CAN-QUEST Modelling Guide

A Resource to Help You Comply

With the National Energy Code of Canada for
Buildings 2011

March 2016
List of changes:

July 9, 2015: Removed last bullet in Building operation and construction, section 1.5.

December 11, 2015: Corrected several section numbering and heading problems; added Word
cross-references for all level 3 and 4 sections, tables, and figures; confirmed
screen captures to ensure they correspond to CAN-QUEST NECB v1.0 interface.

March 31, 2016: Reviewed and verified all modelling procedures described in the guide. Added
corrections and additional information where necessary. Clarified descriptions of
modelling procedures. Ensured consistency in descriptions of common interface
elements. Updated all screenshots to be based on the current CAN-QUEST
interface. Created heading styles for the Appendices, and added the Appendix
sub-sections to the table of contents..

ii
 

CAN-QUEST Modelling Guide

A Resource to Help You Comply

With the National Energy Code of Canada for
Buildings 2011

 
 

iii
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Aussi disponible en français sous le titre : Guide de modélisation à l’aide du logiciel CAN-QUEST :
aux fins de conformité au Code national de l’énergie pour les bâtiments 2011

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otherwise specified.

You are asked to:

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 indicate that the reproduction is a copy of an official work that is published by Natural
Resources Canada (NRCan) and that the reproduction has not been produced in
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Commercial reproduction and distribution is prohibited except with written permission from NRCan. For
more information, contact NRCan at copyright.droitdauteur@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Natural Resources, 2015
 

Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency

Leading Canadians to Energy Efficiency at Home, at Work and on the Road

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Contents
1.  INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1 
1.1  Background ...................................................................................................................... 1 
1.2  Scope ............................................................................................................................... 2 
1.3  Organization of this guide ................................................................................................. 3 
1.4  Key changes between MNECB 1997 and NECB 2011 .................................................... 5 
1.5  Energy efficiency measures ............................................................................................. 6 
2.  BUILDING ZONING PRINCIPLES ....................................................................................... 11 
2.1  Principles for dividing buildings into zones ..................................................................... 11 
2.1.1  Same HVAC system ................................................................................................ 11 
2.1.2  Similar operation and type of use ............................................................................ 12 
2.1.3  Similar heating/cooling loads ................................................................................... 13 
2.1.4  Grouping similar zones ............................................................................................ 13 
2.2  Dividing zones into spaces ............................................................................................. 14 
2.3  Defining unconditioned/partially conditioned zones........................................................ 15 
2.4  Zoning example .............................................................................................................. 15 
3.  CAN-QUEST MODES .......................................................................................................... 17 
3.1  Schematic Design Wizard .............................................................................................. 20 
3.2  Design Development Wizard .......................................................................................... 21 
3.3  Energy Efficiency Measures Wizard ............................................................................... 22 
3.4  Setting up shells in wizards ............................................................................................ 22 
3.5  Drawing tools .................................................................................................................. 25 
3.6  Detailed Data Edit mode................................................................................................. 26 
3.6.1  General information ................................................................................................. 26 
3.6.2  Colour use in identifying user input distinctions ....................................................... 30 
4.  BUILDING OPERATION ...................................................................................................... 31 
4.1  Building schedules and equipment operation ................................................................. 31 
4.1.1  Changing/creating schedules in CAN-QUEST......................................................... 33 
5.  PROJECT AND SITE ........................................................................................................... 36 
5.1  Project data .................................................................................................................... 36 
5.1.1  Weather file .............................................................................................................. 36 
5.1.2  3-D View Details ...................................................................................................... 36 
5.2  Compliance data ............................................................................................................ 37 
5.2.1  Energy code compliance.......................................................................................... 37 
5.2.2  Service water heating load defaulting ...................................................................... 37 
5.3  Site data ......................................................................................................................... 37 

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 5.4  Hourly reports ................................................................................................................. 38 
6.  BUILDING SHELL ................................................................................................................ 39 
6.1  Level of complexity required ........................................................................................... 39 
6.2  Above-grade walls, roofs and floors ............................................................................... 42 
6.2.1  Area calculation ....................................................................................................... 42 
6.2.2  Wall, roof and floor U-values.................................................................................... 42 
6.3  Assemblies in contact with the ground ........................................................................... 46 
6.3.1  Below-grade and earth-bermed walls ...................................................................... 46 
6.3.2  Below-grade and earth-bermed roofs ...................................................................... 47 
6.4  Windows and skylights ................................................................................................... 47 
6.4.1  Window and skylight area ........................................................................................ 47 
6.4.2  Window and skylight U-values ................................................................................. 49 
6.4.3  Window and skylight shading coefficient ................................................................. 50 
6.4.4  Visible transmittance ................................................................................................ 51 
6.4.5  Shading .................................................................................................................... 51 
6.5  Doors .............................................................................................................................. 51 
6.6  Curtain wall systems....................................................................................................... 52 
6.6.1  Vision panel ............................................................................................................. 52 
6.6.2  Spandrel .................................................................................................................. 52 
6.7  Balconies and wall/floor junctions................................................................................... 52 
6.7.1  Junctions .................................................................................................................. 52 
6.7.2  Balconies ................................................................................................................. 53 
6.8  Modelling unconditioned or partially conditioned zones ................................................. 53 
6.8.1  Unconditioned space (unheated vestibules, parking garages) ................................ 53 
6.8.2  Partially conditioned space (crawl spaces, heated parking garages) ...................... 56 
6.8.3  Unconditioned space as a supply air plenum (crawl space, mechanical penthouse
or floor) ................................................................................................................................ 58 
6.8.4  Partially conditioned space as a supply air plenum (crawl space, mechanical
penthouse or floor) ............................................................................................................... 59 
6.9  Interior partitions ............................................................................................................. 60 
7.  INTERNAL LOADS .............................................................................................................. 61 
7.1  General ........................................................................................................................... 61 
7.2  Occupancy ..................................................................................................................... 61 
7.3  Lighting ........................................................................................................................... 61 
7.3.1  Lighting power density or installed power ................................................................ 61 
7.3.2  Lighting system, luminaire and lamp type properties ............................................... 62 
7.3.3  Occupancy sensors ................................................................................................. 62 

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 7.3.4  Lighting of unconditioned spaces............................................................................. 64 
7.3.5  Existing lighting input ............................................................................................... 64 
7.4  Daylighting ...................................................................................................................... 65 
7.5  Equipment ...................................................................................................................... 66 
7.6  Infiltration ........................................................................................................................ 67 
8.  WATER-SIDE HVAC............................................................................................................ 68 
8.1  Distribution loops ............................................................................................................ 68 
8.1.1  Basic specifications.................................................................................................. 70 
8.1.2  Process/DHW loads ................................................................................................. 73 
8.1.3  Losses ..................................................................................................................... 73 
8.1.4  Head tab .................................................................................................................. 74 
8.1.5  Loop-Operation ........................................................................................................ 74 
8.1.6  Controls ................................................................................................................... 76 
8.1.7  Equipment controls .................................................................................................. 78 
8.1.8  Auxiliaries................................................................................................................. 79 
8.2  Service water heaters ..................................................................................................... 79 
8.2.1  Domestic hot water loop parameters ....................................................................... 79 
8.2.2  Domestic water heating equipment.......................................................................... 80 
8.2.3  Attachments ............................................................................................................. 84 
8.2.4  Auxiliaries................................................................................................................. 85 
8.3  Boilers ............................................................................................................................ 85 
8.3.1  Multiple boilers ......................................................................................................... 86 
8.3.2  Multi-stage/modulating boilers ................................................................................. 86 
8.3.3  Condensing boilers .................................................................................................. 87 
8.3.4  Boiler return water temperature and outdoor air reset ............................................. 87 
8.4  Chillers ........................................................................................................................... 88 
8.4.1  Electric chillers ......................................................................................................... 90 
8.4.2  Variable-speed drive chillers .................................................................................... 94 
8.4.3  Multiple compressors ............................................................................................... 95 
8.4.4  Chiller heat recovery ................................................................................................ 95 
8.5  Heat rejection ................................................................................................................. 96 
8.6  District heating and cooling ............................................................................................ 98 
8.6.1  District/purchased heating ....................................................................................... 99 
8.6.2  Heating from both building boiler and central heating plant ..................................... 99 
8.6.3  District/purchased cooling ...................................................................................... 100 
8.6.4  Cooling from both building chiller and central chiller plant ..................................... 100 

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 8.7  Heat pumps .................................................................................................................. 100 
8.7.1  Ground-source (or geothermal) heat pumps.......................................................... 100 
8.7.2  Boiler/cooling tower-source heat pumps ................................................................ 103 
8.7.3  Air-source heat pumps ........................................................................................... 103 
Centralized ground-source heat pump .............................................................................. 103 
8.7.4  Boiler operation with combination GSHP ............................................................... 106 
8.8  Pumps .......................................................................................................................... 106 
8.8.1  Pump and motor efficiency .................................................................................... 107 
8.8.2  Pump power ........................................................................................................... 107 
8.8.3  Pump capacity control............................................................................................ 107 
8.9  Special central plant cases ........................................................................................... 107 
8.9.1  Water-side economizers ........................................................................................ 107 
9.  HVAC EQUIPMENT ........................................................................................................... 111 
9.1  Humidifiers ................................................................................................................... 111 
9.2  System air flow rates and fans ..................................................................................... 112 
9.2.1  Supply and exhaust fan overview .......................................................................... 112 
9.2.2  Entering central supply fans into CAN-QUEST...................................................... 113 
9.2.3  Central return fans ................................................................................................. 114 
9.2.4  Fan operating schedules........................................................................................ 114 
9.3  Outdoor air flow rates ................................................................................................... 115 
9.3.1  Modelled ventilation rate ........................................................................................ 115 
9.3.2  Examples ............................................................................................................... 117 
9.3.3  Determination of the code ventilation rate ............................................................. 118 
9.3.4  Superseding standards .......................................................................................... 119 
9.3.5  Supply vs. exhaust air requirements ...................................................................... 120 
9.3.6  Hospital systems .................................................................................................... 122 
9.3.7  Demand-controlled ventilation ............................................................................... 123 
9.3.8  Demand-controlled ventilation using occupancy sensors ...................................... 123 
9.4  Economizers ................................................................................................................. 124 
9.5  Ventilation air heat recovery ......................................................................................... 124 
9.5.1  Heat recovery effectiveness................................................................................... 125 
9.5.2  Heat recovery control ............................................................................................. 126 
9.5.3  Heat recovery in mixed-air systems ....................................................................... 126 
9.5.4  Exhaust fan heat recovery with makeup air units .................................................. 127 
9.5.5  Heat recovery and differing exhaust and supply fan operations ............................ 128 
9.5.6  Heat recovery with solar thermal (air) preheat ....................................................... 128 

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 9.6  Central heating and cooling coils.................................................................................. 130 
9.6.1  Cooling coils .......................................................................................................... 130 
9.6.2  Heating coils .......................................................................................................... 131 
9.7  Air-source heat pumps ................................................................................................. 132 
9.7.1  Modelling VRV/VRF with PVVT and air-cooled condensers .................................. 132 
9.7.2  Modelling VRV/VRF with PVVT and water-cooled condensers ............................. 133 
9.8  Zone-level devices ....................................................................................................... 133 
9.8.1  Air flow ................................................................................................................... 134 
9.8.2  Zone supply fans.................................................................................................... 134 
9.8.3  Baseboard radiators, reheat coils, heating panels ................................................. 135 
9.8.4  Zone exhaust fans ................................................................................................. 135 
9.8.5  Fan coils and hydronic heat pumps ....................................................................... 136 
10.  MODELLING OF HVAC SYSTEMS ................................................................................. 137 
10.1  Fundamental system types in CAN-QUEST............................................................... 137 
10.2  Selecting the appropriate system ............................................................................... 138 
10.3  System types .............................................................................................................. 139 
10.3.1  Ground/water-source heat pump systems ........................................................... 139 
10.3.2  Fan-coil systems .................................................................................................. 139 
10.3.3  Induction unit systems ......................................................................................... 140 
10.3.4  Mixed air multizone systems ................................................................................ 140 
10.3.5  Dual-duct systems ............................................................................................... 140 
10.3.6  Single-zone systems ............................................................................................ 141 
10.3.7  Constant volume multizone systems ................................................................... 141 
10.3.8  VAV systems ....................................................................................................... 141 
10.3.9  Powered induction unit ........................................................................................ 142 
10.3.10  Packaged variable-volume variable-temperature .............................................. 142 
10.4  Special HVAC system cases ...................................................................................... 142 
10.4.1  Central make-up air serving compartment units or terminal units........................ 142 
10.4.2  Water-based radiant heating and cooling system ................................................ 143 
10.4.3  Radiant (gas-fired) unit heaters ........................................................................... 144 
10.4.4  Solar water and ventilation air heating systems................................................... 144 
10.4.5  Parking garages ................................................................................................... 145 
10.5  System modelling examples ....................................................................................... 146 
11.  UTILITY AND ECONOMICS ............................................................................................ 152 
11.1  Utility rates .................................................................................................................. 152 
11.2  Meters ........................................................................................................................ 154 

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12.  SETTING UP THE COMPLIANCE RUN .......................................................................... 156 
12.1  Steps to set up a compliance run ............................................................................... 156 
12.1.1  Space-by-space method ...................................................................................... 158 
12.1.2  Building area method ........................................................................................... 159 
12.2  Resolving errors ......................................................................................................... 160 
12.3  Reports generated ...................................................................................................... 161 
Appendix A.  Parking garages................................................................................................. 162 
A.1.  Uses of building exhaust air as low-grade heating...................................................... 162 
A.2.  Heated garage ............................................................................................................ 162 
A.2.1.  Option 1: Convert available heat to process energy............................................. 162 
A.2.2.  Option 2: Allow high unheated hours.................................................................... 163 
A.3.  Unheated garage ........................................................................................................ 164 
A.3.1.  Option 1: Convert available heat to process energy............................................. 164 
A.3.2.  Option 2: Allow high unheated hours.................................................................... 165 
Appendix B.  NECB 2011 tables ............................................................................................. 166 

vi
1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The last energy code for buildings was the Model National Energy Code of Canada for
Buildings (MNECB) published in 1997. Between 2007 and 2011, with the support of the
provinces and with financial and technical support from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan),
a new energy code for new buildings was developed.

In 2011, the National Research Council Canada published the National Energy Code of
Canada for Buildings (NECB) 2011. This code contains a set of “prescriptive” energy
efficiency measures for new commercial buildings. The code also allows for the substitution
or trading-off of prescriptive energy efficiency measures provided that the substitution does
not increase building energy consumption. Because this code is voluntary, these measures
apply only if the provincial government or local authority having jurisdiction adopts them.
Because the NECB 2011 is a code, it represents a minimum level of energy efficiency. The
CAN-QUEST computer software developed by NRCan was specifically designed as a code
compliance verification tool for the NECB 2011. CAN-QUEST is based on eQUEST 3.62x
and can be used to generate computer models of a proposed building and a corresponding
NECB 2011 reference building.

Reference Building

The CAN-QUEST software prepares a second “reference” building model for any “proposed”
building design. The reference building is architecturally similar to the proposed design, thus
having the same wall orientations, level of airtightness, number of occupants, fan operation,
appliance and electrical usage, and process equipment.

The NECB 2011 has defined certain architectural attributes of the reference building that
deviate from the proposed building design. This is a departure from MNECB 1997. These
are described in the NECB 2011 itself and have been incorporated into CAN-QUEST.

The reference building will be insulated to the NECB 2011 prescriptive levels applicable to
the climatic region, as outlined in NECB 2011 Table 3.2.2.2. Overall Thermal Transmittance
of Above-ground Opaque Building Assemblies. The reference building will have a defined
heating and cooling plant (if applicable) and a representative air handling system. The type of
air handling system selected for the reference building is dependent upon the building’s
function and size as described in Table 8.4.4.8.A. HVAC System Selection for the Reference
Building and Table 8.4.4.8.B. Descriptions of HVAC Systems 1-7 of the NECB 2011.

The reference air handling system will use calculated fan energy and will include free cooling
where applicable. The circulation pumps for heating and cooling will be sized based upon the
proposed design’s pumping power in W/L/s (W/gpm). The reference building will be
constructed with a certain mass level and will not incorporate any window shading devices.
For a complete understanding of how the reference building is created and how the
equipment is sized and operated, see Division B, Part 8 of the NECB 2011 and supporting
sections of the NECB 2011 where indicated, as well as the CAN-QUEST Release Notes,
available in the main CAN-QUEST installation folder.

1
It is important that CAN-QUEST models, for compliance with the NECB 2011 or validation
simulations/models for high efficiency programs and industry certification, be performed
accurately and consistently. Nevertheless, buildings and building systems are sometimes
extremely complex, and modellers can achieve different results for the same building design
because of the assumptions that are made. This guide provides recommendations on how to
model new buildings, in accordance with the NECB 2011 requirements, in order to minimize
these differences.

It is very important for users to have a working knowledge of eQUEST. In addition to reading
this guide, users should be familiar with the eQUEST tutorial
(http://doe2.com/download/equest/eQ-v3-63_Introductory-Tutorial.pdf) and the DOE 2.2
documentation (http://www.doe2.com/download/Docs/22_Oview.pdf and
http://www.gard.com/ml/bldg-sim-archive/msg03186.html). This information is available in
English only from U.S. eQUEST developer Web sites. Users should note that these reference
materials may refer to different versions of eQUEST than that used to develop CAN-QUEST.

The primary purpose of a CAN-QUEST model is NOT to develop an accurate prediction of

annual energy use. Rather, the purpose is to develop fair and consistent evaluations of the
effects of the deviations (in whatever direction) from the NECB 2011 prescriptive
requirements. Consequently, many simplifying assumptions were made to rationalize the
modelling exercise without compromising the intent. The model provides a uniform and
consistent means of verifying compliance with the NECB 2011 and comparing the energy
efficiency of building designs. The NECB 2011 and validation models assume typical building
use patterns and standards of construction. Because space use patterns and standards of
construction vary from building to building, models based on these assumptions may or may
not be indicative of the actual building energy consumption when built and operational.

Non-compliant buildings

The CAN-QUEST software, when performing a compliance simulation, simulates the energy
use of a proposed building design and an equivalent reference building model based on the
prescriptive requirements and/or Part 8 of the NECB 2011. The software can also model the
energy use of buildings that do not comply with the NECB 2011 or that use non-standard
operating schedules and inputs, such as occupant heat gain and receptacle loads. These
building models are referred to as “non-compliant.” The non-compliant feature removes all
NECB 2011 rules and schedules and allows the user to enter a building for energy modelling
purposes only.

1.2 Scope

This guide should be used in conjunction with the CAN-QUEST training developed by Natural
Resources Canada and delivered by jurisdictions and other stakeholders involved with the
promotion of the NECB 2011.

CAN-QUEST training demonstrates how to create a CAN-QUEST model for the purposes of
showing compliance with the NECB 2011 and includes exercises. This guide provides details
to support that process.

The guide provides recommended modelling procedures in three key areas:

2
  rules for dividing buildings into thermal zones and spaces
 sources of information for performance values of envelope components and building
equipment
 guidance on modelling simple and complex HVAC systems

This guide also includes some modelling examples for showing compliance with the NECB
2011 through the use of CAN-QUEST for validation of new building design models.

This guide should be used in conjunction with the NECB 2011. Key information and materials
can be obtained from the following web sites:

 NRCan’s Buildings page: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/buildings/4261

 Tools and Software for New Buildings:
http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/buildings/eenb/16596
 EE4 software: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/software-tools/7453
 NRC NECB 2011: http://www.nrc-
cnrc.gc.ca/eng/publications/codes_centre/2011_national_energy_code_buildings.html

The procedures in this guide can be used to assess compliance with the NECB 2011.
Therefore, users should consult both the eQUEST tutorial and this guide to prepare the data
for entry into the CAN-QUEST software.

This guide can be used as the basis for all CAN-QUEST models submitted for NECB 2011
compliance to authorities having jurisdiction. Additional modelling methods and workarounds
that have not been included in this guide or have been developed after this guide was
produced will be available upon request at info.services@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca.

In some cases, CAN-QUEST may not be sufficient to model certain energy efficiency
measures, and adjustments of the CAN-QUEST outputs are sometimes allowed. The CAN-
QUEST outputs can be either supplemented with engineering data or edited through changes
to the DOE files generated by the software and stored in the Projects folder. The engineering
data used to directly modify the CAN-QUEST results can be generated by manual
calculations or software outputs such as RETScreen (http://www.retscreen.net/). It is not
recommended that modellers make changes to DOE files until they have considerable
experience in the use of the software.

1.3 Organization of this guide

This guide describes procedures required for consistent modelling of buildings. These
procedures should be considered mandatory for those wishing to model buildings “in
accordance with good engineering practices.”

Each chapter in this guide deals with a specific aspect of a building model. The chapters
provide the following content.

Chapter 1. Introduction
- provides background information on the NECB 2011 and includes an outline of
energy efficiency measures that can be credited against the reference building model

Chapter 2. Building zoning principles

3
 - describes the rules for dividing a building into thermal zones and spaces

Chapter 3. CAN-QUEST modes

- introduces the wizards
- describes how to set up shells and zones,
- explains how to import custom shells and zoning patterns into the program by using
CAD drawings

Chapter 4. Building operation

- examines modelling procedures that relate to defining building function and operating
parameters, including schedules

Chapter 5. Project and site

- explains the input required to define the project as a whole. Topics include running
hourly reports, weather files and altitude adjustments

Chapter 6. Building shell

- describes the modelling procedures for walls, roofs, floors, windows and doors, as
well as specialty products such as curtain walls, balconies and wall/floor junctions

Chapter 7. Internal loads

- presents the techniques for modelling lighting and other electrical systems and
equipment and discusses daylighting, service hot water and infiltration inputs

Chapter 8. Water-side HVAC

- describes modelling techniques for equipment entered primarily as central plant
equipment, including boilers, chillers, service water heaters, cooling towers, pumps,
and heat pump loops

Chapter 9. HVAC equipment

- describes modelling techniques for equipment entered at the “system” and “zone”
levels, including coils, fans, heat recovery systems, economizers, baseboard units
and air-source heat pumps

Chapter 10. Modelling of HVAC systems

- describes the 26 system types that can be modelled in CAN-QUEST, as well as
procedures and examples for choosing the best system for each model

Chapter 11. Utility and economics

- examines common rate structures and the various meters that can be created in a
model

Chapter 12. Setting up the compliance run

- lists the steps that need to be taken in order to run a successful compliance model

4
1.4 Key changes between MNECB 1997 and NECB 2011

Energy performance levels: In July 2008, the Council of the Federation issued a public
statement requesting an improvement of 25% over the levels set by the MNECB 1997.
The working target for the changes to the NECB 2011 was an energy performance target of
25% better than the MNECB 1997. This was assessed by comparing the energy usage of
buildings when designed to the MNECB 1997 against their energy usage when designed to
the NECB 2011. The implication of achieving this performance improvement was that the
NECB 2011 would have more stringent requirements than the MNECB 1997.
Objective-based analysis: The NECB 2011 is an objective-based code. Each provision
has related objective-based information, including intent and application statements, and
objectives and functional statements for requirements.
Assembly constructions: The NECB 2011 addresses the energy used by the building with
no exemption within the prescriptive requirements for any assembly construction. It allows
an increase or reduction in insulation levels as an option for any type of construction when a
designer chooses to follow the trade-off or performance compliance paths. This approach
levels the playing field for energy use by the building regardless of the type of construction
used.
Energy sources: The NECB 2011 does not differentiate requirements based on energy
source. It is an energy code that addresses energy used by the building irrespective of the
source of the energy. The NECB 2011 does not have different performance levels for
construction based on the energy source.
Control devices for lighting: Lighting of unoccupied interior spaces is an unnecessary use
of energy. The NECB 2011 requires the installation of automatic lighting controls for many
applications.
Fenestration-to-wall ratio: The prescriptive building envelope requirements in the NECB
2011 set a maximum fenestration-to-wall ratio that varies based on the local climatic
conditions, i.e. heating degree-days (HDD). The ratio is set at 0.40 for locations with heating
degree-days of 4000 and less, and 0.20 for locations with HDD of 7000 and greater. The
ratio for areas with HDD between these two values is set based on a linear equation. The
NECB 2011 allows deviation from this ratio when using the trade-off or performance
compliance paths.
Heat recovery: Heat recovery equipment produces significant energy savings by
preventing the loss of waste heat. The NECB 2011 has provisions requiring the installation
of heat recovery equipment for most occupancy types.
HVAC and service water heating equipment: The Energy Efficiency Act (EEA) applies to
equipment transported across provincial/territorial borders. Among other things, it contains
minimum standards for HVAC and service water heating equipment efficiencies. The
Standing Committee on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (SCEEB) has reviewed the EEA in
comparison with current industry practice and concluded that the minimum efficiencies set
by the EEA are below that of the typical equipment installed today. In the prescriptive path,
the SCEEB sets a minimum efficiency based on the industry's median level for many HVAC
and service water heating applications. The NECB 2011 allows reduced equipment
efficiencies to a floor level set by the EEA when using the trade-off or performance
compliance approaches.

5
Semi-heated spaces: There are specific prescriptive provisions dealing with semi-heated
spaces in the trade-off compliance path of the building envelope (Part 3 of the NECB 2011).

1.5 Energy efficiency measures

This section contains a list of common energy efficiency measures that can be implemented
and modelled in CAN-QUEST to meet the requirements of the NECB 2011 performance
path. Some of these parameters may also incur penalties if the default reference building
system demonstrates better performance.

Building operation and construction

 Building automation system: No credit is offered, since for most functions, the
reference building is assumed to shut off lights, fans, etc. when not required.
Exceptions are daylighting controls that exceed prescriptive requirements, occupancy
control of lighting and demand-controlled ventilation.

 Nighttime temperature setback: With the exception of semi-heated spaces, no

credit is offered, as both reference and proposed buildings must follow the same
temperature schedule. Most default NECB 2011 temperature schedules already
assume nighttime temperature setback.

 Automatic lighting controls: Credits are offered for occupancy sensors or automatic
daylight dimming. Controls must be automated (no credit for user-controlled
dimmers).

Building envelope

 Wall/roof/exposed floor RSI values: Credit is offered if the RSI value of a proposed
building is better than the RSI value of a reference building. A penalty is imposed if a
proposed building RSI value is worse than a reference building RSI value. The
reference building RSI value is based on Table 3.2.2.2. Overall Thermal
Transmittance of Above-ground Opaque Building Assemblies, in Division B, Part 3 of
the NECB 2011.

 Below-grade and slab insulation: The proposed building must meet the NECB 2011
mandatory insulation requirements cited in Table 3.2.3.1. Overall Thermal
Transmittance of Building Assemblies in Contact with the Ground, in Division B, Part
3 of the NECB 2011. However, no credit is provided if the insulation exceeds the
mandatory requirements.

 Window U-values: Credit is offered if a proposed building U-value is better than a

reference building U-value. A penalty is imposed if the proposed window U-value is
worse than the reference building window U-value. The reference building U-value is
based on Table 3.2.2.3. Overall Thermal Transmittance of Fenestration, in Division B,
Part 3 of the NECB 2011.

 Fenestration-and-door-to-wall ratio: The allowable fenestration-and-door-to-wall

ratio (FDWR) is determined based on the number of HDDs for the location of the

6
 building (Table A-3.2.1.4.(1) Maximum Allowable FDWR for Various HDD, in Division
B, Appendix A of the NECB 2011). The reference building will match the FDWR of the
proposed building until the maximum allowed for that climate zone is reached. This
may be a credit or penalty, depending on the climatic zone and the proposed design’s
fenestration-and-door-to-wall ratio.

 Window solar heat gain coefficient/shading coefficient: The solar heat gain
coefficient/shading coefficient is compliance neutral, meaning that the proposed entry
will be used in the derivation of the reference building.

 Skylight-to-roof ratio: Under the trade-off and performance paths, the reference
building shall always contain a skylight area of 5% of the roof area at a U-value of
3.4 W/m2·K. If the proposed space skylight-to-roof ratio is greater than 5%, the
reference building is fixed at 5% and the proposed building will likely incur an energy
penalty.

 Door U-value: Credit is offered if a proposed building exterior door U-value is better
than a reference building exterior door U-value. A penalty is imposed if the exterior
door U-value is worse than the reference building exterior door U-value. The
reference building U-value is based on Table 3.2.2.4. Overall Thermal Transmittance
of Doors, in Division B, Part 3 of the NECB 2011.

 Thermal mass: The reference building envelope assembly shall be constructed with
a lightweight thermal mass (40.8 kg/m2 weight). Therefore, potential credits or
penalties are available based upon the mass level of the proposed design’s building
envelope. Interior mass is modelled identically for the proposed and reference
buildings.

 Fenestration shading: Potential credits or penalties are available for fenestration

overhang geometry, as the reference building will assume fully exposed fenestration
with no shading.

 Infiltration/air tightness: No credit is offered for improved air tightness of walls or

windows. For modelling purposes, the infiltration rate in both proposed and reference
buildings is fixed at 0.25 L/s per m2 of gross above-grade envelope area.

 Wall/roof absorptivity and roughness: No credit is available for these wall

parameters. They are modelled identically in proposed and reference buildings. There
may be credits available in certain climatic zones related to wall and roof absorptivity
specific to green and cool roofs. However, it is at the discretion of the authority having
jurisdiction to develop the modelling procedure and to allow this credit.

HVAC systems

 HVAC system type: There are potential credits or penalties for certain HVAC system
types. Reference building systems are established by the NECB 2011 in Division B,
Part 8 (Table 8.4.4.8.A, HVAC System Selection for the Reference Building and
Table 8.4.4.8.B, Descriptions of HVAC Systems 1-7), and are determined by the
number of storeys and space types or building type selected in the model.

7
 Supply fan controls: In variable-air-volume (VAV) and dual-duct systems, credits are
available for the type of supply fan. A large credit is available based on the static
pressures assigned to the corresponding reference building’s HVAC systems (625 Pa
or 2.5 in. of water pressure for supply fans in single-zone constant-volume and
makeup air units, and 1 000 Pa or 4 in. of water pressure for multizone and VAV air
handling systems).

