1. DISCLAIMER: THIS ANALYSIS IS BASED ON CONCEPTUAL DATA AND NOT TO BE USED FOR DESIGN OR CONSTRUCTION.
ACTUAL FINAL DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE WILL VARY.
2. Note: Borefield, cooling tower, and boiler sizes are calculated using the load profiles that are appropriate for each location and building type.
3. Energy calculations are taken from ASHRAE 90.1 (2013) Appendix G: Performance rating method for pumping power
and fan power. The pumping and fan power is calculated in the same manner for all systems. The air-cooled chiller
and water-cooled chiller use values from ASHRAE 90.1 (2013) 6.8.1-3: for the water-cooled, it is 0.56 kW/ton
per the standard, converted to 6.28 COP / 21.4 EER; the air-cooled is 10.1 EER.
Cooling energy is a function of peak cooling load, chiller efficiency and total cooling hours. The annual heating or cooling hours are calculated from the
sum total energy (Btu) and peak load. The heating energy is calculated from the annual heating hours, peak
heating load, 95% condensing boiler efficiency, and natural gas energy content taken from eia.gov of
1035 Btu/cu. ft. Energy costs are calculated from the energy consumption values and the user-input energy costs.
4. For systems incorporating a cooling tower, the cooling tower energy is estimated using annual cooling hours, peak cooling loads, and the input electricity rate. This model uses minimum cooling tower efficiency as prescribed in ASHRAE 90.1 (2010) 6.8.1-7.
5. Please select either $/mcf (thousand cubit feet), $/therm (1 therm = 100,000 Btu) or $/GJ (1GJ = 9.47 therm). Enter the desired rate for gas
in the "Rate for gas" input box. If $/therm or $/GJ is selected, a default value from the Energy Information Association
(EIA) at eia.gov of 1035 Btu/ft3 will be used to calculate the volumetric rate in $/mcf.
6. Values are entered in $/kWh (kilowatt-hour). This program does not make use of time of day rates. By default, $0.10/kWh is used.
If a rate is known, it may be entered in the "Rate for electric" input box.
7. The geothermal cost in $/sq ft is used with the total lineal feet of borefield pipe
to calculate the entire cost of installing the borefield, pipes, grouting, pressure testing, flushing, filling,
trenching, stubbing up into the building, and capping. The default value is $14/bore-foot. If a different value is desired, it can be
input in the "Geothermal Installation Cost" input box.
8. Enter the total unit cost in $/sq. ft. for inside costs such as ductwork, grilles, registers, diffusers, etc. All equipment, except for the chiller and boiler, is considered inside installed costs and applies to ‘Conventional system cost’.
9. By default, no boiler is used in the Greensleeves solution. If you select to use a boiler and select a heat load percentage from the drop-down box, the selected percentage of load will be removed from the peak heating load.
For example, if 15% is selected, then the heat pump will manage 85% of the heating load and the boiler will supply the remaining 15% of the heating. However, if the total annual heating gas cost is not more than $500 to operate the boiler,
a boiler will not be included in your results.