442j PDF

FALL 10
1.044J, 2.45J, 4.42J

Homework Set # 1
Page 1 of 2
1.
The average energy used for heating a 1980s single family home is roughly 84 x 106 kJ, 80 x 106 BTU in
a climate similar to Boston or Madison, Wisconsin. Heating is mainly needed for the six coldest months.
Use the enclosed table of daily solar radiation, taken from ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals 1997, to
estimate, to within 15 to 20 percent accuracy, the size of a solar collector needed, in ft,or m2, to supply
75% of the heating energy for the house for the six winter months. Assume the energy collected on the
collector is 50% of the total solar radiation incident on the collector.
2.
Assume the house is a typical US home with 2000 square feet total floor area overall. Sketch a
preliminary design of the appropriate sized collector integrated into the roof. The design and
orientation is your choice. What if the long axis of the house is N-S?
3.
A solar collector costs roughly $25/ft2 of collector area for the entire system. A gallon of fuel oil
can supply roughly 140,000 BTU, 158 x 106 J, and costs 2.5 dollars. Compare the economics of a
one square foot collector versus heating with oil. Consider how to compare building cost versus
operating cost. What other alternatives should be considered?
.How big must the solar collector be to supply all of the heating energy if no back up system is included?
6.
On same consistent basis, e.g. J, Kw-hr, or BTU compare the costs of energy supplied by
electricity, and by burning natural gas and heating oil. Use average consumer prices for one area,
such as Boston. Obtain prices directly from utilities or from reference sources. Is there a disparity in
energy prices? If so, is this a consumer rip off or is there some justification? This problem is
fundamental to many energy considerations.
You have been recently hired by MIT to perform a partial energy audit of one of the new luxury
dorm rooms just built on campus. Each room comes with quite a bit of pre-installed equipment for
the students. Your task is to estimate the electricity usage of one of these rooms. Among other
items in the room are: a room air conditioner, full-size refrigerator, microwave oven, coffee maker,
toaster, iron, hair dryer, TV and VCR, PC, monitor and laser printer. Assume the electrical lighting
is the same as in your own room. Use the kill a watt meters we will supply to make your
measurements. Dont forget the energy sued by power supplies and other items in standby mode.
Now assume that the student has everything running at full blast at one time. How much electrical
power does this room need to be supplied with (in Watts)? Make some assumptions about how long
each appliance is used on a certain day. How many kilowatt-hours of electricity are used by this
room in one day? Based on your response to Problem 5, how much does electricity cost for one
day?
Submit a table with the following information for each appliance:
Appliance 1
7.
350W
2 hours/day
700 kWh/day
Name of Source
For your living group at MIT, list two or three strategies to make it more energy efficient.
Your sources may include: info on the backs of appliances, the internet, and your own
measurements.
Page 2 of 2
Table from ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals
Daily Solar Heat Gain Through a Single Sheet of Clear Glass at 40 N Latitude
With a Clear sky
Month
Horizontal
Vertical South Vertical East
Daily (W h/m2)
Facing
Facing
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2234
3458
4818
6036
6828
7100
6790
5964
4658
3408
2230
1782
5130
5180
4380
3076
2256
1990
2220
2990
4238
4986
5030
4890
1621
2311
2983
3085
3781
3866
3752
3424
2859
2233
1601
1347
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Fall 2010
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Homework Set #2
1.
Look at the cutaway of the EdenPure Quartz Infrared heater on

http://edenpurestore.com/bob_vila_edenpure, How would the design and materials of the
cured copper tubes improve the efficiency of the heater? From an energy perspective
what is the proper definition of efficiency?
2.
One means proposed to conserve energy for space heating is the use of night
setback; the interior temperature of a building is reduced during the evening. The heat
transferred from the building to the outside air is directly proportional to the temperature
difference between the building interior and the outdoor ambient temperature. Between
the hours of 8 AM and 10 PM the interior temperature in the winter should remain at
20C. At night for the remaining 10 hours, it cannot fall below 12 C when the ambient
temperature is constant at 0C.
a) You are asked to design a control strategy, when to turn the heater off and on, to stay
within these temperature limits while minimizing the total heater energy for a 24 hour
period. For a given building you will be given an Excel program that will be predict the
internal temperature response and heater energy. The heater only has three setting, on
low, on high and off. Setting the heater on low at steady state will just maintain the house
at 12C. You can design the maximum heater size, high, the maximum heater output as a
multiple of the low setting between 1 and 5. What is the minimum energy for the
nighttime?
b) Some people have questioned this strategy claiming that the total energy saved by
night setback is reduced because of the additional energy needed to raise the interior
temperature in the morning. Consider a 24-hour period for a building. The internal
energy of the building is proportional to the temperature. Be careful in defining the
system and the heat and work interactions at the boundaries. What is the net energy
change for the system over the 24-hour period? How much impact does the reheating
energy in the morning have on the savings due to the night setback?
3.
The door to an ordinary electric home refrigerator is left open by accident (with
the power on) while the people are away for the weekend. If the kitchen doors are closed
and the room is thermally well insulated, will the room be hotter than, colder than, or at
the same temperature as the rest of the house when the unhappy people return? Why?
Fall08
1.044J, 2.66J, 4.42J
Homework Set #2
Page 2 of 2
4.
An investigator suggests use of a heat pump to provide winter heating to a
building. Instead of using the outside air as the low temperature heat source, she proposes
to use the domestic water system which enters the house at a higher temperature than the
outside air. This raises the heat pump average coefficient of performance QH/W from 2.5
to 3.0. As the heat pump operates, Qw is transferred from the water, lowing TI, the inlet
water temperature to the house. To simplify the consideration assume the initial water
temperatures is TH same as the interior temperature. The house temperature is constant at
TH. Evaluate the net energy electrical savings under two conditions:
(a)
(b)
(c)
The water quickly flows through the house and there is no heat transfer
between the water and the interior of the house. TD the water drain
temperature equals TI with or without the heat pump.
The water remains in the house for a long time. Heat transfer to the water
in the house raises it temperature to the interior temperature TH, so that TD
is equal to TH no matter how much TI changes.
Comment on the feasibility of such a system.
QH
Heat
Pump
TH
QW
Water
Inlet
T = TH
TI
I
m
D
m
TD
Drain
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Homework Set #3
______________________________________________________________________________________
1) Simmons Hall, the newest MIT student dorm on campus should be operated to minimize
energy use. One proposed strategy to reduce air conditioning energy in the summer is night
cooling. At 8 p.m. the windows are opened and cool night air is circulated through the room.
By 8 a.m. the room air and the concrete floor slab have a temperature close to that of the
outside air, 18 degrees Centigrade. The slab is four inches thick. At 8 a.m. the windows are
closed and heat transfer to the cooled floor slab helps to maintain a comfortable interior
temperature. Neglect any heat transfer through the closed windows. Assume that the average
rate of electrical and solar energy into the room totals 500 watts over the 12 hours.
a)Sketch the room temperature vs. time for the 12 hour period between 8 a.m. and 8
p.m. What is the maximum room temperature? Assume as a limiting case that the slab
and the air temperature are always equal. In reality, do you expect the slab to be at a
lower or higher temperature than the air?
b) Can you suggest an improved strategy for window opening and closing during the
day?
2) To supplement the night cooling strategy described above, it is proposed to spray liquid
water droplets into the air. If the room air at 8 a.m. is completely dry what is the maximum
amount of liquid water that can be evaporated into the room air at 18 degrees Centigrade?
Assume that the room is closed up and there is no air circulation from the outside into the
room.
3) Using both night cooling and the maximum amount of liquid water evaporation in the room,
estimate the room temperature at 8 p.m. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. the windows are closed and the
average electrical and solar energy into the room totals 500 watts. To solve, write an energy
balance for a system including the floor slab, the water and the air. Take state 1 as liquid
water, floor slab and air at 18 degrees Centigrade, the conditions at 8 a.m. Take state 2 as the
slab and saturated air at 8 p.m.
4) What do you think about the feasibility of the proposed solutions?
5) You are interested in investigating the thermal stratification in your dorm room, which
directly impacts our assumption that the slab and air temperatures are equal. Chose 4
locations in your room, 2 of which are in the immediate vicinity of your highest power
consuming appliances identified in the first problem set. At each location, use the Vernier
LabQuest and temperature probe to measure the floor temperature and air temperature at the
following heights (1 in, 2 ft, 4 ft, 6 ft, 8 ft above floor). Allow enough time at each height for the
temperature reading to reach steady state (ie to settle on a value and not change).
How justified is our assumption about the slab and air temperatures? Is the thermal
stratification different at each location? If so, please justify any differences.
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Homework Set #4
1.
State 2
75 oF
Exhaust
amb
M
Tamb
State 3
Room
State 1
60 oF
chiller
Q
total
M
A room at steady state has a supply air stream of cool air entering at 60oF. The lights, office
appliances and people transfer heat to the air so that it leaves at 75oF. Consider only sensible heat
transfer for this problem, with all temperatures given as dry bulb temperatures. After the air leaves
the room some is exhausted from the building. The remainder mixes with ambient air. The mixture
amb must be at least 20
is cooled by the chiller down to 60oF. For ventilation requirements M
percent of the total flow rate. The total air flow rate to the room and the entering temperature, state
1, are held constant. The amount of ambient air can be varied from 20 percent up to 100 % of
total (with corresponding increases in the exhaust flow to keep the total flow constant). The
M
temperature changes are small so Cp can be considered constant.
chiller
a) For an arbitrary ambient temperature develop an expression for Q
amb and M
total.
in terms of M
amb and M
total
b) As the ambient temperature varies between 50oF and 85oF what should M
chiller ?
be to minimize Q
amb and M
total versus TAMB. At different ambient
Show a diagram of the optimum M
temperature levels, e.g., 60, 75 oF, the strategy to minimize the chiller cooling requirement
may change. This is known as an economizer cycle.
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Homework Set #4
2.
An office space is to be kept at 73oF. If cool air is constantly supplied to the space at 60oF
and the space can be assumed to be at a uniform temperature, what is the required air mass
flow in lb/hr and volume flow in CFM? The same flow of air continually leaves the space.
The heat transfer into the space from the outside through an exterior wall is 16,000 BTU/hr.
Internal "heat gains" in the office space can be taken as 2.5 W/ft2 for office equipment and
computers and 250 BTU/hr per person. Assume the space ft2 is occupied by 40 people.
The heat given due to people assume is only sensible heating, i.e., it neglects any
evaporation or changes in the moisture level in the air. Assume steady state conditions
prevail. The floor area of the office is 1500 ft2.
2b.
If all the heat gains are doubled what options are available for the cool air supply to keep
the office space at 73oF? What other factors must be considered in choosing an option?
3.
A water to air heat exchanger is used to heat the air of a home interior. The air flow rate is
2000 lbm/hr; the air enters in steady flow at 70o F and leaves the heat exchanger at 100 oF.
Heating water enters at 130oF and leaves at 110oF.
4.
a)
If the heat exchanger is operating in steady state and there is negligible heat loss
from the outside casing of the exchanger to its surroundings what is the required
water flow rate?
b)
Do you think it's possible to design a heat exchanger with a water temperature drop
from 130oF to 110oF while the air outlet temperature is raised to 125oF (for suitable
air and water flow rates)?
c)
Is it possible to have an air outlet temperature of 135oF with these same water
temperatures?
An air conditioning system uses R-12 (Freon-12) as a working fluid. The flow rate of
refrigerant is 1,000 lbm/hr and it is steady. The refrigerant is condensed in the condenser to
saturated liquid at 120oF. From the condenser, it passes through an expansion valve where
the pressure is lowered and the outlet temperature is 20oF. The expansion valve is insulated
and there is no shaft work. After the expansion valve the Freon enters the evaporator where
it receives heat at constant pressure corresponding to the saturation pressure of 20oF. The
heat transferred to the Freon in the evaporation provides the cooling to the air passing over
the evaporator.
a)
Find the cooling capacity of the unit in BTU/hr if the outlet of the evaporator is
saturated vapor. Find the cooling capacity in tons. Hint: Define a control volume
around the evaporator and write the steady flow energy equation.
b)
Repeat part (a) if the outlet of the evaporator is super heated by 15oF; that is, the
vapor is heated at constant pressure to 15oF above the saturation temperature.
Assume the Freon-12 vapor is a perfect gas with Cp equal to 0.15 BTU/lbm oF.
Page 2 of 5
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Homework Set #4
5. An open plan office is to be cooled by natural ventilation. The long axis of the building
is aligned in the East-West direction. The depth in the North-South direction is 30 m
with operable windows on both the North and South sides. With open windows and
negligible air flow resistance in the interior, when the wind is from the South, the air
velocity at the Southern window open area can be approximately related to the wind
velocity as, Vopen area = 0.35 Vwind. Assume the North side windows have the same open
area as the South windows and there is an equal air flow out of the North side windows.
The interior height is 3 m and there is a combined heat input due to lights, people and
office equipment of 40 W/m2 of floor area.
a)
What is the air change rate per hour, ACH, of the building interior as a function of
the percent of the South faade used for open window area? The wind velocity is 1.5
m/s.
b)
Plot the temperature rise of the interior air as a function of the percent of the South
faade used for open windows. The wind velocity is still 1.5 m/s.
c)
How can the building be kept cool when the wind velocity is reduced?
d)
Compare the performance of natural ventilation between the upper and lower floors
of a high rise building.
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Fall2010
1.044J, 2.45J, 4.42J
Homework Set #4
6.
An air conditioning system uses HFC 134a as a working fluid, the refrigerant. The
flow rate of refrigerant is 500 kg/hr and it is steady. The refrigerant is condensed in
the condenser to saturated liquid at 45 C. From the condenser, it passes through
an expansion valve, flow resistance, where the pressure is lowered and the outlet
temperature is 10 C. The expansion valve is insulated and there is no shaft work.
After the expansion valve the refrigerant enters the evaporator where it receives
heat at constant pressure corresponding to the saturation pressure of 10 C. The
heat transferred to the refrigerant in the evaporation provides the cooling to the air
passing over the evaporator.
What is the enthalpy change of the refrigerant as it flows through the expansion
valve?
Find the cooling capacity of the unit in W and BTU/hr if the outlet of the evaporator
is saturated vapor. Hint: Define a control volume around the evaporator and write
the steady flow energy equation.
T= 45 C Saturated
Liquid
500 kg/s flow rate
Condensor
Compressor
Flow
Resistance
Evaporator
T=10C
T=10 C,
saturated vapor
Page 4 of 5
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Homework Set #4
7. MIT has a large number of fume hoods used for wet chemistry experiments. When the
hood sashes are open the air velocity, sometimes called the face velocity, must be
maintained at a safe level to prevent any dangerous fumes from escaping. The air drawn
into the hoods comes from the air supplied to the room. This air must be heated to
acceptable temperature levels for the lab occupants. For safety reasons, all of the air flow
in such a building must be exhausted and none can be recycled, a once-through system.
Use the instruments from class to measure the air flow rate in a new and an older hood as
the window is closed.
a)
Estimate for one full sized hood at MIT the energy required to heat the air use
during one winter day if the hood is left fully open for 24 hours.
b)
Use the instruments from class to measure the air flow rate in a new and older
hood as the sash is closed.
b)
Estimate the amount of energy required to heat the air for the entire heating
season if the hood is always open.
c)
Compare this to the energy required to heat an average single family house in
Boston for the heating season.
d)
What steps would you recommend to save energy with the fume hoods at MIT?
8.
A single story shopping mall has a floor plan 50m X 100 m. All energy is supplied by electricity.
It has been designed with some advanced efficiency features so that the yearly energy use is 100 kWh/m2
of floor area. The architect proposes to use a wind turbine on the top of the building to supply all of the
electricity. The wind turbine has a horizontal axis and has an average efficiency of 35 percent.
a)
Use the average wind speed in Boston (Logan Airport) to estimate what the diameter of a
single
turbine to meet the buildings energy?
b) What are the practical issues with such a system?
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4.42 F10
Assignment #5
FOR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING PROBLEMS USE THE
PSYCHOMETRIC CHARTS WHEN YOU CAN TO OBTAIN THE NEEDED DATA.
1. The air leaving an office space is at 78oF dry bulb and 85% relative humidity. The
leaving air is cooled to 65oF dry bulb and 70% relative humidity and returned to the
office space. This is accomplished by first sensible cooling of the air to saturation,
then cooling and dehumidification along the saturation line and finally reheating
without vapor addition. Show the process on the psychometric curve. Find the
energy requirement for each of the three processes per pound of dry air.
2. The overall change of state described in problem 1 is to be accomplished solely by
mixing the leaving air with cool air at 55oF. What must the relative humidity of the
cool air be so that the mixture can reach the 65oF dry bulb and 70% relative
humidity state? How many pounds of cool air are needed per pound of leaving air?
3. A building in the Southwest is to be cooled by use of an evaporative cooler. Cool
liquid water is sprayed into outside air as it is brought into the building. The
outside air is at 90oF dry bulb temperature and 10% relative humidity. Show the
cooling process on a psychometric chart assuming the enthalpy of the liquid water
is negligible in the energy balance. How much water must be evaporated for each
10oF dry bulb temperature decrease of the air?
3b. Steam, hot water vapor, is mixed with the outside air. Show the process on the
psychometric chart when the enthalpy of the steam, enthalpy per mass of steam, is
equal to the enthalpy of the water vapor in the outside air at 90 F, 10% RH. What
happens when the steam enthalpy is greater than the enthalpy of the water vapor in
the outside air?
4. Within the building considered in problem 3 the sensible heat gain is twice the
latent heat gain. If the air-conditions within the office space (well mixed
conditions) is 80oF and 40% relative humidity, construct the condition line for the
building. The condition line is the line on the psychometric chart representing all
of the possible states of the supply air which yields the desired well mixed
conditions within the building. The indoor conditions are maintained by mixing the
ambient air, cooled by evaporation as given in problem 3, with the exhaust from
the building. What is the only state of the cooled ambient air which permits the
interior conditions to be maintained, i.e. for the specified state of the interior air
and the given ratio of sensible to latent heat gain?
Page 1 of 2
4.42 F10
Assignment #5
5. A small portable dehumidifier is a single self-contained unit that is placed
inside a room. It has one air inlet and one air outlet for the entire unit (the
dehumidifier does not have any direct contact with the air outside the house).
Air enters at 24 C dry bulb temperature and 80 percent relative humidity. The
volume flow rate of air is 245 CFM, 6.9 m3/min. The unit removes 40 pints of
liquid water per day, approximately 19 kg/day, from the air when operated
constantly at steady state. It consumes 400 W of electricity. Assume that there is
negligible heat transfer from the cabinet of the unit to the surrounding air. Take
the air density as 1.16 kg/m3
a) What is the specific humidity in g/kg of the air leaving the unit?
b) What is the dry bulb temperature of the air leaving the unit? Show the state of
the inlet and leaving air on the psychometric chart.
Air In
6.9 m3/min
24 C, 80% RH
Portable
Dehumidifier
Air Out
Specific humidity = ?
T dry bulb = ?
400 W
Liquid water
19 kg/day
Page 2 of 2
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Homework Set #6
1. A low density fiberglass insulation has an R value of 11 (BTU/hr ft2 oF)-1 when used in
a standard 2x4 wall cavity. To achieve a higher insulation, a contractor compresses the
fiberglass so that there are two layers of the insulation in the 2 x 4 wall cavity. He states
that the wall has an R value of 22. Do you agree? Explain.
2. A flat roof insulation system uses aluminum screws to hold down flat insulation
panels. The screws are 1/4 inch diameter, 2 inches long and spaced 4 inches on center in
a square array. The top of the insulation uses a thin aluminum sheet as a weather barrier
and a reflective layer. Underneath the insulation is a corrugated steel roof. The
insulation is two inches thick and has a conductivity of 0.015 BTU/hr ft oF. The screws
pass through the insulation and are anchored in the corrugated roof. The effective U
value of the insulation system plus screws is defined as U=q(total)/A(total)T where
q(total) is the sum of the heat transfer through the aluminum screws and the insulation.
Assume that the convective heat transfer coefficient on the inside of the corrugated
surface and on the outside over the top of the thin aluminum sheet is 2BTU/hr ft2 oF.
Calculate the U value for two limiting cases: 1) There is large lateral heat transfer and the
corrugated sheet and the thin aluminum are each at a uniform temperature and ; 2) there
is no lateral heat transfer through the corrugated sheet and the aluminum panel, heat
transfer through the screws and the insulation occur in parallel with no interaction
between the heat flows in the respective cross-sections.
3. A window has two vertical panes of glass separated by an one inch air gap. The glass
panes can be considered black bodies at uniform temperatures of 40oF and 60oF,
respectively. Estimate the total heat transfer, convection plus radiation, through the
window space. Note: convection through a vertical space is a very weak function of the
layer height, as a first approximation this effect can be neglected.
4. How much does the result of problem 3 change if one glass pane has a low emissivity
coating which reduces its emissivity to 0.2. Instead of the low emissivity coating, a third
layer of opaque glass is placed midway between the two; how much is the convective
heat transfer changed, is the radiation also changed?
5. Estimate the total heat loss from a wood frame house in the Boston area for the heating
season of one year. Boston averages 5634 degree days for a typical heating year. The
walls are 2 x 4 filled with fiberglass and covered with one inch of polyurethane foam
insulation sheathing. The windows are double glazed with a low e coating. The attic has
10 inches of low density fiberglass insulation. Neglect heat loss from the foundation.
The house is a single story with 2000 ft2 of floor area. The perimeter is 220 ft. and the
outside walls are 12 feet high. Fifteen percent of the outside walls are windows. There
are 0.3 air changes per hour in the house. Neglect additional losses through doorways,
etc. Use values from other homework problems or reference tables to determine U
values.
1
Fall10
1.044J, 2.45J, 4.42J
Homework Set #6
6. A person is seated in a room which has still air. The room surfaces are all black and at
the same temperature as the air, 70oF. The person is now seated in front of a large
window which is cold, 50oF. The window and the person can both be considered as a
black body. The rest of the room walls are still at 70oF. Estimate how much the room air
temperature must be increased for the person to have the same net heat loss from their
entire body surface as in the original case without the window? In both cases the surface
temperature of the person is unchanged. You will need to estimate some values of the
convective and radiative heat.
7. Estimate the surface temperatures of all of the components in a typical 2 X 4 frame