 Equipment efficiency: Credit is available for HVAC equipment with higher efficiency
than stipulated in the NECB 2011. This is applicable to boilers, chillers, fans, pumps,
heat pumps, and burners (unit heaters, rooftop furnaces, furnaces, domestic water
heaters).

 Modelling of high efficiency combustion equipment: CAN-QUEST supports the

modelling of high efficiency combustion equipment (i.e. furnaces) if it is present in a
building.

 Chillers: Chiller efficiencies and types are calculated based on the cooling capacities
in the reference case. Credits or penalties may exist depending on the chiller used in
the proposed design and the cooling load as compared to Table 5.2.12.1. Unitary and
Packaged HVAC Equipment Performance Requirements, in Division B, Part 5 of the
NECB 2011.

 Boilers, heaters and burners: These will have reference thermal efficiency of
between 82% and 85%. Therefore, a credit is available for specifying a higher thermal
efficiency (refer to Table 5.2.12.1. Unitary and Packaged HVAC Equipment
Performance Requirements, in Division B, Part 5 of the NECB 2011, for the specific
thermal efficiencies by equipment type and size).

 Pump characteristics: Pumping energy usage credits are available as the reference
building pump power per flow is based on a 16°C temperature drop for heating and a
6°C temperature rise for cooling. The reference pumps have the same static head
and efficiency as the proposed building’s pumps (heating, cooling, heat rejection,
service water heating).

 Equipment sizing: In general, the reference building boiler and chiller are sized
directly to the reference building load. However, if the proposed building design
oversizes the boilers and chillers, the reference will match the oversizing to a limit of
30% for heating and 10% for cooling of the calculated reference building load. Models
may experience a penalty if boilers or chillers are oversized greater than the
allowances.

 Condensing (high-efficiency) burners: Credit is available for condensing

technology in boilers and furnaces.

 Ventilation air heat recovery: Credit is available for sensible and latent heat
recovery systems, including plate heat exchangers, energy wheels, heat pipes and
glycol/hot water run-around heat recovery loops. The reference building could require
50% sensible recovery should the sensible heat content of the exhaust air exceed
150 kW as calculated in Division B, Part 5, Article 5.2.10.1 of the NECB 2011.

8
  Economizers: Reference buildings that require economizers will meet the
requirements of Division B, Part 5, Article 5.2.2.9 of the NECB 2011.

 Boiler return water temperature and outdoor air reset: Credit is available for reset
of supply water temperature based on outdoor air temperature and/or credit for
operating a boiler at a lower return water temperature. The reference building shall
also have a supply water reset strategy, as defined in Division B, Part 8, Clause
8.4.4.10.(6) of the NECB 2011. Users should note that the reference hot water reset
strategy is conservative for most climates.

 Modulating/multi-stage burners: There is credit available for multi-stage firing

boilers. However, depending on the size of the reference plant, the proposed design
could be compared to a staged or modulating boiler with up to a 25% turn-down ratio.

 Modulating/multi-stage chillers: There is credit available for modulating chillers.

The credit requires selecting variable-speed drives (VSDs) on applicable chiller types
or modelling multiple compressors. Note that there is no credit for multi-stage cooling
on air handling equipment since CAN-QUEST does not support this capability.

 Variable-speed drives: Credit is available for VSDs on pumps, VAV system supply
fans and cooling tower fans. The reference building has constant-speed pumps and
constant-speed cooling tower fans. Reference system fans will use a type of fan curve
depending on the power requirements of the corresponding reference HVAC system
as defined in Division B, Part 8, Article 8.4.4.18. of the NECB 2011.

 Outdoor air rates: No credit is available for reduced outdoor air rates. The ventilation
rate is equal in both proposed and reference buildings since this is considered a
compliance neutral characteristic, with certain exceptions, such as for demand control
ventilation.

 Garage demand ventilation: CO/NOx ventilation control of a heated or unheated

parking garage (interlocked supply and exhaust) is not an eligible credit, as CO/NOx
ventilation control in parking garages is considered common practice.

 Humidification: Humidification is considered compliance-neutral. Therefore, no

credits are available for enthalpy/desiccant wheels, outside air economizers with
enthalpy controls or vaporizers/misters.

Lighting/electrical systems

 Reduced lighting power density: Credit is available for total connected lighting
power density that is lower than the NECB 2011 levels.

 Daylighting: Credit is available for daylighting controls beyond those required in

Division B, Part 4, Articles 4.2.2.4., 4.2.2.5., 4.2.2.6. and 4.2.2.8. of the NECB 2011.

 Sensors: Credit is available for use of occupancy sensors beyond those required in
Division B, Part 4, Articles 4.2.2.2. and 4.2.2.3. of the NECB 2011.

9
  Exterior lighting: Exterior lighting is not eligible for credit under the NECB 2011
performance path.

 Vertical transportation: Elevators/escalators are not considered for compliance

purposes and are not eligible for credit since they are viewed as compliance neutral.

Fuel switching

 Fuel switching from a fossil fuel to another type of fossil fuel or electricity is not given
credit, even if the switching results in a potential reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions. The reference building will use the principal heating source for the thermal
zones described for the proposed building and following the rules on selecting the
principal heat source. The only fuel switching that is considered as a credit is the use
of renewables, such as solar photovoltaic, solar thermal (air and hydronic) and wind.

Domestic hot water heat recovery

 Domestic hot water heat recovery is not addressed in eQUEST or in CAN-QUEST

NECB 1.0.

Renewable energy

 Credit is available for the use of renewable energy systems, including photovoltaic
panels, solar thermal air heating, solar domestic hot water systems and wind turbines.
Inclusion of these technologies will require calculations to be performed outside
CAN-QUEST with software such as RETScreen. Ground-source heat pumps
(geothermal energy) can be modelled directly as an HVAC system in CAN-QUEST.

Other

 There are some energy-saving technologies that are not considered in the NECB
2011 and therefore are not currently modelled in CAN-QUEST. These items require
special treatment outside of CAN-QUEST using DOE 2.2 or other software to predict
energy savings. Modellers should contact the authority having jurisdiction for
approved techniques to handle technologies that are not considered in this guide.

10
2. BUILDING ZONING PRINCIPLES

The first step in the modelling process is to examine the plans and specifications thoroughly
and come up with a strategy to subdivide the building into “zones.”

Chapter 2 describes the basic principles of building type and space type. In CAN-QUEST,
modelling by building type and space type or function is accomplished in the various modes
described in detail in Chapter 3.

2.1 Principles for dividing buildings into zones

Buildings are made up of “thermal zones.” A thermal zone, generally referred to as a “zone,”
is a portion of a building served by a common HVAC system that has similar heating loads,
cooling loads and operating schedules. For example, a typical small light-industrial building
has a minimum of two zones: a front office zone served by a rooftop unit and a back storage
zone heated by unit heaters. Zones in turn are made up of one or more “spaces.” A “space”
is a room, or several rooms with similar heat gains and losses, used for the same function,
described in CAN-QUEST as “space type”.1

For example, the office zone from the previous example could have three spaces: photocopy
room, general office space and corridors. These three spaces are served by the same HVAC
system and have identical hours of operation but the methods of lighting, occupant densities
and ventilation rates may differ.

One of the most difficult aspects of modelling a building is dividing the building into zones and
spaces. There is no one correct approach; different modellers will develop their own zoning
strategies. Nevertheless, there are a series of rules that can be applied to minimize
differences in modelling and thus provide a more representative model.

A zone includes those areas in the building that meet the following three criteria:

 served by the same HVAC system

 similar operation and type of use
 similar heating/cooling loads

The following sections discuss each of these criteria.

2.1.1 Same HVAC system

The first step in defining zones is to divide the building into areas served by the same HVAC
system. In CAN-QUEST, a “system” usually refers to the centralized air handling equipment
serving an area of the building. Buildings can have several systems or only one system,
depending on the building size and system type.

1
Users should note that the term “function” is used here to explain the concept in principle. In CAN-QUEST, in the Schematic
Design (SD) mode, space function is defined by “activity area allocations” or “predominant area type.” In the Detail Data Edit
(DDE) Wizard mode, space function is described by “space use distribution.” More information on CAN-QUEST modes can be
found in Chapter 3.

11
For example, two rooftop units may serve a small retail building in a plaza. In this case, each
rooftop unit is a “system.” The first step in zoning this building would be to divide the building
into two general areas, according to the locations served by each rooftop unit.

On the other hand, a high-rise apartment building may have one central makeup air unit
providing ventilation air to the corridors, and individual heat pumps distributed throughout the
building to heat and cool individual apartments. In this case, there is only one system. To
subdivide the building further, it is necessary to look at the secondary zoning criteria (similar
loads and/or operation).

The zone boundaries should match the area of influence of each HVAC system. If there are
variations within this zone, the zone can be divided into “spaces” (Section 2.2). (Note the
exception under Section 2.1.4). An important aspect of modelling buildings is determining the
amount of oversizing of the HVAC equipment. If the zone boundaries do not correspond with
the HVAC system, the amount of oversizing will not be calculated correctly. This does not
preclude a zone being heated by one system and cooled by another.

Zone boundaries do not have to be physical separations and can simply be an air boundary
to be a valid zone. For example, an open office concept design may have heating on the
perimeter of the building, but offices farther inward from the perimeter may not have any
heating at all. The perimeter zone would still be separated from the interior zone in this case.

Multizone systems (multizone, dual-duct, variable-air-volume) will normally serve several

zones and should be modelled as such. Use a zone for each set of areas controlled by a
single thermostat. This may result in a large number of zones, which significantly increases
the level of effort required to model a building. To help resolve this, in many cases, zones can
be grouped together without loss of accuracy.

For example, rooms that are similar but have individual thermostats to handle random
occupancy patterns can be grouped together. Consider a multi-zone system serving a group
of meeting rooms. The meeting rooms will be used sporadically and the HVAC system must
be able to take that into account. But from a modelling point of view, all the rooms are the
same and can be grouped into a single zone.

Another example is hotel/motel rooms. Each room has its own thermostat to handle
variations in room use, but each room is just as likely to be occupied or empty. In this case, a
number of rooms could be treated as one zone, provided they have the same heating and
cooling loads under normal operation (see the next section). Other rules for grouping zones
are discussed later.

2.1.2 Similar operation and type of use

The next step is to examine the type of use of each of these zones. Those parts of a building
that have significantly different hours of operation should be separated into different zones.
For example, part of an office may operate during normal business hours, whereas another
part of the office may operate as a 24-hour telephone support department. In most cases,
these parts would be handled by different HVAC systems and therefore would be divided into
separate zones according to the first criteria (Section 2.1.1).

Refer to Section 2.2 for further information and criteria on defining zones by operation and
type of use, and on subdividing zones into spaces.

12
2.1.3 Similar heating/cooling loads
The third step is to divide building areas into rooms or groups of rooms that have similar
heating and cooling loads. Applying this criterion means that rooms with exterior walls facing
in different directions should be modelled as separate zones (because they have different
solar gains). Interior floor areas are modelled separately from perimeter areas. High internal
heat gain computer rooms are modelled separately from general office areas. To a large
extent, this is the same as dividing the building into areas served by the same HVAC system
and thermostat. It is likely that the building designer took variations in heating and cooling
loads into consideration when laying out the HVAC systems.

Using the example from Section 2.1.1, it was stated that similar hotel/motel rooms could be
grouped together as a single zone. However, the north-facing rooms will have significantly
different loads than the south-facing rooms. As a result, these two otherwise similar sets of
rooms would be modelled as separate zones.

Perimeter areas should be modelled separately from interior areas. In some buildings,
particularly in open office plans, it is difficult to tell where this transition occurs. The dividing
line between perimeter and interior areas should be set according to the following rules (in
the order listed):

 position of full-height walls separating perimeter areas from interior areas

 area of influence of perimeter HVAC systems. Separate HVAC systems are often
used for perimeter areas and interior areas. The area conditioned by the perimeter
HVAC system defines the perimeter zone.
 any space or partition no more than 5 m from exterior walls. Note that an industry
standard definition of a lighting control zone for daylighting analysis is a space with a
depth from the perimeter wall of no more than 1.5 times the window head height. It
may be more convenient to make the perimeter thermal zone the same as the
daylighting zone. Daylighting is not currently a compliance option; however it can be
modelled in CAN-QUEST (see Section 7.4).
 The modeller may wish to set up their zoning diagrams so that groups of spaces with
occupancy sensors are modelled together (see Section 7.3.3).

2.1.4 Grouping similar zones

Applying the three criteria given above may result in a large number of zones, which,
although accurate, would require significant data input time. However, grouping together too
many zones may cause a system serving the reference building to exceed 150kW of sensible
heat exhausted, triggering the NECB 2011 requirement for heat recovery on exhaust air. This
requirement may count as an energy penalty against the proposed building. If this is the
case, the proposed zoning may have to be reduced in size to eliminate heat recovery in the
reference building.

The rules below can be used to group similar zones and save input time:

1) Similar rooms with individual thermostats can be grouped together, provided they
have similar heating and cooling loads.

13
 2) same area on different floors: In many office buildings and multi-unit residential
buildings (MURBs) the same floor plan is repeated on each storey. The same areas
on each floor can be grouped into a zone, except for top and bottom floors, which are
modelled separately because of the extra heat transfer out of the roof and floor. In
Figure 2-1 – Typical zoning for offices and MURBs, the second and third storeys can
be grouped together as indicated.

Figure 2-1 – Typical zoning for offices and MURBs

Side View Top View

3) areas with similar heating/cooling loads: Areas with similar heating and cooling loads
can be grouped together into one zone. For example, all the west-facing units in a
building could be grouped together, provided they have similar space, type of use,
and envelope characteristics. Areas need not be adjacent or contiguous to be treated
as one zone.

4) service areas and types of uses: washrooms, corridors, mechanical/electrical rooms,

stairways and locker rooms cannot be defined as standalone zones. They must be
included with areas that have similar operating schedules. For example, corridors and
washrooms will likely be used during the same hours as the areas they serve, and
therefore, should be included with these areas.

2.2 Dividing zones into spaces

It is important to understand how the CAN-QUEST software models spaces in order to

properly zone a building. CAN-QUEST adds up the hourly heating and cooling loads of all the
spaces in a zone to determine the net load on the zone. If one space requires cooling and
another heating, these loads will cancel each other out and incorrectly indicate little or no
need for space conditioning. For this reason, spaces within the same zone must have similar
heating and cooling loads.

14
2.3 Defining unconditioned/partially conditioned zones

In CAN-QUEST, after a space has been defined, it can be described as conditioned,

unconditioned or plenum. For information on modelling parking garages, which are often
unconditioned or partially conditioned zones, see Appendix A. Parking garages.

2.4 Zoning example

A zoning strategy for a “big-box” retail store appears in Figure 2-2 - Zoning strategy for a big-
box retailer.

Figure 2-2 - Zoning strategy for a big-box retailer

The store is primarily retail space, with two small office areas and an adjacent service
garage. Six rooftop units serve the retail and warehouse areas, separate ducted HVAC
systems serve each of the lounge and office areas, and the service garage is served by a
number of exhaust fans and makeup air units. There are few windows in the building.

The retail area was modelled as one large zone because of constant occupancy, scheduling,
and lighting characteristics throughout. Furthermore, the lack of windows in the building
would indicate that the perimeter areas are not likely to have significantly different load
characteristics than the interior spaces.

Although the same rooftop units serve both the warehouse area and the retail space, the
warehouse is modelled as a separate zone because it would have a significantly lower
occupant density and lighting density.

The office areas and lounge are each served by smaller ducted HVAC systems with
perimeter baseboards. These areas are only occupied until 5 p.m.; however, the retail space
remains open until 9 p.m. For these reasons, the office areas should be modelled as
separate zones.

15
The service garage has significantly different space use characteristics than the rest of the
building. Outdoor air ventilation rates for service areas are very high, and these areas are
generally not air conditioned. For these reasons, the service garage should be modelled as a
separate zone.

16
3. CAN-QUEST MODES

CAN-QUEST incorporates two building creation wizards: the Schematic Design Wizard (the
SD Wizard) and the Design Development Wizard (the DD Wizard). The Energy Efficiency
Measure Wizard (the EEM Wizard) enables the evaluation of energy efficiency measures.
The Detailed Data Edit mode (the DDE mode) may be used to enter additional information
once the project has been created using the wizards.

The SD and DD Wizards guide you through a series of steps (screens) designed to help the
user describe the building’s principal energy-related features. This includes details of the
building envelope, HVAC system, schedules, CAD drawings, building shells and general
geometry. The wizards then create a detailed description of the proposed design as required
by the DOE-2 modelling program. At each step of describing the building design, the wizards
provide easy-to-understand choices of component and system options. Before running a
compliance model, you should review the “Detailed Interface” values to make sure all inputs
represent the actual design prior to continuing with the compliance analysis.

You have the option of specifying an NECB 2011 code compliance analysis, and, when
selected, the project file generated by the wizard contains many appropriate code default
values. When simulating for NECB 2011 compliance purposes, the SD and DD Wizards
automatically set up the project to be defined by space function. You can change the building
to be defined by building type in the DDE (see Figure 3-1 – Building Type: defined in
Compliance Analysis Data of the DDE mode).

17
Figure 3-1 – Building Type: defined in Compliance Analysis Data of the DDE mode

18
In both the SD and DD Wizards, you can select an NECB 2011 analysis on the general input
screen, as depicted in Figure 3-2 – Code analysis selection.

Figure 3-2 – Code analysis selection

19
If you are not performing a code compliance analysis but would like to use the NECB 2011
defaults, from the Code Analysis drop-down menu, select none and from the Jurisdiction
drop-down menu, select NECB 2011, as shown in Figure 3-3 – Code jurisdiction selection.

Figure 3-3 – Code jurisdiction selection

3.1 Schematic Design Wizard

You may elect to begin the building modelling process by using the SD Wizard. The SD
Wizard supports the earliest design phase, when information is most limited. Although time
may also be limited, with even a little practice, you will find that the energy impacts of
numerous design features can be explored in an hour or less. The SD Wizard is best suited
for smaller, simpler structures. For example, the SD Wizard is currently limited to one building
shell and one footprint, that is, only one structure with all floors in the structure sharing the
same basic footprint shape. Use the DD Wizard for more complex buildings.

Other features

20
  Building geometry can rely on predefined generic shapes or custom user input via a
drawing tablet (including importing and tracing of DWG plan files) or a combination of
these.
 Up to two types of HVAC systems can be described in any one SD Wizard project
(e.g. built-up chilled water plus rooftop DX units). There are more than 60 HVAC
system types to choose from.
 The description of internal loads relies on generic, code-based activity area types
having default lighting and equipment power densities.
o In the SD Wizard, you can define up to five space types within building types
by identifying them in the Activity Area Allocations table.
 The activity area with the largest percentage of floor area becomes the predominant
space type. For example, if you pick an office building type, but 10% of the floor area
is office space and 90% is meeting and conference rooms, the predominant area type
is meeting and conference rooms, and the building type will change to meeting and
conference centre.
 Simple building schedule information uses occupied vs. unoccupied times and allows
up to two seasons per year.
 Zone assignments for internal loads, schedule and HVAC system types are simple
and schematic in detail.
 Defaults, categorized by building type, are provided for ALL wizard inputs.

3.2 Design Development Wizard

The DD Wizard is designed for more advanced design phases, when additional detailed
information is available. It is also better suited for larger, more complicated structures or for
use with more detailed internal loads, schedules and HVAC system assignment
requirements. You may begin your project using the DD Wizard, or, if you began the building
modelling project using the SD Wizard, you can elect at any time to continue your project
analysis and development using the DD Wizard. Note that once you have begun in the SD
Wizard, moving to the DD Wizard will result in the loss of any changes made if you revert
back to the SD Wizard.

Additional features

 The generic and custom drawing capabilities of the DD Wizard work in the same way
as those of the SD Wizard. However, in the DD Wizard, you can describe multiple
building shell components, each with similar or very different geometry, shell
properties, and HVAC zoning and/or systems.
 Separate building shell components may be stacked (e.g. to form setback mid- or
high-rise designs) or placed adjacent to one another (e.g. to form separate wings or a
campus of separate structures).
 The same 60+ HVAC system types are available for use in the DD Wizard. However,
there is effectively no limit on the number of the system types that can be used in a
single project.
 The description of internal loads can use generic, code-based activity area types (as
in the SD Wizard). You can also input much more detailed zone-by-zone descriptions
of internal loads, schedules and HVAC systems.
o Under the Space Properties dialogue box, the Space Use Distribution table
can be used to enter an area for each space type within the zone, referred to

21
 as Occupancy Type in this table. For each zone, a maximum of 10
occupancy types can be defined. Note that for each space type, only one
occupancy schedule is defined, but multiple equipment, lighting, plug load and
water schedules can be defined.
 Building schedule information can use the simple schematic description as in the
SD Wizard or you can provide hour-by-hour descriptions of building occupancy and
equipment usage profiles.
 Defaults, categorized by building type, are provided for ALL wizard inputs.

3.3 Energy Efficiency Measures Wizard

The greatest value that energy models can provide to the building design professional is
reliable guidance in weighing the energy performance of design alternatives.

After creating a new building description by using either the SD Wizard or the DD Wizard,
you can launch the EEM Wizard to quickly define up to 10 design alternatives to the base
building description. You can then automatically simulate any or all of these alternative cases
and view the model results by using individual and/or comparative graphs and/or parametric
results tables.

For more information on the use of the EEM Wizard, use the CAN-QUEST Modelling
Procedures Quick Reference Guide, accessible at any input field by right clicking the mouse
and selecting Tutorials and References, Modelling Procedures Quick Reference, and
EEM Wizard Runs.

For more information on the use of the EEM and parametric reports, see Results Reporting
and Parametric Reports in the CAN-QUEST Modelling Procedures Quick Reference Guide.

3.4 Setting up shells in wizards

A useful tool in the SD and DD Wizards is the shell and zoning creation tool. Once you go
into the Detailed Interface, it is more difficult to make changes to the shells and zoning
patterns in the model. This section provides a quick reference guide for creating shells either
by using default floor plates or by importing custom floor plates and zoning.

Building shells define the building footprint or footprints. CAN-QUEST has a number of
predefined footprints that can be used for simple geometric designs (see Figure 3-4 – Simple
predefined footprint). However, it is more likely that the design will have a number of different
shells that will make up the building (see

Figure 3-5 – Complex custom footprint).

22
Figure 3-4 – Simple predefined footprint

Figure 3-5 – Complex custom footprint

Custom shells and zoning patterns drawn in CAD can be imported into CAN-QUEST by
following these steps:

1. From the drop-down menu on Shell Wizard Screen 2, select Custom.

2. Start with Blank Slate.
3. Under Background Image – CAD file, select Import CAD File.
4. Select file.
5. In the CAD Drawing Properties dialogue box, enter the proposed building’s CAD
drawing settings. This will ensure that the drawings are imported at the proper scale
(e.g. if CAD units are 1 mm, import the drawing with a scale of 1 CAD unit = 0.001 m).
(See Figure 3-6 – CAD Drawing Properties.)

23
Figure 3-6 – CAD Drawing Properties

6. Trace the building footprint counter-clockwise.

7. Use the same CAD file to trace the outline of the proposed building’s zones for
custom zoning patterns (see Figure 3-7 – Custom Building Zoning: Tracing the outline
of zones).

Figure 3-7 – Custom Building Zoning: Tracing the outline of zones

24
Before you trace the proposed building’s footprint or zoning pattern, it is recommended that
you open View properties and adjust the Snap Priority to CAD 1st, Polygon 2nd and Grid
3rd (see Section 3.5 for more information on drawing tools). This will ensure that the drawing
is traced as intended. Once drawing has begun, each vertex will show up as a blue circle. To
create a new vertex click on the blue circle, hold the mouse button down, and drag the cursor
to the location of the new vertex before releasing the mouse button. To move a vertex, click
the blue circle once. When it turns yellow, move the vertex to the desired location.

It is important to ensure that the walls of the proposed building’s zones line up exactly with
the boundaries of the shells; otherwise, the building could end up with exterior walls being
modelled as interior walls.

CAN-QUEST defaults to floor-to-ceiling heights that are less than floor-to-floor heights. This
will create a plenum zone for each zone in the model. If you do not want a separate plenum
zone for each zone, set the floor-to-ceiling height equal to the floor-to-floor height.

3.5 Drawing tools

CAN-QUEST has a number of drawing tools to assist with the CAD importing process.

Custom drawing tools

 Select (select vertex)

 Zoom In/Out (hold left mouse key)

 Pan button (hold left mouse key)

 Switch to Drawing Layer*

 Open CAD Drawing (for importing)

 CAD Drawing Properties

 CAD Drawing Layer (hide unused CAD layers)

 View Properties (polygon view, properties and drawing tools)

 Delete Vertex

 Undo

 Redo

*Use this tool carefully, as any zooming or panning in this layer will result in losing scale or
position.

25
3.6 Detailed Data Edit mode

The wizards contain a number of default values that may need to be altered by using the
DDE mode. You can enter the DDE mode by selecting Mode on the main menu tool bar and
then selecting Detailed Data Edit. A warning/confirmation message will be displayed to
confirm the change of mode. It is important to note that once you access the DDE mode, you
cannot go back into the wizard mode without losing inputs made while in the DDE mode. It is
easiest to define the building shells and zoning as per the final permit or for construction
drawings in the wizards.

Note: The daylighting feature is only available in the DDE mode if it is turned on in the
wizards (see Figure 3-8 – Location of daylighting controls feature in the wizard).

Figure 3-8 – Location of daylighting controls feature in the wizard

3.6.1 General information

DDE mode enables you to customize building attributes in the following six major features of
a building model:

26
  Project & Site
 Building Shell
 Internal Loads
 Water-Side HVAC
 Air-Side HVAC
 Utility & Economics

Each of these six major features contains a building tree with an appropriate hierarchy of
order. For example, in the Building Shell feature, Project: “Name” is followed by a shell
that contains a number of spaces. Within each space, there are a number of envelope inputs
for exterior walls, roofs, floors and interior partitions. Exterior walls and roofs can have
windows and doors as “child” components (see Figure 3-9 – Building Component Tree).

Figure 3-9 – Building Component Tree

Any of these components can be opened by double clicking on the icon, and then edited to
suit the actual design. Double clicking an icon will open the feature view, as seen for a space
in
Figure 3-10 - Space Properties

27
.

28
Figure 3-10 - Space Properties

Another option for inputting information into CAN-QUEST is to use the spreadsheet view.
This alternative can be a quicker option for editing the same component for multiple
zones/spaces in the building tree. To open the spreadsheet view for zones or spaces click on
a zone or space icon in the building tree under the Building Shell, Internal Loads, or Air-
Side HVAC features and select the Spreadsheet tab, as seen in Figure 3-11 – Spreadsheet
view.

Figure 3-11 – Spreadsheet view

29
3.6.2 Colour use in identifying user input distinctions
CAN-QUEST uses different coloured fonts to distinguish the various input forms within the
model. Default values defined by the program are green. When you replace a default value
with a design value, the input will turn red.

You may choose to override the program default with a new default value. This is called a
“user-defined default value.” To define a new user default, right-click on the input box in
either the spreadsheet or a dialogue box and select Edit/View User Default and enter the
appropriate value in the User-Defined Default Value field, which will be shown in blue. If you
click Restore to default in the same feature within the building tree, it will replace the entry
with this new default value, shown in blue.

CAN-QUEST has a user expression tool that allows users to input simple equations to define
inputs. Right-click on the feature and select Edit/View User Expression and enter an
expression. For example, for a thermal efficiency of 80%, the heat input ratio can be entered
as an equation – “1/0.8”. In this case the input will be pink and will give a result of 1.25.

 Default input: green

 User-Defined input: red
 User-Defined Default input: blue
 User-Defined Expression input: pink

30
4. BUILDING OPERATION

This chapter provides an overview of CAN-QUEST and describes how to calculate or obtain
input parameters relating to building operation and function. Included in this chapter are
various building operation parameters such as schedules, indoor temperatures, process
loads and domestic hot water loads. Inputs specific to central plant equipment, HVAC
systems, building envelope and lighting are covered in subsequent chapters.

4.1 Building schedules and equipment operation

When the Building Type or Space Function is selected, default values for building
operation are assigned automatically by CAN-QUEST. The same default values are assigned
to both the proposed building and the reference building. The operating parameters include
occupant density, process loads, receptacle loads, ventilation rates, heating and cooling
thermostat set points, and hourly schedules for occupancy, lighting, receptacles, process
loads, domestic hot water and HVAC operation. The default schedules are listed in Appendix
A, Division B of the NECB 2011 and are also available in the CAN-QUEST library. The fan
operation is summarized in Table 4-1 - Fan operating schedules. The fan operation is also
indicative of the hours of occupancy, cooling system operation and temperature set-up.

Table 4-1 - Fan operating schedules

Typical Operating Mon-Fri Saturday Sunday
Schedule
functions hrs/week on time on time on time
A office 75 6 a.m. to 9 none none
p.m.
B restaurant 122 8 a.m. to 2 8 a.m. to 2 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
a.m. a.m.
C retail 94 7 a.m. to 9 7 a.m. to 9 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
p.m. p.m.
D school 80 7 a.m. to 11 none none
p.m.
E warehouse 69 7 a.m. to 7 8 a.m. to 5 none
p.m. p.m.
F hotel/motel 168 always on always on always on
G residential 168 always on always on always on
H health care 168 always on always on always on
I theatre/church 77 2 p.m. to 1 10 a.m. to 1 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
a.m. a.m.

Note: In CAN-QUEST, the same schedule is used for supply, return and exhaust fans, unless
otherwise assigned.

For the most part, changes to any of these operating parameters will have little impact on the
energy savings of the proposed design. For example, increasing the thermostat set point will
increase the heating energy consumption. However, the percentage increase will be about

31
the same in the proposed and reference buildings. Thus, the percentage savings or
difference between the two designs will likely be the same.

