Cold room heat load (simplified)
Daily heat load of a cooler from walls, product, air infiltration, people and lights, and the refrigeration tons needed.
Expert check pending. This tool shows its formula, cited sources and assumptions with every result, and it's included in its role plan. A qualified expert in this trade hasn't signed the method off yet, so check the result against your own code, engineer or supplier before you rely on it.
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- Your own numbers, worked out as often as you like
- The full load sheet you can print or save to My work
- 4 cited sources, linked, with the checks to make
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Example result · fictional numbers
What you get: load sheet
Worked out by this tool from its default inputs. Its role plan lets you run your own numbers, print the sheet and save it.
5.3 tons needed; air infiltration is the biggest load at 46%
- Walls, ceiling, floor
- 214,500 BTU/day
- Product
- 270,000 BTU/day
- Air infiltration
- 480,000 BTU/day
- People and lights
- 76,616 BTU/day
- Total with 10% safety
- 1,145,228 BTU/day
- Refrigeration needed
- 63,624 BTU/h (5.3 tons)
Where the heat comes from
- Walls, ceiling, floor
- 214,500 BTU/day (21%)
- Product
- 270,000 BTU/day (26%)
- Air infiltration
- 480,000 BTU/day (46%)
- People
- 15,200 BTU/day (1%)
- Lights
- 61,416 BTU/day (6%)
- Total with the tool's 10% safety
- 1,145,228 BTU/day
Also on the sheet
- Equipment check · 3 lines, starting with “Needed at 18 hours' run a day”
- Electricity and cost · 3 lines, starting with “Refrigeration per day”
- What if (each on its own, per year) · 4 lines, starting with “Infiltration cut 30% (curtains or a fast door)”
- DOE walk-in insulation check · 3 lines, starting with “Room type”
The plain-words read of this example
This room needs about 5.3 tons (63,624 BTU/h) at 18 hours' run a day. Walls are 21% of the load, product 26% and air through the doors 46%. Size the new system for at least 5.3 tons at 18 hours' run a day. At 1.80 kW a ton and $0.14 a kWh, it costs about $8,778.17 a year to run; check your tariff. Pass: R-32 meets the R-25 minimum for a walk-in cooler. Treat this as a screening figure and have the final design done with the ASHRAE method.
4 cited sources
- 10 CFR 431.306, Energy conservation standards for walk-in coolers and freezers (Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute (Code of Federal Regulations))
- Walk-in coolers and freezers (WICF) training presentation (US Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office)
- ASHRAE Handbook, Refrigeration: table of contents (Refrigerated-Facility Loads) (ASHRAE)
- Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A: average price of electricity by state and sector (US Energy Information Administration)
Plus 5 step-by-step checks, a print layout and a link that reopens it with your numbers.