wall as seen in class. Estimate the average heat transfer rate per square foot of wall area.
Take the inside air temperature as 68oF and the outside air temperature as
30oF. Be sure to include heat transfer through the wood stud.
8. A forced hot air system has 6 inch diameter ducts installed in an uninsulated attic.
Heated air at 100F flows through the ducts at 10 ft/s velocity. The ducts are made of
aluminum and the contractor neglects to insulate them. If the attic is at 40F estimate the
U value from the heated air inside the duct to the cold attic air. If the duct is 10 feet long
what is the rate of heat loss from the duct? Neglect radiation. How much will the air
temperature inside the duct change due to this heat loss?
9. Try to determine the thermal resistance of a typical MIT window facing Killian Court.
On a cold night use the IR camera to measure the exterior surface temperature of the
various window components. Then using your estimate of the radiation and convection
heat transfer from the exterior surface make an estimate of the U value of the specific
component, e.g, glass, frame, etc.
Repeat this for the exterior surface of the masonry wall.
What is your recommendation to increase the energy efficiency of the entire exterior
envelope?
10. The courtyard in the center of the Gardner Museum in Boston is enclosed with a
glass roof. The glass is supported by a steel frame. The steel, 2 cm thick, extends in a
solid piece from the inside to the outside as shown in the figure. The outside surface of
the steel is painted black and has a convective heat transfer coefficient of 5 W/m2oK. The
inside air temperature is 0 oC. Assume the inside surface of the steel is painted with a
silver paint that has an emissivity of 0.1. The inside convective heat transfer coefficient
is 3 W/m2oK. The inside air temperature is 20 oC and the relative humidity is 45 percent.
Assume the steel surface on the inside radiates to a black body at 20 oC and the steel
surface on the outside radiates to a black body at 0 oC.
a) Draw the electric analogy for the heat transfer through the steel frame by using
the linear form for radiation heat transfer (ht).
2
Fall10
1.044J, 2.45J, 4.42J
Homework Set #6
b) What is the inside temperature of the steel frame?
c) Will water condense on the inside surface of the steel frame?
d) If the inside surface of the steel is painted black, will this cause worse
condensation problems?
Outside air Tout = 0 C
Black surface, h(convection) = 5 W/m2K
Steel frame
2cm
Inside air Tin = 20 C, RH = 45%

Silver surface, emissivity = 0.1
h(convection) = 3 W/m2K
11. A manufacturer of double glazed windows will put a low emissivity coating on either
the inside surface of the interior glass layer, shown in the figure as case 1 or alternatively
will put the low emissivity coating on the inside surface of the outermost glass layer,
shown in the figure as case 2. You are asked to consider means to determine the relative
temperature of the inside glass layer surface for both cases. Assume wintertime
conditions with the interior air temperature at 24 C and the exterior surroundings is a
black body at 5 C. In both cases the spacing between the two glass layers is inch.
a) Sketch the electrical resistance network for the two cases.
b) Estimate the numerical values of the resistance elements.
c) Based on the relative value of the resistances can you make a qualitative judgment
of which case yields a lower temperature for the inside layer of glass?
d) How would you estimate the inside glass temperature steady state? Give the
relevant expressions but do not solve or evaluate numerically.
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Fall 2010
FALL 10
1.044J, 2.45J, 4.42J
Homework #7
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not required
To be discussed
Do the following problems in Levenspiel,

Understanding Engineering Thermo:
1)
Example 18.4
2)
18.8
3)
18.9
4)
18.12
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Fall 2010
4.42J
Design Project 1
Due: November 3, 2010
In Class at 11:00 AM
MIT has undertaken a program to improve the energy efficiency of all existing buildings.
Through a cooperative agreement with the electrical utility NSTAR, MIT will be rewarded for
each efficiency improvement that can be documented. You are asked to pick one building or
wing of an existing building on campus and focus on one or two particular inefficient energy
features such as exits doors. You are asked to access the current energy use, develop redesigns
of components or operations that substantially improve energy efficiency and predict the
energy savings and economics of these new designs. The new concepts should an outstanding
sustainable design that is also financially sound.
In Design Projects 1 and 2 you are asked to select a building and propose and assess
innovative building designs, technologies and operating schemes that will yield an outstanding
sustainable building. For Design Project 1 you should first collect basic information about the
proposed building features you want to address. Some of this information might be available
from the MIT Facilities Department. In addition, you should develop general conceptual
designs and technologies for the building and site and qualitatively describe their importance.
In phase 2 you will quantitatively assess the behavior of the proposed schemes and refine your
designs.
Students should work on this project in teams of two and produce a written report. The report
should indicate the contribution of each student. Address your report to readers who have
some technical background. This report for Design Project 1 should be the preliminary
assessment of the proposed scheme and additional concepts that you propose. The report
should include an introduction, discussion of the above items and diagrams, and conclusions
and recommendations.
The grade for this project is equivalent to one half of an hour quiz.
You are required to discuss your preliminary finding with the instructor and TA (unpaid but
highly knowledgeable consultants) at least once before the due date.
Your design will be graded in terms of:
Clarity and thoroughness of the report
Originality
Practicality
Punctuality (Late reports will lose substantial credit)
Some suggestions for design projects

Control of dorm heaters
Revolving doors vs swing doors vs double doors
Control of shades, lights in Building E62
Stata Building daylight sensors
Faade improvements for original MIT buildings
Relighting potential in academic buildings, dorms
Living group energy improvements
Behavioral measures: design, monitoring, confirmation
Your suggestions?
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Fall 2010
Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings
Undergraduate 4.42J, 2.66J, 1.044J
Students from courses
1,2,3,4 and 10
Subject Outline
Fundamentals of
Thermodynamics
Heat Transfer
Fluid Flow
Applied to the design and operation of energy

efficient buildings
Issues of economics, behavior, environment
Creative design project
Hands on performance measurements
(with equipment obtained with MITEI support)
Examples of student design projects
DESIGN PROJECT 2
LIGHTING IN ARCHITECTURE STUDIO 7
For the purpose of simplicity we selected one particular desk (approxi

mately) right under the desk, and decided to use that as our lighting test
zone.
We used a Extech HD450 light meter to take readings at the location
under different lighting circumstances. The data is shown below:
At Night (Fluoroscent Lights only) = 680 Lux

