Cooling and Heating When It Counts

Part 1: Managers Must Prepare for HVAC Emergencies

Part 2: Developing an HVAC Emergency-Preparedness Plan

Part 3: Emergency Preparedness: Consider Heating and Cooling Loads

Part 4: Steps for Implementing a Support Structure for Temporary HVAC Equipment

Part 5: Where Is the Best Place to Install Temporary HVAC Equipment?

Part 6: Temporary HVAC Equipment: The Rent-or-Buy Decision

Emergency Preparedness: Consider Heating and Cooling Loads

By James Piper, P.E.
November 2009

When identifying equipment to include in an HVAC emergency preparedness plan, managers need to consider the nature of the heating and cooling loads in the building.

For example, some loads are comfort loads, meaning the equipment primarily keeps building temperatures within a comfortable range. Other loads result from equipment installed in the building, such as telecommunications equipment and computer servers. Still other loads result from activities and processes carried out within the building.

While comfort loads are somewhat forgiving to temperature and humidity variations, loads from sensitive equipment and processes typically are not. So managers identifying critical HVAC loads and implementation priorities need to take into account the ability of each load to withstand changes in environmental conditions, such as those that could result from a boiler or chiller failure.