There are two important exceptions to this rule:

 First, if a zone has exceptionally high internal heat gains from process loads,
receptacle loads or occupancy, there could be a significant shift in the building
heating and cooling loads. If the heating load is significantly reduced, differences in
insulation between the proposed and reference design will be less important.
 Second, some buildings may have much longer operating hours than the default
schedules provide. Examples include retailers or offices that operate 24 hours a day.
In these situations, the longer operating hours will greatly increase the energy savings
from ventilation air heat recovery.

For these reasons, it is recommended that the default values be used unless there is a
significant difference between the proposed operation and default values. This
recommendation assumes that the zoning principles outlined in Chapter 2 have been
followed, and all spaces in a zone use the same default operating schedule. A “significant”
difference is a difference of greater than 25% in any of the building operation parameters
(e.g. 25% more or fewer operating hours per week).

If the expected thermostat set point differs from the default values (21oC for heating and 23oC
for cooling) by more than 3oC, the default values should be changed. The temperatures need
to be entered in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Basic Specifications tab (see
Figure 4-1 – Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Basic Specifications tab). Under Thermostat
Schedules, assign the cooling and heating set-point schedule by selecting from the drop-
down menu.

32
Figure 4-1 – Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Basic Specifications tab

4.1.1 Changing/creating schedules in CAN-QUEST

Default NECB 2011 schedules are contained in the CAN-QUEST library. However, you may
need to create customized schedules to match actual building operation. In CAN-QUEST,
you must create day schedules (up to 7 different day schedules for each week), week
schedules (up to 52 week schedules for each year) and an annual schedule (up to 52
seasons can be defined) (see Figure 4-2 – Schedule Properties showing day temperature
schedule).

The easiest way to create a new schedule is to select an existing annual schedule in CAN-
QUEST, and select Create a new annual schedule. Be sure to name the proposed
building’s schedule something meaningful. Select the creation option Copy an existing
component and check the box beside Create and Copy all assigned components.
Rename the child components (i.e. week and day schedules) when prompted. Once you are
satisfied with the schedule names, revise the individual day schedules to match the proposed
building’s actual daily schedules.

33
If you are creating a new schedule from scratch, it is easiest to create all day schedules, then
define the week schedule from the new daily schedules, and lastly, create the annual
schedule. Annual schedules must begin on January 1 and end on December 31.

Figure 4-2 – Schedule Properties showing day temperature schedule

In CAN-QUEST there are two types of schedules: temperature and fractional (see Figure 4-3
– Schedule Properties showing fractional Day Schedules). You can define the schedule type
using the Type drop-down menu and then inputting hourly values.

34
Figure 4-3 – Schedule Properties showing fractional Day Schedules

Schedules are available to define different operating conditions for space equipment on the
design cooling and/or heating day. For example, a multi-unit residential building uses NECB
2011 Schedule G, which turns the lights down to a very low level during the day. On a design
cooling day, you may want to consider a worst-case scenario where the lights and equipment
are on at a higher level. In this case, you can create a different schedule that will be used
only on the design cooling day to estimate peak loads on equipment.

35
5. PROJECT AND SITE

5.1 Project data

5.1.1 Weather file

Selecting a “weather file” in the wizard mode is straightforward. From the list of available
cities, select the one nearest the actual building site. CAN-QUEST bases the reference
building envelope and several other reference building requirements on the heating degree-
days at the building location noted in the software file (see Division B, Appendix A of the
NECB 2011, Figure A-1.1.4.1(1)).

In some specific cases, where there are climatic differences between the nearest site and the
location of the proposed building, a different weather file should be selected. These include
differences in altitude (mountainous regions) and differences between coastal and inland
sites. In these cases, the closest site may not properly describe the climate for a specific
location. This is particularly relevant in regions where there are large changes in geographic
conditions within a single jurisdiction, such as British Columbia, which includes high altitude
mountainous areas surrounding Vancouver, plus the delta areas of the lower Fraser Valley.
In this case, the model may benefit from using a weather file for a different but compatible
region.

It is acceptable for you to change the location of the project (changing both the weather file
used for the model and the reference building envelope thermal performance values) if a
different location can provide a significantly better description of the operating conditions
under which the project will function. Changes of this nature must be recorded in your
modelling notes. The authority having jurisdiction may or may not accept a change in weather
file location.

The input for the weather file on the Project Data tab of the Project & Site feature of the
building tree is automatically populated when you create a model in the wizard mode. The
wizard sets up the weather file to match the location, but you can select a different weather
file in DDE mode. When viewed in DDE mode, a local address informs CAN-QUEST of the
location of the weather file on your computer. Weather files are stored in the CAN-QUEST
Weather Folder (Program Files\CAN-QUEST\Weather). A model created in the wizard mode
with a location of Calgary, Alberta, will have an input weather file of “CWEC\Calgary.bin.”
This indicates that the weather file is located within the CWEC folder, the default Weather
Folder. If you need to change the weather file in DDE mode, the local address will be
required to define the location of the new weather file.

5.1.2 3-D View Details

The 3-D View Details tab on the Project Properties dialogue box of the building tree is used
to change how the building is viewed. Options include defining the background colour,
determining whether the components are to be shown as a wireframe while you manipulate
the building, and displaying checkboxes to help you define the features to be shown or
hidden. These inputs are useful when the building includes complex geometry, as the
envelope can be seen more clearly when isolating select features.

36
5.2 Compliance data

5.2.1 Energy code compliance

The Project Data tab in the Project Properties dialogue box (double click the Project icon
at the top of the building tree under the Project & Site feature) is used to determine whether
you want CAN-QUEST to generate a reference building to demonstrate code compliance.
Under Energy Code Compliance, select the Code & Version “NECB 2011
(NECB2011.bin).”

Open the Compliance Analysis Data dialogue box (double click the Compliance Data icon
in the building tree under the Project & Site feature) and select Space Type or Building
Type for the compliance analysis; if using the latter, select the appropriate building type from
the drop-down menu. It is important to indicate the correct number of floors because this
number will be used to select the correct system type.

5.2.2 Service water heating load defaulting

In the Compliance Analysis Data dialogue box under the Project & Site feature, you have
the option of checking Includes DHW (domestic hot water) for an entire project (i.e. building).

 Service water heating (SWH) loads in CAN-QUEST are compliance-neutral. The

reference building matches the SWH design load of the proposed building.
 An unchecked box triggers defaulting of the SWH load for the entire building based on
the NECB 2011 reference values in tables 8.4.3.3(1) A and B, as well as Space Use
Distribution table entries (if applicable), ignoring valid SWH load entries throughout
the project.
 A checked box signifies that user-provided SWH loads for each space will be
considered in the compliance analysis. This is the only project-wide load
inclusion/exclusion option. Note that this option currently provides SWH load
defaulting, not SWH equipment defaulting (e.g. equipment type, efficiencies).

5.3 Site data

Specify information about the building site, such as location and altitude, in the Site
Properties dialogue box (double click on the Site Data icon in the building tree under the
Project & Site feature).

5.3.1 Location
In the Site Properties dialogue box, input the location of the building by defining the
Region/Country as well as the City. These inputs are available once you have defined the
Code and Version on the Compliance Analysis Data tab. The compliance rule set will use
the selected location to assign a weather file to the project and generate the appropriate
reference building. The weather file is selected as described in Section 5.1.1.

If a value is input for the altitude factor under Altitude (which is shown in the SV-A report of
the DOE-2 simulation output file), it is multiplied by the input system Supply Flow and
Outside Air Flow. If the system Cooling Capacity is not input, CAN-QUEST will calculate
this value, and it will be sized in relation to the increased air flow and outside air flow.

37
Cooling capacity directly input will not be affected by this adjustment. Use caution when
deciding whether to input a value for Altitude because the results of the simulation can be
affected significantly. For example, an Altitude input of 1 500 m results in an altitude factor of
1.20. This increases the supply air flow and outside air flow by 20%.

5.4 Hourly reports

Hourly reports can be created to track the hourly values of several user-selected variables.
These reports are helpful when analyzing results and troubleshooting advanced modelling
approaches, enabling the modeller to track and compare hourly values.

To create a custom hourly report, open the Hourly Results Selection dialogue box (double
click on the Hourly Report icon in the building tree under the Project & Site feature). Use
the New Report button to create a report, and assign a reporting schedule. Multiple hourly
reports may be created if numerous reporting schedules are required. Hourly data is reported
for each hour the On/Off type schedule is active.

A Report-Block is created to define the block of different variables that will be included as a
package in the hourly reports. They are created in the same manner as the hourly report
described above. The variables to be reported are chosen. The block is then assigned to an
hourly report through the use of checkboxes available when the hourly report is highlighted.
Each hourly report can include multiple blocks. This capability is useful if you wish to review a
selected group of variables to ensure that they are functioning as predicted in the model.

Hourly reports are printed to the .SIM DOE-2 simulation output file. After the simulation runs,
to view the .sim file by using the default D2SimViewer software, select View Detailed
Simulation Output File or select Tools in the menu bar and select View Simulation
Output. The Hourly Reports button at the upper right corner of the D2SimViewer screen
opens the hourly report in Excel.

38
6. BUILDING SHELL

6.1 Level of complexity required

Heat transfer through the building envelope accounts for a significant proportion of energy
use in a building. Consequently, an accurate representation of the building envelope is
necessary for a reasonable estimate of energy use in both proposed and reference buildings
and for an accurate assessment of oversizing credits and penalties. However, measurement
of walls, windows and roofs can be extremely time-consuming, and it is always
recommended that the model be kept as simple as possible. Since reference and proposed
buildings will have identical envelope areas, moderate differences between modelled
envelope areas and “actual” envelope areas should have a negligible impact on building
energy results. Listed below are some tips for an accurate model that is not too time-
consuming to develop.

 Envelope construction should take priority over envelope area. CAN-QUEST always
compares envelope areas of identical size, but credits and penalties are determined
by the efficiency of the envelope system (i.e. R-values and U-values). Concentrate on
calculating an accurate R-value as described in this chapter.

 Do not model small wall “jut-outs”. Many walls will have small turns and curves that
need not be modelled for compliance purposes. For example, a wall may face south,
but may contain small west and east-facing jogs at bay windows.

 More attention should be paid to area than to shape. If the proposed building’s wall is
two constructions, it is more important that the correct area of each construction is
modelled within CAN-QUEST rather than their exact shape (e.g. break the wall into
two long strips for each wall construction rather than creating polygons to get the
exact shapes).

 The orientation of the building can be defined in the wizard mode. If further rotation is
required, this can be accomplished by editing the “Azimuth” in the DDE mode. The
entire building can be rotated by changing the Azimuth field in the Building
Properties dialogue (double click the Building Data icon in the building tree under
the Building Shell feature), while portions of the building can be rotated by changing
the Azimuth field directly in the space or wall inputs. In the year-end energy results,
there will be a negligible difference between a wall facing 279º and one facing 285º;
you should approximate orientation measurements to 15º.

 Framing is extremely important to thermal performance. The effect of framing,

particularly when the insulation layer is framed, can have a surprising impact on wall
and roof R-values. It is not unusual for a nominal “RSI 3.52 (R-20)” wall to become
“RSI 2.47 (R-14)” or worse when modelled correctly in CAN-QUEST, with framing
taken into account. Metal framing has a much larger impact than wood framing.
Review the section on framing in the NECB 2011 carefully when modelling walls and
curtain walls.

For example, a wood stud wall with RSI 3.7 batt insulation and RSI 1.76 continuous
exterior insulation will have RSI 4.8 (R-27) overall (see Figure 6-1 – ASHRAE 90.1

39
 Appendix A Example Table). The same wall with steel studs results in an overall
thermal resistance of RSI 3.45 (R-19.6).

o 13 mm drywall
o air/vapour barrier
o 140 mm wood stud @ 400 mm on-centre with R-21/RSI 3.7 batt
o 13 mm exterior sheathing
o R-10/RSI 1.76 exterior insulation (35 mm or 1.5 in. of rigid polyisocyanurate)
o vented air cavity
o brick facade

Figure 6-1 – ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix A Example Table

 For wall and roof areas that contain framing, it is necessary to create a new building
material that accounts for the thermal bridging. See 6.2.2 below for further details on
how to account for thermal bridging.

Figure 6-2 – EE4 Construction Assembly

40
Figure 6-2 – EE4 Construction Assembly

 Model interior partitions only if a high degree of heat transfer is expected between
interior areas. Usually, all parts of the building are kept at a uniform temperature; in
such cases, interior partitions do not need to be modelled. Model interior partitions
only if there will regularly be significant temperature differences among various areas
of the building.

 Include all areas within the heated space in area calculations. This includes all areas
within the inside surface of the thermal shell of the building (e.g. elevator shafts,
storage areas, stairwells). If the area is outside the thermal shell of the building (e.g.
penthouse mechanical room, exterior storage), do not include these areas as spaces
in the building.

 Name construction assemblies clearly; give them descriptive names to make them
easily identifiable.

41
6.2 Above-grade walls, roofs and floors

6.2.1 Area calculation

All walls, roofs and exposed floors are entered as exterior walls in CAN-QUEST (see Figure
6-3 – Exterior Surface Properties). Their position (vertical/horizontal/top/bottom) will define
what they are.
Figure 6-3 – Exterior Surface Properties

Wall, roof and floor areas should be calculated based on exterior building dimensions (NECB
2011 Division B, Part 8, articles 8.4.2.8.(5) to 8.4.2.8.(10)). Wall height should include the full
floor-to-floor height (i.e. include dimensions for interior floors and return plenums). Note the
discussion on area measurement in Section 6.1).

6.2.2 Wall, roof and floor U-values

CAN-QUEST takes into account the impact of the mass of a construction along with its U-
value when evaluating a building. Therefore, constructions must be defined by layers rather
than by U-value inputs.

42
The National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB) 2011 (NECB 2011) is based on
total assembly U-values. There is no way to directly enter the framing percentages into
CAN-QUEST. Appendix C of the Model National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings
(MNECB) provides a method for determining the total assembly U-value, which accounted for
thermal bridging of steel or wood framing. The framing percentages to be used are from
Appendix C of the MNECB and are reproduced here in Table 6-1. These framing
percentages include the studs as well as the extra framing required around windows and
doors.

Table 6-1 - Framing percentages (taken from MNECB Appendix C)

Assembly Framing Wood framing Steel framing
spacing
(mm)
Area with Area without Area with Area without
framing framing framing framing
(%) (%) (%) (%)
<500 10 90 0.33 99.67
Roofs, ceilings, floors
≥500 7 93 0.23 99.77
Above-grade walls <500 19 81 0.63 99.37
and strapping ≥500 11 89 0.37 99.63
Below-grade walls <500 17 83 0.57 99.43
and strapping ≥500 10 90 0.33 99.67
<2100 – – 0.08 99.92
Sheet steel wall
≥2100 – – 0.06 99.94

Therefore, unless superseded by an approach recommended in the NECB 2011 User's

Guide, the following step-by-step process is recommended for determining assembly U-
values:
1. Build up the layers that have no effect on framing in CAN-QUEST.
2. Under the materials, modify the conductivity value for the insulation material that
contains framing members. In the modelling report, it must be shown how the
conductivity value was obtained (provide screen shots or calculations). This adjusted
value can be calculated by:
a. Following the calculations in the NECB 2011 User’s Guide.

b. Using the EE4 Assembly Library and the framing percentages from Table 6-1 -
Framing percentages (taken from MNECB Appendix C). An example of this
methodology follows.

c. Using the tables in Appendix A of ASHRAE 90.1-2010 or later.

43
Figure 6-4 – Framed insulation layer in EE4 Assembly Library

The following calculations can be done to determine the required CAN-QUEST inputs (see
Figure 6-4 – Framed insulation layer in EE4 Assembly Library and Figure 6-5 – Framed
insulation layer in CAN-QUEST):

Thickness: Match the EE4 value (0.089 m)

Conductivity:
The final modelled EE4 U-value includes the impact of the air films (RSI
= 0.03 + 0.12); therefore, they will need to be removed when determining
the modelled CAN-QUEST value.
Insulation U-value = 1/(Total R-value – Air Film R-value)
= 1/(0.9264 – 0.15)
= 1.288 W/m2-C

CAN-QUEST conductivity = U-value × thickness

= 1.288 × 0.089 = 0.115

Density: EE4 Weight/thickness = 5.3/0.089

= 59.6 kg/m³

44
 Specific Heat: EE4 Heat Capacity × 1000/EE4 Weight
= 2.8 × 1000/5.3
= 528.3 J/kg/K

Figure 6-5 – Framed insulation layer in CAN-QUEST

The CAN-QUEST software includes a library of most building materials. However, some of
these materials do not represent the long-term performance value that is to be used (e.g.
polyisocyanurate). As well, exercise caution when using material property values supplied by
manufacturers. Some expanded or extruded insulation products have high material RSI
values when initially manufactured, but the RSI value decreases as the blowing agent
diffuses out and is replaced by air. Values in Appendix C of the MNECB are representative of
long-term performance, and all materials should match those unless proven otherwise. For
any insulation with conductivity lower than 0.024 W/m·K (or greater than R6/in), verify its
stated long-term performance value against a Canadian Construction Materials Centre
evaluation.

Some materials include a reflective foil to reduce radiation heat transfer. Manufacturers
sometimes quote an effective RSI value to account for this benefit. These materials are
effective only if the foil faces an air space. Model these materials by entering the thermal
conductivity of the material disregarding the foil and adding an air space with reflective
surface.

45
Similarly, effective RSI values are sometimes quoted for massive materials. These materials
should be modelled by entering the conductivity and thermal capacitance of each layer
separately. The CAN-QUEST software will account for the thermal mass benefit in its
calculation. If the U-value is entered directly instead of entering each material that makes up
the assembly, the thermal mass is not taken into account.

If an exterior wall contains an exterior hanging façade (metal cladding) with an air space
separation of greater than 100 mm between the façade and the exterior wall, exclude the
façade and air space from the exterior wall U-value calculation because convective heat loss
will exceed the reduction in conductive losses from the total assembly. If the air space
between the exterior wall and the façade cladding is less than 100 mm, include the air space
and cladding in the total assembly U-value calculation.

6.3 Assemblies in contact with the ground

It is recommended that constructions for assemblies in contact with the ground be defined
within the wizard. CAN-QUEST calculates an effective U-value to account for the depth of the
wall/floor and the interaction with the surrounding ground. Underground surfaces defined in
the wizard are defined by layer input when in the DDE mode. More information about
modelling such assemblies in the detailed mode can be found in the paper Underground
Surfaces: How to get a better underground surface heat transfer calculation in DOE-2.1E, by
Fred Winkelmann (http://simulationresearch.lbl.gov/dirun/1901.pdf).

6.3.1 Below-grade and earth-bermed walls

Partially buried walls should be divided in two: an above-grade portion and a below-grade
portion. The modelling of above-grade walls is discussed in Section 6.2.2.
For earth-bermed walls, the entire area covered by earth should be treated as an
underground wall. The depth of the wall is calculated as the depth of the wall below grade,
plus the height of the earth berm, providing it extends 1.2 m out from the wall. Where a
portion of the earth berm extends out less than 1.2 m, use one half the height of this portion
of the earth berm (see Figure 6-6 – Depth of below-grade wall when earth berms are used).

This height would also be used in the calculation of underground wall area.

46
Figure 6-6 – Depth of below-grade wall when earth berms are used

FLOOR JOIST

NEW GRADE

c
1.2 METERS

b
EXISTING GRADE
FOUNDATION
WALL a

NOTE: FLOOR SLAB

DEPTH OF WALL BELOW GRADE
= a+ b+ c / 2

6.3.2 Below-grade and earth-bermed roofs

Below-grade and earth-bermed roofs are treated as underground walls unless there is less
than 600 mm of soil on top of the roof, in which case the roof should be treated as an above-
ground roof.

6.4 Windows and skylights

6.4.1 Window and skylight area

Total window and skylight areas are calculated including glazing and frame (NECB 2011
Clause 3.1.1.6.(1)). Many designers mistakenly use the term “window area” to refer to glazing
area. For CAN-QUEST, the window area (and its thermal properties) should be based on the
total window area which includes the area of the glazing plus framing, sashes and mullions.
“Window rough opening area” can be used for ease of referencing construction documents.

A skylight is entered as a window in the roof assembly and is assumed to be on the same tilt
angle as the roof. Many commercial buildings have pyramid or domed skylights. These
skylights have a much larger surface area than the opening in the roof. The total area of all
the angled surfaces should be used in CAN-QUEST, not just the rough opening. The
appropriate type and shape of the skylights can be defined in the wizard mode or in the
Detailed Interface.

The fenestration area should include the total area (including framing elements) of windows,
sliding glass doors, glass revolving doors, and window portions of swinging doors.
Fenestration area is most often defined in the wizard mode as a fenestration to wall ratio on
each exterior face (north, south, east, west) of the building shell. However, individual

47
windows can also be created and edited in the DDE mode. All fenestration components can
be defined in the Window Properties dialogue box which is accessed by double clicking on
any individual window icon in the building tree under the Building Shell feature. Note that
exterior windows are child components of exterior walls which are themselves child
components of spaces. The fenestration area is defined by the entered Height and Width.
Set the Frame Width to 0 because the modelled area and the modelled U-value (see Section
6.4.2) will already include it. Once the frame width is set to 0, all other frame inputs can be
left as is because they will not be taken into consideration in the calculation.

For a building with long strip windows, all of similar height, it is often easier to define the
windows within the DDE mode instead of in the wizard mode. This can be done by setting up
one window and copying it for the remainder of the building. Using “#P” and “#L” within the
user input expression can also assist in the reduction of inputs. For example, if you right click
on the input box for Width, select Edit/View User Expression, and enter “#P(“WIDTH”)” for
the width of the window, it indicates that the window is to be the width of its parent wall. If you
enter “#P(“HEIGHT”) – #L(“Y”)”, it indicates that the window is to be the height of its parent
wall, minus the Y value entered in the window component (see Figure 6-7 – Window input).

Figure 6-7 – Window input

Note that the reference building will have a fixed fenestration-and-door-to-wall ratio and
skylight-to-roof ratio, which are determined based on the heating degree-days of the city in
which the building is located (see Figure 6-8 - Maximum allowable fenestration and door
area).

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Figure 6-8 - Maximum allowable fenestration and door area

6.4.2 Window and skylight U-values

The U-value for windows should be based on the entire window area (including glazing and
framing). There are several sources for window and skylight U-values. They are as follows, in
recommended order of use:

 Manufacturer: Some manufacturers publish U-values for their products. The only
acceptable values are those rated in accordance with CSA A440.2 or the National
Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) 100. (Note: NFRC U-values are usually listed in
imperial units – multiply by 5.678 to obtain metric values). Some manufacturers list
values that are for the glazing only; these cannot be used.

 FRAMEplus Online: FRAMEplus Online can be used to determine the window U-

value. The software can be found at http://tools.enermodal.com/webframeplus/.
FRAMEplus Online can generate the following U-values: the U-value for the glazing
system only, the total window U-value for the CSA-rated size and the total window U-
value for the specified window size. The total window U-value for the actual size is to
be used in the model. While each authority having jurisdiction ultimately prescribes
required compliance documentation, it is recommended that you include a printout of
the results in any compliance submission package.

 Whenever precise total window information is not available, the ASHRAE Handbook–
Fundamentals published values can be used.

To define windows in CAN-QUEST, a Glass Type has to be defined with the Simplified
specification method selected. Double click on a glass type icon in the building tree under the

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Building Shell feature to open the Glass Type Properties dialogue box and look under the
Basic Specifications tab. Note that the entered Glass Conductance value is to exclude the
outside air film resistance. Table 6-2 - Window conductance values can be used to convert
the overall window U-value to an entered conductance value. Values can be interpolated
from this table.

Table 6-2 - Window conductance values

U-value Glass conductance
Btu/ft2·hr·F (W/m2·K) Btu/ft2·hr·F (W/m2·K)
0.1 (0.57) 0.10 (0.57)
0.2 (1.14) 0.21 (1.19)
0.3 (1.70) 0.32 (1.82)
0.4 (2.27) 0.43 (2.44)
0.5 (2.84) 0.55 (3.12)
0.6 (3.41) 0.68 (3.86)
0.7 (3.97) 0.81 (4.60)
0.8 (4.54) 0.95 (5.39)
0.9 (5.11) 1.09 (6.19)
1.0 (5.68) 1.24 (7.04)
1.1 (6.25) 1.40 (7.95)
1.2 (6.81) 1.57 (8.91)
1.3 (7.38) 1.74 (9.88)

6.4.3 Window and skylight shading coefficient

The shading coefficient (SC) values required by CAN-QUEST are for the total window area –
not just for glazing. However, SC values are often listed for glazing only and do not take into
account the effect of the frame. The Shading Coefficient input is on the Glass Types
Properties dialogue box (DDE mode). There are several sources of information on SC
values that can be used in CAN-QUEST. They are as follows, in recommended order of use:

 Window Manufacturer: Some manufacturers publish solar heat gain

coefficient/shading coefficient (SHGC/SC) values for their products. The only
acceptable values are those rated in accordance with CSA A440.2 or NFRC 200.
Some manufacturers list values that are for the glazing only; these values need to be
adjusted (see following sections).

 Glazing Manufacturer: Glazing manufacturers will often supply SHGC/SC values for
their glazing systems. The values are accurate for the glazing but ignore the effects of
the frame. To correct these values, multiply the glazing SHGC/SC by the ratio of the
glazing area to the total window area. If this area ratio is not known or difficult to
calculate, values of 80% (for sashless windows) and 70% (for fixed windows with
sash) can be assumed for fixed and operable windows, respectively.

 FRAMEplus Online: FRAMEplus Online can be used to determine the SC. The

50
 software can be found at http://tools.enermodal.com/webframeplus/. Use the total
window SC for CSA-rated size. A printout of the results must be included in the
compliance submission package.

 ASHRAE Handbook–Fundamentals: Chapter 29, Table 11 of the 2013 ASHRAE

Handbook–Fundamentals provides a fairly comprehensive list of total window SHGC
values.

Skylight shapes can be entered directly in CAN-QUEST wizards. If the skylight area is
increased to account for extra heat loss due to a domed or pyramidal shape, it is necessary
to reduce the SC to compensate. Skylight SC is divided by 1.5 for pyramidal skylights and 1.3
for domed skylights.

Sometimes manufacturers quote the SHGC. The SHGC value is 0.87 times the SC value.

6.4.4 Visible transmittance

This term refers to the visible (daylight) transmittance of glazing at normal incidence. This
expression is used only if the window is in a space with DAYLIGHTING = YES. Values from a
glass manufacturer's product data sheets vary from about 0.90 for clear, 1/8 in sheet glass,
to about 0.05 for various types of reflective, heat-absorbing glazing. Visible transmittance,
which determines how much daylight is transmitted by the glass, should not be confused with
total solar transmittance, which determines how much solar radiation (ultraviolet, visible and
infrared) is transmitted.

6.4.5 Shading
Canopies, balconies and building extensions are considered shading devices and are
included in the geometry of the window. These can be defined under the Fins-Overhang tab
in the Window Properties dialogue box for the selected window. These permanent shading
devices are included in the proposed design but are not carried through to the reference
building (NECB 2011 8.4.3.1(8)).

Movable blinds/drapes can also be defined within each window. However, these are only to
be modelled if they are fixed or if control is automatic (e.g. shades drop if SHGC increases
past a set value). Do not include manually operated shading devices (NECB 2011 8.4.3.1(7)).

6.5 Doors

Many types of doors are used in commercial construction: swinging doors, sliding doors,
revolving doors and overhead doors. Residential sliding glass doors (patio doors) should be
treated as operable windows (see Section 6.4.1). Similarly, doors with over 50% glazing
should be entered as operable windows (based on the total area of the door) and not as
doors.

U-values for swinging doors should be determined in accordance with A453 (where
applicable). Typical U-values for commercial swinging, revolving and overhead doors can be
found in the 2013 ASHRAE Handbook–Fundamentals, Chapter 15, Table 6. The reference

51
building uses the same U-values for doors as the proposed building, so the door U-value
selected will not have a large impact on the simulated results.

6.6 Curtain wall systems

Curtain wall systems are common in commercial buildings. They are made up of two parts:
Vision panels (transparent or translucent portion) and spandrel panels (opaque portion).
Curtain walls are defined in CAN-QUEST in the same way as a normal wall – opaque
portions are “wall,” and glazed portions are “windows.”

6.6.1 Vision panel

The U-value and SC for vision panels can be determined in the same manner as described in
Section 6.4.2.

6.6.2 Spandrel
There are two generic types of spandrel panels. The first type is constructed using pre-cast
concrete (or other material) that is hung off the building structure. This spandrel system is
insulated by spray (applying insulation to the back of the panel) or by constructing an interior
insulated wall. These two methods have modest thermal bridging, and the wall R-value can
be calculated using the procedure defined in Section 6.2.2.

The second type of spandrel panel is made up of aluminum mullions with a glass exterior –
the all-glass building look. A steel metal pan is attached to the mullions and filled with semi-
rigid fibreglass or mineral wool insulation. The mullions and steel pan cause considerable
thermal bridging, which reduces the effectiveness of the insulation by more than 50%.

The most accurate means of evaluating the U-value of spandrel panels is with a 2-D heat
transfer program such as FRAMEplus Online. This tool can be used to determine the
performance properties of curtain wall spandrel panels. The program can be found at
http://tools.enermodal.com/webframeplus/. The total spandrel U-value for the actual size is to
be used in the CAN-QUEST simulation. While each authority having jurisdiction ultimately
prescribes required compliance documentation, it is recommended that you include a printout
of the results in any compliance submission package.

For more accurate results, a thermal test report in accordance with CSA A440.2 is
recommended.

6.7 Balconies and wall/floor junctions

6.7.1 Junctions
Wall/floor or wall/roof junctions can be areas of high heat loss because of the difficulty in
insulating these constructions. NECB 2011 Sentence 3.1.1.7.(2) requires that the U-value of
these junctions be no more than twice the prescriptive value for the walls, as given in NECB
2011 Article 3.2.2.2. If this clause is met, the entire wall can be modelled using the U-value of
the wall (for both the reference and proposed cases) and ignoring the extra heat transfer at

52
the junctions. If NECB 2011 Sentence 3.1.1.7.(2) is not met, the junction area and its U-value
need to be entered as a separate wall assembly. The junction assembly should be built up of
construction elements in the junction.