During the Day (Fluoroscent Lights only/skywindows closed) = 850 Lux
During the Day with straight Glare = 11000 Lux
During the Day with straight Glare and White museum Board = 14500 Lux
Mezannine with Lights off : 65 Lux
Mezannine with Lights on : 628 Lux
Image of Extech HD 540 light meter removed due to copyright restrictions.
skylights
300mm sunpipes
Estimated yearly savings for one studio
$1700 per year savings
Single Pane: Building 3
Plastic Surgery
for old buildings
non-obtrusive to currently inoperable

windows
discreet
scaleable to entire building
simple to install and maintain
19.2 GJ saved per heating season

Equivalent to 20% of season heat for a single
family home in Boston
Current Situation
Windows are efficient

Living Room casement windows
Dining Room double-hung windows
Before
After
477 - 479
Commonwealth
Dining Room
Windows
Storm Windows
Leaky due to wood frames
Large and Operable

Curved to fit walls of room
expensive to replace
5 inch gap between inner and
outer windows
CO2 Leakage through Windows

The purpose of our experiment is to evaluate the air leakage
through the windows in a controlled environment, by measuring
the rate of CO2 flow out of the otherwise sealed room.
Outside trim
Estimated Savings
of Caulking and
Weather stripping
Sash pulley
and cord
Estimated Heat loss due to old/

leaky windows: 10,348 MJ/window
Top sash
Blind stop
By completely eliminating air leaks

(ideal case) we can save:
Parting sash
Bottom sash
$2164/year
Interior sash stop

Jamb
Stool
Sill
Image by MIT OpenCourseWare.
Experiment Setting:
Dining Room
RESULTS
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Fall 2010
MIT Architecture
L. Glicksman
Fall 2008
4.42 FINAL
Open Book
1) (25) A company that makes heat pump components had decided to use their
knowledge and some of their existing equipment to make small electric power generators
for buildings in the developing world.. They want to use their existing refrigerant, HFC
134a as the working fluid in the power cycle. They plan to burn natural gas as the heat
source. Their initial test was disappointing as they only achieved an efficiency of 4
percent. In this test the natural gas was burned with lots of air so the combustion gas only
achieved a temperature of 50C. Heat was rejected to the environment; the environment
was at 20C
a) If we improve the heat exchangers, the boiler and condenser, by significantly
increasing their area while keeping the natural gas and environmental temperatures at
50C and 20C, respectively, what is the limit to the efficiency gain that could be achieved
with the power generator?
b) One suggestion is to significantly increase the temperature of the combustion gas
while the environment remains at 20 C. They still want to use HFC134a as the working
fluid within the power cycle. Reviewing the saturation properties of HC134a are there
some practical limits to achieving an efficiency of 20 percent or greater?
c) What is your recommendation for major charges in the overall project concept to
achieve a practical power generation device with an efficiency above 30 percent?
4.42 Fall 08 Final

Page 1 of 4
Heat from combustion gas

Boiler for HFC
134a
Work
pump
Turbine
Condensor
Heat to environment at 20C
2) (25) The indoor conditions in a room are 21C and 50 %RH. There is still air in the
room. When the outside temperature is 0C, the inside glass surface has a temperature of
16C, measured at the center of the glass surface at night. The glass is a double glazed unit
with unknown properties. The inside surface of the glass does not have a low e coating on
it.
a) With these temperature measurements can you estimate the U value neglecting framing
elements?
b) For another window, the same inside glass temperature, 16C is measured when the sun
is shining on the window and the room air conditions and the outside temperature are the
same as part (a). Is the U value for this window the same as that in part (a)? If not, is the
U value of this window larger or smaller than the window in part a? Remember, the U
value always refers to the heat transfer through the window without the presence of solar
radiation.
c) For the same conditions as part (a), condensation just begins to form on the inside of
the framing elements. Can you estimate the U value of a framing element based on its
surface area?
d) Without replacing this window in parts a and c, suggest ways to improve its thermal
performance.
4.42 Fall 08 Final

Page 2 of 4
3. (25) We would like to cool a building so that the interior is maintained at 24 C and
50% RH. The outside conditions are 35 C and 50% RH. We know that 60% of the heat
in the room is sensible and 40% is latent. We will supply 1200 kg/hr of air to the space.
To achieve the supply air conditions, we will use the following processes:
1. Cool the outdoor air by mixing it with some of the return interior air.
2. Sensible cooling to saturation temperature.
3. Dehumidification.
4. Sensible heating until we reach the desired supply conditions.
a. We will supply air at 18 C. What is the relative humidity of the supply air?
b. During step 1, we will mix 60% return air with 40% outdoor air. What are the
resulting temperature and humidity of the mixed air?
c. How much water (in kg/hr) will be removed from the air during step 3?
d. During step 4, what is the rate of sensible heat (in kJ/hr) that we will need to put into
the air?
4.42 Fall 08 Final

Page 3 of 4
4. (25) A cooling tower can be used to remove heat from water. The cooling tower in the
diagram below cools water from 40 C to 25 C. Air enters the bottom of the tower at 20
C and 50% relative humidity. Air exits the top of the tower at 32 C and 95% relative
humidity. The mass flow rate of the water which enters the tower is 10,000 kg per
minute.
Air at 32 C,
95% RH
Water at 40 C
Air at 20 C,
50% RH
Water at 25 C
Water
a. Assuming steady state, write expressions for the energy and mass balance of this
system.
b. What is the mass flow rate of air entering the cooling tower?
c. What is the mass flow rate of water which leaves the cooling tower?
4.42 Fall 08 Final

Page 4 of 4
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Fall 2010
4.42 Quiz 1
An inventor proposes a refrigerator that makes ice which is then melted and
used to cool a cold storage room. The refrigerator is put into a closed insulated
room without any air flow into or out of the room. It is turned on when the water is
liquid at 0C, the initial room temperature. It makes 10kg of ice which is then
melted to liquid at 0C without any evaporation of the water.
a) Will the room temperature increase or decrease for the entire process
(from the time the refrigerator is turned on to the time the ice has melted)?
b) If the refrigerator has a COP of 3 and it is only used to make the ice, how
much electrical energy does the refrigerator require? Take the internal
energy change from ice to liquid water at 0C as 334 kJ/kg. The COP is the
rate of useful cooling to the rate of electrical energy consumed.
c) If 0.25 kg of water evaporates after all of the ice has melted, does the
room temperature increase or decrease over the entire process?
An MIT fraternity holds a party in their largest common room, which is 10m long x 10m
wide x 3m high. The party lasts 4 hours and 300 students attend. Because everyone is
dancing, each person gives off 300 Btu/hr of sensible heat. The home theatre system
uses 1000W. Two 100W lights are also on.
The room has a 0.1m concrete slab floor. The air in the space and the slab are initially
at 68 F. Assume that the specific humidity remains constant for both problems.
a. If the room is perfectly insulated and there is no ventilation system, what is the
temperature of the air in the space at the end of the party? Assume that the air and floor
slab end up at the same temperature and that all electrical equipment is on the whole
time. Is this a comfortable temperature?
b. For their second party, the frat brothers decide to naturally ventilate the space using
two windows, each 1.5m x 2m. The temperature of the air outside is 60 F and the wind
velocity is 2 m/s. Let vin be the velocity of air entering the open windows. Assume that
vin = 0.35 vwind and that all the rate of air leaving the space is the same as air entering the
same. If all other conditions stay the same, what is the temperature of the air in the
space at the end of the second party? Again assume that the air and floor slab end up
at the same temperature and that all air is well-mixed. Is this a comfortable
temperature?
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Fall 2010
4.42 QUIZ 1
Open Book
October 27, 2006
Fall 2006
1) (50)
In the winter an automobile is driven into a well insulated garage with
internal dimensions 4m x 5m x3m. The air in the garage is initially at 100C.
The car is mostly steel with a mass of 1500 kg and a specific heat of 500
J/kg K. The car is initially at 00C except for the engine. The engine
temperature is 1000C and consists of 150 kg steel and 20 kg liquid water.
Neglect heat transfer to the envelope and floor of the garage.
(a) What is the final temperature of the garage when the car, engine
and air in the garage reach a single uniform temperature?
(b) If the engine has 10 kg liquid water and 10 kg saturated water
vapor at 1000C what is the final temperature if all of the water
vapor has condensed to liquid?
2) (50)
A building uses cross flow natural ventilation to provide cooling. The
building has two zones or rooms and the air flows at steady state through
zone 1 and then flows through zone 2 in series. Each zone has the air well
mixed so that each individual zone is at a uniform temperature. The outside
air flow rate entering zone 1 is m& 1 and this equals the air flow rate leaving
zone 2 that is exhausted to the outside. Each zone has a total rate of heat
.
input Q 1 that is the same for each portion of the problem.

.
Let T1 = Q 1 / m& 1 cp.

(a)
If there is no back mixing between zone 2 and 1 so that the air

flows in one direction as shown; first through zone 1 and then
through zone 2, what are the temperatures of zone 1 and 2 in
terms of T1 and TAMB?
Now assume there is a large amount of back mixing between
zones 1 and 2 so that they are both at the same temperature.
The net air flow is still m& 1 . What is the temperature of zones 1
and 2?
There is a limited back mixing from zone 2 to 1 so that there is
a back flow of 0.5m1 from zone 2 to 1 while the net flow from
zone 1 to 2 is still m& 1 . What is the temperature of zone 2 for this
case? Consider a method to find this without first evaluating
T1.
For case (c) what is the temperature of zone 1?
B
(b)
(c)
(d)
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Fall 2010
4.42 Quiz 1 Solutions

2(50)An inventor proposes a refrigerator that makes ice which is then melted and
used to cool a cold storage room. The refrigerator is put into a closed insulated
room without any air flow into or out of the room. It is turned on when the water is
liquid at 0C, the initial room temperature. It makes 10kg of ice which is then
melted to liquid at 0C without any evaporation of the water.
a) Will the room temperature increase or decrease for the entire process
(from the time the refrigerator is turned on to the time the ice has melted)?
b) If the refrigerator has a COP of 3 and it is only used to make the ice, how
much electrical energy does the refrigerator require? Take the internal
energy change from ice to liquid water at 0C as 334 kJ/kg. The COP is the
rate of useful cooling to the rate of electrical energy consumed.
c) If 0.25 kg of water evaporates after all of the ice has melted, does the
room temperature increase or decrease over the entire process?
Solution:
a) For a system composed of the room plus the refrigerator and water/ ice, the net
change of the internal energy of the water to ice and back to water is zero. The
refrigerator operates in a cycle so there isnt any energy change. There is only a
flow of electricity into the room, an energy gain, so the room temperature will
increase.
b) COP = Qcool/Welec
Welec = Qcool / COP = 10x 334 /3 = 1113 kJ which is the net energy flow into
the room
c) In this case the final state of the water has a higher internal energy of 0.25x2375 =
594 kJ. This is less than the electrical energy so the room temperature still rises.
An MIT fraternity holds a party in their largest common room, which is 10m long x 10m
wide x 3m high. The party lasts 4 hours and 300 students attend. Because everyone is
dancing, each person gives off 300 Btu/hr of sensible heat. The home theatre system
uses 1000W. Two 100W lights are also on.
The room has a 0.1m concrete slab floor. The air in the space and the slab are initially
at 68 F. Assume that the specific humidity remains constant for both problems.
a. If the room is perfectly insulated and there is no ventilation system, what is the
temperature of the air in the space at the end of the party? Assume that the air and floor
slab end up at the same temperature and that all electrical equipment is on the whole
time. Is this a comfortable temperature?
b. For their second party, the frat brothers decide to naturally ventilate the space using
two windows, each 1.5m x 2m. The temperature of the air outside is 60 F and the wind
velocity is 2 m/s. Let vin be the velocity of air entering the open windows. Assume that
vin = 0.35 vwind and that all the rate of air leaving the space is the same as air entering the
same. If all other conditions stay the same, what is the temperature of the air in the
space at the end of the second party? Again assume that the air and floor slab end up
at the same temperature and that all air is well-mixed. Is this a comfortable
temperature?
Solution:
a. First find the total amount of heat gain in the room:
Qpeople = 300 people * 300 Btu/hr * 1055 J/Btu * 4 hrs = 3.8 x 108 J
Qequipment = (1000 W + 200 W) * 4 hrs * 3600 s/hr = 1.7 x 107 J
Qtotal = Qpeople + Qequipment = 3.97 x 108 J

