Heating and cooling load calculations ensure that homes have the correct size of HVAC equipment. The Manual J formula has been used to calculate residential loads for decades. Technicians note characteristics of the house and plug them into a formula. They used to spend a lot of time plugging numbers into equations and solving them. In recent years Manual J software has eliminated the need for human math. In this course we'll use Interplay Learning's 3D simulation technology to perform residential load calculations. We'll calculate the conductive convective and latent loads of three houses. We'll identify the measurements and formulas required to calculate the heat gain and heat loss in BTUs. We'll define each house's thermal envelope. We'll measure the surface area U-value and design temperature difference. We'll check for insulation and find the R-value of the insulation. We'll check for air leakage around the thermal envelope and duct work. Finally we'll put all these numbers into Manual J software and let it calculate the load for us.