Miscellaneous small envelope penetrations caused by pipes, ducts, HVAC equipment, shelf
angles, ties, fasteners and other minor structural members need not be taken into account,
provided that insulation is installed tightly against the outline of the envelope penetration.
(NECB 2011 Sentence 3.1.1.7.(3)).

Major structural penetrations such as fire walls and floor or roof slabs that penetrate the
building envelope need not be taken into account, provided that insulation is installed tight to
the edge of the penetration and that the sum of the cross-sectional areas of envelope
penetrations is less than 2% of the above-ground building envelope area. (NECB 2011
Sentence 3.1.1.7.(4)).

6.7.2 Balconies
Concrete balconies are common in high-rise residential buildings. The thermal impact of
these penetrations need not be taken into account, provided that the cross-sectional area of
the penetrations does not exceed 2% of the above-grade building envelope area (NECB
2011 Sentence 3.1.1.7.(4)). To meet this requirement, balconies cannot cover more than half
of the building perimeter. For large balcony areas, a separate wall assembly should be
entered for the balcony. The balcony U-value can be calculated using FRAMEplus Online or
other 2-D heat transfer calculators. Alternatively, a commonly used U-value of 5.5 W/m2·oC
(based on the wall area represented by the balcony cross-section) can be used.

6.8 Modelling unconditioned or partially conditioned zones

6.8.1 Unconditioned space (unheated vestibules, parking garages)

As discussed in Section 2.3, most unconditioned zones need not be taken into account.
However, if desired, these zones can be modelled using the following procedure:

1. Define the area as a separate zone and space.

2. Define the zone and space as unconditioned (Space Properties dialogue box [Figure 6-9
– Space Properties] and Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box [Figure 6-10 –
Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters] Basic Specifications tabs).

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Figure 6-9 – Space Properties

54
Figure 6-10 – Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters

3. Define exterior walls, floors and roof in the conventional manner.

4. Define each wall, floor and roof between unconditioned zones and conditioned zones
as Interior Partitions. These partitions are to be defined in only one of the zones,
and linked to the other zone through the Next To input.

5. Set all schedules to default/undefined for occupants and equipment.

6. To define a lighting credit, such as for parking garages, check Include Lighting
Plans on the Space Properties dialogue box, Basic Specifications tab. Lighting can
now be defined on the Lighting tab. An unchecked box renders lighting as
compliance-neutral.

7. Unconditioned space: By default, unconditioned spaces are considered to be

unoccupied, and any associated lighting load is considered to be beyond the scope of
the code and therefore compliance-neutral, as with any receptacle or process loads.
You can check the Include lighting of unconditioned space checkbox in the Space
Properties dialogue box (see Figure 6-11 – Space Properties, Compliance tab) if
such lighting is to be considered in the compliance analysis (e.g. lighting in an
unheated storage space). If so, reference lighting loads are to be determined based
on the NECB 2011 reference values in tables 4.2.1.5 and 4.2.1.6, as well as Space

55
 Use Distribution table entries (if applicable).

Figure 6-11 – Space Properties, Compliance tab

6.8.2 Partially conditioned space (crawl spaces, heated parking garages)

Partially conditioned zones are areas of the building that are not heated or cooled to standard
thermostat settings (e.g. a parking garage heated to 5°C). This definition also includes
adjacent zones operated at significantly different temperatures (see Section 2.1) or when an
air-conditioned zone is adjacent to one that is not. This last case is common in light industrial
buildings where the front office is air-conditioned but the back production area is not.

The procedures for modelling partially conditioned zones are as follows:

1. Define the area as a separate zone in the wizard.

2. Define the zone and space as directly conditioned in the Space Properties (see
Figure 6-11 – Space Properties, Compliance tab) and the Air-Side HVAC Zone
Parameters, Basic Specifications tab (see Figure 6-10 – Air-Side HVAC Zone
Parameters).

3. Define exterior walls, floors and roof in the conventional manner.

56
4. Define walls, floors and roofs between the partially conditioned zone and
conditioned zone as Interior Partitions. These partitions are to be defined in only
one of the zones, and linked to the other zone through the Next To input. These
interior partitions will usually be created by the wizard when the zoning pattern is
created. The DDE mode can be used to change the constructions of the interior
walls to include insulation if necessary.

5. Select the space function Warehouse – med/blk from the drop-down menu in the
Space Use Distribution table in the Basic Specs tab of the Space Properties
dialogue box.

6. Define ventilation requirements according to the applicable provincial standard in

the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab. If carbon
monoxide (CO) control is used to determine the amount of ventilation for the
garage, the modelled outdoor air flow may be reduced to account for the number
of hours that no ventilation is provided during the occupied schedule. Natural
Resources Canada recognizes a standard run-time of six hours (two hours
morning, two hours midday and two hours evening) for ventilation control using
CO sensors. Because CO sensors are mandatory, no credit is given for this
design feature; the reference building is therefore to have the same outdoor air
flow as the proposed building.

7. Enter the desired heating and cooling set points in the Air-Side HVAC Zone
Parameters dialogue box, Basic Specifications tab (See Figure 6-12 – Air-Side
HVAC Zone Parameters) and create the corresponding heating/cooling
temperature schedules.

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Figure 6-12 – Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters

8. Set all schedules to default/undefined for occupants and equipment under the
Occupancy and Equipment tabs of the Space Properties dialogue box.

9. Define a single-zone HVAC system and enter all data for the HVAC system
serving the partially conditioned zone.

10. For lit spaces, check the Include Lighting Plans checkbox on the Space
Properties dialogue box, Basic Specifications tab (See Figure 6-9 – Space
Properties). Lighting can then be defined on the Lighting tab. An unchecked box
renders lighting as compliance-neutral.

6.8.3 Unconditioned space as a supply air plenum (crawl space, mechanical penthouse or
floor)
The procedure for modelling these spaces is as follows:

1. Define the area as a separate zone in the wizard.

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 2. Define the zone as unconditioned in the Space Properties and the Air-Side
HVAC Zone Parameters, Basic Specifications tabs.

3. Define exterior walls, floors and roof in the conventional manner.

4. Define walls, floors and roof between unconditioned zone and conditioned zone
as Interior Partitions. These partitions are to be defined in only one of the zones
and linked to the other zone through the Next To input.

5. Set all schedules to default/undefined for occupants, lights and equipment.

6. Leave summer and winter set points and heating/cooling schedules in the Air-
Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Basic Specifications tab, to match the adjacent
conditioned zones.

7. Ensure the box Include Lighting Plans on the Space Properties, Basic
Specifications tab is unchecked so lighting is not modelled.

6.8.4 Partially conditioned space as a supply air plenum (crawl space, mechanical
penthouse or floor)
The procedure for modelling these spaces is as follows:

1. Define the area as a separate zone in the wizard.

2. Define zone as unconditioned or plenum (Space Properties and Air-Side HVAC

Zone Parameters, Basic Specifications tabs).

3. Define exterior walls, floors and roof in the conventional manner.

4. Define walls, floors and roofs between the partially conditioned zone and conditioned
zone as Interior Partitions. These partitions are to be defined in only one of the
zones, and linked to the other zone through the Next To input.

5. Define space function as inactive storage.

6. Set all schedules to default/undefined for occupants, lights and equipment.

7. Enter desired heating and cooling set points and create corresponding schedule in
the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Basic Specifications tab.

8. Add heating and cooling capacity of zone HVAC system.

9. For lit spaces, check Include Lighting Plans in the Space Properties, Basic
Specifications tab. Lighting can then be defined in the Lighting tab. An unchecked
box renders lighting compliance-neutral.

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6.9 Interior partitions

Interior partitions are used to describe interior heat transfer between zones. CAN-QUEST
models four types:

1. Standard: designates an interior wall that separates two spaces and conducts heat
between the spaces. The “NEXT-TO” keyword is required for this wall type. However,
if “NEXT-TO” refers to the same space in which the wall was defined, the program will
change “INT-WALL-TYPE” to “ADIABATIC.”

2. Adiabatic: designates an interior surface that does not conduct heat between spaces
but can store heat.

3. Internal: designates an interior surface that lies completely inside a space. This type
of wall should have a construction with “TYPE = LAYERS”; in this case, the thermal
mass of the wall will be considered in the space's custom weighting factor calculation.

4. Air: designates a non-physical interior surface with no mass (e.g. an opening

between spaces) across which convection can take place. This type of wall should
have a “CONSTRUCTION” with “TYPE = U-VALUE.” In this case, it is recommended
that an approximate U-value of 2.7 Btu/sq. ft.-hr (15.3 W/m2-°C) be used. The “NEXT-
TO” keyword is required for this wall type.

Interior partitions need to be modelled only if there is a significant heat transfer between
adjacent zones, which can occur only if there is a temperature difference between the zones.
If adjacent zones are kept at the same set point temperature and follow the same heating
and cooling schedule, there is no need for an interior partition to be modelled.

However, there are three cases when interior standard partitions should be specified, as
follows:

1. Adjacent zones have significantly different operating schedules (difference in

operating hours is greater than 28 hours per week).

2. Adjacent zones are conditioned to different temperatures (difference is greater than

3°C).

3. One zone is air-conditioned while the adjacent zone is not.

Interior partitions are defined much like exterior walls. Various construction components are
entered to determine a total wall R-value.

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7. INTERNAL LOADS

This chapter details the internal loads that are entered into the spaces. Included in this
chapter is detailed information on how to model lighting and daylighting. The chapter also
covers a few non-compliant entries should you wish to make changes to the proposed
building when CAN-QUEST is not being used for NECB 2011 compliance modelling. All
inputs for this section can be found under the Internal Loads feature.

7.1 General

The Basic Specs tab of the Space Properties dialogue box, located by double clicking any
space icon in the building tree under the Internal Loads feature, describes the geometry
such as area, volume and reference polygon. This tab also contains the Space Use
Distribution table that describes the space types or building type (For more information, see
Section 12.1).

7.2 Occupancy

To perform a compliance simulation, check the box Use NECB default non-regulated loads
on the Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab. This will overwrite the entered
occupancy values with NECB 2011 values based on the space types indicated in the Space
Use Distribution table on the Basic Specs tab. If the default occupancy is not used, the
occupancy number or density for the entire space is required. You have the choice of
manually selecting the occupancy schedule or marking the Use M/NECB default schedules
checkbox (the schedules are available in the library). In this latter case, any user-defined
schedules will be overwritten by the program to the appropriate NECB 2011 schedule (see
Section 12.1 for more information on the use of this checkbox).

7.3 Lighting

There are several ways in which lighting can be defined. This section will discuss the two
most common methods available in CAN-QUEST, as well as how to model occupancy
sensors.

7.3.1 Lighting power density or installed power

To include the design lighting values in the model, check the box Include Lighting Plans on
the Basic Specs tab of the Space Properties dialogue box. An unchecked box triggers
default lighting loads for the entire space and will ignore the entries described below.

When in compliance mode, if multiple occupancy types are defined under the Space Use
Distribution table on the Basic Specs tab, the Power Density chart on the lighting tab has
a 1:1 relationship to the order in which the subspaces have been entered. This is discussed
in further detail in Section 12.1.2. Using a space-by-space method to define the lighting
power will require detailed take-offs of each space in order to obtain the correct lighting
power densities. If you have indicated in the Compliance tab that you wish to use M/NECB
default schedules, the schedule in the lighting chart will be replaced by the appropriate NECB
2011 schedule. If this box is left unchecked, you must apply the appropriate schedule to the
lights in that space. Note that checking the Use M/NECB default schedules will result in
ALL default schedules being included in lighting.

61
The other option for defining lighting power is to calculate the total installed power in
kilowatts. This option allows you to either define the total installed power for each
subspace/space or to enter one value to represent the total installed power for the entire
zone. Whichever choice is made, the 1:1 relationship between the lighting table and space
distribution table still applies, as described previously.

7.3.2 Lighting system, luminaire and lamp type properties

CAN-QUEST NECB 2011 only supports the Power Definition Method for compliance.

If you are not attempting an NECB 2011 compliance simulation, you have the option of
creating “lighting systems” and counting the fixtures in each zone. For this option, select
Luminaire Count in the input method. This will require you to select a lighting system. A
lighting system describes a complete fixture (e.g. a 2 x 4 recessed fixture with two 32-W T8
bulbs and electronic ballast). It does this by combining the information entered in the
luminaire type and the lamp type. Therefore, you need to define the luminaire and lamp types
first. These are defined under their respective sections in the building tree. A lamp type can
be created or pulled from the CAN-QUEST library. A luminaire type indicates the number of
lamps in the lighting system, along with the configuration and size. Both of these, along with
the ballast, are selected and defined within the lighting system.

The following are the ballast options (select the option that matches the design):

 MAGN-ENERGY-EFF: energy-efficient magnetic ballast for full-size fluorescent lamps

 MAGN-HTR-CUT-RED: reduced light output heater cut-out magnetic ballast for full-
size fluorescent lamps
 MAGN-HTR-CUT-FUL: full light output heater cut-out magnetic ballast for full-size
fluorescent lamps
 ELEC-RAP-START: electronic rapid start ballast for full-size fluorescent lamps
 ELEC-RAP-ST-RED: electronic reduced output rapid start ballast for full-size
fluorescent lamps
 ELEC-INS-START: electronic instant start ballast for full-size fluorescent lamps
 CF-MAGNETIC: magnetic ballast for compact fluorescent lamps
 CF-ELECTRONIC: electronic ballast for compact fluorescent lamps
 HID-MAGNETIC: magnetic ballast for high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps
 HID-LO-LOSS-MAGN: low-loss magnetic ballast for HID lamps

Once the lighting system is defined and selected, enter the number of systems (i.e. fixtures)
under Number of Luminaires. Everything else can be left as default.

7.3.3 Occupancy sensors

It is possible to receive a credit for using occupancy sensors in CAN-QUEST.Occupancy
sensors are not modelled in the reference building, despite the fact that they are required in
spaces described in Division B, Part 4, Article 4.2.2.2. of the NECB 2011.

NECB 2011 Article 4.3.2.10. provides the adjustment factors that are to be applied to a
space’s lighting power density to account for occupancy sensor control factors.

62
You can choose from two approaches to modelling occupancy sensors when performing a
CAN-QUEST NECB 2011 compliance simulation: You can check Occupant sensor lighting
control credit(s) on the Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab (see Figure 7-2 –
Space Properties Compliance tab) or manually apply the adjustment factors. These two
different approaches are described below.

If you check Occupant sensor lighting control credit(s), CAN-QUEST will apply the
appropriate adjustment factors, as per NECB 2011 Article 4.3.2.10, to the lighting load of the
entire space (i.e. to all of the subspaces defined in the Space Use Distribution table on the
Space Properties dialogue box, Basic Specs tab). You must consider this when defining
your spaces, so that subspaces with occupancy sensors are grouped together. For example,
in Figure 7-1 – Space Properties, Basic Specs tab, if you have checked the input Occupant
sensor lighting control credit(s) in the Compliance tab, it implies that occupancy sensors
are present in all of the sub-spaces (office, conference, washroom, lobby and corridor)
defined in the Space Use Distribution table.

Figure 7-1 – Space Properties, Basic Specs tab

Another approach is to leave Occupant sensor lighting control credit(s) unchecked, and
manually apply the appropriate lighting control adjustment factors to the proposed lighting
power load entered on the Space Properties dialogue box, Lighting tab. Using the same

63
example above, if occupancy sensors are present only in the washroom, multiply the actual
lighting power density of the washroom and the adjustment factor for Washroom (NECB
2011 Article 4.3.2.10.) to determine the adjusted lighting power density to enter in the third
row of the Lighting table.

7.3.4 Lighting of unconditioned spaces

By default, unconditioned spaces are considered to be unoccupied, and any associated
lighting load is considered to be beyond the scope of the NECB 2011 and therefore
compliance-neutral. You can check the Include lighting of unconditioned space checkbox
in the Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab, if such lighting is to be considered
in the compliance analysis (e.g. lighting in an unheated storage space). If so, reference
lighting loads are to be determined based on the NECB 2011 reference values in tables
4.2.1.5 and 4.2.1.6, as well as Space Use Distribution table entries (if applicable).

Figure 7-2 – Space Properties Compliance tab

7.3.5 Existing lighting input

In the Space Properties dialogue box, Basic Specs tab, you have the option of indicating if
a space’s lighting load is to be considered as “existing” and therefore compliance-neutral.
This option is available for building additions that are being considered together with the

64
existing building for performance compliance calculations, as per NECB 2011 Article 8.4.1.4.
If you check Existing Lighting (see Figure 7-3 – Space Properties, Basic Specs tab, to
define Existing Lighting), lighting loads in the reference building will match the lighting loads
in the proposed building. This applies to both conditioned and occupied, unconditioned
spaces.

Figure 7-3 – Space Properties, Basic Specs tab, to define Existing Lighting

7.4 Daylighting

Daylighting controls are not implemented in the reference building of the current version of
CAN-QUEST NECB 2011. The NECB 2011, Section 4.2, includes prescriptive requirements
for daylighting controls; daylighting is required in the NECB 2011 for specific space and
building types. It is therefore recommended that you contact your authority having jurisdiction
to obtain guidance on the modelling of daylighting in the proposed and reference buildings.

If you choose to model daylighting in the proposed building, this feature must be turned on in
the Daylighting Controls field of the General Shell Information screen of the wizards. It is
also recommended that the model use built-up windows rather than the Simplified method
described in Section 6.4.2. It is possible to use the simplified approach, but savings may be
overstated, as the simplified model assumes a constant 90° angle of the sun penetrating the
space, rather than following the angle of incidence of the sun.

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If modelling daylighting, go to the Daylighting tab of the Space Properties dialogue box and
select Yes to confirm that the space uses daylighting controls. You will need to indicate the
Controlled kW Fraction (the fraction of installed power connected to the sensor), Light
Setpoint (fc or lx), the View Azimuth (generally 90°) and the Control System Operation
Mode. The available modes are:

 Continuous: indicates a dimming control system in which the electric light output and
power input decrease continuously and linearly as the daylight illuminance increases.
 Continuous/off: gives a dimming control similar to CONTINUOUS, but the lights turn
off completely (i.e. the electric light output and power are zero) when the total
illuminance (electric illuminance plus daylighting illuminance) exceeds the lighting set
point.
 Equal Steps: specifies the control system in which power input and light output vary
in discrete, equally spaced steps. The number of steps (excluding zero) should be
entered in the Light Control Steps ( LIGHT-CTRL-STEPS) input.
 Discrete Steps: specifies the control system in which power input and light output
vary in discrete, variably spaced steps. The number of discrete steps is given by the
number of row entries in the Discrete Step Controls table, whose column values
must be entered in decreasing order: Input Pwr System 1 (DISCRETE-POWER1)
and its paired Output Illum 1 (DISCRETE-LIGHT1) for the first control point and
Input Pwr System 1 (DISCRETE-POWER2) and Output Illum 2 (DISCRETE-
LIGHT2) for the second control point, etc.

7.5 Equipment

Equipment (plug) loads are non-regulated and therefore compliance-neutral in the NECB
2011. That is, they are set equal in the proposed and reference building models. As per
NECB 2011 8.4.2.7(5), any equipment that affects system loads above the NECB 2011
default plug loads must be included in the model. Examples of where this may occur include
equipment in data centres and industrial processes.

If multiple occupancy types are defined under the Space Use Distribution table on the
Basic Specs tab of the Space Properties dialogue box, the Power Density chart on the
Equipment tab has a 1:1 relationship to the order in which the subspaces have been
entered. This is discussed in further detail in Section 12.1.2.

If you have indicated on the Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab that you wish
to use M/NECB default schedules, the schedule in the equipment chart will be ignored and
replaced with the appropriate NECB schedule for that space/building type during a
compliance simulation.

You have the option of using the input Use NECB default non-regulated loads on the
Space Properties, Compliance tab. If this option is checked, all non-regulated loads,
including equipment, service water heating, outdoor air, occupancy and heat injection rates
are set to default values in the proposed and reference buildings. In this case, any user-input
data is overridden.

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7.6 Infiltration

Infiltration is a compliance-neutral input; NECB 2011 Sentence 8.4.3.4.(3) specifies a

modelling default value of 0.25 L/s/m2 of the gross above-ground wall and roof areas. User
input of infiltration is ignored for any compliance run in CAN-QUEST. For non-compliance
simulations, ensure that the correct infiltration rates are defined in the wizard.

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8. WATER-SIDE HVAC

This chapter focuses on central plant equipment, that is, centralized equipment that generally
serves the entire building. This includes service water heaters, boilers, chillers, cooling
towers and central heat pump loops. Central heat pumps can be air- or water-sourced (e.g.
geo-exchange, water-source heat pump), but they must distribute heated and/or chilled water
to specific devices (e.g. coils, zone heat pumps, terminals) located in spaces and zones to
provide space-specific temperature control. This equipment is primarily defined in the Water-
Side HVAC feature (see Figure 8-1 – Schematic of CAN-QUEST Water-Side HVAC).

Some commercial buildings are served by simple systems, such as packaged rooftop units,
that do not require boilers, chillers or cooling towers. In these cases, some components in the
central plant do not have to be modelled.

Figure 8-1 – Schematic of CAN-QUEST Water-Side HVAC

8.1 Distribution loops

CAN-QUEST follows the same steps for entering water-side HVAC equipment as eQUEST:
the fluid distribution loops are defined initially, and then the equipment connected to the
distribution loops are defined as component parts of the loop.

Figure 8-1 – Schematic of CAN-QUEST Water-Side HVAC illustrates how the chilled-water
loop (shown in blue) is connected to a direct-fired chiller (the source of chilled water) which is

68
then connected to System 1 (an air handler) as the end-point of the distribution loop. The
pumps within the loop are shown in the Component Tree (on the left of the schematic).

To create a new loop, right-click on Project: “Name” in the Component Tree and select
Create Circulation Loop (see Figure 8-2 – Creating a circulation loop). Depending on the
order in which the model is created, you may be prompted to create a loop when selecting a
system that requires hot or cold water. You will be prompted to define a number of
parameters such as loop name, loop type and sub-type. In most cases, the subtype will be
primary. Size loops as secondary because this specifies that the design loop load is based
on the design loads of the coils, processes, etc., that are attached. Selecting primary
specifies that the design loop load is to be based on the sum of the primary equipment
capacities that are attached to this loop; a capacity must be entered for the primary
equipment.

Figure 8-2 – Creating a circulation loop

The most important loop definition options are broken out in Section 8.1.1.

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Figure 8-3 – Circulation Loop Properties

There are a number of tabs for entering information pertaining to the loop. For each loop,
enter the following information (not all information is required for the simulation to run).

8.1.1 Basic specifications

Loop Type: Distribution loops (piping connections) must be defined for each component of
the water-side HVAC system. There are a number of distribution loops to choose from, as
follows:

 CHW (chilled-water loop): On the demand side, a chilled-water loop attaches to

cooling coils, zone heat pumps or process cooling loads defined within a space.
On the supply side, the loop attaches to chillers and/or a chilled-water utility.

 HW (hot-water loop): On the demand side, a hot-water loop attaches to heating

coils, preheat coils, reheat coils, baseboard heaters, floor panels, supplementary
heating loads (of a heat pump) or process heating loads defined within a space. It
may also attach to an absorption chiller. On the supply side, the loop attaches to
boilers, heat-recovery devices, and/or a hot-water/steam utility (purchased
heating).

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  PIPE2 (two-pipe heating and cooling loop): A two-pipe loop supplies both
chilled water and hot water to coils and baseboards, but not simultaneously
(either in heating or in cooling, but not both at the same time). When the loop is in
the heating mode, any cooling loads that may co-exist will not be met, and the
temperature of the zones that demand cooling will float accordingly. The same is
true for heating loads once the loop has switched over to cooling. The loop may
switch from heating to cooling on the basis of an indoor or outdoor temperature,
or according to a schedule, which you specify (use the LOOP-OPERATION
keyword). The demand and supply connections are any of the connections
defined for the HW and CHW loop types.

 WLHP (water-loop heat pump): Individual WLHP units operate according to

their zone thermostats and reject heat to or take heat from this loop. Depending
on the relative number of units operating in the heating or cooling mode, the loop
will be thermally unbalanced, and the loop temperature will either rise or fall. One
or more boilers and one or more cooling towers operate to keep the loop within
specified temperature limits. In addition to WLHP units, any cooling unit with a
water-cooled condenser may be assigned to this loop. For example, a packaged
direct expansion (DX) cooling unit serving a computer room can reject its heat to
a WLHP loop so that the computer room heat can be recovered by a WLHP unit.
Chillers may also be assigned to this loop, although this is uncommon. On the
demand side, a WLHP loop attaches to heat pump units serving individual
spaces/zones, to water-cooled DX cooling coils in air handling units and to
chillers. On the supply side, the WLHP loop connects to boilers, cooling-towers,
heat-recovery devices, and/or a hot- or cold-water utility.

 DHW (domestic hot water): On the demand side, this loop supplies potable
heated water to kitchens, bathrooms, etc. Heating coils can also be attached in
situations such as an apartment building located in a relatively mild climate. The
water heater then provides heat for both domestic purposes and space heating.
On the supply side, this loop attaches to DHW heaters, boilers or a hot-
water/steam utility.

 CW (condenser water): A CW loop takes the heat rejection loads of chillers,

packaged DX HVAC systems with water-cooled condensers, water-side
economizers and electrical generators. The loop rejects the condenser heat to
one or more cooling towers.

 LAKE/WELL: a loop that circulates ground water from a lake or well to a chiller
condenser. A GROUND-LOOP-HX of TYPE = LAKE/WELL provides the water to
this loop.

Loop Subtype: Primary or Secondary

A Primary loop is connected directly to the energy supply (e.g. boiler, chiller, central
heat pump) and delivers hot or chilled water to coils, terminals, baseboards, etc.

A Secondary loop is not connected to the energy supply, but to the primary loop. The
secondary loop can also be attached to coils, terminals, baseboards, etc., and may

71
 have its own circulation pump and control sequences to provide improved thermal zone
control.

Sizing Option: Primary or Secondary

Selecting Primary sizes the loop design load based upon the primary equipment
attached to the loop (e.g. boilers, chillers, central heat pumps).

Selecting Secondary sizes the loop design load based upon the secondary equipment
attached to the loop (e.g. coils, terminals, zone heat pumps, unit heaters, processes,
etc.).

Design CHW Temp and Design HW Temp and Loop-Design DT

For each loop, enter a design temperature and loop design delta temperature. The
loop-design temperature change or loop-design DT (delta temperature) is the design
temperature differential around a single loop of the piping system. For chilled water
systems, this is better expressed as the “design temperature rise.” A typical heating
system may deliver hot water at 71.1°C (160°F) that is returned to the boiler at 60°C
(140°F). In this case, the design temperature change is 11.1°C (20°F). Similarly, a
chiller may supply water at 4.4°C (40°F) that is returned to the chiller at 10.0°C (50°F).
In this case, the design temperature change is 5.6°C (10°F). Regardless of whether the
piping loop results in an increase in temperature (cooling water) or a decrease (heating
water), the design temperature change is always a positive number.

Fluid Volume (L) and Avg Circ Time

Fluid Volume is the total amount of fluid in the system (optional entry). The Avg Circ
Time is the time required to circulate the fluid through the system. This is used to
ensure correct pump sizing and flows. This is also optional. If they are not entered,
CAN-QUEST will calculate these variables based on the design flow rate and design
loads.

Loop Recirc Flow

This is the constant flow through a loop or the minimum for variable flow systems to
ensure a non-zero flow system. For DHW loops, this is the return flow to the hot water
heater.

Pipe Head and Static Head

Pipe head (optional) is pressure loss due to friction in the pipes. Defaults have been
determined for a 5-cm diameter pipe with a flow of 4.4 m/sec and a 30-m head loss,
including fittings. The static head (optional) is the pressure, independent of flow within
the piping/pumping system. It is the pressure of the system itself going from ambient
pressure to a pressurized system.

Loop Pump

This is a user-defined name for the pump that will be attached to the loop.

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Loop Minimum Flow and Loop Size Ratio

For heating and cooling systems, the Loop Minimum Flow is set to 0.05 (5% flow),
to ensure that there is a sufficient minimum flow through the system to avoid large
temperature rises based on valve control. For DHW loops, the default is 0.

The Loop Size Ratio is used when the Loop Sizing Option is Secondary. This
allows you a safety factor to size the loop (1.00 = loop size = either primary or
secondary sizing option).

8.1.2 Process/DHW loads

Process Loads/Flow

Process load describes the characteristics of a loop serving a process hot- or

chilled-water load. This could include hot water within a swimming pool, car wash,
etc., or chilled water within a supermarket chilled water cycle (non-refrigeration cycle).
Enter the peak process load that the loop must meet, the flow rate, a process
schedule of operation (defined in the Equipment tab of the Internal Loads feature,
Space Properties dialogue box) and a process load temperature difference. If you do
not enter a process load temperature difference, the program will use the loop design
temperature difference.

8.1.3 Losses
Supply UA, Supply Loss DT, Return UA and Return Loss DT

Losses refers to thermal losses from the supply of hot and chilled fluids from the boiler
and chiller on the way to the coils and/or secondary loops served by the loop. In most
cases, these are ignored because the boiler and chiller are usually in close proximity
to the coils and/or secondary loops. In some cases where the boiler and/or chiller are
located in a different building than the loop, thermal losses in delivering the hot and
chilled fluid would be accounted for with these entries. The same applies on the return
side when the hot or chilled fluid is returned to the boiler and/or chiller.

Cool Environ Temp and Heat Environ Temp

These temps describe the environmental conditions the loop supply must pass
through from the heating and/or cooling source to the building loop.

Loop Location, Tunnel Schedule, Tunnel Temperature and Zone Loss

The supply loop can be located in a tunnel, outdoors, within another zone or
underground. You are required to define the temperatures of the loop locations. In
most cases, the loop is located within the building; therefore, no value is entered in
this field.