To find Tfinal, we use the energy conservation equation:
Uair + Uslab = cair mair T + cslab mslab T = Qtotal
We have seen from previous problems that in this situation we can assume that Uair will
be negligible, so we will only consider Uslab.
We know that cslab = 880 J/kg-K, slab = 2100 kg/m3, and Vslab = 100 m2 x 0.1 m = 10 m3
Plugging these into the energy conservation equation, we find:
cslab mslab T = Qtotal
880 J/kg-K * 2100 kg/m3 * 10 m3 * T = 3.97 x 108 J
T = 21.5 C
T = Tfinal 20 C Tfinal = 41.5 C or 106.7 F !!!
Clearly, this is not a comfortable temperature for the party.
b. We know that the total amount of heat gain in the room will be the same as in part a.
For this problem, it is easier to use the rate of heat gain in W:
dQtotal/dt = 3.97 x 108 J / (4hrs * 3600 s/hr) = 27575 W
We can also find the rate of internal energy change in the slab:
dUslab/dt = (880 J/kg-K*2100 kg/m3*10 m3*T) / (4hrs*3600 s/hr) = 1283*T W
Now find the mass flow rate of the air:
= v = 0.35* * vwind*Awindow = 0.35*(1.22 kg/m3 )*(2 m/s)*(6m 2 ) = 5.12 kg/s
m
Consider the energy conservation equation with the addition of moving air into the space:
+U
slab + m
inhin - m
inhout = 0
E = Q
Since we know that the rate of air entering the space is equal to that leaving, we can
simplify to:
+U
+m
slab + m(h
in - hout) = Q
slab * cslab * Tslab + m
air * cair * Tair = 0
E = Q
=m
slab * cslab *(Tfinal - Tinitial) + m
air * cair * (Tfinal - Tinitial)
Q
Plugging everything in, we solve:
27575 W = 1283 W/K*( Tfinal 20 C) + (5.12 kg/s)*(700 J/kg-K)*( Tfinal 15.5 C)
Tfinal = 22.3 C or 72.1 F
This is clearly a much more comfortable temperature for the party.
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Fall 2010
a.) Calculate the heat transfer in W/m2 for the wall section shown in the figure below.
The wood studs occupy 20% of the surface area of the wall and the insulation occupies
80%. The temperature of the air outside is 0C and the temperature of the air inside is
20C. Assume that there is no lateral heat transfer. Include convection and radiation heat
transfer in your calculation. The outdoors and indoors can be considered black bodies at
0C and 20C respectively.
kplywood = 0.15 W/m-K
kinsulation = 0.035 W/m-K
kgypsum = 0.2 W/m-K
kwood = 0.15 W/m-K
Toutside = 0 C
Plywood
Insulation
1 in.
3.5 in
Stud
Gypsum
0.5 in
Tinside = 20 C
b.) A contractor you know suggests using steel studs instead of wood. He believes that
because you need less steel than wood for structural stability, the increased insulation will
decrease the total heat transfer across your wall section. Is he correct? Calculate the heat
transfer in W/m2 for a wall section with steel studs. Assume again that there is no lateral
heat transfer. For this case, the insulation occupies 90% of the wall surface area and the
steel occupies 10%. (ksteel = 43 W/m-K)
c.) Is the interior wall temperature the same over the insulated and stud sections? For
case b, approximate the temperature of the interior wall over an insulated section.
Compare this to the temperature of the interior wall over a steel stud.
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Fall 2010
4.42J/2.66J/1.044J
Quiz 2
November 21, 2005
Open Book
1) (50) Estimate the energy performance of MITs traditional single pane windows per
square meter of surface area. Consider both convection and mid-long range infrared
radiation from both the inside and outside surfaces of the window. Neglect air leakage,
the window frame, and do not include solar radiation for parts a and b.
a) If the inside air temperature is 23 C and the outside is 0 C, estimate the rate of heat
transfer through the window from inside to outside, Use typical numerical values for the
heat transfer components. Assume the glass is a black body for the infrared radiation in
the mid-long range wavelengths.
b) What is the total heat lost through one square meter of window over a typical heating
season in Boston? Use the same assumptions used in part a.
c) Will the result in part b increase or decrease substantially when including each of the
following: the window frame, air leakage, or solar radiation? Treat each of these
individually. You do not need to do detailed calculations for part c.
2) (50) Consider what it takes to keep an indoor pool area at a comfortable temperature
and humidity during the winter. Assume that there is one pool that is 50 m long and 20
m wide in a room that is 70 m long, 30 m wide and 10 m high. Assume that the pool
room is to be kept at 28 degrees Celsius and 50 percent relative humidity and that the
outdoor conditions are 0 degrees Celsius and 20 percent relative humidity.
a) (10) Calculate the latent heat load associated with evaporation of water from
the pool. Because the pool water is heated and air blows over the surface, some of
the water near the surface of the pool evaporates into the air, removing heat from
the pool water. Assume that 10 kg of water vapor per every 100 square meters of
pool evaporates every hour. What is the latent heat load associated with
evaporation from the pool?
b) (10) Determine the sensible heat fraction. The latent heat and sensible heat
loads are both important for determining how to condition air to keep the room at 28
degrees Celsius and 50 percent relative humidity. Assume that the latent heat load
you found in part a) is the only latent load on the room. Assume that you find that
there are sensible heat losses from the room that are one third the magnitude of the
latent heat gains. What is the sensible heat fraction, SHF = (Sensible heat load) /
(Total heat load), for the room?
c) (10) Draw the condition line on the psychrometric chart. The condition line is
the line on the psychrometric chart which defines the state of air supplied to the
room to maintain desired indoor conditions. In general, the supply air state can be
anywhere on this line. The slope of this line can be found using the SHF and the
gauge in the upper left hand corner of the psychrometric chart.
d) (20) Determine the temperature and relative humidity of the supply air
delivered to the room. Draw two lines on the chart representing the process to
produce this supply air. Assume that 20% of the air supplied to the room must be
fresh, outdoor air. Mix the indoor air with outdoor air and sensibly heat it to achieve
suitable supply air conditions in the most energy efficient way (a graphical solution is
sufficient, you need not write equations). Draw the process lines on the
psychrometric chart. What is the temperature and relative humidity of the supply
air?
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Fall 2010
a.) Calculate the heat transfer in W/m2 for the wall section shown in the figure below.
The wood studs occupy 20% of the surface area of the wall and the insulation occupies
80%. The temperature of the air outside is 0C and the temperature of the air inside is
20C. Assume that there is no lateral heat transfer. Include convection and radiation heat
transfer in your calculation. The outdoors and indoors can be considered black bodies at
0C and 20C respectively.
kplywood = 0.15 W/m-K
kinsulation = 0.035 W/m-K
kgypsum = 0.2 W/m-K
kwood = 0.15 W/m-K
Toutside = 0 C
Plywood
Insulation
1 in.
3.5 in
Stud
Gypsum
0.5 in
Tinside = 20 C
b.) A contractor you know suggests using steel studs instead of wood. He believes that
because you need less steel than wood for structural stability, the increased insulation will
decrease the total heat transfer across your wall section. Is he correct? Calculate the heat
transfer in W/m2 for a wall section with steel studs. Assume again that there is no lateral
heat transfer. For this case, the insulation occupies 90% of the wall surface area and the
steel occupies 10%. (ksteel = 43 W/m-K)
c.) Is the interior wall temperature the same over the insulated and stud sections? For
case b, approximate the temperature of the interior wall over an insulated section.
Compare this to the temperature of the interior wall over a steel stud.
Solution:
a.) Approximate hout ~ 20 W/m2-K, hin ~ 5 W/m2-K
hrout = 4T3 = 4*5.67e-8*(273 K)3 = 4.6 W/m2-K
hrin = 4T3 = 4*5.67e-8*(293 K)3 = 5.7 W/m2-K
Calculate total resistance for insulated section:
Rins = [1/(hout + hrout)] + (L/k)ply + (L/k)ins + (L/k)gyp + [1/(hin + hrin)]
Rins = [1/(20 + 4.6)] + (0.0254/0.15) + (.09/.035) + (.0127/0.2) + [1/(5 + 5.7)]
Rins = 2.94 m2-K/W
qins = T/R = 20 K/2.9 m2-K/W = 6.8 W/m2

Calculate total resistance for wood stud section:
Rwood = [1/(hout + hrout)] + (L/k)ply + (L/k)wood + (L/k)gyp + [1/(hin + hrin)]
Rwood = [1/(20 + 4.6)] + (0.0254/0.15) + (.09/.15) + (.0127/0.2) + [1/(5 + 5.7)]
Rwood = 0.97 m2-K/W
qwood = T/R = 20 K/0.97 m2-K/W = 20.7 W/m2

Calculate total heat transfer through wall:
qtotal = qins + qwood = (0.8*6.8) + (0.2*20.7) = 9.6 W/m2
b.) The heat transfer through the insulation section is the same.
Calculate total resistance for steel stud section:
Rsteel = [1/(hout + hrout)] + (L/k)ply + (L/k)wood + (L/k)gyp + [1/(hin + hrin)]
Rsteel = [1/(20 + 4.6)] + (0.0254/0.15) + (.09/43) + (.0127/0.2) + [1/(5 + 5.7)]
Rsteel = 0.36 m2-K/W
qsteel = T/R = 20 K/0.36 m2-K/W = 54.2 W/m2

Calculate total heat transfer through wall:
qtotal = qins + qsteel = (0.9*2.9) + (0.1*54.2) = 11.5 W/m2
The contractor was wrong. The steel stud wall allows more heat transfer than the wood
stud wall, even though there is more insulation in the steel stud section.
c.) Case 1 Insulated section:
qins = T/R = T/[1/(hin + hrin)]
6.8 W/m2 = T/0.093 T = Tin Twall = 0.6 C

Twall = 20 0.6 = 19.4 C
Case 2 Steel stud section:
qsteel = T/R = T/[1/(hin + hrin)]
54.2 W/m2 = T/0.093 T = Tin Twall = 5 C
Twall = 20 5 = 15 C
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Fall 2010
Heat Transfer
Leon R. Glicksman
1991, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2010
1)Introduction
Heat transfer deals with the rate of heat transfer between
different bodies. While thermodynamics deals with the magnitude of
heat exchanged in a process, heat transfer is necessary to determine
the time required for a process or alternatively the size of a surface
necessary to achieve a certain total rate of heat transfer.
Heat transfer analysis permits a calculation of the heat loss
from a building surface to the surroundings for a given building size,
window area and wall design, e.g. the level of insulation in the wall
cavity. The comfort conditions for occupants in a room is determined
by a balance of heat transfer from the person to the air surrounding
him or her as well as the heat transfer to the walls of the interior.
The size and cost of a heat exchanger is also determined by
considering the heat transfer between the fluid streams in the
exchanger.
In other fields, heat transfer plays a key role as well. The
design of integrated microprocessors which contain very closely spaced
elements, each with a finite amount of heat generation, is limited by
the requirement for adequate cooling so that the operating temperature
of the electronic components is not exceeded. Reentry of the space
shuttle in the earth's atmosphere must be carefully programmed so that
temperature extremes due to air friction are confined to the
insulating tiles on the shuttle's surface.
Modes of Heat Transfer
Following thermodynamics, heat transfer is that energy transfer
which takes place between two bodies by virtue of a temperature
difference between the bodies. From the second law considerations it
can be demonstrated that there is always a net positive energy
transfer from the body at a high temperature to a second body at a
lower temperature. Following the definition of heat, there are only
two physical mechanisms for heat transfer: (1) electromagnetic waves
produced by virtue of the temperature of a body, referred to as
thermal radiation heat transfer and (2) atomic or molecular motion in
a medium between the bodies exchanging energy, referred to as
conduction heat transfer.
Sometimes conduction heat transfer takes place during the

change of phase and is referred to as boiling or condensation
heat transfer. Conduction heat transfer can also take place in
the presence of fluid motion, which is called convection heat
transfer.
The rate of heat transfer between two bodies is
proportional to the temperature difference between the bodies
and in some cases the temperature level of the bodies as well.
In many instances the heat transfer process is analogous to the
rate of transfer which appears in other fields. The analogy
between heat transfer and DC electrical current flow will be
used to illustrate some of the simpler heat transfer processes.
Similarly, it can be shown that the rate of transfer of mass in
an evaporation process follows a process very similar to that
for heat transfer.
2)Conduction Heat Transfer
In a homogenous body which experiences a temperature
gradient the rate of heat transfer due to microscopic motions is
conduction heat transfer. In a gas the gas molecules in the
higher temperature portion of the gas will have a higher kinetic
energy. As the molecules of the gas randomly move through the
gas volume there is a net energy transfer
from the high temperature portion to the
low temperature zones. In a solid, the
energy transfer from high to low
temperature may be due to the migration of
electrons or the vibration of the
molecular bonds.
Viewed as a macroscopic phenomena,
the rate of heat transfer by conduction
represented by the symbol q or Q is found
to be directly proportional to the product
of the local temperature gradient and the
Fig 2.1 One dimensional
cross-sectional area available for heat transfer,
conduction
q ~ A gradT
(2.1)
In the case of one-dimensional heat transfer normal to a plane

slab, figure 1, the conduction heat transfer can be given by
Fourier's Equation,
kA
dT
dx
(2.2)
The constant k is known as the thermal conductivity. q has

the dimensions of BTU/hr or Watts and k has the dimensions of
BTU/hrft F or W/m K.
The thermal conductivity defined by equation 2.2 is a
thermophysical property of the material. If the composition and
thermodynamic state is known then the thermal conductivity can
be found.
Table 2.1 lists the thermal conductivity of common solids,
liquids and gases at normal temperatures. Note that these
values span many orders of magnitude with electrically
conductors having the highest thermal conductivity and high
molecular weight gases generally having the lowest thermal
conductivity.
Consider a slab with a steady

conduction heat transfer across it in the x
direction, fig. 2, with the temperature
equal to T1 and T2 at the surfaces
corresponding to x equal to 0 and L,
respectively. Then q is a constant and
equation 2 can be integrated to give,
kA
T1 T2
L
Fig. 2,2 Conduction Through

a Plane Wall
(2.3)
For this case the temperature varies linearly across the width
of the slab. One can consider an analogy between the solution
for steady conduction and for steady D.C. electric current flow,
Ohm's Law,
V2 V1
R
(2.4)
Table 2.1
Thermal Conductivity of
Common Materials
k(BTU/hr ft
F)
(W/mK)
Solids
Copper
Aluminum
Steel
Brick,common
Concrete
Glass
Glass fiber insulation
Ice
Plastic
Wood
219
119
25
0.2 - 0.1
0.5 - 0.8
0.5
.03
1.3
0.1
0.1 - 0.2
378
206
43
0.17 - 0.34
0.87 - 1.38
0.87
0.05
2.2
0.17
0.17 - 0.34
0.3
0.04
0.08
0.34
5
0.5
0.07
0.14
0.59
8.7
Liquids
Ammonia
Refrigerant-12
Light Oil
Water
Mercury
Gases
Air,dry
Carbon Dioxide
Helium
Hydrogen
Water Vapor (Steam)
0.015
0.026
0.009
0.016
0.09
0.16
0.11
0.19
0.015(at 212 F)0.026 (at 100
Refrigerant-11
0.005
C)
0.009
1.0 (BTU/hr ft F)= 1.73 (W/m C)

________________________________________________________________
The rate of heat transfer q is analogous to the current flow I,

the potential difference V is analogous to T and the balance of
equation 2.3 is analogous to the resistance. The term thermal
resistance is used; for eqn. 2.3 the thermal resistance is L/kA.
Fig. 2.3 Steady State Heat Transfer Through a Composite Wall

