Heat Load for the ABC House

Following the protocol set forth in the ASHRAE 2021 Fundamentals Handbook, this project modeled the heating load of the house for a design season (winter). This project reports the heating load calculation for a 1960 residential dwelling used as student housing in Swarthmore, PA. The infiltration, window, door, attic, 1st-3rd floor, and basement loads were found to be 5641 kW, 3239 kW, 273 kW, 262 kW, 4073 kW, and 514 kW respectively: resulting in a total design season heat load of 14001 kW. The three biggest contributors to the seasonal heat load were Infiltration, Window, and Wall load (40.3%, 29.1%, and 23.1% of total heat load respectively). Window and insulation replacement were the two most feasible reduction methods, with estimated installation costs of $16800 and ~$2,000 respectively. The following sections of this report include details on the methods used as well as a discussion of the load calculation and suggestion for heat load reduction.