Assign Losses To

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 Assigning losses describes where to account for the energy related to loop losses,
including space heating or cooling, domestic water, or equipment process, depending
on the type of loop.

8.1.4 Head tab

This tab describes the pressure head set point control for the loop circulation pumps (if
applicable). The Head Setpoint Control is either Fixed (constant) or Valve Reset, which
sets the system head to provide enough hot or chilled water flow for the worst-case coil,
terminal, or zone heat pump on the system. The Head Sensor Location describes where the
differential head sensor is located: At Coils, Entering Loop or At Pump. The Head
Setpoint is the value entered for a fixed pressure head control. The program will compare
this to the default design head. The Setpoint Range is the throttling range of the controller
for a fixed control. The Setpoint Ratio is the safety factor.

8.1.5 Loop-Operation
The Circulating Loop Properties dialogue box requires that the Loop-Operation be
defined on the Operation tab. The “LOOP-OPERATION” keyword describes when or how
the loop is activated. When activated, the loop pump runs, and the specified primary
equipment operates to deliver fluid at the specified temperature set points. When
deactivated, the pump and all primary equipment are off. A deactivated loop will override the
heating/cooling schedules of any secondary HVAC system coils that are attached. In other
words, when a loop is active, an attached coil can draw energy from the loop according to the
coil's heating/cooling schedules and temperature set point. However, when the loop is
inactive, all attached coils are deactivated, regardless of heating/cooling schedules. The
following loop-operation options (keywords) are available in the Circulation Loop
Properties, Operation tab:

 STANDBY: causes the loop to be active when an attached system is running (fan on)
and the system's heating/cooling schedule allows the coil to operate. Note that in this
mode, loop may be active even when the system's coil may not actually be calling on
the loop.

 DEMAND (demand-only): causes the loop to be active only when a load from a coil
or process actually exists. This is the most energy-efficient mode of operation. For
example, if an attached system is running and the system's cooling schedule allows
for cooling, the CHW loop will not activate until there is actually a cooling load (the
system could be using economizer cooling so that there is no cooling load on the
chilled water loop for that hour). DEMAND operation is allowed for a WLHP, but is
unrealistic. For a DHW loop, this option will cause a recirculation pump, if specified, to
operate only when there is an end-use load.

 SNAP: a control mode in which the loop-operation snaps on or off according to a

monitored temperature (strict temperature control). SNAP has slightly different
meanings depending on the type of loop:

o Heating-type loop: This keyword will cause the loop to activate when a
specified temperature sensor falls below the Snap Temp (SNAP-T) value. An
outside-air lockout is another way of thinking of this control mode. However,
the temperature causing the lockout may be either the outdoor air temperature
or a zone temperature. Specify the location of the temperature sensor by

74
 using the Snap Location (SNAP-LOCN) and Snap Temp (SNAP-T) fields.
The snap location could be the outdoor air temperature (turns the loop pump
on or off when the outdoor air is at a certain temperature) or the temperature
within a zone (turns the loop pump on or off when the zone reaches a certain
interior temperature).

o Cooling-type loop: This loop is similar to a heating-type loop, except that

cooling loops will activate when the monitored temperature is above the Snap
Temp value. WLHP loops trigger the heating equipment when the temperature
falls below the Snap Temp and triggers the heat-rejection equipment when
the temperature rises above the Snap Temp.

o Water-loop heat pump (WLHP): This type of loop activates the heating
equipment when the water-loop temperature falls below the Snap Temp value
and the heat-rejection equipment when above the Snap Temp value. In
practice, this is a dangerous control mode for WLHP systems because the
loop may go to an extreme temperature when either type of primary
equipment is disabled.

 SCHEDULED: causes the loop to activate according to a schedule. Heating-type

loops refer to a heating schedule (HEATING-SCH) and cooling-type loops refer to a
cooling schedule (COOLING-SCH). You will need to select a default heating/cooling
schedule or create one from scratch to associate with these loops. PIPE2 and WLHP
loops refer to both schedules because they will have both heating and cooling
equipment attached. As with SNAP control, SCHEDULED loop control is not
recommended for WLHP systems. The schedules use the standard schedule values
of 0 to indicate an OFF condition and 1 to indicate an ON condition. A value other
than 0 or 1 is assumed to be an outdoor air lockout temperature. For a heating
schedule, an outdoor temperature below the schedule value will activate the loop. For
a cooling schedule, an outdoor temperature above the schedule value will activate the
loop. If desired, a zone temperature can be substituted for the outdoor temperature by
using the Snap Location (SNAP-LOCN) and Snap Temp (SNAP-T) keywords. For
all loop types except PIPE2 and WLHP, the schedule will activate the loop's pumps as
well as the loop's primary equipment. For the PIPE2 loop, the heating schedule will
activate the heating equipment and loop pump, while the cooling schedule will
activate the cooling equipment and loop pump. If outdoor temperatures are put into
both schedules, there may be an outdoor temperature range where the heating
equipment, cooling equipment and pump are off. If the schedules conflict, the heating
schedule will take precedence.

 SUBHOUR-CYCLE: specifies that the loop pump will cycle as required to meet loop
flows that are less than design capacity. This control mechanism applies to WLHP
and CW loops only. If this control mechanism is specified for any other loop type, the
program will reset the mechanism to DEMAND.

o For WLHP and CW circulation loops only, the loop flow and pump are capable
of cycling during the hour. This allows for better performance calculations
when one or a few DX units are attached to a loop, and the loop pump cycles
off when the unit is not operating. In this situation, the program calculates the
flow by using the actual flow passed through the DX units when operating,
adjusted by a diversity factor that takes into account the fact that the operation

75
 of various units on the loop do not necessarily coincide.

o This control mechanism works with two-way and/or three-way valves on the
DX units. For units with three-way valves, flow will pass through the unit during
the period the pump is active, regardless of whether the unit is active.

o This control mechanism works only if the pump is directly attached to the loop;
it will not work for pumps attached to boilers, towers, etc.

o This only applies to the pump cycles; the program does not extend this control
strategy to boilers, towers, etc. The exception is that the temperature leaving a
ground-loop heat exchanger will be affected by the cycling period. (For a given
hourly load, because the load is compressed into a smaller fraction of the
hour, the rate at which heat is extracted from or rejected to the ground
increases, thereby affecting the temperature.)

o A secondary loop can also simulate cycling; however, the diversity will not be
passed on to the primary loop.

8.1.6 Controls

CAN-QUEST has a number of options to reset the loop temperature (see Figure 8-4 –
Circulation Loop Properties, Controls tab):

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Figure 8-4 – Circulation Loop Properties, Controls tab

The following options are available for Setpoint Control:

 Fixed: specifies that the loop supply temperature is set at a fixed value, as specified
by the Setpoint Temperature

 OA-Reset: specifies that the loop supply temperature is reset based on the outdoor
air temperature, according to the Reset Schedule (RESET-SCH) (you will need to
create a schedule based on design sequences, this is most easily done in the wizard)

 Scheduled: specifies that the loop supply temperature is controlled according to a

schedule specified by the Setpoint Schedule (SETPT-SCH) (you will need to create
a schedule based on design sequences, this is most easily done in the wizard)

 Load-Reset: specifies that the loop supply temperature is reset so that the valve of
the worst-case coil is fully open. This can be defined in the wizard.

Other inputs that can be entered on the Controls tab are:

 Loop Flow Reset: specifies the fraction of the design flow that can be reduced prior
to a reset. This works only with variable-volume loops, such that when a load is reset
based on temperature, the flow rate is not increased but reduced to obtain pumping
savings in addition to heating or cooling savings. The value has to be less than 1.0 to
activate the flow reset feature.

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  Loop Setpt Range: specifies the throttling range of the loop temperature control
(usually 2°C for most loops)

 Max Reset Temp: specifies the upper limit for chilled water systems if the cooling set
point uses a load-reset type controller

 Min Reset Temp: specifies the lower limit for hot water systems if the heating set
point uses a load-reset type controller and also specifies the lower limit for condenser
(cooling tower) water for chilled water systems if the cooling set point uses a load-
reset type controller

8.1.7 Equipment controls

CAN-QUEST enables you to refine the sequences in which the primary equipment operates
in the model. This feature can be accessed through a separate input screen in the
Circulation Loop Properties, Controls tab. A building may have different types of space
heating, cooling equipment and control sequences to optimize its operation (start/stop) during
certain conditions. For example, a building may have a small air-cooled chiller that provides
175 kW of base cooling year-round and a larger water-cooled chiller for peak cooling
conditions. In this case, you should use an equipment control that calls for the base chiller to
operate first and then sequence the second chiller to turn on once the building requires more
than the 175 kW base load capacity. The Equipment Controls button is found on the
Controls tab of the active circulation loop feature (see Figure 8-4 – Circulation Loop
Properties, Controls tab).

Equipment controls can be further refined by using a load management strategy. The
following sequences are available:

 Scheduled: The program selects different EQUIP-CTRL sequences according to the

time of day or year. You would typically use this mode when it is desirable either to
restrict the use of thermal storage to specific times of the day, or, for example, to
switch from electric chillers to absorption chillers or engine chillers, on a scheduled
basis.

 OA-Temp: The program selects different EQUIP-CTRL sequences according to the

outdoor air temperature. A common example of this application occurs when a central
plant has chillers that sequence according to the outdoor temperature, rather than the
load.

 Zone-Temp: The program selects different EQUIP-CTRL sequences according to a

zone temperature (the previous hour's temperature). A common example of this
application is the enabling or disabling of a reheat loop on the basis of a zone
temperature.

 Loop-Load: The program selects different EQUIP-CTRL sequences according to a

circulation loop load. This mode allows you to choose the equipment serving one loop
on the basis of another loop's load. For example, you may want to preferentially run a
double bundle chiller or engine chiller only when there is a concurrent heating load
suitable for the chiller's recoverable heat. In a similar fashion, an ELEC-GENERATOR
may start only when there is a heating load.

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Equipment Controls and Load Management Controls apply to both heating and cooling
equipment.

8.1.8 Auxiliaries

Auxiliaries are additional electrical loads on the loop and may include cold water fountains on
a DHW loop or heat-tracing cable on a hot water piping loop within an unheated plenum or
crawl space. Enter the peak electrical load, a schedule of activation or operation, and a meter
to assign the electrical usage. By default, the energy consumption related to these loads is
reported to the master electrical meter and sub-reported as an Electrical Auxiliary Use.

8.2 Service water heaters

The water-heating load (or demand) of a building is dependent on the space function or
building type selected (see Section 4.1).

To describe the domestic hot water system in CAN-QUEST, create a domestic hot water loop
and attach a water heating device to that loop. This is identical to the creation of the hot and
chilled water loops described in Section 8.1. Process water heating, such as laundry facilities
or car washes, should generally not be included in the modelling of the service water heating.
Process water (heating or cooling) would be included as an input to the Hot Water Loop or
the Chilled Water Loop. To simulate the process water energy, provide the process hot
water load (MW), the peak process flow rate (L/min), an operation schedule (which will adjust
that flow on an hourly basis), and the process load water temperature differential (used to
calculate flow if not entered).

8.2.1 Domestic hot water loop parameters

Loop entries for domestic hot water are similar to loop entries for the hot and chilled water
loop, except they pertain to the domestic hot water loop conditions. The following can be
entered:

 Basic Specifications
 Process/DHW Loads
 Losses
 Head
 Operation
 Controls
 Auxiliaries

In the majority of cases, the fields in the Basic Specifications tab are all that is required for
defining Domestic Water Heating. The definition of the Domestic Water Heater itself will
complete the entries.

CAN-QUEST requires that you enter a design hot water temperature and a loop design
temperature change. If the inlet temperature and supply temperatures are unknown, a default
supply temperature of 60°C (140°F), with a temperature difference of 47°C (85°F), is
recommended. The domestic hot water load is calculated based on the occupancy type and

79
a specific load per occupant. Any data entered in the Process/DHW Loads tab of the
Circulation Loop Properties dialogue box will be used when performing a “non-compliance”
simulation; however, this information is overridden when performing a compliance run
calculation.

8.2.2 Domestic water heating equipment

When defining a domestic hot water device, first select the fuel type (gas, electric, heat
pump) on the Basic Specifications tab of the Domestic Water Heater Properties dialogue
box, as illustrated in Figure 8-5 – Domestic Water Heater Properties

Figure 8-5 – Domestic Water Heater Properties

Select the appropriate curve for the boiler type as well. Due to insufficient documentation on
other water heaters, there is currently only one National Energy Code of Canada for
Buildings (NECB) 2011 (NECB 2011)-specific curve for a fuel DHW heater, which is for an
atmospheric water heater. You can enter specific performance curves for your hot water
heater, but it will be compared to a gas-fired atmospheric water heater (see NECB 2011
Table 8.4.4.22.G for the characteristics of the reference fuel-fired water heater).

The following is a list of common domestic hot water heating devices (modelling methods will
be described later):

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  tanks
 dedicated boilers
 tankless heaters
 coil within space heating boiler (indirect water heating)
 ground-source heat pump (GSHP) coil or direct-fed GSHP
 air-source heat pump

In some cases, a building may have small electric storage or instantaneous heaters serving
small loads or meeting a service hot water need for one area. These water heaters can be
grouped together with the central water heater.

You can define a heat loss coefficient (UA) for the heater. The heat loss is calculated by
using this UA value multiplied by the temperature difference between the water in the heater
and the environmental temperature. Tank UA should include conductive losses through the
tank skin, as well as steady-state losses during times the burner is not firing. The default is
calculated by the following methods:

For GAS heaters, the default is TANK-VOLUME (in U.S. gallons) times 0.3 Btu/hr-gal-F or
TANK-VOLUME (in litres) times 0.042 W/litre-K.

For ELEC heaters and HEAT-PUMPs, the default is TANK-VOLUME (in U.S. gallons) times
0.1 Btu/hr-gal-F or TANK-VOLUME (in litres) times 0.014 W/litre-K. The factor 0.014 is 1/3
the default loss of a gas heater.

This entry is currently code compliance-neutral because the reference building will assume
the same UA for the heater and the loop. If the proposed values are less than those required
under the prescriptive requirements of the NECB 2011 (U = 0.45 W/(m2·K) in Article 6.2.2.2.),
a separate model may be required to determine the energy savings related to reduced heat
loss through the hot water tank.
8.2.2.1 Storage tank type heating systems
Storage tank water heaters are hot water reservoirs, similar to conventional residential water
heaters, with integral electric heating elements or a fuel-fired burner. The energy efficiency of
these heaters is most often expressed in terms of Energy Factor. Energy Factor accounts
for combustion efficiency as well as tank and flue heat losses. The Energy Factor should not
be used in CAN-QUEST. Instead, use the combustion or thermal efficiency expressed as a
Heat Input Ratio (HIR). The HIR is 1/thermal efficiency (if the thermal efficiency is unknown,
it can be calculated by dividing the water heater output by the fuel input). If the Energy
Factor is the only rating condition available for the water heater, enter it as the thermal
efficiency for the HIR derivation and accept a thermal performance penalty.

This type of service hot water system is modelled by selecting the fuel type on the Basic
Specifications tab of the Domestic Water Heater Properties dialogue box. This type
requires the definition of total Tank Volume and Capacity (if there is more than one tank,
sum the volume and capacity of all tanks), and the Heat Input Ratio (use a capacity-
weighted HIR if tank efficiency varies). You can also model each tank separately and apply
an equipment control if the sequence of each piece of equipment is known (see Section
8.1.7).

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Multiple water heaters of different fuel types, volumes and efficiencies can be added to the
same loop, provided they are actually on the same loop. If the water heaters are on different
loops, create two separate DHW loops. This is common in multi-unit residential buildings with
suites on one domestic water heater loop, such as a boiler, and a separate domestic hot
water loop serving the non-suite spaces, such as a recreation room with a kitchen or
fitness/gym/pool area with separate showers.

This is shown in Figure 8-6 – Multiple DHW loops and multiple DHW heaters, where a multi-
unit residential building also contains a ground floor fitness centre and a ground floor
restaurant. These are on separate dedicated domestic hot water loops for billing purposes.
Create each loop, following the same method as previously described, then create a
duplicate copy of the existing water heater, enter its characteristics and assign it to the
appropriate loop. You will also need to ensure that the thermal zones, occupancy, schedules
and usage are modified to correspond to the new loop and water heater.

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Figure 8-6 – Multiple DHW loops and multiple DHW heaters

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8.2.2.2 Dedicated boiler
As the name implies, the DHW (referred to as Service Hot Water [SHW] in the NECB 2011)
heating type corresponds to one or more dedicated boilers for domestic hot water (DHW)
heating that are separate from the main central space heating plant. This system type
requires the same inputs as required in Section 8.2.2.1. For a non-condensing water heater
boiler, use the “NECB-DW-HIR-fPLR” curve. You can select this curve from the CAN-QUEST
library, under the “Gas DHW-Heater” category. This curve can be used for oil, propane and
natural gas. If the hot water boiler is a condensing boiler, use the “NECB-HW-COND-HIR-
fPLR" curve found in the CAN-QUEST library under the “Fuel Boilers” category. Performance
curves are input on the Performance Curves tab of the Domestic Water Heater Properties
dialogue box and the f(part load ratio) HIR should be chosen from the drop-down menu. If
the performance curve you are looking for is not available in the drop-down list, select -
library - to add a curve to the model from the library.
8.2.2.3 Tankless heater
Tankless or on-demand heaters have no water storage capacity but heat the SHW on an
as-needed basis. These heaters reduce the standing losses typically associated with
storage-type heaters. As CAN-QUEST models stand-by losses equally in both the reference
and proposed models, there is no energy-saving advantage from modelling tankless heaters
over other heater types. For tankless heaters, select the fuel type and allow the hot water
feature to autosize the Tank Volume and Capacity (“restore to default” in these two input
boxes by right-clicking, and selecting Restore Default). This will mimic the operation of a
tankless water heater and will ensure that the proposed design does not receive a penalty for
an oversized DHW system.
8.2.2.4 Coil within space-heating boiler
In this SHW type, the service hot water is provided via a heat exchanger on the common
space-heating/water-heating boiler. With CAN-QUEST, you will need to define a domestic hot
water element that has the same efficiency and performance curve as the model’s boiler.
Allow the program to autosize the volume and capacity as described in Section 8.2.2.3.
8.2.2.5 SHW heating with an air-source heat pump
In this type of system, one or more air-source heat pumps are coupled with one or more
water storage tanks to provide the SHW. The heat pump Capacity, Tank Volume and
Electric Input Ratio (EIR = 1/COP) fields must be entered for this piece of equipment. If the
water heater is a water- or ground-source heat pump, it is recommended that you enter it as
an air-source heat pump and accept the loss in performance, as the efficiency to ambient air
temperature would perform more poorly than the efficiency to ground water temperature. The
same applies to exhaust air-source heat pumps. In each of these cases, if you define the
specific performance curves (as required by CAN-QUEST), the loss in performance can be
reduced.
8.2.2.6 Solar water heating
Solar domestic hot water heating systems cannot be modelled in CAN-QUEST. For these
systems, contact the authority having jurisdiction for guidance on acceptable modelling
programs or methods based on the proposed installation.

8.2.3 Attachments
The most common attachments to domestic hot water loops are additional pumps (i.e. in
addition to the DHW loop pump). These pumps provide hot water to additional zones from

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the central loop (e.g. some suites in multi-unit residential buildings). In this case, enter the
pump head as well as minimum and maximum flows.

8.2.4 Auxiliaries
Auxiliaries include any additional electrical equipment connected to the domestic hot water
loop. An example would be an electrical booster heater for a dishwasher or clothes washer to
increase the temperature of the service water. In this case, enter the maximum peak power
(kW), the mode of operation (e.g. always on, scheduled operation, when on [auxiliary is on
when hot water heater is on], when off [auxiliary is on when hot water heater is off]), and the
meter to which the auxiliary energy consumption will be assigned.

8.3 Boilers

Boiler characteristics are entered in the Boiler Properties dialogue box, Basic
Specifications tab. The boiler is defined by entering the fuel type, output capacity, boiler
type (atmospheric, modulating or condensing), turn-down ratio and efficiency (Heat Input
Ratio = 1/thermal efficiency). The entered value should be the peak steady-state rated
efficiency rather than the annual fuel utilization efficiency, which is an indication of the
average seasonal efficiency. An example of the dialogue box is shown in Figure 8-7 – Boiler
Properties.

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Figure 8-7 – Boiler Properties

8.3.1 Multiple boilers

Multiple central boilers are often installed to provide better part-load performance or back-up
capacity in case of equipment failure or maintenance. Boilers that are used strictly for back-
up, that is, switched off and manually switched on to operate, should be ignored. In all other
cases (lead/lag boilers, load/peaking boilers), enter all boilers. CAN-QUEST allows multiple
boilers with different energy sources, capacities and efficiencies to be modelled on one loop.
There are equipment controls that can be built up to stage multiple boilers according to the
design sequences as discussed in Section 8.1.7.

Note that where multiple energy types are used, NECB 2011 Sentence 8.4.4.10.(5) will apply
to the reference building. Because only one fuel meter can be used in CAN-QUEST, only a
combination of electric and one combustion energy source can be used. Where the building
uses boilers of multiple combustion fuels (e.g. natural gas and oil-fired equipment), it is
recommended that all fuel types be modelled as being the same as that of the fuel type of the
equipment with the largest capacity, and modelled on the same meter.

8.3.2 Multi-stage/modulating boilers

Boilers with multi-stage or fully modulating firing capability allow improved part-load efficiency
performance and are credited in CAN-QUEST. If a boiler is multi-stage, create a boiler for

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each stage by dividing the capacity by the number of stages and set the minimum ratio to
1.0.

Fully modulating non-condensing boilers can be modelled directly in CAN-QUEST by

selecting the “NECB-HW-MOD-HIR-fPLR” performance curve from the drop-down menu or
curve library under the Performance Curves tab in the Boiler Properties dialogue box. To
model a fully modulating condensing boiler, use the condensing boiler curve in Section 8.3.3
and use a minimum ratio of 0.1. If the “NECB-HW-MOD-HIR-fPLR” performance curve is not
available in the drop-down list, select - library - to add the curve to the model from the
library. This will open a Curve Fit Library Selection dialogue box. Select “Fuel Boilers” from
the Category drop down menu, and then “NECB-HW-MOD-HIR-fPLR” from the Entry drop
down menu.

8.3.3 Condensing boilers

Boilers with rated thermal efficiencies over 88% are considered condensing or “high-
efficiency” boilers. Note that high operating efficiencies can be achieved only when the return
water temperature is sufficiently low for condensation of flue gas to occur, typically less than
54.4°C (130°F). In some heating systems, these low temperatures only occur during part-
load periods in the shoulder seasons or if the boiler is used for domestic hot water heating.
Low temperature heating systems, such as radiant in-floor heating or boilers used to maintain
a heat pump loop temperature, may achieve the highest operating efficiencies at all times.

To model a condensing boiler, select the NECB-HW-COND-HIR-fPLR “f(part load ratio)”

curve on the Performance Curves tab. If the “NECB-HW-COND-HIR-fPLR” performance
curve is not available in the drop-down list, select - library - to add the curve to the model
from the library. This curve should only be used when the return water temperature is always
below 54.4°C (130°F). If the return water temperature is above 54.4°C (130°F), then the
boiler should be modelled as a modulating boiler.

8.3.4 Boiler return water temperature and outdoor air reset

Lowering the boiler return water temperature increases the boiler efficiency, as more heat
can be recovered from the flue gases. The efficiency of the boiler is based on the return
water temperature to the boiler over the heating season. In some cases, a design will employ
an outdoor-air reset strategy to adjust the supply water temperature to meet building heating
loads. There may be times during the peak heating season when the return water
temperature exceeds the condensing temperature threshold, which would result in a certain
number of hours each year when the boiler is not operating as a condensing boiler but allows
for condensing operation the remainder of the year. In this case, an outdoor-air reset
schedule must be selected on the Controls tab of the hot water Circulation Loop
Properties dialogue box. An outdoor air reset schedule of type Reset Temp should be
created before this step. Section 4.1.1 describes the creation of schedules in CAN-QUEST.
For a reset schedule you will need to define an outdoor high and outdoor low temperature
along with corresponding supply high and low temperatures. The supply high temperature will
correspond to the outdoor low temperature. You will also need to use the default condensing
boiler curve (CondBlr-HIR-fPLR&HWR), as it is a function of the return water temperature. If,
for whatever reason, you require the return water temperature, this may be obtained by
entering a value for the supply temperature and running an hourly report on the return water
temperature of the hot water loop.

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8.3.4.1 Boiler hot water pump
The hot water distribution/circulation pump should be defined as part of the hot water loop
and not entered as part of the boiler. This pump usually refers to a dedicated boiler pump.

8.3.4.2 Miscellaneous
This includes electrical power for boiler auxiliaries such as water treatment equipment,
powered exhaust devices, flue heat recovery pumps and fans, and boiler control panels. If
these exist, enter the average power and the operating conditions (scheduled, always on, on
when boiler is on, and on when boiler is off).

8.4 Chillers

Chiller characteristics are entered in the Chiller Properties, Basic Specifications tab. The
chiller is defined by entering the Type, Equipment Capacity and Equipment Efficiency at
“design” or “rated” operating conditions. The efficiency is entered as an electric input ratio
(EIR) which is 1/COP. The inputs for the chiller are defined in Figure 8-8 – Chiller Properties.

Figure 8-8 – Chiller Properties

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Define the chiller, condenser (heat rejection), loop attachments (chiller to chilled water loop,
condenser to chiller, chiller to heat recovery loop) and miscellaneous electrical power for the
chiller (control panels, water treatment equipment, expansion tank pumps, freeze protection).

Prior to defining the chillers, the chilled water loop must be created such that the chiller can
deliver the chilled water to the thermal zones and the condenser. The chilled water loop input
screen is identical to the hot water loop input screen described in Section 8.1, but pertains to
the chilled water distribution loop. Figure 8-9 – Chilled Water Loop illustrates the chilled
water loop input tabs, which are identical to the hot water input tabs but refer to the chilled
water loop.

Figure 8-9 – Chilled Water Loop Properties

In addition to defining the chilled water loop, you must also create the loop circulation pump
(CHW Loop Pump in Figure 8-9 – Chilled Water Loop Properties). This is the pump that
delivers and recirculates the chilled water from either the chiller, condenser (heat rejection),
water-side economizer, or building recirculation. Figure 8-10 – Chilled water pump inputs
identifies the pump input requirements.

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Figure 8-10 – Chilled water pump inputs

8.4.1 Electric chillers

There are a number of electric chiller types available in CAN-QUEST. The available chillers
are summarized below.

All electric chillers must be cooled (condenser) by either a fan (air-cooled) or a cooling tower,
which is selected in the Condenser tab of the Chiller Properties dialogue box. If Water
Cooled is selected, a heat rejection device and loop must be defined. If chiller heat recovery
is available, see Section 8.4.4 for details.

If the design incorporates seasonal cooling (i.e. chillers are only activated during summer
months, and the building relies on economizer cooling during other parts of the cooling
season), this can be accommodated by creating a scheduled load management sequence,
as discussed in Section 8.1.7.

Electric chiller types

 Elec Open Centrifugal: open centrifugal chiller powered by an external electric

motor. The motor may be either constant-speed or variable-speed.

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 Elec Open Reciprocating: open reciprocating chiller powered by an external electric
motor. The program assumes two independent refrigerant circuits; you may specify
the number of compressors in each circuit.

 Elec Hermetic Centrifugal: hermetic centrifugal chiller powered by an internal

electric motor. The motor may be either constant-speed or variable-speed. CAN-
QUEST provides NECB 2011 performance curves for both water-cooled and air-
cooled condensers from the library under the “Chiller” category.

 Elec Hermetic Reciprocating: hermetic reciprocating chiller powered by an internal

electric motor. The program assumes two independent refrigerant circuits; you may
specify the number of compressors in each circuit.

 Electric Screw: hermetic screw chiller powered by an internal electric motor. The
default part-load performance curves assume two independent refrigerant circuits;
you may specify the number of compressors in each circuit.

 Electric Scroll: This chiller type is not available in the Type drop-down menu. If the
design calls for a scroll chiller, the chiller type selected is Electric Screw, and you will
select the appropriate scroll performance curves from the library under the “Chiller”
category.

 Elec Heat Recovery: centrifugal chiller, powered by an internal electric motor,

designed for heat recovery. This chiller rejects heat at a higher temperature than a
conventional chiller (40.6°C [105°F] instead of 35°C [95°F]), and may have two
condensers: one for heat recovery and one for heat rejection (double-bundle). There
is usually an energy penalty associated with this chiller, even when it is not recovering
heat because the chiller's impeller has a higher design lift.

CAN-QUEST includes generic performance data for a water-cooled condenser. There

are no NECB 2011 performance curves available for this type of chiller; therefore,
default curves should be used. More details on how to model chiller heat recovery can
be found in Section 8.4.4.

 Heat Pump: an air-to-water heat pump or well-water-to-water heat pump. This chiller
serves a two-pipe circulation loop and delivers either hot or chilled water as required
by the loop.

If Condenser Type is Air Cooled, the chiller has an air-cooled condenser. In the
cooling mode, the chiller rejects heat via this condenser, the same as an ordinary
chiller. In the heating mode, this same heat exchanger absorbs heat from the air.

If Condenser Type is Water Cooled, the chiller has a water-cooled condenser that
must be coupled to a LAKE/WELL circulation loop, from or to which it either absorbs
or rejects heat.

CAN-QUEST includes generic performance data for a water-cooled condenser. There

are no NECB 2011 performance curves available for this type of chiller; therefore, the
default curves should be used.

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 Heat pumps are described in more detail in Section 8.7.

 Loop-to-Loop Heat Pump: a chiller that cools a chilled water circulation loop and
simultaneously heats a hot water loop. It is also coupled to a LAKE/WELL circulation
loop that provides the necessary heat balance.

CAN-QUEST includes generic performance data for a water-cooled condenser. There

are no NECB 2011 performance curves available for this type of chiller; therefore the
default curves should be used.

