HELPFUL TOOLS

USEFUL FORMULAS RESOURCE CENTER

1. USE REVIT TO DESIGN:

BIM is a Computer Aided Design (CAD) tool using intelligent 3-D objects to show actual building components such as walls and doors. In Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software, viewing the building model is similar to looking at it through a camera lens, either orthographic or perspective. That means, for example, a door can be moved in any view and all the other views of the model will update automatically. This is made possible by Revit's® "parametric change engine," the name given to its underlying relational database architecture.

Revit's® database also offers information at various stages of a project, from concept to construction to decommissioning. This is sometimes called 4-D CAD, in which time is the fourth dimension.

Please ask an HTS sales representative for the availability of our Revit® files.

2. EARN LEED CREDITS:

The green building designation showing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design has fast become a building standard. LEED is a voluntary certification sought by building owners for new or existing buildings. Elements of a building's design, construction and materials earn credits towards a possible total of 100 points. Four levels of LEED certification can be earned based on the number of credits a building earns.

HTS can help your project team earn the following LEED credits:

Optimize Energy Performance (Energy and Atmosphere Credit 1)
Enhanced Refrigerant Management
Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring
Increased Ventilation
Indoor Air Quality Management Plan
Indoor Chemical and Pollutant Source Control
Controllability of Systems
Thermal Comfort – Design
Thermal Comfort – Verification
Enhanced Acoustical Performance
Mold Prevention

HTS has tackled over 1,000 projects in recent years to help buildings achieve LEED-certification and can help you design systems to reach your LEED goals, too. Please visit www.usgbc.org or www.gbci.org for more information about this coveted certification.

3. UNDERSTAND SOUND MANAGEMENT:

While the performance and efficiency of HVAC equipment is paramount to building owners, these goals are obsolete if the noise emitted by the machines is too loud for an end-user's environment. Engineers must understand the actual sound power levels in order to make a fair comparison between two pieces of similar equipment. HTS works hand-in-hand with the building's design team to ensure that both space NC and sound power are at acceptable levels. Understanding both the amplitude, measured in decibels, and the frequency of the sound, measured in Hertz, our engineers are valuable partners in designing and equipping a space with the most efficient, effective and quiet HVAC equipment on the market today.

4. CALCULATE HEAT GAIN:

One of the ultimate goals, of course, of HVAC equipment is to cool an enclosed space for potential end-users of the building. However, as the electrical motors used in this cooling equipment generate its own heat from operation, engineers must incorporate this additional heat gain into the overall design of a building. HTS engineers and sales representatives have a thorough knowledge of heat gain produced by its bevy of equipment, and therefore are vital consultants from the beginning of a design plan.

5. MEASURE EFFICIENCY & PERFORMANCE:

Efficiency and performance are the name of the game when it comes to primary goals of engineers and building owners. HTS project managers are well versed in essential ratios and coefficients that translate directly into maximum effectiveness and performance of all its HVAC system equipment. Incorporated into all HTS plans are detailed Coefficient of Performance (COP) ratios, measuring the cooling or heating output to the energy input of a compressorized unit and Energy Efficiency Ratios (EER), which indicates the cooling efficiency of a unit. HTS project managers routinely correspond with engineers to relay important equipment efficiency and performance parameters:

KW/ton = 12 / EER
KW/ton = 12 / (COP x 3.412)
COP = EER / 3.412
COP=12 / (KW/ton) / 3.412
EER = 12 / KW/ton
EER = COP x 3.412

6. EVALUATE REFRIGERANT PROPERTIES:

In addition to evaluating sound and heat gain of HVAC equipment, the design team also must consider the effect of various low, medium and high pressure refrigerants on the overall performance of the machinery.