Heat Load Analysis for an Eighty Bed Hospital

Samhitha Poonacha, Akhil Salunke, Anvesh Bellamkonda

Mechanical Department, PES Institute of Technology, Bangalore

Abstract— The largest concern with air conditioning, is the The following parameters were assumed:
immense cost and energy spent on cooling solutions. The heat
load for an eighty bed (30,000 sqft) hospital was estimated at 1. Weight of the wall = 100 lb/sqft
about 128 tonnes and possible choice of cooling system has been
suggested. 2. Temperature variation on April 19th = 18 F
3. No infiltration into building as positive pressure
difference will be maintained at all times.
NOTE: No architecture student was involved in the building
4. Heat load due to appliances, computers and certain
design. This entry is only for the HVAC Design Competition.
other devices taken from ASHRAE tables.
5. Utilisation of medical appliances taken only for 30%
Keywords— HVAC, chilled water system, heat load
of the time.
I. INTRODUCTION 6. Bypass factor of 0.12 assumed for the heat
exchangers.
Air conditioning assumes an important role especially in 7. Partition walls considered to be made of hollow
hospitals where the quality of air needs to be carefully concrete blocks with plaster on both sides.
regulated. With growing concern over the availability of 8. Diversity factor for year round variation of heat load
energy for the ever increasing human needs, design of energy has not been considered.
efficient buildings and cost effective cooling solutions have
become the need of the hour. The zone and floor-wise break-up of heat loads is as given
in Table 1.
Using individual split air conditioning units in every room
might give the advantage of localised temperature control. TABLE 1- HEAT LOAD BREAK-UP
However, the quality of room air would not be very good due
to the recirculation of used air within the rooms. Also,
efficiency of such a system would not be comparable to a
centralized air conditioning system.

The cooling system chosen must be able to perform equally

well even in both full and part load conditions. The ability of
the air conditioning system also depends on the architectural
layout of the building and choice of construction materials.

In order to decide on the type of system to be used an estimate

of the heat load on the building is made at peak load
conditions with conventional materials assumed for
construction.

II. HEAT LOAD

The problem statement requires us to maintain an indoor

temperature of 72o F DBT, 55% RH for an ambient
temperature of 102o F for the hospital.

The heat load calculations were performed on a peak load

basis evaluated based on the conditions for the hottest day in
Kolkata, 19th April at 1600 hrs.
Carrier Data Handbook was used as a reference for values
while evaluating the heat load.
III. HEAT LOAD BREAK-UP
The zones are selected in order to ensure circulated air from one
region does not harm the quality of air in the other. For instance, the
cafeteria (ground floor) is managed by a separate air handler to
ensure that the odour in the cafeteria does not affect the air quality of
the other regions. Similarly the ICU and Pathology are zoned
separately to prevent infiltration of pathogens.

The following table is the working template that has been used for
the calculations of heat load for each zone:

IV. FLOOR PLAN

 The system under consideration for heat load calculations,
is an 80 bed hospital with a built-up area of 30,000 sqft
divided equally into five floors. The apportionment of the area
into required utilities is as per the problem statement given.
However, the arrangement of each has been done
approximately on a common sense basis to carry out the heat
load calculations. This had resulted in an increase in the floor
area on each floor to 6233.4 sqft. The floor-wise layout is as
shown in Fig. 1.

V. CHOICE OF SYSTEM

Based on the above estimates, the HVAC System to be

installed is selected.

Chilled water has been the primary medium for the transfer
of heat from building coils to the refrigeration system since
the beginning of HVAC design. Chilled water systems consist
of a central chiller from where the cold water is pumped to all
parts of the building. The buildings are zoned as per
requirements, each equipped with an air handling unit. The
basic function of the air handler or fan coil units is to
dehumidify the air by blowing air over the chilled water coils
and subsequently moving the air to various areas.

We plan to implement the following in our system for the

stated advantages:

1. Variable Air Volume (VAV) System: The fan

capacities for each zone are locally controlled by
providing the fan coil units with the capability of
operating at variable speeds so as to meet zone
specific temperature requirements. Speed changed is
governed by inputs from temperature sensors. This
improves system efficiency.

2. Two way valves used in the chilled water circuit

regulate flow to match requirement based on the
room temperature and excess water is bypassed in
case of lesser cooling requirement, thus saving
energy.

3. Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) Motors for

chilled water: Two-way control valves control the
system differential pressure, which is detected by a
sensor. Consequently, the control system reduces the
pump speed and flow of the pumps to match load.
The pumps are driven by VFD motors which vary the
frequency of the electrical power delivered to the
pump motor. Since electrical frequency is
proportional to motor or pump speed and chilled
water flow, this provides an accurate means of
varying the flow rate of the pump.
4. Building Management System (BMS): It is a
control system that works on feedback from a sensor
network employed in the building or space to be
monitored. BMS can be used to monitor and adjust
temperatures as required from remote locations.
 We wish to thank Mr. A Chandra, Associate Professor, PES
Institute of Technology, Bangalore for his guidance while
VI. FUTURE WORK working on this project.
Since the heat loads have been evaluated and the zones
demarcated, our next step would be to go about the design and
selection of the major aspects of the system while optimizing REFERENCES
and arriving at a more efficient and cost effective solution. [1] Carrier Load Estimation Data Handbook
[2] C P Arora, “Refrigeration and Air Conditioning”
[3] 2001 ASHRAE Handbook CD
[4] “Chiller Water Plant Pumping Schemes”, by James J. Nonnenmann,

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
SOFTWARE USED
[5] Solid Edge V19 for drawing out floor plans
[6] Microsoft Excel for heat load calculations