Heat pumps are described in more detail in Section 8.7.

 CAN-QUEST provides NECB 2011 performance curves for both water-cooled and
air-cooled condensers for all of the electric chiller types described above, with the
exception of the heat recovery, heat pump and loop-to-loop heat pump type chillers.
These can be found in the library under the “Chiller” category.

Gas-fired/absorption chiller types

 1-Stage Absorption: one-stage absorption chiller with a water-cooled condenser;

may be powered by hot water or steam

 2-Stage Absorption: two-stage absorption chiller with a water-cooled condenser;

may be powered by high temperature and pressure hot water or steam (although
CAN-QUEST does not specifically model steam loops)

 Gas Absorption: direct, gas-fired, two-stage absorption chiller that can also operate
as a hot water generator. This chiller has a water-cooled condenser.

 Engine Driven: gas-fired, engine-driven, variable-speed chiller with a water-cooled

condenser

Thermal driven chillers (solar, waste heat, steam, cogeneration heat rejection) are currently
not supported in CAN-QUEST. To simulate performance, they should be modelled as one-
stage or two-stage absorption chillers. One- and two-stage absorption chillers are boiler
powered. If the design drives a chiller through waste heat (from another source), create a
new, unique meter to track the electrical or fuel usage of this chiller separately (see Figure
8-8 – Chiller Properties for chiller meter inputs). This will provide the total energy for the
waste heat, to which you can separately assign a dollar value.

If the thermal chiller is a combination of absorption, direct-fired and thermal (solar thermal),
you can identify multiple chillers on the same chilled water loop and use Load Management
to assign the operational and sequencing priorities. This is shown in Figure 8-11 – Multiple
different chillers on a single chilled water loop.

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Figure 8-11 – Multiple different chillers on a single chilled water loop

For the three chillers identified in Figure 8-11, the sequence of their operation needs to be
defined for the chilled water loop. This is done through the Equipment Controls button of
the Circulation Loop Properties, Controls tab. Figure 8-12 – Equipment control sequence
for multiple chillers shows a potential chiller operation sequence for the three chillers.

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Figure 8-12 – Equipment control sequence for multiple chillers

The Load Range 1 tab is not shown, but it assumes that the solar thermal source operates
first to drive the chiller until its capacity (37 kW or 125 kBTU/hr) is reached; the boiler-driven
absorption chiller operates to meet the remaining load. However, if the cooling load exceeds
2,710 kW (9,375 kBTU/hr, maximum output of the solar- and boiler-driven absoprtion chiller),
the direct gas-fired chiller is activated to meet the cooling load until the cooling load reaches
4,836 kW (16,500 kBTU/hr) (shown in Figure 8-12 – Equipment control sequence for multiple
chillers). When the cooling load exceeds 4,836 kW (16,500 kBTU/hr), a different sequence of
chiller operations and loading can be defined.

8.4.2 Variable-speed drive chillers

CAN-QUEST has the option of modelling variable-speed drive (VSD) chillers. For centrifugal
chillers, select Yes or No to indicate whether the chiller utilizes a VSD. If Yes, CAN-QUEST
will select a different default EIR-fPLR performance curve from the library to model part-load
performance.

For the hermetic centrifugal chiller only (ELEC-HERM-CENT), two additional code words are
available to model small frictionless compressors. Selecting either of these will modify the full
load ELEC-INPUT-RATIO and the capacity and EIR performance curves:

 Sml-Frictionless-Water-3F: specifies a frictionless compressor with a water-cooled

condenser. Both the evaporator and condenser are sized for a 1.67°C (3°F)

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 temperature difference. Use this selection for a new chiller. Either a single-
compressor or dual-compressor chiller may be modelled by specifying
COMPRESSORS/CKT = ONE or TWO; a different default EIR-fPLR curve will be
selected accordingly.

 Sml-Frictionless-Water-10F: specifies a frictionless compressor with a water-cooled

condenser. Both the evaporator and condenser are sized for a 5.5°C (10°F)
temperature difference. Use this selection for a retrofit to an existing reciprocating
chiller. Either a single-compressor or dual-compressor chiller may be modelled by
specifying COMPRESSORS/CKT = ONE or TWO; a different default EIR-fPLR curve
will be selected accordingly.

Part-load capacity reduction in a variable-speed centrifugal chiller utilizes a combination of

impeller speed and inlet vanes. To maximize the part-load efficiency of a variable-speed
centrifugal chiller, some form of condenser temperature relief must be employed at part-load
to reduce the temperature (and pressure) differential across the chiller. Otherwise, the
performance of a variable-speed chiller may not be significantly different from that of a
constant-speed chiller. This is because the pressure rise across the impeller is proportional to
the square of the impeller’s speed. If the condenser temperature never drops below the
design value, the pressure differential between the evaporator and condenser will remain
almost constant, no significant impeller speed reduction will be possible, and most of the
capacity reduction will be accomplished via the inlet vanes.

8.4.3 Multiple compressors

For a hermetic centrifugal chiller with a small frictionless compressor (CHILLER:
VARIABLE-SPEED = Sml-Frictionless-Water-3F, or Sml-Frictionless-Water-10F), you can
select the values One or Two to indicate whether the chiller has a single compressor or two
compressors sharing a common evaporator and condenser. A two-compressor machine has
better part-load performance and can also unload further than a single-compressor chiller.

For electric chillers other than centrifugal, you can select the values One, Two, Three or
Four, indicating the number of compressors on each circuit. Based on the number of
compressors per circuit, the program will select a typical default EIR-fPLR performance curve
from the library to model part-load performance; this selection has no other effect.

The default performance curves are based on chillers having two independent refrigerant
circuits and up to four compressors per circuit. Not all chiller types have curves for three or
four compressors. If you specify more compressors than those that exist in the performance
curves for that chiller type, CAN-QUEST will select the curve representing the maximum
number of compressors for which a curve exists.

Having more compressors does not always result in better part-load performance. Actual
performance depends on other variables, such as the chiller configuration, the staging order
of compressors, the use of cylinder unloaders or slide valves, or the type of expansion
valves.

8.4.4 Chiller heat recovery

Chiller heat recovery is possible for every type of electric chiller. The Elec Heat Recovery
chiller has performance curves that are best suited for the large temperature differences
between the chilled water supply and condenser temperatures. Heat recovery can only be

95
used on one loop at a time, either connected to the hot water loop or connected to the
domestic hot water loop. To recover heat from the chiller, it is important to ensure that the
Max Recovery T (maximum recovery temperature) on the chiller’s Loop Attachments tab is
greater than the return water temperature of the loop into which the recovered heat is
injected.

8.5 Heat rejection

A cooling tower must be defined if a water-cooled chiller is specified in Chiller Properties or

if the building uses a cooling tower to reject heat from a central heat pump loop. With
CAN-QUEST, you have the choice of modelling an open tower, an open tower with a heat
exchanger, a fluid cooler, or a dry cooler.

In the Heat Rejection Properties dialogue box (accessed by double clicking on the cooling
tower icon in the building tree), Basic Specifications tab, enter equipment capacity, number
of cells, fan control and fan efficiency (either as an Elec Input Ratio or Fan kW/cell), as
shown in Figure 8-13 – Heat Rejection .

Figure 8-13 – Heat Rejection Properties

The Num of Cells is the total number of independently controlled cells in the heat rejection
device. If this information is not entered, CAN-QUEST will determine the number of cells

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required based on a maximum load of 4.40 kW (15 kBTU/hr) per cell for a cooling tower, 2.34
MW (8 MBTU/hr) per cell for fluid coolers, and 35.2 kW (120 kBTU/hr) per cell for dry coolers.
The Capacity Ratio (capacity per cell) is then the heat rejection Total Cap divided by Num
of Cells.

The Elec Input Ratio (ELEC-INPUT-RATIO) is the ratio of electric input to nominal capacity
for the cell fan expressed as fan electric power divided by cell capacity. Here “cell capacity” is
the heat rejection capacity of the cell and “fan electric power" and "cell capacity" are
expressed in the same units. CAN-QUEST ignores ELEC-INPUT-RATIO if FAN-KW/CELL is
specified. The default ELEC-INPUT-RATIO for open towers is 0.0105, which corresponds to
approximately 0.0030 kW/L/min (0.0154 hp/gal/min) at Cooling Tower Institute (CTI) rating
conditions. For a fluid cooler, the default EIR is substantially higher, 0.054, which is
representative of a fluid cooler that has a centrifugal fan. To model an axial fan, cut the EIR
value in half.

NECB 2011 cooling tower fan power is equal to 0.015 multiplied by the cell’s capacity in kW.
This value should be used where a number for actual fan power is not available.

Be sure to select a Cell Control from the drop-down menu Cell Ctrl. Selecting Minimum
Cells (MIN-CELLS) indicates that only the actual number of cells needed will be used. The
program will attempt to use as few cells as possible to cool the fluid. All other cells will be
shut down with no water flow. If the component is regulating to a fixed set point, the flow
capacity per cell will increase as the dry-bulb or wet-bulb temperature drops. In no case,
however, will the flow per cell be allowed to exceed the Cell Max Flow (MAX-FLOW/CELL).
Choosing Maximum Cells (MAX-CELLS) indicates that as many cells as possible will be
turned on. In no case, however, will the flow per cell be allowed to drop below the Cell Min
Flow (MIN-FLOW/CELL) unless the circulation loop flow is so low that only one cell can
operate. Using Maximum Cells will enhance the energy savings associated with two-speed
or variable-speed fans, and is considered a design best practice.

Select the appropriate capacity control (Cap Ctrl:) for the fans under Fan Control:

One-Speed Fan (ONE-SPEED-FAN) creates a fan that cycles on and off to maintain
the tower set point. The program assumes that the fan can cycle as often as required to
maintain the set point. In practice, fan cycling is usually limited to no more than four to
eight cycles per hour to protect the motor against burnout. This can cause wide
fluctuations in the condenser loop temperature, which CAN-QUEST does not model.
This has no ramifications for the model.

Fluid Bypass (FLUID-BYPASS) results in a three-way valve that bypasses water

around the heat rejection device. The valve modulates to maintain the exit set point.
The fan runs continuously during all hours that a heat rejection load exists.

Discharge Damper (DISCHARGE-DAMPER) modulates the fan air flow and rejection
capacity. Power consumption is approximately linear to 50% air flow, but then flattens
out and remains relatively constant at lower air flows. The program calculates power
consumption at reduced air flows by using the FAN-KW-FDAMPER curve.

Two-Speed Fan (TWO-SPEED-FAN) cycles between off, low speed and high speed to
maintain the fluid set point.

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 Variable-Speed Fan (VARIABLE-SPEED-FAN) modulates air flow so the rejection
capacity exactly matches the load at the desired set point. This keyword simulates both
variable-speed drives and variable-pitch fans. Power consumption at reduced air flows
is calculated by using the FAN-KW-FSPEED curve.

For CAN-QUEST NECB v1.0, use default performance curves because the NECB 2011
curves have not been implemented in the reference building generation.

The Miscellaneous tab of the Heat Rejection Properties dialogue box contains the inputs
for freeze protection for the cooling tower, as indicated in Figure 8-14 – Cooling tower freeze
protection.

Figure 8-14 – Cooling tower freeze protection

8.6 District heating and cooling

Buildings in dense urban areas or buildings on a university or hospital campus are often
heated and/or cooled by a district heating/cooling system. In these cases, the primary source
of heating or cooling is a large plant that serves several buildings in addition to the one being
modelled. One form of district heating is a cogeneration plant, where hot water/steam is a by-
product of electrical generation. For NECB 2011 compliance purposes, district

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heating/cooling and cogeneration systems are to be modelled as purchased heating or
cooling.

Purchased heating/cooling is also the option to be selected for any form of heating or cooling
that is delivered to the building by a third party that charges for that commodity, such as a
utility.

For example, a building on a deep lake cooling system designed to serve many buildings
would be considered to use purchased cooling because it uses purchased chilled water.
However, a building with its own lake/pond water-cooling system (within the building
envelope), such as a water-source heat pump, would be considered to use high efficiency
cooling.

Similarly, if a building uses purchased waste steam from a hydro, industrial or cogeneration
plant, it would be considered to be purchased heating unless the building owns the hydro,
industrial, or cogeneration plant. If the building owns its own cogeneration plant that is
installed on-site (within the building envelope), its heat would no longer be considered
purchased heating, but from a boiler plant.

In the university and hospital campus case, the building and the heating/cooling source
provider may be the same. If this is the case, you have the choice of modelling purchased
heating/cooling or entering the central plant specifications (see Sections 8.6.1 and 8.6.3).

8.6.1 District/purchased heating

Where purchased energy is used for heating, check the purchased heating box on the
Compliance tab of the Hot Water Loop Properties dialogue box. This will create a Steam
Meter, which will report the heating energy consumption in British thermal units.

8.6.2 Heating from both building boiler and central heating plant
Purchased heating cannot be selected when a combination boiler plant with a district heating
system serving the same zones and air handlers is in place.

If a combination boiler/district heating plant exists, an equipment control can be created as

per the design sequence of operations. Refer to Section 8.1.7 for an explanation on how to
set up an equipment control. For example, an 85% efficient 200-kW capacity boiler that
provides base heating, while peak heating is provided by a district heating plant loop, would
be considered a combination boiler/district heating plant. In this example, you would need to
create two boilers, one matching the building boiler and the other an electric boiler that
mimics the purchased heating boiler (see NECB 2011 Article 8.4.4.7. Purchased Energy).

In the combination building boiler and central heat plant example, the option to switch which
boiler is operational based on energy prices is not available. The only options available in
CAN-QUEST are based on the loads, and the management controls are based on scheduled
switchover, outside air temperature switchover, zone temperature switchover or primary
circulation loop heating load switchover.

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8.6.3 District/purchased cooling
Where purchased energy is used for cooling, check the purchased cooling box on the
Compliance tab of the Chilled Water Loop Properties dialogue box. This will create a
Chilled Water Meter, which will report the cooling energy in British thermal units.

8.6.4 Cooling from both building chiller and central chiller plant
If a combination chiller/district heating plant exists, an equipment control can be created as
per the design sequence of operations. Refer to Section 8.1.7 for an explanation on how to
set up an equipment control. In the case of a combination chiller/district heating plant, create
a chiller as defined in the design and set up a chiller water meter to represent the purchased
cooling portion. To set up a chilled water meter, right click on the Project icon at the top of
the building tree under the Water-Side HVAC feature and select Create Chilled Water
Meter.

8.7 Heat pumps

Two heat pump types can be modelled as plant equipment in CAN-QUEST: ground-source
(includes well/lake water) or boiler/cooling tower-source. These systems are discussed briefly
below. See Sections 9 and 10 for more information on heat pumps and modelling heat pump
systems.

Ground- and boiler/tower-source heat pumps receive hot or chilled water from a central
source (boiler, chiller, cooling tower, ground loop, well/lake water loop). The central source is
defined in the CAN-QUEST heating plant under the Water-Side HVAC feature, whereas the
air tempering at the specific zones is defined at the system and zone level by the size and air
flow of the air source heat pumps.

The Water Loop HP is the only centrally located heat pump that is available when creating a
Circulation Loop, regardless of whether the heat pump is fed by ground loop or
boiler/cooling tower.

8.7.1 Ground-source (or geothermal) heat pumps

A ground-source heat pump plant consists of either centralized or distributed heat pumps that
reject heat to, or accept heat from, the ground via a “ground loop” or a “water loop” (from a
well/lake). Both loop types can be defined as using ground water directly (open loop) or
indirectly by using in-ground heat exchangers (closed loop).

Central ground-source heat pumps heat a water loop that then distributes the heat to fan
coils/radiant panels and other heaters in the zones. These are defined under the Water-Side
HVAC feature (see Section 0 for details).

Ground-loop distributed heat pumps, as the name implies, use heat pumps distributed
throughout the building and a central makeup air system for ventilation only. The heat pumps
are water to air. To model this type of system, Water Loop HP is typically selected as the
system type on the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters Properties dialogue box, Basics tab.
System types PSZ, PVAVS or PVVT can be used if the Condenser Type selected is “water-
cooled” on the Condenser tab and the WL/GS Ht Pump is input as Yes. The heat pump
loop is attached to the system by choosing the water loop as the CW Loop on the cooling

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Condenser tab. Refer to chapters 9 and 10 for further information on modelling the air-side
system.

The previous text describes distributed heat pump systems that have small heat pumps
distributed in the zones that absorb or reject heat to or from a common hydronic loop. To
model a ground-loop distributed heat pump, create a circulation loop of type Water Loop HP.
The ground loop is added by creating a Ground-Loop Heat Exchanger by right-clicking on
the Project icon at the top of the building tree when in the Water-Side HVAC feature. The
following types of heat exchangers can be modelled:

 Vertical Well Field: one or more vertical wells in a field of wells

 Vertical Wells – Sweden G-Functions: one or more vertical wells in a field of wells.
This modelling approach is based on the G-function method developed by
researchers in Sweden and utilized in the Earth Energy Designer borehole heat
exchanger design software package.

 Horiz. Straight Loop: one or more horizontal trenches with straight tubes

 Horiz. Slinky Loop: one or more horizontal trenches with slinky tubing

 Lake/Well: The loop return temperature is set equal to the temperature given by the
temperature schedule (LOOP-TEMP-SCH), if specified. If LOOP-TEMP-SCH is not
specified, the monthly ground temperature from the weather file is used. This option
allows you to model water-wells, lakes and rivers, where the temperature of these
sources is driven by factors other than the loop thermal demands. Because the supply
temperature is fixed by the schedule, all keywords pertaining to the ground field
definition are ignored.

Note: A ground-loop heat exchanger (GROUND-LOOP-HX) of type LAKE/WELL can be

attached to circulation loops of type WLHP, CW (condenser water) or LAKE/WELL. This
allows chillers or other water-cooled components to be attached to heat sinks such as a lake,
well or river, rather than a cooling tower or outside air.

If a vertical well field is part of the system design, choose Vertical Wells – Sweden
G-Functions. CAN-QUEST has default values for this type of well field and will populate the
field property inputs with this data. If the field properties are unknown, this saves you time
determining appropriate inputs.

Because CAN-QUEST does not have default values for the well field properties for other
types of heat exchangers, the properties must be input. If the data are available, the inputs
should match the field design.

Choose the well Configuration that most closely matches the design from the following
options:

 SINGLE-WELL: a single well; may be used with one or several heat pumps of
relatively low capacity. Note that other heat pumps may be attached to other loops
and other GROUND-LOOP-HXs.

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  LINE-2: two wells in a line

 LINE-3: three wells in a line

 LINE-4: four wells in a line

 LINE-6: six wells in a line

 LINE-8: eight wells in a line

 LINE-10: ten wells in a line

 TRIANGLE-3: three wells arranged in a triangle

 SQUARE-2X2: four wells arranged in a square

 RECTANGLE-3X2: six wells in a 3x2 grid

 SQUARE-3X3: nine wells in a 3x3 grid

 RECTANGLE-5X3: 15 wells in a 5x3 grid

 SQUARE-4X4: 16 wells in a 4x4 grid

 RECTANGLE-4X3: 12 wells in a 4x3 grid

 RECTANGLE-6X2: 12 wells in a 6x2 grid

 RECTANGLE-8X2: 16 wells in an 8x2 grid

 RECTANGLE-10X2: 20 wells in a 10x2 grid

 RECTANGLE-6X3: 18 wells in a 6x3 grid

 RECTANGLE-8X4: 32 wells in an 8x4 grid

The number of identical well fields input is used to define how many of these fields, which
do not interact with each other, exist.

All required inputs on the Ground Properties tab for the Ground-Loop Heat Exchanger
Properties dialogue box will be defaulted by CAN-QUEST. Revision of these inputs is only
required when actual design information is available.

The pump flow control method and pump head information on the Attachments tab must be
entered manually. See Section 8.8 for information on calculating pump head and efficiency.
Pump power cannot be directly input for this type of pump; however, pump power resulting
from these inputs can be viewed in the PV-A report in the .sim file (in the menu bar go to
Tools and then select View Simulation Output after running a simulation). If the power
shown in the PV-A report is not correct, the pump head must be adjusted to achieve the
design pump power in an iterative process.

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8.7.2 Boiler/cooling tower-source heat pumps
This heat pump system may also be referred to as a “water-loop heat pump” or “distributed
heat pump” system. In these systems, a low-temperature water loop runs throughout the
building. Heat pumps located in individual building zones reject heat to or extract heat from
the central loop, as required. When the central loop drops below a specified temperature (i.e.
most zones are extracting heat from the loop), a boiler fires to add heat to the loop. When the
central loop becomes too hot (i.e. most zones are rejecting heat to the loop), water is diverted
to a central cooling tower (or closed circuit fluid cooler) to reduce the loop temperature.

To model this type of system, Water Loop HP is typically selected as the system type.
System types PSZ, PVAVS or PVVT can be used if the Condenser Type selected is “water-
cooled” and the WL/GS Ht Pump selection is Yes. The heat pump loop is attached to the
system by choosing the water loop as the CW Loop on the cooling Condenser tab, under
the Cooling tab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box. Refer to chapters
9 and 10 for further information on modelling the air-side system.

This system requires you to create a loop of type Water Loop HP on the Water-Side HVAC
feature. A boiler and cooling tower are added to the loop and this information must also be
entered as described in sections 8.3 and 8.5.

An interior water loop circulation pump must be added to the WLHP loop. Boiler pumps
modelled directly under the boiler are those dedicated to the boiler-side stream and usually
operate only when the boiler is firing. Similarly, the cooling tower pump on the cooling tower
stream operates only when heat must be rejected. See section 8.8 for more information on
entering pump data.

8.7.3 Air-source heat pumps

Although similarities exist between water-source and ground-source heat pumps, air-source
heat pumps are an entirely different concept and are handled differently in CAN-QUEST.
Air-source heat pumps, which extract heat from outside air, are considered system
equipment rather than plant equipment, and no specific heat pump information is entered in
the Water-Side HVAC feature, Plant Equipment tab. See Section 9.7 for detailed
information on air-source heat pumps.

Centralized ground-source heat pump

This system provides heating and cooling by delivering hot and/or cold water to decentralized
equipment (hydronic coils, fan coils, etc.) along a hydronic loop. Centralized water-water heat
pumps extract energy from a ground-source exchanger when in heating mode and discharge
energy to the exchanger when in cooling mode. Additional heat may be required to meet the
building’s heating demand – usually provided by an auxiliary boiler.

The CAN-QUEST method to model this combination of ground-source heat pump with a
supplemental boiler is to use a Loop-to-Loop Heat Pump type of chiller attached to heating,
cooling and condenser water loops (see Figure 8-15 – Water-source heat pump ). The chiller
actively supplies heating and/or cooling to the two loops. Therefore, a ground-source heat
pump with a boiler combination can be modelled with variable-air-volume, constant-volume,
fan-coil, dual-duct, packaged and built-up air handling systems in addition to makeup air
units.

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Figure 8-15 – Water-source heat pump

Heat pump cooling power ratings, nominal performance characteristics (heating COP and
cooling COP), and pumping characteristics are defined in the Water-Side HVAC feature.

Performance characteristics input are determined according to CAN/CSA-C13256-1:

 The conditions for classifying a water-water ground-source heat pump in heating

mode are:
o The water intake temperature (from ground-source exchanger) is 0°C, and the
water output (heating water) temperature is 40°C.

 The conditions for classifying a water-water ground-source heat pump in cooling

mode are:
o The water intake temperature is 25°C, and the water output (cooled water)
temperature is 12°C.

First create the chilled and hot water loops and their respective distribution pumps. Then
create a Lake/Well type loop. Right click on the Project icon and select Create Circulation
Loop. Choose Circulation Loop Type Lake/Well from the drop down menu. This type of loop
must be used even if the building uses a ground loop rather than a lake/well loop for heat
rejection. A Ground Loop Heat Exchanger with a Lake/Well type loop must then be added.

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If the building uses a lake/well for heat rejection and the actual design entering water
temperatures are known, they can be defined in a Temperature schedule and selected in the
Ground Loop Temperature Schedule drop-down menu under the Basic Specifications
tab of the Ground Loop Heat Exchanger Properties dialogue box. If the building uses a
ground loop or the lake/well temperatures are unknown, it is not necessary to create a
schedule because CAN-QUEST will use the ground temperature data from the weather file.

Enter the pump flow control method and pump head information under the Attachments tab.
For more information on calculating pump head and efficiency, see section 8.8. Since the
pump power cannot be input directly for this type of pump, the pump power resulting from
these inputs can be viewed in the PV-A report in the .sim file (in the menu bar go to Tools
and then select View Simulation Output after running a simulation). If the power shown in
this report is not correct, the pump head must be adjusted, through an iterative process, until
it matches the design pump power.

Once the hot and chilled water distribution loops have been created, the central heat pump
equipment can be added. Create a chiller of type Loop-to-Loop Heat Pump, defining the
chilled, hot and condenser water loops as well as associated pumps. This chiller condenser
water loop can be attached only to a condenser water loop of type Lake/Well. Enter the
cooling capacity of the equipment in the Chiller Properties dialogue box as the Capacity.
The heating capacity is determined by CAN-QUEST based on cooling capacity.

The chiller requires both evaporator and hot-water pumps, which can be connected to the
loop by selecting them on the chiller Loop Attachments tab. These pumps must be able to
operate independently of the chilled-water and hot-water loops. For this reason, the chilled-
water and hot-water loops must have their own pumps, in addition to the chiller pumps. The
evaporator and condenser pumps always operate in a constant-flow mode; variable-flow
operation is not permitted. In this situation, the circulation-loop chilled-water and hot-water
loop pumps may be either constant-flow or variable-flow.

The lake/well-water loop (condenser loop) interfaces with the two heat exchangers. It can be
pumped in the same way as other chillers. In most cases, the lake/well loop will have its own
pump. Occasionally, the chiller can have a condenser pump in addition to, or in lieu of, the
well pump. If the condenser pump is in lieu of a pump directly attached to the lake/well loop, it
will power the loop. Otherwise, it will act only to overcome the head of the chiller’s heat
exchangers.

There are four modes of operation. In all four modes, both the evaporator and hot-water
pumps must run to circulate fluid through the evaporator and condenser.

 Cooling-only: The chiller tracks the demand of the chilled water loop. The heat is
rejected from the hot water loop to the well water loop.

 Heating-only: The chiller acts as a boiler and tracks the demand of the hot water loop.
The heat is made up from the well water loop to the evaporator loop.

 Cooling-dominated: Simultaneous heating and cooling loads exist, with cooling being
the dominant load. Excess heat is rejected from the hot water loop to the well water
loop. The heat exchanger is controlled to maintain the supply temperature of the hot
water loop. Because the temperature returning from the hot water loop and entering

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 the condenser may be substantially higher than in the cooling-only mode, the capacity
and energy efficiency of the chiller are reduced.

 Heating-dominated: Simultaneous heating and cooling loads exist, with heating being
the dominant load. Additional heat from the well water loop is passed through to the
evaporator loop. The heat exchanger is controlled to maintain the supply temperature
of the chilled water loop. Because the temperature leaving the evaporator may be
substantially lower than in the heating-only mode, the capacity and energy efficiency
of the chiller are reduced.

If multiple central heat pumps exist, they should be modelled as individual chillers. This will
enable the plant to meet simultaneous heating and cooling loads and accurately reflect the
operation of the plant.

If a backup boiler is required to meet heating load requirements, it must be added under the
hot water loop.

8.7.4 Boiler operation with combination GSHP

When a boiler operates with a Combination GSHP, CAN-QUEST assumes that the central
GSHP is the first to meet the hourly heating load (even if the boilers are listed as the first
pieces of equipment attached to the loop). The boilers are brought into service and operate
simultaneously with the GSHP to meet any supplemental hourly load beyond the capacity of
the GSHP. In this situation, the boiler is a true backup and operates in parallel with the heat
pump to meet the hourly heating load.

An Equipment Control (see Section 8.1.7 for more information) can be created to control
heating equipment when either the boiler is the initial operator to meet the heating load, or
the GSHP is the initial operator but turns off and the boiler is brought into service to meet the
entire heating load when the hourly heating load exceeds the heating capacity of the GSHP.
This allows you to specify the load range over which each boiler is active as well as define
whether the load is prorated and distributed between the boilers. An Equipment Control
cannot be applied to the GSHP. Therefore, you should match the proposed plant operation
as closely as possible.

8.8 Pumps

Pumps often represent a significant portion of building energy use. Pumps must be entered
for each distribution loop modelled. To add a pump to a loop, right-click on the Project:
“Name” icon at the top of the building tree under the Water-Side HVAC feature and select
Create Pump. Be sure to attach the pump to the appropriate loop by selecting it in the Loop
Pump dropdown in the Basic Specifications tab of the Circulation Loop Properties
dialogue box. CAN-QUEST supports primary and secondary loop pumps.

The pump information required for CAN-QUEST includes only the distribution pumps for
heating and cooling that are responsible for delivery of hot and cold water throughout the
plant circuit. Any additional pumps, such as zone flow control pumps (secondary loop type
pump), water treatment pumps and condensate collection and return pumps should be
excluded from the input for pumps. If you need to account for these types of pumps, they can
be entered as AUXILIARIES with a schedule that matches the pump schedule. This will allow
their electrical energy use to be captured.

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8.8.1 Pump and motor efficiency
Motor efficiency is the ratio of shaft mechanical power to electric input power and is generally
available in electrical specifications. If motor efficiency information is not available, use the
appropriate minimum efficiency value from the Natural Resources Canada’s Guide to
Canada’s Energy Efficiency Regulations: Electric Motors (nrcan.gc.ca/energy/regulations-
codes-standards/products/6885).

Pump efficiency is the ratio of fluid power to applied mechanical shaft power and can be
determined by locating the operating point of the pump on the manufacturer’s curves. If pump
curves are not available or if the operating point cannot be obtained, use the default value of
65%.