Consider the case of steady heat transfer through a composite
wall as shown in figure 2.3. Each element of the wall has the
same heat transfer rate q through it and for each an equation
similar to equation 2.3 can be written. At steady state with no
change in internal energy with time, no work, and no mass flows
through each of the elements, the rate of heat transfer into and
out of each wall element must be the same. For the wall board,
kWB A
T1 T2
LWB
(2.5)
This can be rewritten as,
T1 T2
For the insulation
LWB
kWB A
(2.6)
T2 T3
LI
kI A
(2.7)
Similar equations can be written for the plywood, T3 - T4 and

and the siding, T4 - T5. When these equations are summed up the
intermediate temperatures T2, T3 and T4 cancel and the resulting
equation becomes
T1 T5
LWB
kWB A
LI
kI A
LP
kP A
LS
kS A
(2.8)
or
T1 T5
L
kA
(2.9)
The electrical analogy for this case is resisters in series as

shown in figure 2.4.
Fig. 2.4 Electric Analogy to Steady State Heat Transfer
T
R
(2.10)
which is identical to equation 2.9.
Then the overall

solution can be
easily written as,
same so that equation 9 can be rewritten as
q5
T1 T5 A
LWB
kWB
LI
kI
LP
kP
(2.11)
LS
kS
R-value of that material. Note the R-value is independent of the

surface area A while the thermal resistance RT includes the surface
area. For the plywood, a typical R-value for a one inch thickness is
L
kP
1/12
0.1
0.8
hr ft 2 F
BTU
(2.12)
Note in US building practice units and dimensions are still in the

imperial system.
residential wall constructed with 2 by 4 studs,
L
kI
3.5 /12
0.028
11
hr ft 2 F
BTU
2.13)
For the composite wall in figure 2.3, the R-value of the insulation
dominates all of the terms in equation 2.11
8
Convection Heat Transfer, Introduction
temperature on the inside wall
surface, T1, and the outside
siding surface T5 are not
generally known. Rather the
interior room air temperature,
Ti, and the exterior air
temperature, Te, are the known
quantities. Consider a
wintertime condition, when the
building is at a higher
temperature then the exterior
air. The temperature through the
built-up wall continuously decreases from the inside wall at
Fig. 2.5 Temperature Distribution with Convection
T1 to the outside surface at T5.
at the Surfaces
This is shown in figure 5. The
outside surface temperature T5 is higher than the exterior air
temperature Te. In the air layer close to the building surface
the air is in motion parallel to the surface. There is heat
transfer by conduction from the building surface through this
air layer. Because there is also energy transfer by the motion
of the fluid the temperature through the air layer does not vary
linearly. Rather, there is a large temperature gradient near
the surface which decreases further from the surface until the
temperature reaches the constant air temperature Te. The layer
over which the temperature change occurs is thin, typically one
quarter of an inch or less.
energy transfer by fluid motion is called convection heat
transfer. The rate of heat transfer is proportional to the
surface area and the temperature difference between the surface
and the uniform air temperature outside of the thin surface or
boundary layer,
q ~ A(T5
Te )
(2.14)
The expression is changed to an equality and in the process a

new quantity, h, the heat transfer coefficient is defined,
9
q
hA Tsurface
T fluid far from surface
(2.15)
where h has the units of BTU/hr ft2 F or W/m2 . Equation 2.15

is of no use until some way to calculate h is established.
Generally, the heat transfer coefficient, h, is a function of
the fluid properties, the fluid velocity, the surface geometry
and sometimes the temperature level. A more detailed discussion
of convection will be given later. For now it is sufficient to
observe that h increases as the air velocity increases and it
increases with fluids of higher thermal conductivity.
There are two general forms of convection. When the air
motion is set up by buoyancy effects due to the applied
temperature difference between the surface and the fluid, e.g.
the air flow over a hot `radiator', the flow is natural or free
convection. When the flow is due to an external source, e.g.
the wind, a fan or by the motion of the surface, the flow is
forced convection.
Rohsenow has presented a table which gives good estimates
of the order of magnitude of h for convection heat transfer as
well as boiling and condensation. It is reproduced in table
2.2.
Table 2.2
Convection Heat Transfer Coefficients
BTU/hr ft2
Gases, Natural Convection
Gases, Forced Convection
Liquids, forced Convection
Boiling Liquids
Phase Change
0.5-50
2-50
30-1000
200-50,000
500-5,000
Now returning to the concept of thermal resistance, from

equation 15 the equivalent thermal resistance, RT for convective
heat transfer is 1/hA.
10
Example
For a single glazed window
what is the increase in
thermal efficiency if the
glass is made of plastic with
k = 0.1 BTU/hr ft F instead
of glass with a k = 0.5
BTU/hr ft F? Assume that
the radiation heat transfer
remains the same.
Fig. 2.6 Heat transfer through window

Fig. 2.6 Heat transfer through window
SOLUTION
In this case convection heat
transfer from the inside air at
Ti to the glass surface acts in
series with conduction through
Figure2.7Electrical Analogy
the glass and convection to the
outside air.
The equivalent electrical circuit is shown on
figure 7 and the steady state heat transfer, neglecting
radiation, becomes
Tinside air Texterior air

1/ hA
L / kA
1/ hA
Tinside air Texterior air A

e
1/ h
L/k
1/ h
Using table 2 the magnitudes of hi and he are
(2.16)
e
11
1
hi
1
BTU
1
1
hr ft 2 F
1
he
1
3
BTU
0.33
hr ft 2 F
(2.17)
For the glass, assuming it is 1/8 inch thick,
L
kg
1/ 8 1/12
0.5
1
BTU
50 hr ft 2 F
(2.18)
Changing to plastic decreases kg to 0.1 and increases L/kg to

l/10 but it will only change the overall value of q, given by
equation 16 by less than 10 percent.
The overall heat transfer for composite systems such as
figure 2.3 or figure 2.6, represented by equations 2.9 and 2.16,
respectively is sometimes rewritten in terms of an overall heat
transfer coefficient U defined as
q UA(Ti Te )
(2.19)
Although U has the same units as h, U can involve a combination
of conduction and convection heat transfer and is not physically
meaningful although it may be helpful for estimate purposes. A
number of handbooks like the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals
list values of U for typical built up wall and roof
construction.
These values of U include convection heat
transfer on the inside and outside for an assumed wind velocity
and interior air circulation conditions.
Two-dimensional Heat Transfer
12
Fig. 2.8
Most walls are not uniform across their entire surface
area. Wood framing using 2 by 4's has studs spaced at regular
intervals in the wall cavity, fig 2.8.
Clearly the heat
transfer through the studs is higher than the heat transfer
through
an
equivalent
cross-sectional
area
containing
insulation.
The heat transfer through the wall cavity is due to two
parallel conduction paths, one through the studs and the other
through the insulation.
If the lateral resistance is very
large, i.e., the lateral conductivity of the wallboard and the
plywood approaches zero, then the overall heat transfer can be
modeled as two separate parallel heat flow paths from Ti to Te,
shown in fig. 2.9.
The heat transfer through the studs is
qstud
Ti Te Astud
1/ hi
( L / k )WB ( L / k ) S
( L / k ) P 1/ he
and through the insulation,
(2.20)
13
qinsulation
Ti Te Ainsulation
1/ hi
( L / k )WB ( L / k )insulation ( L / k ) P 1/ he
(2.21)
The total heat transfer rate is the sum of equations 2.20 and
2.21. The true value of the two-dimensional heat transfer lies
between these two limiting cases of very small lateral
conductivity and very large lateral conductivity.
The electrical analogy of this, in one limit, is shown in figure
2.9 with the insulation and the studs in parallel.
It is important to note that this approximation for the twodimensional case represents one limiting case, the temperature
on the inside of the wall board where it contacts the stud will
be different from the temperature of the wall board in contact
Fig 2.9 Limiting Case of Small Lateral Conductivity in Wall Board and Plywood
with the insulation. Similarly the temperature of the plywood
will differ in the lateral direction between the stud and the
insulation. These temperature differences across the wall board
will cause heat to flow laterally into the stud, fig. 2.10.
Similarly
heat
will
flow
laterally out from the stud
through the plywood. These
lateral effects will enhance
the
total
heat
transfer
through the stud. This will
increase the overall heat
transfer
over
the
values
calculated from the sum of
equations 2.20 and 2.21.
Fig. 2.10
lateral heat Flow in the vicinity of the stud
The
exact
analysis
of
these
two-dimensional
effects
is
difficult. We can look at the other extreme case. If the wall
board and plywood were replaced by metal sheets, something
sometimes seen in metal walled buildings, then the resistance to
lateral conduction through them would be reduced. In the
limiting case w e could assume that the wall board and plywood
would have a very high conductivity and the temperature would be
uniform in the lateral direction across these elements. The
electrical analogy for this case is shown on fig. 2.11.
The
solution shown in figure 10 is only valid when the lateral
resistance is small, i.e., the y direction conductivity of the
wall board and the plywood approaches infinity.
In this case, the heat transfer through the studs and insulation
acts in parallel between T2 and T3, the sheet rock and plywood
temperatures, respectively. The heat transfer through the two
elements is summed,
T2 T3
( L / kA)insulation
T2 T3
( L / kA) stud
(2.22)
and defining an equivalent resistance,
T2 T3
( L / kA)insulation ( L / kA) stud
T2 T3
Requivalent
Fig 2.11 Limiting Case for

Small Lateral Resistance to Heat Transfer in Sheathing
(2.23)
The resistance, Requivalent,is then added in series to the remaining

resistance shown in figure 2.11. This extreme case will result
in a much larger overall calculated heat transfer than the other
extreme shown in figure 2.9. The true value lies between the two
and must be evaluated by analysis or practical judgment.
Transient Heat Transfer
Conditions for Uniform Temperature
When
the
temperature
of
the
interior
changes,
the
building
structure may be sufficiently massive
to
provide
significant
thermal
storage. This technique is used in
naturally ventilated buildings, using
night cooling in the summer to reduce
the structural temperature. During the
hot daytime the cool structure will
help
to
maintain
the
interior
temperature
within
a
comfortable
range.
However, if the structure is
very
thick,
it
may
require
a Fig. 2.12
substantial time interval before the
temperature change is felt throughout the thickness
structure.
of
the
Consider the case of a plane homogenous slab of thickness

2L, fig. 2.12. The y and z dimensions are large compared to L
so that the heat transfer can be assumed to be one dimensional,
in the x direction only.
Initially the slab is at a uniform
temperature T0 equal to the exterior air temperature.
At time
zero the air temperature suddenly increases to a new temperature
level Te. Both sides of the slab are in contact with the air and
both sides have convective heat transfer coefficient h.
At
short times, the surface temperature of the slab will increase
due to the heat transfer from the air.
Some of the energy
transferred to the slab will be used to raise the internal
energy of the material near the
surface.
The balance of the heat
transfer will be transferred to the
next layer inside the slab where the
same process occurs.
The temperature
distribution within the slab at some
Fig. 2.13
intermediate time is shown in figure 2.13. When the conduction

of the slab is large and the thickness is small, it is expected
that the temperature differences from the surface to the center
of the slab will be small at all times. A better criterion is to
compare the resistance to conduction, L/kslab,to the convective
resistance at the surface, 1/h. When 1/h is much larger than
L/kslab it is expected that the temperature of the slab will be
uniform throughout it thickness. A handy criterion is hL/kslab <
1/6 for uniform temperature.
The term hL/k which is
dimensionless is known as the Biot number.
When hl/k < 1/6, the slab temperature T only varies with time.
Assuming the slab initially is at temperature T0 and at time t it
contacts air at a different temperature T the energy equation
becomes,
dE
dT
hA(T T )
(2.24)
where A is the entire surface area of the slab which is in

contact with air at a constant temperature T . When there isn't
any change of phase, the energy change is given as Mc T, where M
is the total mass of the slab. Equation 2.24 becomes,
Mc
dT
dt
hA(T T )
(2.25)
Since T is a constant this can be rearranged to read,
d (T T )
(T T )
hAdt
Mc
(2.26)
with the initial condition for the slab that

at t = 0, T = T0
The solution of equation 31 is
T T
(T0 T ) exp
hAt
Mc
(T0 T ) exp
(2.27)
where
is the thermal time constant of the slab with convective
heat transfer coefficient h and
Mc
hA
(2.28)
Example
A two inch thick steel structural beam has natural convection
heat transfer over one surface; the opposite side is insulated.
Find its time constant.
Solution
First it must be determined if the steel can be assumed
uniform in temperature across its width.
Since only one side
has convective heat transfer, referring to figure 2.13, L in
this case should be the full width of the steel beam. The Biot
number is
hL
k
2(2 /12)
20
1
60
(2.29)
where h is estimated for natural convection from table 2.2. The

assumption of uniform temperature is clearly justified.
Note
that if we were considering a two inch thick concrete section
with a conductivity of about 1 BTU/hr ft
F the Biot number
would be 1/3 and the assumption of uniform temperature through
the concrete would be questionable.
The thermal time constant for the steel beam is,
Mc
hA
LAc
hA
Lc
h
400(0.1)(2 /12)
2
3.5hrs
The time constant is a function of the steel properties and the

heat transfer coefficient at its surface. If air was blowing
over the surface at a high velocity the time constant would be
substantially reduced.
3. Convection Heat Transfer

