat pipes.
http://www.enertron-inc.com/enertron-resources/library.php
http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/publications/pdf/FSEC-FS-27-84.pdf