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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I’m also curious to hear Jeff’s LEED reviewer interpretation of thermal blocks. I’ll add some general comments.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I believe it is incorrect use of terminology to talk about “multiple zones per thermal block” in eQUEST.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>The words <i>space </i>and <i>zone </i>both have specific meanings in eQUEST. For each space, there is a single corresponding zone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Multiple zones can be applied to a single system. (Unfortunately, multiple systems cannot be applied to a single zone, but that is another thread.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>The term <i>thermal block</i> does not have a precise meaning in eQUEST, but I would not describe the group of zones assigned to a single system as a thermal block.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>If you wanted to try to model the exact intent of a proposed design, you would model each thermally-unique area as its own space/zone. A generalization is that a zone is an area served by a single thermostat.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>To simplify a model, similar zones can be combined into thermal blocks per the guidelines in ASHRAE Standard 90.1.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Modelers have to make judgments calls on if/how to combine zones into thermal blocks.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>In eQUEST, the decision to combine zones into thermal blocks really should be done at the wizard input level, when the zones are defined. You combine multiple zones per the design intent into a single zone definition for simulation purposes.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>You don’t have multiple zones in a thermal block. Each thermal block is defined/modeled as a single eQUEST zone.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>You could still assign multiple thermal blocks/zones to a single system, but I would be wary of over-simplifying a proposed design.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Bill<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><img width=496 height=123 id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CC0A41.2195A8F0" alt="Signature in jpg form"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org [mailto:equest-users-bounces@lists.onebuilding.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Paul Diglio<br><b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, May 04, 2011 9:21 AM<br><b>To:</b> Jeff Ross-Bain; equest-users<br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [Equest-users] Thermal Blocks<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt'>Jeff:<br><br>ASHRAE 90.1 allow spaces of similar thermal characteristics to be combined in thermal blocks. I do not include what you call support spaces because the load and occupancy is much different than, say a classroom. I would define the corridor as a separate zone within the thermal block but served by the same HVAC system. This allows you to have a different set-point, airflow, occupancy and schedules for the corridor.<br><br>You do not have to define a separate shell for each block, you can define the block by custom zones in the wizard.<br><br>I divide up a thermal block into as many reasonable zones as possible. This allows me to find out which area of the thermal block is causing any unmet heating or cooling hours. It also allows me to change the HVAC system control zone to that zone which is the hardest to satisfy in the summer and winter. These zones can be served by a single HVAC system.<br><br>For a proposed model that needs to conform to an actual design, defining multiple zones per thermal block allows you to balance the airflow to zones that have unmet hours without increasing the overall airflow of the HVAC system. I define the zonal airflow in the Zone tab. I reduce the airflow to the zones without any unmet hours and increase the airflow to those zones that have unmet hours. I do not define the total fan CFM in the Airside Systems tab.<br><br>What were the comments from the LEED reviewer?<br><br>Paul Diglio<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><hr size=1 width="100%" align=center></span></div><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> Jeff Ross-Bain <jeff@rbgb.com><br><b>To:</b> equest-users <equest-users@lists.onebuilding.org><br><b>Sent:</b> Wed, May 4, 2011 9:05:15 AM<br><b>Subject:</b> [Equest-users] Thermal Blocks</span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>Hi All,</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>Are there any additional discussions out there regarding thermal blocks besides what is in ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and the User’s Guide? I have received comments back from a LEED reviewer that seems to reflect an interpretation of that concept which I have not seen before.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>In a nutshell, does each thermal block require a separate shell with individual HVAC system? I understand the concept of having individual thermal blocks or combining these if they are similar space use categories. I am assuming then that the similar space use categories (say a college classroom building) can also include support spaces such as corridors, storage spaces, faculty offices, etc. </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>So if several thermal blocks are combined into one, can they not be served by a single, similar type of HVAC system?</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>I hope that I have made myself clear and many thanks for your thoughts and comments.</span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:navy'>Regards,</span><o:p></o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;color:#006E78'> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic","sans-serif";color:#006E78'>Jeffrey G Ross-Bain, PE, LEED AP, BEMP</span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic","sans-serif";color:#535053'>404-228-2893 office </span></b><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic","sans-serif";color:#535053'>404-408-2577 mobile<br></span></b><b><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Century Gothic","sans-serif";color:#006E78'><a href="http://www.rbgb.com" target="_blank">www.rbgb.com</a></span></b><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>