The primary function of refrigeration is to maintain conditions of temperature and humidity that are required by a product or process within

a given space. To perform this function, equipment of the proper capacity must be installed and controlled on a 24-hour basis. The equipment capacity is determined by the actual instantaneous peak load requirements. Generally, it is impossible to measure the actual peak load within a refrigerated space. These loads must be estimated. The total refrigeration load is the total of the following load segments: Transmission Load - heat gain through walls, floors and ceilings. Air Change Load - heat gain associated with air entering the refrigerated space, either by infiltration or ventilation. Product Load - heat removed from and produced by

products brought into and stored in the refrigerated space. Internal Load - heat produced by internal sources such as lights, electric motors, and people working in the space.

Transmission (Wall Load)

The wall or transmission load is the load caused by the refrigerated space being located adjacent to a space at a higher temperature. Heat always travels from the warmer to the cooler atmosphere. The sensible heat gain through walls, floors and ceilings will vary with the following factors: Type and thickness of the insulation Type of construction Outside wall area in square feet Temperature difference between the refrigerated space and the outside ambient, adjusted to allow for solar heat load on any surface exposed to the sun. The following explains the formulae used to calculate the

transmission load. Thermal Resistance, R, is defined as the total resistance of a material to heat flow, expressed in (F TD) (sq ft)/Btuh. (TD is temperature difference which is explained in Section Two, page 12.) Coefficient of Heat Transfer, U, is defined as the overall rate of heat transfer through a material, expressed in Btu/(hr) (sq ft) (F TD). The overall heat transfer factors based on the actual wall construction can be calculated by the formula: Q = A x U x TD, where Q = heat load, Btuh A = sq ft area of the wall, roof, etc U = the "U" factor for the wall expressed in F between the inside and outside wall surface. The tabulated heat gain factors, Tables 1 and 2, at intervals of overall temperature differences, can be used to simplify calculations. These factors are expressed in Btu/sq ft/24 hours. Other Considerations For small walk-in coolers and freezers, where there are no unusual requirements, the wall load may be taken as the total outside surface multiplied by the appropriate wall heat gain factor based on the ambient air temperature difference. Latent heat gain due to moisture transmission through walls, floors, and ceilings of modern construction refrigerated facilities is negligible and can be ignored.

Air Change or Ventilation Load

Each time a door is opened to a refrigerated room from an adjacent unrefrigerated space, some outside air will enter the room. This untreated warm moist air will impose an additional refrigeration load and must be taken into account in the heat load calculation. Usually, the infiltration air's moisture content is more than that of the refrigerated space. As this air is cooled to the space temperature, the moisture will condense out of the air. This imposes both a sensible and latent heat load in the space which must be removed by the refrigeration equipment. Infiltration air quantities are difficult to determine accurately. Usually, a number of air changes per day are estimated. Table 3 indicates the number of air changes that may be expected in

a given size of room over a 24-hour period. The data contained in this table have been determined by experience and may be used with confidence. Please note that the air change factors vary for rooms above and below 32F. For rooms below 0F, some further reduction of the air changes may be considered. There is usually less traffic involved in a 0F room, with less air movement resulting. Having determined the number of air changes to be expected, the room volume is then multiplied by the number of air changes. To obtain the infiltration load, a factor is then obtained from Table 4 and is applied to the total volume of air. The Btu/cubic foot factors in Table 4 are based on the dry bulb temperature and the relative humidity of the infiltration air.