The calculation that sizes the equipment, required by code and almost never done properly.
The calculation that sizes the equipment, required by code and almost never done properly.
CSA F280-12 is the Canadian standard for calculating residential heating and cooling loads. It is referenced by the Ontario Building Code, the National Building Code, the BC code and the Quebec Construction Code, and it is what a permit reviewer means when they ask for a heat loss calculation.
It matters because almost all residential equipment in Canada is oversized, usually by a rule of thumb applied to the square footage. An oversized furnace short-cycles, wears out sooner and heats unevenly. An oversized air conditioner cools the air without removing the humidity, which is why the house feels clammy at twenty-two degrees. An oversized heat pump is worse again, because the whole economics depend on it running at part load.
An F280 calculation is room by room and assembly by assembly. It gives you a design heating load, a design cooling load, and room-by-room airflow requirements the installer can actually duct to.
One thing worth knowing: HOT2000 is not accepted for F280. It is a different calculation with a different purpose, and a permit reviewer will reject it. We produce F280 in software that qualifies.
A room-by-room CSA F280 report with design loads and airflows, in a form a permit reviewer accepts.
Builders, HVAC contractors, designers and homeowners replacing a heating or cooling system.
Licence 9E
A measured EnerGuide evaluation by a registered advisor, a report you can act on, and an honest answer about which programmes are open where you live.