Convective heat transfer is conduction
though a gas or liquid augmented by fluid motion.
In these notes an introduction to the physics
governing convection will be given along with
some results for several different conditions.
Consider the case of air at a uniform
temperature Ta blown by a fan along a flat
surface which is heated to a uniform temperature
Ts, Figure 3.1. Say, this is cool air in an airconditioned room flowing over the surface of a
window heated by solar radiation. The element
of air closest to the heated surface has a
temperature increase as it starts to move up the
plate. Elements further away, at a larger y
coordinate still are at Ta. As the element
becomes hotter it moves up and is replaced with
another element at Ta and the process is
repeated. Viewed from the point of view of the
Figure 3.1 Flow over a heated plate
room as a whole, room air at Ta approaches the
plate and a given flow of air leaves the plate at an elevated temperature somewhere between Ta
and Ts. Thus there is a net energy transfer from the surface of the window to the room air.
The convective heat transfer coefficient is defined as,
1.2
q
A Ts Ta
(3.1)
To get an estimate of how the rate of heat transfer is influenced

by the parameters of the problems we have to look more closely
at the layer of air moving along the plate surface. To make the
explanation clear we will assume all of the elements of air are
moving along the plate surface at uniform velocity and in straight
lines. This is an instance of laminar flow. At any location (x,y)
fixed relative to the stationary plate the temperature remains
constant with time and there is a steady conduction heat transfer
from the surface to the air in the y direction, normal to the plate
surface. As the air continues up the plate the elements close to
the plate increase their temperature. At the same time the
elements further away start to rise in temperature due to
conduction from the hotter elements at the plate surface..The
further along the air moves in the x direction the more elements
further from the plate surface feel the conduction heat transfer
and rise in temperature as shown in figure 3.2.The maximum y
distance at which the thermal effects are felt, at any location x, will be specified as , the thermal
boundary layer thickness.
At any position x the variation of air temperature normal to the plate surface, the y axis is shown
on figure 3.3. The rate of heat transfer from the plate surface is determined by the conduction
into the air at y=0. This can be calculated from,
T
y
ka
(3.2)
y 0
As a good first estimate we can use,
Cka
Ts Ta
(3.3)
where the constant C should be of order of magnitude unity. Now substituting this into the
definition of the convective heat transfer coefficient,
q
(Ts Ta )
ka (Ts Ta )
(Ts Ta )
ka
(3.4)
Thus the heat transfer coefficient is proportional to the

thermal conductivity of air and inversely proportional to the
size of the thermal boundary layer thickness.
We can use the estimate for h to qualitatively predict how the

heat transfer coefficient will vary with the main parameters
First, if the velocity of the air is increased over the plate
Fig. 3.3 Air temperature in
surface then each fluid element spends a shorter time in
thermal boundary layer
contact with, or close to the plate. The fluid element
temperatures dont increase as much. From figure 3.1 and 3.2, in such an instance the thermal
boundary layer, , will be smaller at a given x value. Thus an increase in air velocity should result
in an increase in the heat transfer coefficient and the rate of convective heat transfer. This result
is summarized in table 3.1
Consider now an increase in the air density, say, by an increase in the air pressure, assuming all
other air properties and the air velocity remains the same. For the same magnitude of heat
transfer the temperature increase of the element will be less since the element has a larger mass.
A smaller temperature increase will reduce the thermal boundary layer thickness. Therefore, an
increase in the density will increase the heat transfer coefficient, one reason that liquid water has
a higher convective heat transfer rate than air. An increase in the specific heat of the fluid flowing
over the plate has the same behavior as an increase in density.
As the plate length is increased the air will flow over the plate for a longer time. Heat transfer will
penetrate a further distance from the plate surface. The thermal boundary layer thickness will
grow larger. When averaged over the entire plate length , the average thermal boundary layer
thickness will become larger and the average heat transfer coefficient will be smaller. Note, the
total heat transfer will be higher for the longer plate but the heat transfer per unit area will be
smaller. To augment the heat transfer when possible, designers will break a long surface up into a
series of smaller surfaces. This can be done by physically separating sections of the plate or by
placing an array of ribs at right angles to the flow to break up the boundary layer and restart it.
Table 3.1 Key Parameters Influence on Convective Heat Transfer
Parameter
, thermal boundary layer

thickness
h, convective heat transfer

coefficient
Velocity increase
decreases
h increases
Density increase
decreases
h increases
Specific heat increase
decreases
h increases
Plate length L increase
averaged over L increases
h averaged over L decreases
Thermal conductivity ka
increase
increase
h increases
Transition to turbulent flow

from laminar flow
decreases
h increases
When the thermal conductivity of the fluid passing over the plate is increased, y using a higher
conductivity gas or liquid there are two elements in play. The thermal boundary layer thickness
will increase because of augmented means of heat transfer through the fluid. Remember that h is
proportional to the ratio of conductivity to boundary layer thickness. In this case k increases faster
than and the heat transfer coefficient increases. It should be expected that when we increase
the mechanism for heat transfer, in this case the molecular conductivity, that the rate of
convection will increase.
Turbulent Flow
At low velocity, the fluid flows in very smooth paths about parallel to the plate surface. As
the velocity is increased a point is reached where the fluid motion is much more chaotic
characterized by eddies in the flow near the plate surface. This is termed turbulent flow.
Turbulent flow over a flat plate is found to occur when the Reynolds number Vx/ exceeds
300,000. x is used to indicate the distance from the leading edge; the front of the flat plate can
have laminar flow while the rear experiences turbulent flow. The distinction between laminar and
turbulent flow is important because the eddies in the turbulent flow tend to bring fluid at the
ambient temperature Ta much closer to the heated plate surface. In effect the eddies reduce the
distance for conduction heat transfer and can markedly increase the heat transfer coefficient,
sometimes by an order of magnitude or more.
At can be seen that the convective heat transfer is a function of the fluid properties such as
density and conductivity, the flow conditions and the surface geometry. Given below are a few
dimensional expressions that can be used for specific cases. The constants in the equations
already include the fluid properties.
Laminar flow expressions for h
Using air properties at room temperature h for laminar flow over flat plates can be found as
V
h 0.71
L
0.5
(3.5)
while for water,
V
h 12.7
L
0.5
(3.6)
In this form h is in BTU/hrft2F, V is in ft/sec and L is in ft. Note, water gives a much higher heat
transfer coefficient than air because it has a much higher thermal conductivity as well as a higher
density and specific heat.
Turbulent Flow
At low velocity, the fluid flows in very smooth paths about parallel to the plate surface. As
the velocity is increased a point is reached where the fluid motion is much more chaotic
characterized by eddies in the flow near the plate surface. This is termed turbulent flow.
Turbulent flow over a flat plate is found to occur at higher velocities and longer plate lengths. Also
flowing liquids will reach turbulent flow at lower velocities than gases.
For air near room temperature turbulent flow is reached when the product of plate length and air
velocity exceeds,
VL 50
ft
ft
s
(3.7)
0.55
V 0.8
L0.2
(3.8)
For water
ft
ft
s
V 0.8
21.2 0.2
L
VL 3.9
h
(3.9)
Again, all of the parameters are in Imperial units.

Flow Inside Tubes
The other important flow geometry is gas or liquid flow inside tubes. A similar
development exists for the convective heat transfer with the exception that h is defined based
on the mean temperature TM of the fluid within the tube at the location in question. For a
section within the tube of axial length between x and x+ x,
q
D x TS TM
(3.10)
where TM is the mean fluid temperature at x.

Almost all practical cases of tube flow, the flow is turbulent. Exceptions are flows
through very small tube diameters or the flow of viscous fluids such as oil. For turbulent tube
at room temperature, the relationship becomes,
0.34
V 0.8
D 0.2
(3.11)
while for water we get,
V 0.8
h 13 0.2
D
where V is given in ft/sec and D is in feet.
(3.12)
Natural or Free Convection

In natural convection the fluid motion is solely due to
buoyancy effects caused by the heating or cooling
process of the fluid. Natural convection flow over
vertical flat plates has similar physical considerations
and analogous expressions to those used for forced
convection, see Figure 3.4. However, in this case
the fluid velocity V is not set by external fans or by
Figure 3.4 natural convection on a
the motion of the heated body. The air density varies
vertical heated plate
with 1/T. The air close to the plate is at a higher
temperature and has a lower mass. This results in a net upward buoyancy force on these
elements that accelerates them. We would expect the velocity and the heat transfer coefficient
is a function on the temperature difference Ts-Ta.
Just as forced flow, laminar flow exists at low velocities. The exact expression for natural
convection of air over a vertical plate at room temperature is
TL3 1000 o F ft 3
h
0.29
T
L
1/ 4
(3.13)
For turbulent flow,
TL3 1000
h
0.21
1/ 3
(3.14)
Natural Convection in Enclosed Spaces

In an open wall cavity between interior and exterior walls air circulation will take place
from the hot to the cold wall. The air will rise along the hot wall move horizontally to the cold
wall at the upper end of the wall cavity (and at other vertical locations as well). The warm air will
then flow down the cold wall. This process will result in energy transfer from the hot to the cold
wall. The overall heat transfer can be represented by a heat transfer coefficient defined in terms
of the two wall temperatures,
hC A Thot wall Tcold wall
(3.15)
Figure 3.5 shows measured results for eight foot high walls. hc is a function of the
spacing between the walls and , the temperature difference from the hot to the cold wall. At a
small spacing and/or a small temperature difference the buoyancy effects are minimal and hc is
simply the ratio of air conductivity to wall spacing. As the spacing is increased, hc reaches a
constant, typically a spacing between 1/2 and 3/4 inch is optimum. Radiation heat transfer
across the cavity must be added to the convection. If there is infiltration of outside air into the
cavity the energy transfer may be increased considerably.
10
(hc)60, BTU/HR-FT (DEG F)
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
60 F
40
30
20
10
0.4
0.3
0.2
Conduction only
0.1
0
0.25 0.50 0.75 1.00
1.50
2.00
2.50
3.00
3.50
Air space thickness, l, inches

Data taken from Housing Research Paper 32, "The Thermal Insulating Value of Airspaces",
Housing and Home Finance Agency Director of Housing Research, Washington D.C.,
April 1954.
Image by MIT OpenCourseWare.
4) Radiation Heat Transfer

Thermal radiation and conduction are the two fundamental mechanisms of heat transfer.
Bodies, such as the sun, emit electromagnetic energy by virtue of their temperature level. The
electromagnetic energy is exchanged between bodies at different temperatures giving rise to a
net heat transfer.
For heat transfer by radiation the electromagnetic energy generally falls in the visible
range, with wavelengths from 0.4 to 0.7 m, the near infrared, from 0.7 to 25 m in wavelength, or
the far infrared from 25 to 1000 m. Electromagnetic radiation in other wavelengths such as XRays, and Radio waves is not thermally induced and will be excluded from consideration.
A black body is a body which absorbs all of the radiation incident on its surface over all
wavelengths of importance for heat transfer. The absorbed energy represents an energy
transfer to the black body which can contribute to the internal energy increase or it may be
transferred through the body by one or more forms of heat transfer.
For a black body at a uniform temperature T, the rate of radiation heat transfer emitted
by the body and leaving the surface, over all wavelengths, is given as
A T4
qemitted
(4.1)
where T is the absolute temperature and is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant, which has the
value 0.17 x 10-8 BTU/hr ft2 R4 or 5.7 x 10-8 W/m2 K4. Because of the non-linear nature of the
expression, radiation becomes progressively more important at higher temperatures although
there is considerable radiative heat transfer between bodies at room temperature.
The black body radiation is emitted over a range of wavelengths. The emitted energy at
a single wavelength , qre , can be defined so that
qemitted
qre d
(4.2)
Figure 20 shows the distribution of qre as a function of wavelength for black bodies at three
temperature levels. For solar radiation, the sun has an effective black body temperature near
10,400 R, a majority of the emitted energy is in the visible wavelengths and the balance of the
energy is in the near infrared below 3 m. In contrast, the energy emitted by a black body at
room temperature falls in the infrared wavelength range from 8 m to 40 m. For any black body
at temperature T eighty percent of the total black body emissions occurs when the product of
the wavelength and the absolute temperature, T, is between 4000 ( m)( R) and 17,000
( m)( R). One half of the total radiation is emitted at wavelengths equal to or below the value of
T equal to 7400 ( m)( R).
Material Properties
In the visible wavelengths many common building materials are not good absorbers.
The fraction of the black body radiation absorbed by a body at a given wavelength is given by
the monochromatic absorptivity , the values of
lie between zero and one. In the visible
wavelengths, white paint, wood and plaster have
values between about 0.1 and 0.5 see
Table 3. In the infrared above 4 or 5 m wavelengths almost all common building materials
except shiny metals have
of 0.8 or higher. Plate glass which is transparent in the visible
wavelength becomes a very good black body in the infrared wavelengths with
0.9.
greater than
Heat Transfer Between Black Bodies

Consider two flat plates, A1 and A2, parallel to each other with the spacing between the
surfaces small compared to the width of the plates, see Figure 4.1. The air between the plates
can be considered transparent.
Fig. 4.1 Radiation between

parallel black plates
Each plate is a black body at a uniform temperature T1 and T2, respectively. The radiant energy
emitted by the first plate is
q1
A1 T14
(4.3)
All of the energy emitted by plate 1 is absorbed by plate 2. Similarly all of the energy emitted by
plate 2, A2 T24 is absorbed by plate 1. The net radiative heat transfer is
q1
A1
T14 T2 4
(4.4)
This heat transfer takes place independent of any conduction or convection heat transfer
assuming the temperature T1 and T2 can be maintained. Thus the total heat transfer is the sum
of the radiative heat transfer given by Eqn. 70 plus the convective heat transfer between the two
plates.
In many cases it is useful to linearize the relationship given by Eqn. 70. Taking the
mean temperature as (T1+T2)/2 and T as the temperature difference T1-T2 then T1=TM+ T/2 and
T2=TM - T/2 and
T14 T2 4
T1 T2 T1 T2
2TM 2
T2
4
(4.5)
When T<<TM, where TM is measured in absolute temperatures, K or R,
T14 T2 4
4 TM 3 T1 T2
(4.6)
An effective or radiative heat transfer coefficient can be defined so that
qr
hr A T1 T2 where hr
4 TM 3
(4.7)
Table 4.1 gives values of hr for different values of mean temperature. These values should be
compared to the values given for convection in Table 2. At room temperatures heat transfer
Table 4.1 hr for radiation at mean temperature T
___________________________________________________________________________
Mean Temperature oF
hr (BTU/hr ft2 F)
hr(W/m2K)
0
0.7
3.8
60
1.0
5.7
200
2.0
11
500
6.0
34
1500
51
290
___________________________________________________________________________
by radiation is comparable in magnitude to natural convection. For heat transfer between two
glass sheets that make up a double glazed window, infrared radiation is important. To reduce
the radiation heat transfer one of the glass layers is coated with a very thin metallic layer. For
residential buildings this layer allows visible solar radiation to pass but reflects most of the
infrared radiation. The layer is referred to as a low e coating. The net infrared radiation can be
expressed as,
q1
A1
T14 T2 4
(4.8)
where is the emissivity of the glass covered by the metallic layer. Typically can be less than
0.1, substantially reducing the net radiation transfer.
For radiation between walls and ceiling or between a person and surrounding surfaces which
are each black bodies at different temperatures the geometry of the configuration must be
included. For example the radiation heat tranfer between a person and a large glazed wall can
be expressed as
q1
A1 F12 T14 T2 4
(4.9)
where F12 is the configuration factor between surface 1, the person, and the glazed surface. F
represents the fraction of radiation form the entire surface of the person that is directed toward the
glazed wall. When the person is very close to a large glazed surface extending from floor to ceiling, the
value of F will be close to . On the other hand when the person moves further from the window F will
decrease. If the person sits in the center of a cubic room, F from the person to the glazed wall drops to
1/6.
MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu

