HELPFUL TOOLS

USEFUL FORMULAS ENGINEERING NEWSLETTER PRESENTATION RESOURCE CENTER

PSYCHROMETRIC CHART SOFTWARE

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.

Daikin and McQuay have a vast library of available, current content on the McQuay.com and the Autodesk® Seek Web sites. For template-based content such as Vision, Skyline, Destiny and RPS, please ask an HTS Texas sales representative. He or she also can help you with the availability of other 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 Texas has tackled numerous projects in recent years to help buildings achieve LEED-certification and can help you design water and air systems to reach your LEED goals, too. Please visit www.usgbc.org or www.gbci.org for more information about this coveted certification. HTS Texas engineers also frequently access refrigerant calculators for LEED EA Credit 4, chiller energy comparison spreadsheets and chiller efficiency calculators in advising building owners on LEED certification.

3. KNOW THE BUILDING CODES:

The design and construction teams must adhere to a set of defined building codes throughout the entire fabrication and building process. Please access the following Web sites to view city-specific mechanical, fire protection, building, and other regional building codes:

Austin Beaumont Dallas Fort Worth

Houston San Antonio ASHRAE Website

4. 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 Texas 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. Tables incorporating perceived sound level changes, decibel addition charts, sound pressure levels and octave band center frequencies are helpful tools used by the design team to limit noise disturbances in enclosed office spaces.

5. 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 Texas 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. The following table of electrical motors heat gain helps HTS Texas engineers evaluate the overall efficiency of its equipment.

6. MEASURE EFFICIENCY & PERFORMANCE:

Efficiency and performance are the name of the game when it comes to primary goals of engineers and building owners. HTS Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas 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

7. RECEIVE UTILITY INCENTIVES:

HTS Texas is partnering with REAL WIN WIN to help you snare rebates with local utilities in Texas by using high efficiency HVAC equipment. That includes high efficiency chillers, rooftop units, central plants, premium efficiency motors and variable speed drives.

REAL WIN WIN helps HTS Texas demonstrate to utilities and commercial property owners and operators the REAL economic advantages of their products.

Available utility rebates for customers in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio are outlined on the following Web pages:

Austin – Austin Energy and Texas Gas Service

Dallas/Fort Worth- Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency

Houston – Centerpoint Energy

San Antonio – CPS Energy

8. 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. The following tables of refrigerant properties are commonly used by the design team and HTS Texas engineers to appraise and select appropriate refrigerants.