What is a residential load calculation?

A Manual J load calculation, residential load calculation, or load calculation for a house is a tool used to properly size heating and cooling equipment for your home. So you may ask, "Why do I need a load calculation?" The answer is simple: it will make your home more comfortable. MUCH more comfortable. Imagine walking into your home, walking around, and not noticing anything. What I mean by that is every room seems the same temperature and comfort level to you. No room seems hotter or colder, and at no time do you feel the need to adjust your thermostat. That is what a properly sized and commissioned heating and cooling system will do for your home. And when it is accurately sized, it operates at optimal energy efficiency, saving you a great deal of money on your utility bills.

So how does the load calculation accomplish this? Well, the calculation itself figures out how many BTUs of heat will move in and out of the house at any given time of the year. It is based on local weather, the orientation of the house to the sun, the building materials used in construction, including the number, sizes, and quality of the windows, and the number of occupants in the home. Now, if you do this for the house as a whole, it is called a block load calculation.

At Apogee Consulting, we break the load down further to each room in the house. This ensures that every room will maintain the same temperature and level of comfort no matter what it is used for, the number of people occupying it, or how large or small the windows are, all of which can influence the calculation. This calculation will show exactly how much airflow is required in each room.

A load calculation is required for all new residential construction in the Carolinas. Call us today to do one for your new home to ensure a remarkably comfortable and energy-efficient new home based on your lifestyle.

And if you are considering replacing your heating and cooling system, call us first to determine the right size, whether the ductwork needs to be replaced, and what envelope work (insulation and air sealing) might need to be done to your home to make it perform optimally once it is installed.