Mechanical · Thermal Systems
HVAC Load Calculation & System Design
Intermediate 4 weeks 30-50 hours
Instrument a room to validate an HVAC load calc: log temperature, humidity, and heat gain from sun/occupancy over a day. Compare measured heat load to your ASHRAE hand calculation.
Major
Mechanical
Focus area
Thermal Systems
Total hours
30-50 hours
What you'll need
- DHT22 AM2302 temperature humidity sensor module 3 pack
- BMP280 barometric pressure temperature sensor module
- Arduino Uno R3 board with microSD card data logging shield
- photoresistor LDR light sensor module for Arduino
- 16x2 LCD display module with I2C for Arduino
- breadboard jumper wires male female assortment pack
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Steps
- Do an ASHRAE-style heat load hand calculation for one room.
- Place temperature, humidity, and light sensors around the room.
- Program the Arduino to log all sensors to the microSD card.
- Log data for at least a full day, noting occupancy and sun exposure.
- Estimate the measured heat gain and compare it to your hand calculation.
- Chart the comparison and document the project for your portfolio.
What to photograph for your portfolio
- Room instrumentation
- measured heat load logs
- measured vs ASHRAE calc
- load zone mapping
Resume bullet starters
Copy one, then swap in your own numbers.
Engineered a HVAC load calculation & system design using HVAC fundamentals, thermodynamics, sensor logging
Applied load calculations to implement, test, and validate the analysis end-to-end
Skills you'll show off
HVAC fundamentalsthermodynamicssensor loggingload calculations