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Cooling Load Calculator
Estimate cooling loads for conditioned spaces.
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This is a preliminary, criteria-driven cooling load build-up for early budgeting and plant space planning: area load, people, lighting, equipment and fresh-air contributions are summed and a safety margin applied. Every density figure is your own design criterion — the tool contains no standard load table.
Method and assumptions
- Area load (kW) = area × density ÷ 1000
- People load (kW) = occupants × W/person ÷ 1000
- Lighting load (kW) = area × lighting density ÷ 1000
- Total = (area + people + equipment + lighting + fresh-air) × (1 + margin%)
- TR = kW ÷ 3.5168
- Load density and per-person heat gain are user-entered from the project's own design criteria.
- A preliminary decision-support estimate: the result does not replace an approved design calculation or review by a competent authority.
- All percentages and inputs are user-defined; the calculation is purely arithmetic and assumes no particular code or specification.
Frequently asked questions
- Does it replace a detailed load calculation?
- No. It is a preliminary decision-support estimate. It performs no hourly, envelope or psychrometric analysis and does not implement any published load-calculation procedure.
- How is TR derived?
- Tons of refrigeration = total kW ÷ 3.5168, a fixed unit conversion applied after the margin.
- What comes after the load?
- Airflow from the sensible portion, then duct sizing, velocity check and pump/pipe sizing — all available in the HVAC category and the HVAC Design Suite.
Related calculators
- Airflow / CFM CalculatorHVAC Design
- Fresh Air CalculatorHVAC Design
- Room-by-Room Cooling LoadHVAC Design
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