Heat loss software? Freeware? Room by room?
Anybody have any links to something like this? I once had something I think I got from Slant-Fin, but that was a couple of PCs ago.
Anybody have any links to something like this? I once had something I think I got from Slant-Fin, but that was a couple of PCs ago.
Structural steel and strong connections help a raised floor resist high winds and water.
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Replies
Have always simply made my own spreadsheet to list all conductive, infiltration, and radiation losses.
Many of the commercial programs I'se seen are simple lookup tables with often inadequate information.
For a free very complete type FEA, try the free student version of Maxwell SV.
I agree ... a simple spreadsheet works fine. Generally one thing about canned software ... it tends to have some quirks and also some black box stuff where you don't know what it does w/ some values, so I tend to trust what I can see ... which is my spreadsheet.
Also, there aren't to many shortcuts to the data required for heat load calcs ... still have to take off areas. I frequently don't do detailed R-value calcs as it generally provides you with a lot of precision which is usually unecessary ... especially since you guesstimate e.g. the air leakage value which often dwarfs any precise R-value calcs. Accuracy is important, precision usually is not.
I have not tried this yet, but it would be worth looking into. ACCA literally wrote the book (Manual J) on residential load calcs.
The Speedsheets they offer are free, and they are for both load calcs and duct sizing. Most HVAC contractors would probably agree that the duct sizing is more often the weak link in a forced-air system.
http://www.acca.org/speedsheet/
There isn't any accurate
There isn't any accurate freeware that I know of. We have expensive software at work but even that we suppliment with spreadsheets. I just wrote a blog post about how to calculate residential heating and cooling loads yourself:
http://threeacres.wordpress.com/2009/11/13/going-geothermal-part-3-calculating-residential-heating-and-cooling-loads/
Hope that helps.