Commercial Building HVAC Energy Usage in Semi-Tropical Climates

Abstract

The design of heating and cooling equipment in semi-tropical climates presents some design considerations and limitations not so prevalent in temperate climates. In some cases, the heating season may be non-existent for all practical purposes. Another consideration is the high ventilation loads due to cooling the moist air prevalent in semi-tropical climates. This paper describes a computer program which assesses all the pertinent variables which comprise the annual heating and cooling energy requirements for commercial buildings. It is then suggested that this computer program would be valuable in determining the changes one could expect in annual energy usage by varying certain building design parameters. Secondly, a small office building actually constructed in Central Florida in which the author designed the Heating and Cooling HVAC system is described. Tradeoffs are presented showing the effects of changes in these building design parameters.