Fall 2010
Air Water Vapor Mixtures: Psychrometrics

Leon R. Glicksman
c 1996, 2010
Introduction
To establish proper comfort conditions within a building space, the designer must consider the
air temperature and the amount of water vapor in the air. The latter is important because too
high a level of water vapor can lead to uncomfortable feeling, sweat does not evaporate fast and
people feel too wet and clammy. If the water vapor is too low, people suffer from dryness in
their respiratory systems, skin dries out and is itchy and there can be a build up of static
electricity, which can cause uncomfortable shocks to people and also disrupt electrical
equipment.
Evaporation of water into the air can serve to lower the air temperature. Cooling towers are
used in conjunction with air conditioners to produce a higher COP. The condenser of the air
conditioner is in contact with cooling tower water, which is at a lower temperature than the
outside ambient air.
We will need to define several new terms to deal with air-water vapor mixtures, sometimes
referred to as psychrometrics. In addition, mass and energy balances will be established for
both the air and the water. A graphical technique will be introduced which aids in visualizing
the processes for the air-water vapor mixture.
Mixtures
When air and water vapor exist alone at moderate or low pressures, always the case for our
conditions, they closely approximate ideal gases. In that case the relationship between pressure,
temperature and mass can be expressed as,
p a V = na RT = ma R a T
(1)
p v V = nv RT = mv R a T
(2)
for the air and
for the water vapor. In these equations, the subscript a refers to the air and v to the water
vapor, n is the number of moles, m the mass, T the absolute temperature, in deg Kelvin or
Rankine, R is the universal gas constant and Ra and Rv are the ratios of R to their respective
molecular weights. At low pressure, if their and water vapor are mixed together the interaction
between the molecules of the two gases is modest so that the mixture can be considered an
ideal gas,
pV = ( na + nv )RT
(3)
where p is the total pressure of the mixture. Adding equations 1 and 2 and comparing to
equation 3 it can be seen that the total pressure in the mixture is just the sum of the pressure of
each gas existing alone at the same temperature and in the same total volume, Daltons Law,
p = p a + pv
(4)
When the gases are mixed together pa and pv are referred to as the partial pressure of air and
water vapor, respectively.
The total enthalpy is the sum of the enthalpy of the air and water vapor,
H = H a + H v = m a h a + mv h v
(5)
Dividing the total enthalpy of the mixture by the mass of the air (note, this is not the total
mixture mass), we obtain the enthalpy of the mixture per unit mass of dry air which will be
written as h without any subscript,
ma a (
H
ma
)= ma (h)= m ha + mv hv
(6)
Although this seems an odd choice just now, it will become evident why this is a convenient
choice. Dividing equation 6 by the mass of the air in the mixture,
m
h = ha +
v
hv = ha + hv
ma
Note the new enthalpy of the mixture we just defined, h, is the sum of the specific enthalpy of
the air and the product of the specific enthalpy of the water vapor and the ratio of the mass of
water vapor to the mass of air in the mixture. The air mass is sometimes called dry air to
remind the reader that only the air without the water vapor mass is being considered. Note, be
careful when you use h since different tables can use different states for the zero values of hv
and ha which are added together to get h of the mixture.
Humidity ratio or Specific Humidity
The ratio of mass of water vapor to mass of air in a mixture is referred to as the specific
humidity or the humidity ratio with the symbol (no this is not the humidity the goofy
weathermen are reporting). The advantage in dealing with the specific humidity is that if the
amount of water vapor in the air remains unchanged, the specific humidity remains constant. The specific
humidity is expressed in grams of moisture (water vapor) per kilogram of dry air. Alternatively
it is given as lbsv /lbsa or grains of water vapor per pound of dry air where 7000 grains is one
2
(7)
pound mass.
The internal energy of the mixture can also be defined in a similar form as the enthalpy,
m
u = u a +
v
u v = u a +
u v
ma
(8)
but since we will be considering open systems in steady state, we wont spend much time on
this.
Alternate definitions of humidity
Specific humidity we defined above will be useful in writing energy balances and the like but it
does not give a good feel for the degree of moisture in the air. For that there is the relative
humidity, . For ideal gases, this is the ratio of the partial pressure of the water vapor in the
mixture, pv, to the partial pressure of water vapor in a mixture saturated with water vapor at the
same temperature, Ts
pv
ps
The relationship of pv and ps can be best seen by

referring to the saturation curve of water, Figure 1.
Note: this curve only involves the water which is in
the mixture, not the air. The state of the water vapor
in the mixture is shown by the point v at temperature
T and partial pressure pv. In general this state will be
in the superheated vapor region, away from the
saturation line. If additional water vapor is added to
the mixture while maintaining temperature constant at
T, the largest amount which the mixture could contain
is given by point s on the saturation curve between
liquid water and water vapor. If more water vapor
beyond s is added, the additional water vapor would
condense out since the excess vapor pressure would
not be in equilibrium with liquid water at this
temperature.
(9)
The specific humidity and relative humidity can be related by (see for example, McQuiston and
Parker)
pa
0.622 p s
Note, must be expressed as kg water vapor/kg of dry air or lb water vapor/lb dry air in
equ.10.
Another term frequently used is the dew point temperature, Td . Td is found by cooling the
mixture of air and water vapor, at constant total pressure, until liquid water just begins to
condense. The temperature at which condensation first occurs is the dew point temperature.
It is also shown on Figure 1. Note that in this case the cooling of the mixture takes place
without adding or subtracting any water vapor from the air, i.e., at a constant specific humidity.
When the relative humidity is high, near 100%, or the dew point temperature is close to the air
temperature, the air is close to being saturated with water vapor. When this happens in the
summer you had better look for an air-conditioned space.
Example
A mixture of water vapor and air at sea level has a specific humidity of 0.013 kg
water vapor per kg of dry air.
The temperature is 25oC. What is the relative humidity and enthalpy of the mixture?
Solution
From saturation tables of water find Ps for water corresponding to 25 oC, ps=3.17
kPa
hv=2547 kJ/kg for saturated water vapor (If the water vapor is an ideal gas, hv(T) is
equal to hv sat at the same temperature).
The total pressure of air and water vapor is approximately 101 kPa. At this point Pv
is unknown, but it is generally one to two orders of magnitude less than Pa . As a
first guess take Pa as 101 kPa.
The related humidity, from Equ. 10 is,
P a = (.013) 101 = 0.666 67%

0.622 P s (.622) 3.17
(10)
To be more precise we can now calculate Pv from (= Pv/Ps) and correct our
guess for Pa.
To find the mixture enthalpy, we need the water vapor enthalpy, hv, found above and
ha the enthalpy of the dry air. Taking ha as zero at 25oC,
o
ha ( 25 C)= C p (25 - 0)= 1.005(25)= 25.13
kJ
kg
h = ha + hv = 25.13+(0.013) 2547 =
h = 25.13+ 33.11= 58.24
Note that in the mixture the magnitude of the air enthalpy, referenced to air at 0oC,
and the water vapor enthalpy, referenced to liquid water at 0oC, is about the same.
Therefore, changes in air temperature of about 10oC and evaporation of water
increasing relative humidity by fifty percentage points lead to the same order of
magnitude change in the mixture enthalpy. Both effects are important in an energy
balance for the air-water vapor mixture.
Measurement of the State of Mixture
The state of the air-water vapor mixture can be defined by knowing the temperature, the ratio
of mass of water vapor to air in the mixture and the total pressure in the mixture. In our
consideration the total pressure is at or close to (the building may be slightly pressurized) the
local barometric pressure. This does make some difference between say Boston and Denver
but generally sea level pressures are used. The temperature (called the dry bulb temperature in
this instance) can be found by using a conventional thermometer, thermocouple or thermistor.
The latter two are electronic devices whose voltage output is proportional to the temperature.
The most tricky measurement is the amount of water vapor in the air. In earlier days, use was
made of a wet bulb thermometer whose bulb was kept in contact with a wet wick. Some water
would evaporate from the wick, lowering the thermometer reading below the dry bulb
temperature. The difference in reading between the wet and dry bulb thermometers can then
be used to calculate the humidity of the air. The lower the relative humidity, the more
evaporation ensues and the lower the wet bulb temperature. In recent times, the humidity is
determined from the capacitance measurement of a thin film whose electrical properties are
found to vary with water vapor content. There is also an automated instrument which has a
cooling and heating element. The temperature of a mirror is adjusted until condensate is first
detected; the measured mirror temperature at this condition is the dew point temperature.
Graphical Representation
The dry bulb temperature and amount of water vapor in a moist air mixture can be graphically
shown on a psychrometric chart. Such a chart is very useful to visualize the changes undergone
by a mixture of air and water vapor as the air is conditioned. The chart is also useful in
determining the amount of energy required for a specific conditioning of the air. It is strongly
suggested that you become familiar with the chart.
Figure 2 shows the psychrometric chart for sea level in SI units. Similar charts are available for
selected altitudes and in English units. The right hand vertical scale gives the humidity ratio or
specific humidity of the mixture. Note that in most situations encountered in buildings practice
the mass of water vapor is much less than the mass of air in the mixture. Typical values of
are 0 to 20 grams of water vapor per kilogram of air. Thus, the mass of water vapor is only at
most one to two percent of the mass of air.
The horizontal axis is the dry bulb temperature. There are parallel slanted straight lines starting
from the upper left which are lines of constant mixture enthalpy per mass of dry air defined by
equ. 7. To keep the enthalpy lines straight and parallel, it turns out that lines of constant dry
bulb temperature deviate somewhat from vertical.
The chart also shows other information. Curves of constant relative humidity, , are shown as
are lines of constant wet bulb temperature. Thus, if the dry bulb temperature and relative
humidity are known, the state of the mixture can be located on the chart and the corresponding
value of the mixture enthalpy and humidity ratio read from the chart.
The left hand border represents saturation conditions of the mixture, 100% relative humidity.
0.2
0.3
0.4
-10
PE
10
0.82
15
0.76
0.74
25
ASHRAE Psychrometric Chart No. 1.

This image was created by Bob Hanna, can be found on Wikipedia,
and is in the public domain.
10
20
DRY BULB TEMPERATURE - C
20
-1
0
M
5
30
Y AIR
-2
0
G DR
-5
Y
UMIDIT
TIVE H
LA
10% RE
20%
30%
%
40
%
50
0.84
-15
-10
10
15
20
ER K
Chart by: HANDS DOWN SOFTWARE, www.handsdownsoftware.com
-15
10
15
20
25
30
25
0.88
-20
-15
-5
60
70
80
90
10
0
35
30
30
0.20
0.90
-25
-20
-10
-5
50
-4.6
-2.3
ER P
ET
IC M
-2
0
20
30
0.0
40
2.0
- CU
-1
0
10
Dh
DW
- :
-4 8.0
.0
4.0
- 8.0
UME
BAROMETRIC PRESSURE: 101.325 kPa
SEA LEVEL
SI Units
Normal Temperature
PSYCHROMETRIC
CHART
ENTHALPY
HUMIDITY
RATIO
Qs
Qt
0.1
T
EN
LO
0.5
SENSIBLE HEAT
TOTAL HEAT
0.6
J
-K
PY
HA
L
KI
PE
R
AI
Y
0.8
RA
DR
-:
VOL
UR
A
SA
C
-
1.0
W
ET
BU
LB
40
2%
4%
6%
R
8%
%
15
45
40
EH
TIV
ELA
RE
TE
M
PE
RA
TU
ITY
MID
50
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
26
28
0.25
0.30
0.35
SENSIBLE HEAT RATIO = Qs / Qt
HUMIDITY RATIO - GRAMS MOISTURE PER KILOGRAM DRY AIR
1.0
RA
TU
R
4.7
7.0
11.7
90
%
3.5
TI
TE
-1.
1.2
80
%
.0
70
%
-2
0.86
60
%
2.3
25
%
-0.5.4
-0
-0.3
-0.2
-0.1
0.92
55
50
-10
-5
10
15
20
25
30
13.0
12.0
11.0
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
9.0
10.0
14.0
15.0
16.0
17.0
18.0
19.0
20.0
21.0
22.0
23.0
24.0
25.0
26.0
27.0
28.0
29.0
30.0
31.0
32.0
33.0
34.0
0.85
0.80
0.75
0.70
0.65
0.60
0.55
0.50
0.45
0.40
SENSIBLE HEAT RATIO = Qs / Qt
0.94
0.80
0.78
60
70
80
90
10
0
11
0
12
0
13
0
ENTHALPY - KJ PER KILOGRAM OF DRY AIR