8.8.2 Pump power

In CAN-QUEST, you have the option of entering the pumping power directly into the Pump
Power field in the Basic Specifications tab of the Pump Properties dialogue box; in this
case it is recommended that all other inputs be left blank or restored to default values. To
calculate the total pump power, take the brake horsepower (BHP) of each pump in kW (at
0.746 kW/hp), divided by the motor efficiency (where motor efficiency is not known, use
Natural Resources Canada’s Guide to Canada’s Energy Efficiency Regulations’ minimum
efficiency for the appropriate motor size). Add the total powers calculated from above and
enter the result into the Pump Power field as a kilowatt value.

8.8.3 Pump capacity control

CAN-QUEST supports three options for the Capacity Control field in the Basic
Specifications tab of the Pump Properties dialogue box. A constant-speed or One Speed
Pump delivers a constant flow through the system. As described in Section 9.6.1, all valves
must be set to Three-Way for the system to run at constant speed (look for CHW/HW Valve
Type on the Coil Cap/Control subtab of the Cooling and Heating tabs of the Air-Side
HVAC System Parameters dialogue box under the Air-Side HVAC feature). Two Speed
Pumps can operate at two speeds; the low speed is determined by MIN-SPEED as matched
to the actual low speed ratio of the pump (typically 0.67 or 0.5). Pumps may also vary the
flow if they have a variable-speed drive. For this option select Variable Speed Pump. For the
system to operate as a variable-flow system, all valves of the secondary equipment served
by the loop must be set to Two-Way.

In many cases, the primary loop and some of the smaller loops that run off the secondary
loop will be constant-volume, while the secondary loop will be variable. If you are modelling a
single pump to represent primary- and secondary-loop pumps, the system may be modelled
as variable-speed if more than 50% of the total pumping capacity is variable speed.

8.9 Special central plant cases

8.9.1 Water-side economizers

A water-side economizer provides “free cooling” by allowing cooling tower water to bypass
the chiller(s) and directly cool a chilled-water loop. The cooling is not actually “free” because
energy must still be expended in the cooling tower fans and pumps.

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Water-side economizers can be divided into three principal configurations:

 Direct injection: The condenser water is filtered and injected directly into the chilled
water loop. While this method maximizes the effectiveness of the economizer, it
introduces oxygen and other contaminants into the piping. These contaminants may
ultimately corrode and/or foul the piping and coils, degrading the performance of the
system and shortening its life.

 Indirect heat exchanger: a plate-and-frame heat exchanger to indirectly cool the

chilled water loop. The heat exchanger prevents the relatively dirty condenser water
from fouling the chilled water components. Because the effectiveness of a heat
exchanger is always less than 1.0, this method cannot achieve the same performance
as direct injection.

 Thermocycle: A chiller can be configured so that its heat exchangers and refrigerant
act as a passive heat transfer mechanism. Like the indirect method, this method
prevents cross-contamination of the chilled and condenser loops, but it does not
usually achieve the same cooling capacity for a given temperature differential.

In CAN-QUEST, a water-side economizer is defined as a chiller that is a simple plate-and-

frame heat exchanger (see Figure 8-16 – Addition of simple plate-and-frame heat
exchanger). To create a water-side economizer right click on the Project icon and select
Create Chiller. Choose Water Economizer from the Chiller Type dropdown menu in the
Create Chiller dialogue box. Modelling water-side economizers in CAN-QUEST has certain
limitations, and the following rules must be understood:

 The software assumes a water-side economizer is used in an “all-or-nothing” mode. If

the water-side economizer can handle the entire cooling load, it will be used.
Otherwise, the loop will use its other chillers. A water-side economizer cannot pre-
cool the return flow prior to it entering the chillers.

 The “all-or-nothing” mode precludes the use of an EQUIP-CTRL sequence to

coordinate the operation of an economizer chiller with other chillers. If you list a water-
side economizer chiller in an EQUIP-CTRL sequence, it will be ignored.

 There must be a one-to-one correspondence between a CHW loop, a water-side

economizer, and a CW loop. A CHW loop may be supplied by only one water-side
economizer, and a CW loop may supply only one water-side economizer. Effectively,
a plant may have any number of chilled water loops having water-side economizers,
but those economizers cannot draw from the same CW loop. CAN-QUEST will
generate an error if a one-to-one correspondence between a CHW loop, a water-side
economizer and a CW loop does not exist.

 A CW loop supplying a water-side economizer should have only one cooling tower.
More than one cooling tower is allowed, but only the first tower defined will be
checked to see if sufficient free cooling capacity is available. Once free cooling is
allocated to a CW loop, the program may use any combination of towers to satisfy it.
The program may underpredict the water-side economizer savings if more than one
cooling tower serves a given CW loop. To minimize the underprediction, define the
largest tower first.

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  If there is any water-cooled packaged equipment defined in the Air-Side HVAC
feature, it will be ignored when determining whether the tower has sufficient free
cooling capacity. This may cause CAN-QUEST to overpredict water-side economizer
savings.

 For maximum effectiveness, the CHW loop should have Setpoint Control set to
Load Reset (COOL-SETPT-CTRL = LOAD-RESET). This allows the CHW
temperature set point to rise during periods of low loads, maximizing the effectiveness
of the water-cooled economizer. It is recommended that you review the design to
ensure that this control is included in the sequence of operations.

Figure 8-16 – Addition of simple plate-and-frame heat exchanger

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Figure 8-17 – Water-side economizer

Usually a system with a water-side economizer also contains a chiller (recall the “all-or-
nothing” approach with water-side economizers above). As illustrated in Figure 8-16 –
Addition of simple plate-and-frame heat exchanger, a water-side economizer is linked to a
chiller and a cooling tower such that when the economizer cannot meet the total hourly
cooling load, it will be bypassed, and the chiller and cooling tower will be utilized to meet the
hourly cooling load.

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9. HVAC EQUIPMENT

This chapter details HVAC equipment that is entered in the Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters and Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue boxes. Also included is detailed
information on how to model fans, ventilation heat recovery, heat pumps, humidifiers, heating
and cooling coils, economizers, baseboard radiators, and radiant heating/cooling panels. This
chapter should be used in conjunction with Chapter 10, which explains HVAC system
modelling as a whole.

It is important to note that when data is entered in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters
dialogue box, the system Sizing Ratio on the Basics tab must be set to 1.0, because all
heating, cooling and air flow inputs will be increased by this factor (e.g. a sizing ratio entry of
1.2 will result in the heating, cooling and fan flow capacities being multiplied by 1.2).

9.1 Humidifiers

Model humidifiers in the Basics tab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box
by entering a Minimum Humidity. The minimum humidity is the lowest allowable relative
humidity in the return air from zones served by the system. The more common types of
humidifiers that can be modelled in CAN-QUEST include:

 Electric: specifies that the humidifier is electric. CAN-QUEST does not distinguish
between the various types of electric humidifiers (pan heaters, electrodes, radiation,
etc.).

 Hot Water or Steam Loop: specifies that the humidifier utilizes a pan heat exchanger
supplied by a hot water loop or steam loop (type is dependent on the option selected)

There are two options for the Humidifier Location:

 In Air Handler: The humidity is added in the air handler prior to air being supplied to
the zones. This means that the humidity in the supply air is limited by the saturation of
air at the supply temperature.

 In Space: Each space contains a humidifier controlled by a sensor located in the

return air.

CAN-QUEST can also model a Maximum Humidity. The maximum humidity is the highest
allowable relative humidity in the return air from zones served by the system. Only use this
data entry point in the case of systems that have the components required for the control of
excess humidity (e.g. a humidistat and a heating coil downstream of the cooling coil or a
dehumidifier). A default value of 100% means that there is no upper limit on humidity, that is,
there is no dehumidifier. Because CAN-QUEST calculates the relative humidity in the return
air, dehumidification and humidification are based on the average humidity condition for all
the zones served by the system, as weighted by the relative return air flow rate from each
zone.

Entering a value in the Maximum Humidity field causes CAN-QUEST to function differently
for SZRH, PSZ and PVAVS. For SZRH system types, if the maximum humidity level is

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exceeded, the system reverts to full reheat. The temperature of the air leaving the cooling coil
is driven lower, and reheat is added at the fan unit to satisfy the control zone.

9.2 System air flow rates and fans

9.2.1 Supply and exhaust fan overview

A typical design has balanced air flows in each zone and for each system. That is, the total
system supply air flow equals system return air flow plus zone exhaust air flows:

Supply Flow = Return Flow + Zone Exhaust Flow

and

Supply Flow = Outside Air Flow + Recirculated Air Flow

Refer to Figure 9-1 – System air flow rates for a schematic representation.

CAN-QUEST does not adjust return air flows to account for entered zone exhaust flow.
Therefore, the modelled return flow will equal the modelled supply flow.

Supply fans are usually located in centralized air handlers and are often the largest fans (in
terms of electrical draw) in the building. Return fans are also located in central locations,
drawing air back to the central air handler for recirculation or exhaust to the outdoors. In
CAN-QUEST, both fans are defined in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue
box, Fans tab.

There are two ways to exhaust air from buildings: zone exhaust fans (described below) and
central exhaust. Central exhaust systems exhaust air that is not exhausted by zone-level
fans.

In other words,

Central Exhaust Flow = Outdoor Air Flow – Zone Exhaust Flow

The total exhaust fan flow rate cannot be greater than the total outdoor air flow rate to the
building. The determination of the outdoor air flow rate is described in Section 9.3.

Zone exhaust fans are those that exhaust directly to the outdoors, such as bathroom exhaust
fans, kitchen range hoods, fume hoods, or thermostat-controlled fans in an equipment room.
Generally, zone exhaust fans are relatively small, are distributed throughout the building and
often do not operate continuously. Do not confuse zone exhaust fans and central exhaust
fans. If an exhaust fan is located in centralized air handling equipment (including relief fans in
rooftop units), do not enter it as a zone exhaust fan. It should be considered as a return fan,
or in some cases, as a supply fan (with distributed heat pump and fan-coil systems).

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Figure 9-1 – System air flow rates
C E N T R AL
RETURN
E X H AU S T

E C O N O M IZ E R

OUTDOOR
SUPPLY
A IR

ZO N E
E X H AU S T

Another type of fan commonly used, but not shown in Figure 9-1 – System air flow rates, can
be considered a Zonal Supply Fan. In distributed heat pump, fan-coil unit or induction unit
systems, zonal supply fans are used to recirculate room air over a coil to condition the space.
Outdoor air is ducted by a separate makeup air unit (MUA) directly to the zones or to these
systems. In CAN-QUEST, these zone fans are entered at the system level with a separate
system modelled for the MUA (by using the Outside Air from System command in the
Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab). Many variable-air-
volume (VAV) and constant-volume systems also contain terminal fans for proper mixing or
balancing, and these can be modelled at the zone level, if the system type Powered
Induction Unit is selected. More detail is given on these system types in Chapter 10.

In CAN-QUEST, there is no return fan for heat pump and fan-coil systems because these
systems are generally served by 100% outdoor air systems and typically do not require a
return fan. In a case where a return fan does exist for these system types, the power for this
can be combined with the modelled supply fan power.

9.2.2 Entering central supply fans into CAN-QUEST

For all single-zone systems and central multizone systems, the supply flow rate is entered in
the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Fans tab. For central multizone
systems as well as zone terminal systems (water-loop heat pump, two-pipe fan-coil, four-pipe
fan-coil), the supply flow rate is to be entered in the zones served by these systems. If a
system level air flow that does not equal the zone total is entered, CAN-QUEST calculates
the zone air flow based on the following equation:

Adjusted Zone Air Flow = (System Supply Flow) × (Entered Zone Air Flow)
(Sum of Zone Flows)

For all systems, the input fan power (brake horsepower divided by motor efficiency) must be
entered. Define this power either directly (kW/air flow) or by entering total static pressure
(TSP) and total efficiency. Entering power directly, as a kW/air flow value, is usually easiest
and will cause CAN-QUEST to ignore any entered TSP/efficiencies. If the Design kW/L/s
(Design kW/cfm) is greyed out and will not allow inputs, right-click the Static Pa (Static in
WG) input and select Restore Default. This will make the kW/L/s (kW/cfm) value editable.

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To see the actual default values for kW/L/s and Delta T, navigate away from the Fans tab by
clicking on another tab and then navigate back to it.

If you choose to define fan power by static pressure/efficiency, enter the TSP (not external
static pressure) as calculated by the designer into the Static Pa (Static in WG) input field on
the Fans tab. The TSP must take into account filters and coils in addition to ductwork and
zone terminals. You must also enter the combined efficiency (motor efficiency multiplied by
fan mechanical efficiency) determined from fan curves or tables. For example, the fan
efficiency can be determined from the brake horsepower tables and the equation below.

The equation used by CAN-QUEST to calculate fan brake power based on static pressure is:

Flow  S .P.
Power 
eff
where
 Power is the fan brake power in watts
 Flow is the central supply flow rate in m3/s (or L/s/1000).
 S.P. is the total static pressure in Pascals.
 eff is the fan efficiency.

For fan-coil and heat pump system types, the fan power that is entered will be allotted to
each zone served by this system, using the air flow entered in the zone. Therefore, if the
kW/air flow is not the same for each zone, a separate system will need to be defined for each
zone.

De-rate the fan power only if the central fan will operate at a schedule other than that defined
in the fan schedule (see Section 9.2.4 for more information).

Fan controls and placement must be defined for the cooling fans. To define a variable-speed
drive for the VAV system, Fan EIR fPLR must be selected from the Fan Control dropdown
menu and the variable speed fan curve MNECB-FAN-FPLR-VSD should be selected under
the Fan EIR = f(PLR) dropdown menu (the correct curve may be available in the list or
located in the library which can be opened by selecting - library – and the Category “AHU
Fan Power”). The Fan Placement should be set to Blow Through if the fan is upstream of
filters and coils or Draw Through if downstream.

9.2.3 Central return fans

Enter return fans by using the same method as supply fans. Air flow can be entered or left
blank. If it is left blank, CAN-QUEST will model it as equal to the supply flow rate that has
been entered. CAN-QUEST will not reduce the modelled return air flow for any zonal exhaust
fan flow that has been entered at the zone level. If no input exists for a return fan (e.g. fan-
coil unit system type) and a return fan exists, add the return fan power to the supply fan
power that has been entered.

9.2.4 Fan operating schedules

Fans for each system (supply and return) will operate according to the schedule defined in
the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Fans tab under Fan Schedules or
as defined in the Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab. If a schedule is defined
in both tabs, the Space Properties, Compliance tab fan schedule will be used.

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The fans will shut off in accordance with their operating schedule as long as the Night Cycle
Control (defined in the Night Cycle Control sub-tab of the Fans tab) is set to Stay Off.
Other options include:
 Cycle On Any: The fans are cycled on for the hour if the temperature of any zone in
the system falls below the throttling range for heating.
 Cycle On First: The fans are cycled on for the hour if the temperature in the system’s
control zone falls below the throttling range for heating.
 Zone Fans Only: This option is used only when the system type Powered Induction
Unit is selected. The main or central system fan will remain off, but the individual
zone terminal fans will cycle on separately to satisfy the heating setback temperature
for each zone.
Note that if night cycle control is set to any of these three options the system will deliver
outdoor air at night if it is activated to meet a heating/cooling load. To stop this from
occurring, an outdoor air schedule of type Frac/Design that sets the outdoor air fraction to 0
at night must be defined for the system supplying the outdoor air. See Section 4.1.1 for
instructions on how to create schedules in CAN-QUEST. To allow economizer operation at
night set the outdoor air fraction during the night-time hours when the fan is off to 0.001. The
schedule should be set to -999 during fan operating hours to allow the system to determine
the outdoor air fraction according to the zone and/or system outdoor air inputs. Once a
schedule has been created it can be selected in Minimum Air Schedule input under the
Outdoor Air tab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box.

A system can be modelled as cycling on/off only based on the heating/cooling demand by
changing the Indoor Fan Mode field on the Flow Parameters subtab of the Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters dialogue box, Fan tab to Intermittent. Note that this applies only to the
system types PSZ, PVVT, RESYS2, EVAP-COOL, FC and SZRH. This is also only
appropriate for systems that do not deliver outdoor air or that have tempered outdoor air
being provided by a central makeup air unit (MUA), as the outdoor air will not be delivered
when the fans are off.

9.3 Outdoor air flow rates

The NECB 2011 specifies that the reference building has the same outdoor air ventilation
rate as the proposed building. The ventilation rate is to be set to the minimum rate required in
the applicable ventilation standard and not set to the proposed design rate (unless these are
equal). Refer to the NECB 2011, Sentence 8.4.3.7.(1) and Appendix A A-8.4.3.7.(1).

Note: For the purposes of this manual, the term “ventilation rate” refers to the amount of
outdoor air that is brought into the building, as opposed to the term “supply air rate,” which is
the amount of both outdoor and recirculated air delivered to the space.

9.3.1 Modelled ventilation rate

The modelled CAN-QUEST outdoor air values must match the code ventilation rates
provided (refer to sections 9.3.3 and 9.3.4) on a system level. The entered occupancy
numbers must match the values used to determine these code ventilation rates on a space
level.

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For a constant-volume system, the outdoor air flow rate can be modelled easily by setting a
Minimum Outdoor Air ratio in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box,
Outdoor Air tab. However, if outdoor air is then entered at the zone level, the zone level
input will take precedence.

For variable-air-volume systems, the outdoor air flow rate is to be modelled in the Air-Side
HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab. On this tab, four inputs can be
used to model outdoor air flow. If the outdoor air rate is entered as a set Air Flow (cfm or
L/s), it will take precedence over all other inputs in this tab. The other three input options are
Flow per Person, Air Changes and Flow per Area. If any of these three inputs are used,
CAN-QUEST will model the largest value it obtains from the three inputs when the Air Flow
field is not specified. Note that the Flow per Area and the Flow per Person are not added
together. Only the entry that leads to the larger zone outdoor air flow rate is used by CAN-
QUEST.

For NECB 2011 compliance runs (see Section 5.2.1), the ventilation effectiveness (Ez) is to
be defined in the Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab by the choice of Air Dist.
Config. (see Figure 9-2 – Modelling ventilation effectiveness). Selecting this value will have
no impact on the proposed design outdoor air rate, but will instead change the reference
outdoor air rate. Because the default Ez for the reference case is 1.0, the reference outdoor
air is calculated by multiplying the proposed design outdoor air rate by the proposed design’s
Ez. This will result in an energy penalty for designs with an Ez less than 1.0 and an energy
credit for designs with an Ez greater than or equal to 1.0.

Figure 9-2 – Modelling ventilation effectiveness

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The entered effectiveness value must match the value used in the code ventilation
calculations (see Section 9.3.3).

9.3.2 Examples
Example 1

A school has a constant-volume air handling unit (AHU) serving a 250 m² auditorium with a 5-
m ceiling height. The school has a peak occupancy of 200 people but is used for only 2.5
hr/day. The AHU delivers 1 000 L/s of supply air at ceiling level at a maximum temperature of
25°C. The unit is designed to provide 500 L/s of outdoor air.

Outdoor air requirement:

 According to ASHRAE 62.1-2010: outdoor air = 2.5 L/s/occ + 0.3 L/s/m²; Ez = 1.0
 Section 6.2.6.2 of AHRAE 62.1-2010 is to be used to calculate an average time
period over which to average the occupancy:
T = 50 ×(250 × 5) / (2.5 × 200 + 0.3 × 250) = 192.3 min = 3.2 hr
This results in an average occupancy of 156 occupants:
Occupancy = 200 × 2.5/3.2 = 156
 Required outdoor air = (2.5 × 156 + 0.3 × 250)/1 = 465 L/s

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CAN-QUEST data entry:

 Flow Parameters subtab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box,
Fan tab:
Supply Flow Design L/s = 1 000
 Outside Air and Economizer subtab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters
dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab:
Minimum Outside Air = 0.465 ratio
 Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab: all inputs to be
blank
 Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab:
Air Dist Config. set to “Ceiling supply of cool air, Ez = 1.0”

Example 2

A 5 000-m² multizone office space is conditioned by a variable-air-volume system supplying

20 000 L/s of 13°C supply air to the multiple zones with VAV terminal reheat at the ceiling.
The unit is designed to provide 4 000 L/s of outdoor air. There are 150 occupants in the
space.

Outdoor air requirement:

 ASHRAE 62.1-2010 calculations showed that 2 350 L/s of outdoor air is required
(11.75% of total supply air).

CAN-QUEST data entry:

 Flow Parameters subtab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box,
Fan tab:
Supply Flow Design L/s = 20 000
 Outside Air and Economizer subtab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters
dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab:
Minimum Outside Air ratio to be left blank
 Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Air Flow tab:
Overall Design Flow L/s = maximum air flow shown on drawings for each zone
 Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab:
Air flow = entered value to be 0.1175 × zone air flow
 Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab:
Air Dist. Config. set to “Ceiling supply of warm air >=8ºC above space temp and
ceiling return, eZ = 0.8”

9.3.3 Determination of the code ventilation rate

For most buildings, the required ventilation rate is determined in accordance with ASHRAE
62.1-2010. In some circumstances, local building codes or codes developed for specific
applications (e.g. hospitals) will have ventilation rates that are different from ASHRAE 62-
2010. These codes are referred to as superseding codes, and the values in these standards
define the required ventilation rates (see Section 9.3.4). Examples include CSA Z317.2-10:
Special requirements for heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems in health
care facilities and the National/Ontario Building Code for parking/vehicle storage garages.

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In many cases, code ventilation rates have to be adjusted to account for unique building
applications, including:

 Diversity: The total ventilation rate can be reduced to account for diversity in
occupancy or for intermittent or variable occupancy.

 High Exhaust Flow: In some situations (e.g. washrooms), the exhaust flow rate
requirements may exceed the ASHRAE 62 rates for a particular HVAC system. In
these cases, the code ventilation rate is the higher of the required outdoor air and the
required exhaust air.

 Process Loads: Many buildings have process loads that require additional exhaust
and/or outdoor air flow. Examples include fume hoods, kitchen exhaust hoods and
laundry dryers. These air flows should be included in the determination of the required
building ventilation rate.

Note: No matter what code/standard is being followed, a spreadsheet is required to show

what outdoor air flow is required by the relevant codes along with the calculated inputs for
CAN-QUEST.

9.3.4 Superseding standards

If another standard is used to calculate the required outdoor air flow for the building, the
standard used and a description of how it is applied to the building should be included with
any submission report to an authority having jurisdiction. Typical standards that are accepted
include the following:

 published building standards issued by the provincial department of public health (for
hospitals and long-term care facilities)
 published building standards issued by the provincial department of education (for
schools and universities)
 published building standards issued by the provincial department responsible for
building codes (which may be a different department)
 published building standards issued by an authorized, qualified and responsible
third-party agent in the technical area under discussion (national animal care facility
regulations for labs, etc.)

Standards that are typically NOT accepted include:

 published building standards issued by a person or team that is not acting under
oversight. For example, a department of public works may decide it would be "a good
idea" to apply a certain rule for a specific reason, but it is not accepted as a
superseding standard unless supported by an independent oversight, that is, a
national engineering advisory board or the authority of a clearly delegated
responsibility, such as public health.

If the requirement for ventilation utilizes an air-change-rate-per-hour method for specific

space functions or parts of the building, the following procedures are required to generate
minimum outdoor air levels consistent with the air change rate requirement:

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 The outdoor air will be calculated by

OA = (ACH × 1 000 × V) / 3 600

where

OA = outdoor air flow rate (L/sec)

ACH = air changes per hour
V = heated volume of the specific space (m3)

Note: The volume is calculated by using the floor-to-ceiling height. If you use the ACH rate in
CAN-QUEST and you have not modelled plenums (your space models the floor-to-floor
height instead of floor-to-ceiling height), you will need to make adjustments to the values in
your entries to account for the increased modelled volume.

9.3.5 Supply vs. exhaust air requirements

The challenge with assessing ventilation rates for buildings is that there are multiple
standards, different requirements for supply and exhaust air rates, and different requirements
for ventilation capacity and continuous operation. Ventilation capacity is the flow required of
the fan; however, there is no requirement for this fan to operate continuously. To determine
the ventilation air rate for a building, follow these steps on a system level:

Step 1. Determine the required outdoor air based on ASHRAE 62-2010 or a

superseding standard.
Step 2. Determine the required exhaust air capacities. If an exhaust fan is
intermittent, account for the expected run hours by applying a
reasonable diversity factor to the required makeup air flow rate.

Define the required ventilation rate as the larger value of steps 1 and 2 when calculated on a
system level. Examples 1 and 2 demonstrate how to use these calculations.

Example 1

A multi-unit residential building has a makeup air unit supplying outdoor air to pressurized
corridors. Fan-coil units are used to heat/cool apartments, with outdoor air transferred from
the corridor.

Design information

 five north-facing, one-bedroom apartments

 five south-facing, one-bedroom apartments
 75-m² corridor separating the north- and south-facing apartments
 600 L/s makeup air unit supplying outdoor air to the corridor

One-bedroom apartment: Bathroom = 5 m2

Kitchen = 15 m2
Living room = 80 m2
Bedroom = 60 m2

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 Dryer exhaust fan = 50 L/s

Outdoor air requirement

According to ASHRAE 62-2010, dwelling units must supply 2.5 L/s/occupant + 0.3 L/s/m².
Default occupancy is two people for one-bedroom units. Exhaust for apartments is to be 12.5
L/s/toilet continuous (50 L/s/toilet intermittent) and 25 L/s/kitchen continuous (50 L/s/kitchen
intermittent). Corridors are to have 0.3 L/s/m2 of outdoor air.

To calculate the exhaust requirements for the apartment, the continuous rate can be used to
account for the diversity of the intermittent toilet/kitchen exhaust fans. Twenty-five percent of
the dryer capacity can be used to calculate its continuous value.

 outdoor air/apartment = 2.5 × 2 + 0.3 × 160 = 53 L/s

 exhaust air/apartment = 12.5 + 25 + 0.25 × 50 = 50 L/s

Outdoor air exceeds exhaust air, so it is the value used to calculate the modelled rates.

CAN-QUEST data entry

 N Apartment: Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Outdoor Air tab: Air flow = 265 L/s
 S Apartment: Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Outdoor Air tab: Air flow = 265 L/s
 Corridor: Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Outdoor Air tab: Air flow = 22.5 L/s
 MUA System: Air-Side HVAC System Parameters, Fans tab:
Supply Design Flow = 552.5 L/s
 MUA System: Air-Side HVAC System Parameters, Fans tab: Fan power is to be the
full fan power for moving 600 L/s defined under Supply Design kW/air flow rate. The
fan power per unit flow will have to be multiplied by 600/552.5 to account for the
difference in supply air flow rate.

Example 2

A constant-volume system serves a fitness area that includes a locker room.

Design information

 200-m² locker room with showers

 500-m² gymnasium
 100-m² weight room
 system supply air = 500 L/s
 system outdoor air = 300 L/s

Outdoor air requirement

ASHRAE 62-2010 requirements are:

 locker room = 0.5 L/s/m² exhaust = 100 L/s exhaust
 gymnasium = 0.3 L/s/m² outdoor air = 150 L/s outdoor air
 weight room = 10 L/s/occ + 0.3 L/s/m²
= 10 L/s/occ x (10 occ/100 m² × 100 m²) + 0.3 L/s/m² × 100
= 130 L/s outdoor air

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  total outdoor air = 150 + 130 = 280 L/s
 total exhaust = 100 L/s < 280 L/s; therefore, the overall outdoor air requirement is
not exhaust driven.

CAN-QUEST data entry

 Air-Side HVAC System Parameters, Fans tab: Design supply flow = 500 L/s
 Air-Side HVAC System Parameters, Outdoor Air tab:
Minimum Outside Air = 0.56 ratio
 Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Outdoor Air tab: All inputs to be blank.
 Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Outdoor Air tab: Exhaust air flow for the locker
room must NOT be entered because it will incorrectly increase the modelled outdoor
air rate.

9.3.6 Hospital systems

Hospitals have specific code-mandated ventilation rates as well as total air-change rates and
filtration requirements. The National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB) 2011
(NECB 2011) does not account for higher total supply air changes and filtration based on
building type. Therefore the proposed design will have higher fan electricity consumption than
that of the reference building.

The procedure used to alter the reference building fan characteristics is outlined below:

 Determine any code-mandated ventilation, air change or filtration requirements and

specify the mandated code for the design in the modelling report (see Sections 9.3.3
and 9.3.4).

 Determine the systems to which the special conditions are to be applied (high filtration
may not be necessary, for example, on air handling units serving only the lobby and
gift shop areas of a hospital).

 Prepare and complete the entire CAN-QUEST model.

 Once the file is complete, open the generated reference input file (INP) directly in
CAN-QUEST and adjust the air flows in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters
dialogue box, Air Flow tab for any zones affected by any additional code-mandated
ventilation not accounted for in the NECB 2011:

a. Design Flow is left blank or as a default because the reference building

remains as a VAV system. It can deliver more air flow than the code minimum
dictates, but it cannot deliver less.
b. Min Design Flow equals the minimum supply air flow rate dictated by the
code or referenced standard. Calculate this value externally and enter it as
L/s/m² (cfm/sq. ft.). Entering ACH (air changes per hour) overstates the
reference supply air rate in some cases because a zone may contain spaces
with varying air flows, which would result in inflating the modelled volume in
the space (if plenums are not modelled).
c. Minimum Flow equals the minimum design flow.

 Document the changes that have been made.

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9.3.7 Demand-controlled ventilation
Demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) strategies alter the volume of ventilation air supplied
based on measured carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the zones/spaces served by a system. A
self-contained CO2 sensor is installed that measures CO2 as a proxy for indoor air quality and
occupancy in that space. The sensor will govern the opening of an outdoor air damper and/or
the supply of outdoor air either in the zone or enclosed space itself or through the air handler
through control logic.

CO2 sensors are located as per the following criteria:

 The sensor location(s) must provide a reliable reading of CO2 in all regularly occupied
spaces, and ventilation control must be achievable in all spaces. Systems that use
return air CO2 averaging of spaces and zones are not eligible for DCV credit.
 Spaces that experience occupancy and/or activity levels that vary significantly must
be provided with individual sensors and ventilation controls to ensure that
a. Sufficient outdoor air is provided when the space is fully occupied.
b. The space is not over ventilated when lightly occupied or unoccupied.

