Seasonal Testing for Cooling Systems
‘Is it hot enough for you?’ is likely one phrase we have heard far too often this summer. There is no disputing that it has been a very hot, humid summer in southern Ontario. And it would seem like a great time to conduct seasonal testing for a building cooling system. But there are other requirements and considerations besides just the weather outside.
- Is the building occupied? Elementary, high schools and even universities may not be fully occupied during July and August. It is important that there is a ‘load’ inside the building. Buildings are designed based on the number of occupants and equipment/lighting in use. If some or all of that is not present then there will not be enough heat generated within the building to put a ‘load’ on the cooling system. The system can be checked to ensure that the components are functional but the operation of the system cannot be verified to ensure it providing the design performance.
- Is it too hot outside? Believe it or not it may be too hot or humid. Building cooling systems are designed with the capacity to suit ‘design day’ weather data. For example, the OBC design data for Toronto gives the following; dry bulb temperature of 31 degC and wet bulb temperature of 23 degC. When these temperatures are exceeded, the system may not have the cooling capacity to perform adequately as the outdoor conditions are outside the design parameters.
While it is very important that building HVAC systems be verified during the opposite season, from which the building was first commissioned, it is also important to consider all conditions, both inside and outside when verifying system performance.
Contact us to learn more – soon enough it will be time to consider heating systems as well!