VAPOR PRESSURE - MM OF MERCURY
DEW POINT TEMPERATURE - C
Comfort Conditions
Humidity ratio, g/kg
pe
Effective tem
Dew point temperature, oC
The psychrometric chart can also be used to show typical comfort conditions for indoor
environments. Shown on Figure 3 are comfort conditions for individuals doing light duties such
reading while seated wearing typical summer or winter clothing. These are obtained by
subjecting volunteers to different
temperature and humidity conditions and
Standard effective temperature and ASHRAE comfort zones
tabulating their vote on their sensation of
comfort. There are factors other than dry
70%
15
bulb temperature and humidity which are
20 100% rh
60%
important to comfort: such as air velocity,
radiant energy, and temperature gradient.
50%
For our purposes at this time we will take
15
the operative temperature in Figure 3 as
10
the dry bulb temperature.
If the
Summer
Winter
occupants
are
doing
more
intensive
10
30%
activities, such as working out in a gym,
the conditions for comfort will change
5
5
and a new chart analogous to Figure 3 can
0
be produced.
rature ET
20o
-5
-10
25o
15
20
25
Operative temperature, oC
30
Figure by MIT OpenCourseWare.
Conditioning Processes
The purpose of heating, cooling and ventilation systems within buildings is to provide proper
ventilation and comfort conditions for all of the occupants of a building. Ventilation is
concerned with supplying enough fresh air to keep the concentration of pollutants such as CO2
in the building within a safe level. In terms of the comfort conditions shown on Figure 3, the
aim is to maintain the temperature and humidity conditions throughout the building within the
comfort bands shown. This requires heating or cooling the air and in some instances changing
the amount of water vapor in the air. There are a number of techniques which can be used to
accomplish this. We will start with the most straightforward ones.
Heating
When the air dry bulb temperature is below the comfort zone, such as state 1 in Figure 4a, the
temperature can be raised by forcing the air over a heat exchanger surface. On the other side of
the surface, e.g. tubes, is a fluid at a higher temperature. The heat transfer from the hot fluid
increases the energy of the air. Taking a control volume around the heat exchanger as shown in
Figure. 4b, and assuming steady state operation we can write first a mass balance for the air,
m 1 = m 2
(11)
In this process, we will write the mass flow rate of dry air without the subscript a. There isnt
any water vapor added to the air so the mass balance for the water becomes,
m w = m 1 1 = m 2 2
(12)
1 = 2
(13)
Combining this with eqn. 11,
Thus, the humidity ratio remains constant during the heating. We can also write an energy
balance for the control volume,
Q = m 2 ha 2 + m v 2 hv 2 - (m 1 ha 1 + m v 1 hv 2 )
(14)
Q = m 2 ( ha 2 + 2 hv 2 ) - m1 ( ha 1 + 1 hv 1 )
(15)
which can be rewritten as,
Using the enthalpy of the mixture per unit mass of the dry air, eqn 15 becomes,
Q = m 2 h2 - m 1 h1
Now you can see the utility of the way h was defined for the mixture.
All of the enthalpy change for both the air and the water vapor is associated with temperature
increase and each could be given as cp T. The heat transfer in this process is referred to as
sensible heat.
The heating process is represented on the psychrometric diagram as a horizontal line from 1 to
(16)
2 since remains constant. Note that the relative humidity decreases in this process as the dry
bulb temperature increases.
To reduce the dry bulb temperature of a mixture of air and water the mixture is passed over
heat exchanger tube containing cold fluid inside. The cooling process without any addition or
subtraction of water vapor is shown on Figure 5a. The equations for the mass and energy
balance are exactly the same as the heating case.
Dehumidification
If the air has too high a moisture content and must be reduced, the process gets a little
trickier. The heat exchanger tube must be at a temperature below the dew point for the air
water vapor mixture. When that occurs, some of the water vapor will condense as liquid on the
tubes. The liquid water drains off the tubes by gravity and is collected below and disposed of.
In the idealized case, the process is shown as 2-3-4 on Figure 5a. First the mixture is cooled to
state 3 on the saturation curve without loss of water vapor. As it is cooled further, it moves
down the saturation curve to state 4 which has a lower humidity ratio and a lower dry bulb
temperature.
In the real process shown on Figure 5c, the condensation begins before the saturation curve is
reached since the tube wall temperature is normally lower than the dew point temperature.
For this process conservation of air mass yields,
m 2 = m 4
(17)
while conservation of water must balance the water vapor carried into the exchanger with the
sum of the water vapor and liquid water leaving at steady state,
m v 2 = m 2 2 = m v 4 + m l 4 = m 4 4 + m l
The energy balance between states 2 and 4 must also include the stream of liquid leaving,
10
(18)
Q 2-4 = m 4 ha 4 + m v 4 hv 4 + m l hl - ( m 2 ha 2 + m v 2 hv 1 )
(19)
Since the enthalpy of the air and water leaving the exchanger is lower than that entering, Q2-4 is
negative, the mixture is cooled. The energy balance can be rearranged by use of the enthalpy of
the air-water vapor mixture again,
Q 2-4 = m 4 ( h4 )+ m l hl - m 2 h2 = m 2 ( h4 h2 )+ m l hl
(20)
Note that in this case the rate of cooling, Q , involves the change of mixture enthalpy as well as
the enthalpy of the leaving water stream. In general the magnitude of the latter term is small
and it can be neglected.
( Q 3-4 )sensible = m ( h4 - h5 )= m hsensible
(21)
In theory the process from state 2-3-4 could be

replaced first by a reduction in water vapor at
constant dry bulb temperature, process 2-5,
Figure 6, followed by a reduction in dry bulb
temperature at constant water vapor content,
process 5-4. The latter process is one of pure
sensible heat,
While the process 2-5 has no sensible heat since
T remains constant. In process 2-5 all the
heat is associated with the phase change of
water from vapor to liquid and this heat is called
the latent heat,
( Q 3-4 )latent = m ( 2 - 4 ) hlg = m hlatent

For the actual process 2-3-4, hlatent / hsensible, given in eqns 22 and 21, is the ratio of latent to
sensible heat for the process.
11
(22)
We have gone to all the work of dehumidifying the air in the

process 2-3-4 above. After all this, when we compare state 4
to the comfort conditions shown in Figure 3 we usually find
that the dry bulb temperature is too low for comfort. To
achieve comfort conditions, we must reheat the mixture
from state 4 to a higher dry bulb temperature as shown in
Figure 7. Notice after expending energy to run a chiller or
air conditioner to provide cooling to dehumidify the air from
state 2 to 4 now we must supply more energy to reheat the
air.
Example
For the cooling, dehumidification and reheat process shown on the following figure,
use the psychrometric chart to show how an additional heat exchanger can be used to
reduce both the cooling energy and reheat energy (no, this is not violating some sacred
law, its just a use of smarts to save energy albeit with the need for an additional heat
exchanger).
Q
4
Cooling
coil
Q
Heat exchanger
Figure by MIT OpenCourseWare.

Solution:
Looking at the process on the psych chart, notice that temperature T4 is lower than T2.
If we put a heat exchanger in system, we can transfer heat from the hotter mixture at T2
to the colder mixture at T4. This reduces the amount of cooling we must supply as well
as the amount of heat for the reheat process.
12
The Condition Line

Now that weve found out how to produce air at any given dry bulb temperature and humidity
ratio that we like, lets put it to work maintaining a comfortable interior space. We must
consider the amount of sensible and latent energy given off by occupants and equipment in a
building space.
Consider the space shown in Figure 8a. In most systems air is
brought in through a diffuser at a high enough velocity to set up a
well mixed condition. Everywhere in the space, the dry bulb and
humidity of the air is the same. The heat and moisture transfer
from the occupants and equipment to the air can be represented
as heat and moisture transfer to a control volume covering all of
the air in the space. Table 1 below gives some typical values of
sensible and latent heat from people. If the inlet dry air flow rate

is m and the inlet mixture enthalpy and humidity ratio are respectively h1 and 1 , respectively,
then the increase of the mixture enthalpy is given as,
m ( h2 - h1 )= Q T
(23)
where Q T represents the total, latent plus sensible, energy transfer rate to the air. Similarly the
increase in the water vapor can be determined by,
( m v 2 - m v 1 ) h fg = m ( 2 - 1 ) h fg = Q L
(24)
where Q L represents the latent energy transfer associated with the evaporation of water added
to the air.
Taking the ratio of equation 24 to 23,
2 - 1 = Q L
h2 - h1
Q T
We can see that the airflow rate into the room falls out and
the ratio of /h is determined by the ratio of latent to total
energy input. That is, the state of the well mixed air in the
room, state 2, must be on the line, called the condition line,
with slope /h which passes through the inlet state 1 as
shown on Figure 8b.
13
(25)
If we want to make sure the room falls within the comfort

conditions, then state 1 must be located so that the line 1-2
passes through the range of comfort on the psychrometric
diagram. For example, Figure 8c shows a typical condition
line and summer comfort zone. With the original state of
inlet air to the space, labeled 1, the condition line does not
pass through the comfort zone no matter what airflow rate is
used. The inlet air must be altered to state 1' to achieve
comfortable conditions.
Table 1
Rates of Heat Gain from Occupants in Conditioned Spaces
Sensible (W)
Seated, light work (e.g. MIT student)
Moderate dancing (BU student)
Athletics (Harvard student)
70
90
210
Latent (W)
45
160
315
Taken from ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, p 26.8, 1993

In a building having a common supply of conditioned air and rooms housing different
activities with different ratios /h, achieving comfortable conditions in all rooms may be
difficult.
Adiabatic Mixing
To conserve fan energy and duct size in some buildings, the
temperature of the cold air in the supply system of a building
can be lowered (but at the cost of a decreased COP for the
chiller). To prevent cold drafts on occupants near the diffuser
outlet we can use a mixing box which mixes warmer room air
with the cold supply air, see Figure 9. The question is: how to
determine the dry bulb temperature and humidity of the
mixture leaving the box? In most cases the box is small enough
so that heat transfer from the external surface of the box is negligible. We can write a mass
balance for the air entering and leaving the box at steady state,
14
m 3 = m 1 + m 2
(26a)
3 m 3 = m 1 1 + m 2 2
(26b)
and a mass balance for the water vapor,
which can be rewritten as,
3 =
m 1
m 2
1+ 2
m 3
m 3
(26c)
Similarly an energy balance using the mixture enthalpies becomes,
m 3 h3 = m 1 h1 + m 2 h2
(27a)
which can be written as,
h3 =
m 1
m 2
h1 + h2
m 3
m 3
When the supply air flow m 1 is equal to the room air to the
box, m 2 , it is easy to see that the enthalpy of the mixture at
state 3 is the average of h1 and h2 , while 3 is the average of
1 and 2. State 3 shown of the figure is half way along a
straight line between 1 and 2. For any other mixture
proportions it can be shown that state 3 is always on the
straight line between 1 and 2 with its location set by the
proportion of cold air to recycled air in the mixing box.
Adiabatic Water Addition to Air Stream

15
(27b)
In some instances, the air entering a building has too small an amount of water vapor. Water or
steam sprays are used to add moisture. In earlier times, people would put out pans of liquid
water. Water vapor evaporating from the surface would mix with the air passing over.
Sometimes this technique can be used in hot dry climates to supplement or replace the
conventional air conditioning system.
We will assume that the spray mixes with the air stream in a small mixing box which is
adiabatic, with no heat transfer from the outside surface of the box. See Fig. 10a. Just as before
we can write conservation of mass for the steady state process,
m a 1 = m a 2 = m 1
(28)
m w = 2 m a 2 1 m a 1 = ( 2 - 1 ) m 1
(29)
m 1 h1 + m w h w = m 2 h2
(30)
and the energy balance becomes,
Note this holds whether the spray is liquid water or steam. Dividing both sides of eqn. 30 by
ma1, we can find an expression for h2,
h2 = ( 2 - 1 ) h w + h1
When the spray is a cold liquid, the enthalpy of the liquid stream
is small compared to that of the air mixture and as a good first
approximation, the enthalpy of the air mixture leaving the
mixing box is equal to the enthalpy of the mixture entering. On
the psychrometric chart the process line 1 to 2 moves at
constant h from a low humidity ratio and high dry bulb
temperature to a final state at higher humidity and lower dry
bulb temperature. The energy necessary to evaporate the liquid
water comes from the air, causing a lower temperature. In a way
this could be termed free cooling, but the price is water
consumption.
When hot liquid or steam with progressively higher enthalpy is sprayed into the air, eqn. 31
indicates that the enthalpy of the air leaving the mixing box will increase. Figure 10b illustrates
this. When the enthalpy of the steam in the spray is the same as the enthalpy of the water vapor
in the mixture entering, the leaving mixture is at the same temperature as the entering mixture.
16
(31)
Adiabatic Saturation Temperature

If the water spray in Figure 10a is sufficiently large, the mixture leaving at state 2 is saturated.
The temperature, T2, of the mixture leaving the mixing box is called the adiabatic saturation
temperature. This provides another means of measuring the unknown moisture content of a
mixture at, say, state 1. Rather then using a spray, the air at state 1 is passed over a long liquid
water surface. If the surface area is large enough, the leaving stream, at state 2 is saturated. By
measuring the dry bulb temperature of states 1 and 2 and knowing state 2 is saturated with
water vapor, an energy balance or the psychrometric chart will allow us to find the humidity
ratio of state 1. Thus, a mixture of air and water vapor with a given dry bulb temperature and
humidity ratio has a unique value of adiabatic saturation temperature.
When a closed amount of liquid is used in the adiabatic saturation apparatus, the liquid
temperature, Tw, approaches the outlet temperature T2 so hw in equ. 30 can be accurately
determined.
Since the liquid enthalpy is a small component of equation 31, lines of constant enthalpy are
approximately parallel to lines of constant adiabatic saturation temperature.
17
MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu

Fall 2010

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FALL 10

1.044J, 2.45J, 4.42J

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

Look at the cutaway of the EdenPure Quartz Infrared heater on

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

b) What are the practical issues with such a system?

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

7. Estimate the surface temperatures of all of the components in a typical 2 X 4 frame

Inside air Tin = 20 C, RH = 45%

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

Do the following problems in Levenspiel,

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

Some suggestions for design projects

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

Undergraduate 4.42J, 2.66J, 1.044J

Students from courses

Applied to the design and operation of energy

Examples of student design projects

For the purpose of simplicity we selected one particular desk (approxi

At Night (Fluoroscent Lights only) = 680 Lux

Image of Extech HD 540 light meter removed due to copyright restrictions.

Estimated yearly savings for one studio

$1700 per year savings

Single Pane: Building 3

for old buildings

non-obtrusive to currently inoperable

19.2 GJ saved per heating season

Windows are efficient

Dining Room double-hung windows

Large and Operable

CO2 Leakage through Windows

Estimated Heat loss due to old/

By completely eliminating air leaks

Interior sash stop

Image by MIT OpenCourseWare.

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

4.42 Fall 08 Final

Heat from combustion gas

Heat to environment at 20C

4.42 Fall 08 Final

4.42 Fall 08 Final

4.42 Fall 08 Final

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

input Q 1 that is the same for each portion of the problem.

Let T1 = Q 1 / m& 1 cp.

If there is no back mixing between zone 2 and 1 so that the air

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

4.42 Quiz 1 Solutions

Qequipment = (1000 W + 200 W) * 4 hrs * 3600 s/hr = 1.7 x 107 J

Qtotal = Qpeople + Qequipment = 3.97 x 108 J

880 J/kg-K * 2100 kg/m3 * 10 m3 * T = 3.97 x 108 J

T = Tfinal 20 C Tfinal = 41.5 C or 106.7 F !!!

Clearly, this is not a comfortable temperature for the party.

27575 W = 1283 W/K*( Tfinal 20 C) + (5.12 kg/s)*(700 J/kg-K)*( Tfinal 15.5 C)

Tfinal = 22.3 C or 72.1 F

This is clearly a much more comfortable temperature for the party.

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

4.42J / 1.044J / 2.45J Fundamentals of Energy in Buildings

27575 W = 1283 W/K( Tfinal 20 C) + (5.12 kg/s)(700 J/kg-K)*( Tfinal 15.5 C)

hrout = 4T3 = 45.67e-8(273 K)3 = 4.6 W/m2-K

hrin = 4T3 = 45.67e-8(293 K)3 = 5.7 W/m2-K

qtotal = qins + qwood = (0.86.8) + (0.220.7) = 9.6 W/m2

qtotal = qins + qsteel = (0.92.9) + (0.154.2) = 11.5 W/m2