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HOME > SERVICE > USE THE AIR CHANGES CALCULATION TO DETERMINE ROOM CFM

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Use the Air Changes Calculation to Determine Room

CFM
by

Mar 18, 2015

Rob Falke

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President, National Comfort Institute

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Engineering room airflow may present a real challenge when balancing an HVAC
system. Most calculations only use the heat loss or gain of a room to decide on required
airflow and often dont take into consideration required room ventilation needs. Lets take
a look at how an air change calculation may simplify this step in your air balancing.
What is an Air Change?
http://contractingbusiness.com/service/use-air-changes-calculation-determine-room-cfm[02/04/2015 5:41:24]

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Use the Air Changes Calculation to Determine Room CFM | Service content from Contracting Business
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An air change is how many times the air enters and exits a room from the HVAC system
in one hour. Or, how many times a room would fill up with the air from the supply
registers in sixty minutes.

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You can then compare the number of room air changes to the Required Air Changes
Table below. If its in the range, you can proceed to design or balance the airflow and
have an additional assurance that youre doing the right thing. If its way out of range,
youd better take another look.
The Air Changes Formula
To calculate room air changes, measure the supply airflow into a room, multiply the CFM
times 60 minutes per hour. Then divide by the volume of the room in cubic feet:

In plain English, were changing CFM into Cubic Feet per Hour (CFH). Then we calculate
the volume of the room by multiplying the room height times the width times the length.
Then we simply divide the CFH by the volume of the room.

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Now, compare 7.5 air changes per hour to the required air changes for that type of room
on the Air Changes per Hour Table below. If its a lunch or break room that requires 7-8
air changes per hour, youre right on target. If its a bar that needs 15-20 air changes per
hour, its time to reconsider.

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http://contractingbusiness.com/service/use-air-changes-calculation-determine-room-cfm[02/04/2015 5:41:24]

Use the Air Changes Calculation to Determine Room CFM | Service content from Contracting Business

Room CFM Formula

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Lets look at this engineering formula differently. For example, what if the airflow is
unknown and you need to calculate the required CFM for a room? Here is a four-step
process on how to calculate the room CFM:
Step One Use the above Air Changes per Hour Table to identify the required air
changes needed for the use of the room. Lets say its a conference room requiring 10
air changes per hour.

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Step Two - Calculate the volume of the room (LxWxH).

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Step Three - Multiply the volume of the room by the required room air changes.

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Step Four Divide the answer by 60 minutes per Hour to find the required room CFM:
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Heres an example of how to work the formula:

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When designing or balancing a system requiring additional airflow for ventilation

purposes, remember this room will normally demand constant fan operation when
occupied. This may present a problem for other rooms on the same zone, so take that
into consideration.

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Many of these rooms may require a significant amount of outdoor air. The BTU content
of this air has to be included in the heat gain or heat loss of the building when
determining the size of the heating and cooling equipment.

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Practice these calculations several times in the shop or office. Then do the calculations
in the field several times over the next week to check airflow in rooms with uncommon
ventilation requirements. Study the Air Changes per Hour Table to become familiar with
the rooms that need more ventilation than the heating or cooling load requires.

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Rob Doc Falke serves the industry as president of National Comfort Institute, an
HVAC-based training company and membership organization. If you're an HVAC
contractor or technician interested in a free Air Changes Calculation Procedure, contact
Doc at robf@ncihvac.com or call him at 800-633-7058800-633-7058. Go to NCIs
website at nationalcomfortinstitute.com for free information, articles, and downloads.

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