To model the DCV credit, the Minimum OA Control Method is to be set to DCV Zone
Sensors in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab. Note
that if the model is to be submitted to LEED or another organization, this approach may not
be accepted.

9.3.8 Demand-controlled ventilation using occupancy sensors

Occupant sensors normally control lights but can also be used to control ventilation. The
control of ventilation with occupant sensors is not addressed in the NECB 2011, so it is
recommended that you follow the approach used by LEED if that is acceptable to the
authority having jurisdiction when attempting to show compliance with the NECB 2011. To
model this approach in CAN-QUEST, two runs are required. The first run will model the
ventilation rate to match the applicable code ventilation rate (see Section 9.3.3) and is used
to generate the reference file. The second run models a reduced ventilation rate. This rate is
calculated based on the average outdoor air requirements for every hour the HVAC system is
on. The following equation is used to calculate the reduced outdoor air for a given hour:

OAFhour = [OAASHRAE-OCC + OAASHRAE-FLOOR] × [1-(1-Occ) × OARF] / OAASHRAE

where
OAFhour = adjusted outdoor fraction for the hour
OAASHRAE = peak occupied code ventilation rate as specified by ASHRAE 62.1
OAASHRAE-OCC = people outdoor air rate component of the breathing zone outdoor air
flow as specified by ASHRAE 62.1. During unoccupied hours, this
value is 0. For occupied hours, this value matches the value used in
calculating the peak occupied code ventilation rate.
OAASHRAE-FLOOR = floor outdoor air rate component of the breathing zone outdoor air
flow as specified by ASHRAE 62.1
Occ = occupancy fraction. This value equals 0 when the space is
unoccupied or 1 when occupied. No reduction is given for partially
unoccupied spaces.
OARF = outdoor air reduction factor. This represents the effectiveness of
demand-controlled ventilation controls for the system type being

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 modelled. Values for various systems are provided in the following
table.

System type Outside air reduction factor

100% outdoor air (dedicated outdoor air) 1.0
Single zone 1.0
Constant-volume multizone 1.0
Variable-air-volume (VAV) 0.35

Note: The OARF is much lower for VAV systems because of control difficulties and
compromises associated with the implementation of DCV with VAV.

9.4 Economizers

Air-side economizers are modelled on the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue
box, Outdoor Air tab. Modelling an economizer will have no impact on 100% outdoor air
systems (modelled by matching the system or zone supply rates to the outdoor air rate). For
a system with no cooling, an economizer still has to be modelled if the system uses an
outdoor air damper to maintain a return- or mixed-air temperature for free cooling.

Five types of controls can be used to model the air-side economizer under the Outside Air
Control dropdown menu:

 Fixed-Fraction: A fixed amount of outside air is used when the fans are running. This
indicates that no air-side economizer control is modelled.
 OA Temperature: The economizer is enabled when the outside air temperature is
below the maximum allowed temperature, as specified by the Drybulb High Limit
(DRYBULB-LIMIT).
 OA Enthalpy: The economizer is enabled when the outside air enthalpy is below the
maximum allowed enthalpy, as specified by the Enthalpy High Limit (ENTHALPY-
LIMIT).
 Dual Temperature: The economizer is enabled when the outside air temperature is
less than the return air temperature.
 Dual Enthalpy: The economizer is enabled when the outside air enthalpy is less than
the return air enthalpy.

Water-side (or tower-side) economizers generally provide free cooling by allowing the cooling
tower water to bypass the chiller(s) and directly cool the chilled water loop. This type of
design is modelled with the plant inputs (See Section 8.9.1). If instead there is a separate
water-side economizer coil within the air handling unit that is connected directly to the
condenser loop only, this is modelled in the Economizer subtab of the Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters dialogue box, Cooling tab.

9.5 Ventilation air heat recovery

Heat recovery units transfer sensible heat from the exhaust air stream to the incoming
ventilation air flow. This transfer reduces the ventilation air heating load in the winter and

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cooling load in the summer. Energy recovery ventilators (ERVs) transfer both heat and
moisture between the exhaust air stream and the incoming air stream. The moisture transfer
reduces the demand for winter humidification and reduces the latent portion of the summer
cooling load by reducing the humidity of the incoming air. To model heat recovery, navigate
to the Heat Recovery 1 subtab of the Outdoor Air tab in the Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters dialogue box. Under ERV Device Installed, select Yes to activate heat
recovery. Note that heat recovery cannot be modelled in the wizard and must be added in
DDE mode. You will be asked to pick a type and specify the effectiveness.

9.5.1 Heat recovery effectiveness

The operating effectiveness of a heat recovery unit has to be entered in CAN-QUEST. When
manufacturers provide details of the temperatures across the unit, the operating sensible
effectiveness can be calculated by this formula:

( X 2  X1)

( X 3  X1)
where
 = sensible effectiveness to be entered in CAN-QUEST (value between 0 and 1)
X1 = incoming supply air dry-bulb temperature at design condition
X2 = supply air dry-bulb temperature downstream of the heat recovery unit
X3 = exhaust air dry-bulb temperature entering the heat recovery unit from the
building

To calculate the latent effectiveness, replace the temperatures in the above equation with
humidity ratio values.

When a heat recovery ventilation (HRV) unit is unbalanced (exhaust air across it is
less/greater than the outdoor air provided), the performance of the unit decreases/increases.
CAN-QUEST does not adjust the entered heat recovery effectiveness based on modelled
exhaust air flows. This unbalancing of air flow must be taken into account when calculating
the entered CAN-QUEST effectiveness. Any unbalancing that occurs is automatically taken
into account when using the equation above.

If the manufacturer provides only the stated effectiveness of the wheel (not temperatures),
the entered CAN-QUEST effectiveness can be calculated by using the values provided with
the following equation:

CAN-QUEST Effectiveness = Manufacturer effectiveness × Exhaust air through unit

Outdoor air through unit

Example

A school has 2 500 L/s of outdoor air passing through a 60% effective heat recovery
ventilator. The exhaust air through this unit totals 1 100 L/s. The effectiveness would be
adjusted by

HRV adjustment factor =1 100/500 = 0.44

Therefore, the modelled effectiveness would be 26% (0.60 × 0.44).

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If a manufacturer’s product has not yet been selected or test results are not available, a
default value of 0.50 can be assumed in the design model. If the system is a hot water or
glycol loop heat exchanger, a default value of 0.45 can be used unless engineering data is
provided. Both of these will need to be altered for any unbalancing as described in the
previous section.

9.5.2 Heat recovery control

In CAN-QUEST, you are required to specify when the HRV or ERV device operates. The
options under Operation are as follows:

 When Fans On: The ERV is on all hours the fans are on, even when in economizer
mode. This diminishes the effectiveness of the economizer cycle.
 When Minimum OA: Same as above but the heat recovery is shut off when the
economizer is active.
 ERV Schedule: The ERV has its own operating schedule but it will not run if the
HVAC fans are off.
 OA Exhaust DT: This control runs the ERV when the HVAC fans are on and the
temperature differential between the outside air and the exhaust air is at least equal to
the entered Outsd/Exhst Air Delta T value.
 OA Exhaust DH: Same as above but relates to the enthalpy difference defined under
Outsd / Exhst Air Delta Enth.

The control of the make-up air temperature coming off the heat recovery device must also be
specified. This is extremely important because a poorly controlled device could use more
energy than it saves. For example, it may recover heat that is not needed, thereby requiring
the system to provide further cooling.

The options for the Make-up Air Temp Ctrl are as follows:

 Float: The ERV has no active outlet temperature control. The outlet air temperature
floats with the outdoor/exhaust air flows and air temperatures. This may result in
overheating/overcooling of the mixed-air temperature.
 Fixed Setpoint: The ERV outlet temperature will be controlled to a fixed set point,
depending on whether the air handler is in heating or cooling mode.
 Mixed Air Reset: The ERV outlet temperature will be controlled to the temperature
necessary for the mixed-air temperature to be at set point. This strategy can eliminate
the potential overheating or overcooling problem. Note that the mixed-air temperature
is not the temperature leaving the ERV; it is the mixed air temperature of the air
leaving the ERV and the return air.

9.5.3 Heat recovery in mixed-air systems

Heat recovery units introduce an air pressure drop in air streams that must be overcome by
supply and return fans. If all central supply and return fans are accounted for, as described in
Sections 9.2.2 and 9.2.3, the additional fan power is automatically accounted for. If the
additional fan power has already been accounted for at the system level then the static
pressure drop from adding a heat recovery device should be set to zero. Navigate to the
Heat Recovery 2 subtab and set Delta P @ Dsgn Flow for the Make-Up and Exhaust to 0.
This will prevent CAN-QUEST from double counting the additional static pressure from the
heat recovery device. However, if outdoor air only passes through the wheel when the wheel

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is operating, the static pressure drop of the wheel can be removed from the entered fans’
TSP and entered separately in the Heat Recovery 2 subtab. To do this, in the Heat
Recovery 2 subtab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters, Outdoor Air tab, select
HVAC Supply/Return in the ERV Fans field. The increased pressure drop due to the heat
recovery device must now be entered in the Delta P @ Dsgn Flow field for the Make-Up and
Exhaust flow.

It is important to note that the pressure drop entered for the heat recovery device applies only
to the outdoor air portion. Therefore, you must confirm that the entire system supply and
return power is still being modelled when combining the power modelled in this tab with the
power modelled in the main Fans tab. These values can be viewed in the SV-A report of the
output file (SIM) generated by CAN-QUEST. Note that additional ERV fan energy specified in
the Heat Recovery 2 subtab is reported separately in the ERV reports.

9.5.4 Exhaust fan heat recovery with makeup air units

Some heat recovery systems have small fans within a packaged heat recovery unit. Others
have larger makeup air units that contain a heat recovery device.

Small systems with no heating/cooling coils can be modelled with the mixed-air system as
long as one of the following conditions can be met:
 If the selected HRV/ERV Operation is When Fans On (see Section 9.5.2), the
HRV/ERV fan power can be modelled under the Heat Recovery 2 tab by setting the
ERV Fans to Self-Contained. This option can be selected only when the Operation
is set to When Fans On. For any other operation, CAN-QUEST will shut these fans
off when heat recovery is not being used, which will not occur if they are the primary
method of delivering outdoor air to the space.
If the mixed-air system is a constant-volume system, add the HRV supply/exhaust
power to the main system supply/exhaust fan. If it is variable-volume, this will not work
because it will decrease the HRV fan power when it is supposed to remain constant.

When the conditions above cannot be met, or a system type (e.g. fan-coil unit or distributed
heat pump) that does not give the option of entering heat recovery is selected, a 100%
outdoor air unit has to be modelled as its own separate system. Some key points to note
when doing this are as follows:
 The makeup air unit (MUA) must be defined above the mixed-air system it serves in
the HVAC systems tree. Because this is often defined after the mixed-air system is
defined, you must go into the generated input file (INP) directly in a text editor and
move its location there (system locations within the CAN-QUEST interface cannot be
moved).
 The defined MUA must be selected in the Outside Air from System field in the
Outside Air and Economizer subtab of the Outdoor Air tab in the Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters dialogue box for the system it serves.
 The MUA fan schedule is set to be the same as the system it is serving.
 The MUA supply/exhaust fan power is to be modelled in its Main Fan tab (see
Section 9.5.3 regarding setting the pressure drop in the Heat Recovery 2 tab to
zero).
For further explanation on modelling this system, refer to Section 10.4.1.

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9.5.5 Heat recovery and differing exhaust and supply fan operations
One additional consideration related to heat recovery effectiveness is the assumption of
identical operating schedules for the supply, return and exhaust fans. The fan schedule
defined under the system operates all the fans (supply, return and exhaust) identically. If this
is not the case, and the exhaust fans operate at different times than the supply and return
fans, a further adjustment is required to model the heat recovery effectiveness.

Example

 exhaust fans operating 12 hr/day and supply and outdoor air fans operating 18 hr/day
 HRV time factor = 12/18 = 0.66

Using this example, the 26% effectiveness calculated in Section 9.5.1 would be
adjusted to 17% (26 × 0.66) because of the non-operational exhaust from heat
recovery.

9.5.6 Heat recovery with solar thermal (air) preheat

Designs utilizing a solar thermal air heating system combined with a heat recovery ventilator
to preheat incoming outdoor air must take into account the cross-coupling effect of these two
systems. Not all of the thermal energy generated by the solar air heating system can be used
to reduce the building ventilation air heating load.

The available energy captured by the solar thermal (air) system is typically approximated by
using a tool such as RETScreen. To approximate the actual usable energy provided by the
solar air heating system when coupled with an HRV, estimate the ventilation air heating load
for each month, subtract the energy recovered by the HRV from this total, and then calculate
the usable solar air heating system output. The ventilation air heating load is always
calculated by using the maximum average daytime outside air temperature for each month.

Example monthly calculation

The ventilation air heat load for January is calculated by using the formula:

 air flow rate (cfm) × 1.08 × ventilation air temperature differential / 3 413 ×
hr/month

given

 5 000 cfm (the ventilation rate)

 65 (the desired outdoor air delivery temperature in °F)
 21.6 (the maximum average daytime temperature in °F for January)

The resulting ventilation air heat load is

 5 000 cfm × 1.08 × (65F – 21.6F) / 3 413 Btu/kWh × (22 days/month × 10 hr/day)
= 15 107 kWh/month

The energy recovered by the HRV is calculated by using the formula:

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  monthly heating load × HRV effectiveness

Thus,

15 107 kWh/month × 0.72 (sensible effectiveness) = 10 877 kWh/month

RETScreen solar thermal (air) estimated output is calculated using the formula:

 available insolation/m2 × area of solar air system × % efficiency × % availability

during operating hours

Thus,

3.28 kWh/m2/day × 22 days/month × 60 m2 × 73% efficient solar × 65% availability

during operating hours = 2 895 kWh/month

Result

Maximum usable solar thermal output is calculated by using the lesser of (heating load
minus HRV energy) or RETScreen output. In this case, 4 230 kWh/month (15 107 − 10
877) or 2 895 kWh/month.

The lesser of the two in this case is the RETScreen output of 2 895 kWh/month. This
represents the useful solar thermal energy for the month of January.

The same calculation should be performed, preferably in a spreadsheet, for each of the
months of the year, keeping in mind that most buildings will not be able to claim any useful
energy for the solar thermal systems for the months of May through September.

Once the total useful solar thermal energy has been calculated, it can be subtracted from the
heating demand of the heating system used to heat the ventilation air.

Continuing the example above:

 Assuming that the HRV/solar thermal systems feed into an MUA unit with a hydronic
heating coil that is fed from a GSHP plant, the energy saved by using the solar
thermal system is the total usable energy for the entire year divided by the average
COP of the GSHP.

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Then, assuming the final total calculated solar thermal energy for the year is 8 650 kWh, the
following calculation applies:

 8 650 kWh (total calculated usable solar thermal energy) / 3.0 (COP of GSHP) = 965
kWh (usable solar thermal energy subtracted from the proposed building total
electrical energy consumption)

9.6 Central heating and cooling coils

Central heating and cooling coils refer to those coils that are usually located within a central
air-handling unit, often in a rooftop unit or mechanical penthouse. Central coils should not be
confused with zonal coils (such as reheat coils, fan-coil units or baseboards).

9.6.1 Cooling coils

The central cooling coil type is defined based on the system type selected (see Section 10). If
a packaged system is selected, the cooling efficiency and condenser information will need to
be entered. These are defined on the Unitary Power and Condenser subtabs under the
main Cooling tab in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box.

Note that the Cooling Electric Input Ratio (EIR) to be entered here is 1/COP.

For built-up systems, these values are greyed out because the presence of built-up systems
implies that chilled water (CHW) from a central chiller is used in the coil. For this system type,
the loop that supplies the CHW will need to be selected as well as the CHW Valve Type
used on the coils in this system. There are two options for the valve:

1. Two-Way: As the load varies, the valve throttles the flow through the coil and loop to
maintain the leaving air temperature. No water is bypassed. This valve optimizes the
savings for a pump with variable-frequency drive.
2. Three-Way: As the load varies, some of the flow bypasses the coil to maintain the
temperature of air leaving the system. The loop flow remains constant.

When entering the cooling capacity, make sure the sizing ratio in the Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters, Basics tab is set to 1.0; otherwise a larger capacity will be modelled.

Note that entering a cooling capacity of zero will cause CAN-QUEST to autosize the cooling.
The entered Cool Sizing Ratio will be applied to the calculation of this cooling coil capacity.
If a sizing ratio is also entered in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters, Basics tab, the
system cooling coil capacity will be oversized by the ratio Cool Sizing Ratio × Sizing Ratio.

To model a system without cooling, a value of 1 must be entered for the Total Cooling
Capacity, except in the case of heating-only system types. Heating-only can also be defined
in the Space Properties dialogue box, Compliance tab for residential accommodation
spaces only, by checking the Heated Only box.

To define the supply air temperature, enter the lowest cooling design temperature in the Cold
Deck Min Leaving Temp field under the Coil Cap / Control subtab of the Cooling tab.

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The Cool Control options for this supply air temperature are:

 Constant: maintains the cooling temperature defined in the Cold Deck Min Leaving
Temp field
 Warmest: sets the cooling coil (cold deck) temperature each hour to adequately cool
the zone with the highest temperature. The limits of this supply air temperature are
then governed by the maximum and minimum cooling reset temperatures that are
entered.
 Reset: specifies the use of the Cool Reset Schedule for control of heating and/or
cooling air supply temperature, based on outdoor air temperature. This is often easier
to define in the wizard mode.
 Scheduled: specifies the use of the Cold Deck Schedule for control of heating
and/or cooling air supply temperature. These are currently implemented incorrectly in
CAN-QUEST and therefore are not to be selected.

9.6.2 Heating coils

Central heating coil characteristics are entered in the Coil Cap/Control subtab of the Air-
Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab. The options for the Heat
Source field include furnace (gas and other fossil fuels), electric, water loops (hot water,
steam, domestic hot water), heat pump (gas and electric), or not installed.

Selecting Electric will prompt the software to use an electric heating coil in the rooftop unit or
central air handler. If the unit is fired with natural gas, oil or propane, Furnace should be
selected and the appropriate fossil fuel meter assigned to the Fuel Meter in the Air-Side
HVAC System Parameters, Meters tab. Define the efficiency of the unit in the Unitary
Power subtab of the Heating tab by specifying the Heating Input Ratio.

Select Hot Water Loop if the air-handling unit contains a hot water coil from a hot water
circulation loop or if the primary coil is filled with glycol, heated by a hot water-to-glycol heat
exchanger. If Hot Water Loop is selected, a hot water circulation loop with a boiler must be
defined in the central plant.

If the central system contains an air-source heat pump, select Heat Pump as the heating
type. This is used only for the RESYS, PSZ, PTAC, PVVT, PVAVS, PIU, RESYS-VVT and
RESYS2 system types. For the system types PSZ, PVVT, PVAVS and PIU, when used in
conjunction with water-cooled condenser types (specified in the Cooling tab, Condenser
subtab), a water-to-air heat pump will be modelled instead of air-to-air. The efficiency of
these units is to be defined in the Heating tab, Unitary Power subtab by specifying the
Heating Electric Input Ratio.

Selecting Gas Heat Pump as the central heating type (used only with PSZ, PVVT, PTAC,
RESYS, PVAVS and PIU system types) will prompt the use of a natural-gas engine-driven
heat pump in the model.

Selecting Gas Hydronic for a Pkgd Total Gas Solid Desic (PTGSD) system prompts a
gas-fired hot water generator as the heat source.

Once a Heat Source is selected on the Heating tab, enter the Heating Capacity as a
negative value. If no value is entered, CAN-QUEST will calculate a capacity. For variable-
volume systems (VAVS, PVAVS, PIU), a Hot Deck Max Leaving Temp (the maximum

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temperature of the air once it has passed through the heating coil) must be entered for the
heating coil to be modelled. Do not enter the maximum leaving temperature for SZRH and
PSZ systems because this will override the maximum leaving air temperature specified by
the Zone Entering Max Supply Temp value. If no value is entered for the Zone Entering
Max Supply Temp, CAN-QUEST will default to using the sum of Zone Entering Min Supply
Temp (specified on the Cooling tab) and the entered Reheat Delta T value.

The Heat Sizing Ratio, HW Valve Type, and Heat Control inputs are identical to those for
cooling, as discussed in Section 9.6.1.

Select a Zone Heat Source and then define a Reheat Delta T if there are zone heating
(reheat) coils in the ductwork. The capacity for these will be modelled in the Air-Side HVAC
Zone Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab. If the design does not have reheat coils, leave
the Zone Heat Source selection as Not Installed.

Finally, efficiency is entered on the Unitary Power subtab. Efficiency is not entered for
electric and hot water systems. For fossil fuels, enter the Heat Input Ratio (1/efficiency) and
then select the appropriate furnace HIR curve. Select the modulating curve NECB-Furnace-
MOD-HIR-fPLR if the furnace is modulating (if the curve is not shown in the dropdown list
select - library - to load it from the library). Enter the Heating Electric Input Ratio (1/COP) if
the heating type is an air-source heat pump.

9.7 Air-source heat pumps

Air-source heat pumps are air-based systems in which heat is rejected to or extracted from
an air-based condenser. They can be as simple as a single-zone packaged terminal air
conditioner (PTAC) unit or as complex as a variable refrigerant volume/variable refrigerant
flow (VRV/VRF) system. In a VRV/VRF system, an outdoor condenser supplies heat
rejection/addition to a central refrigeration loop within the building, while a manifold
connecting the separate zone-level distribution lines allows multiple-zone systems (such as
fan coils) to share heating without utilizing the condenser. Outdoor air can be provided either
directly to the zone or to the units providing the indoor conditioning.

There is no direct way to model VRV/VRF in CAN-QUEST but there are two acceptable
workarounds that produce a conservative estimate of the system’s energy use. Both options
involve approximating the system as a packaged variable-volume, variable-temperature
(PVVT) system and modifying the condenser to take advantage of simultaneous heating and
cooling demands in separate zones.

9.7.1 Modelling VRV/VRF with PVVT and air-cooled condensers

 Create an individual system for each thermal zone in the model.
 Specify the System Type as Pkgd Var Vol Var Temp (PVVT) with the Heat Source
set to Heat Pump and the Condenser Type to Air Cooled.
 Ensure that the cooling Compressor Type is set to Variable Speed.
 Create an hourly report with each PVVT system as a separate block. The data output
should be the electric input to heat (kW) and the electric input to cool (kW).
 Group the systems that are on the same condenser, using the hourly report data.
 If the VRV/VRF system allows for simultaneous heating and cooling, manually sum all
heating and cooling during any given hour where simultaneous heating and cooling
occurs on the same condenser. The smaller of the summed heating/cooling values is

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 the amount of energy recovered, which can be subtracted from the total building
energy use in a separate calculation.

9.7.2 Modelling VRV/VRF with PVVT and water-cooled condensers

 Create a separate condenser water loop in the model for each VRV/VRF condenser.
 Set all pumping power for each condenser loop to zero.
 Create an individual system for each thermal zone in the model.
 Specify the System Type as Pkgd Var Vol Var Temp (PVVT) with the Heat Source
set to Heat Pump and the Condenser Type to Water Cooled.
 Assign the appropriate condenser water loop under the CW Loop entry of the
Condenser subtab of the Cooling tab to each system.
 Ensure that the cooling compressor is Single-Speed. A true VRV/VRF will have a
variable-speed compressor, but this is not possible with this selected cooling system
type. Modify the electric boiler Elec Input Ratio and cooling tower Fan Efficiency of
each of the condenser loops to reflect the seasonal efficiency of the VRV/VRF
system.

Once the main VRV/VRF system has been modelled, additional energy conservation
measures can be modelled as usual using the appropriate modelling techniques presented.
For more information, refer to the online presentation on modelling VRV/VRF systems from
the Energy Trust of Oregon (energy-models.com/sites/all/files/forum-reply/VRV-
VRF%20systems_0.pdf).

9.8 Zone-level devices

In contrast to central heating and cooling coils, baseboard radiators, reheat coils, radiant
heating/cooling panels, zone-level fan coils and heat pumps are modelled in the Air-Side
HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box.

Some inputs for these devices can be entered at either the zone or system level. If the
corresponding input at the zone level is set to default, CAN-QUEST will automatically use the
system value (which will appear as green text in the CAN-QUEST interface to show it is the
default value). If a value is entered at the zone level (will appear as red text), it will
automatically override any input for system level values. Minimum flows and the
heating/cooling capacity for fan-coil units or heat pump systems are examples of values that
can be set at the system level.

Outdoor air flows can also be set at the system or zone level. Refer to Section 9.3.1 for
modelling instructions.

Selecting the fan schedule at the system level will pre-define the heating and cooling
schedule used in the software. Also review Section 9.2 related to fan schedules.

Though the software will default to a specific thermostat type based on the system type that
has been selected and on how that system operates, it is still important to verify that the right
type of system is selected and to correct it if necessary. The thermostat types are as follows:

 Proportional: The heat addition rate (or heat extraction rate) is throttled in linear
proportion to the difference between the zone set point temperature and the actual
zone temperature. This is the most common type.

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  Two Position: Heating is fully on when the zone temperature is below the heating set
point, cooling is fully on when the zone temperature is above the cooling set point,
and there is neither heating nor cooling when the zone temperature is between the
heating and cooling set points. This thermostat type is usually not used for hot and
chilled water system controls.
 Reverse Action: This type is similar to Proportional except that the thermostat
reverses its signal on a request for heating. It is most often used on dual-duct VAV
systems and systems with only overhead heating. In VAV systems, it allows the air
flow rate to go above the design minimum flow for heating.

9.8.1 Air flow

The supply air for each zone is defined in the Design Flow field in the Air Flow tab. As
described in Section 9.2.2, if the total air flow for all the zones in a system does not match the
air flow at the system level, the zone air flows will automatically be adjusted by CAN-QUEST
to obtain the system value.

CAN-QUEST will automatically size the required air flow to meet the loads (and
increase/decrease by the Sizing Ratio entered in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters
dialogue box) if no air flow is entered in the system or zone. If a Min Design Flow is entered
instead of a Design Flow, CAN-QUEST will model this value as a minimum. However, if
loads require more air flow, CAN-QUEST will model a higher air flow to meet the loads.

For variable-volume type system, the Minimum Flow ratio defines the minimum air flow rate
that the system will deliver to the zone at all temperatures below the cooling throttling range.

For dual-duct systems, the Minimum Flow ratio is the flow ratio at the outlet of the mixing
box, and should be specified only if the box has a controller measuring air flow at the outlet.
Heating Minimum Flow ratio and Cooling Minimum Flow ratio specify the minimum air
flows at the inlets to the mixing box (hot and cold decks, respectively).

Defining a Minimum Flow Schedule (fraction/design type) will override the specified or
calculated value of the Minimum Flow ratio unless the schedule has been set to -999 (this
value tells CAN-QUEST to use the calculated/specified Minimum Flow ratio for that hour).
Systems that have varying minimum ratios depending on the time of day (e.g. in labs) often
require this schedule to be defined.

9.8.2 Zone supply fans

Zone supply fans refer to distributed heat pump or fan-coil blowers, or fan-powered boxes
found in dual-duct, VAV, or constant-volume systems (see Sections 9.2.1 and 9.2.2). The
only time the power for zone fans should be entered in the zones in CAN-QUEST (See the
inputs for Zone Terminal and Fans under the Air Flow tab) is when Powered Induction
Unit (PIU) is selected for the system type. This type should be selected to model the fan-
powered terminal boxes found in VAV or constant-volume systems.

To model the fan-powered boxes in the PIU, the Terminal Type in the Air-Side HVAC Zone
Parameters dialogue box, Air Flow tab must be set to Series PIU (the fan draws air from
both the secondary and primary air stream; the blower runs all the time) or Parallel PIU (the
fan draws air from the secondary air stream only; the blower runs intermittently).

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Define from which zone the secondary air is drawn for both terminal types. The Zone Fan
Ratio (the design primary air flow rate gives the design flow rate of the PIU fan) and Zone
Fan Power will also need to be defined. The Zone Fan Flow (design capacity of the terminal
fan) can be defined instead of the ratio for Parallel PIU, but if both are defined, the Zone Fan
Flow will take precedence.

Define the Temperature Sch for the terminal type Parallel PIU. This schedule (must be type
temperature) defines the zone temperature at which the terminal blower will turn on. The
temperature specified in this schedule must be above the heating range.

9.8.3 Baseboard radiators, reheat coils, heating panels

The type of baseboards, reheat coils and heating panels are initially defined in the Air-Side
HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab. Reheat coils are defined in the Coil
Cap/Control subtab (in the Zone Heat Source field) and baseboards are defined in the
Preht/Basebrd subtab. A heat source must be selected for these to be modelled. If there are
mixed hot water and electric heating devices in a zone, choose the predominant type and
assume all devices are of that type. Choose either Thermostatic or Outdoor Reset under
Control depending on the control strategy to be used. Thermostatic control will use the
zone heating schedule to control the baseboards with a zone thermostat. Under Outdoor
Reset, baseboard heating is controlled by the outdoor air temperature. In this case the
program assumes that the heating output increases linearly as the outside air temperature
decreases.

The capacities for these pieces of equipment are entered in the Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab. Note that the capacities must be entered as negative
values. CAN-QUEST will calculate and size if no values are entered for the baseboards. For
the reheat coil, CAN-QUEST will ignore any entered capacity and size the modelled capacity
based on the Reheat Delta T entered at the system level. All loop connection inputs will
default to the system level values, but they can be overridden in the zone.

It should be noted that in CAN-QUEST, these zone heating devices are first activated by a
call for heat in the zone, up to their maximum capacity, before any call for heat is made from
the central system. For example, in a zone in a MURB, 5 kW of electric heat supplements a
natural gas-fired furnace. When CAN-QUEST predicts that heat is required in the zone,
electric heat will be delivered first. Only when the hourly heating load exceeds 5 kW will the
furnace begin to supply natural-gas source heated air to the zone.

If this is not the operational design of the system, and if ventilation air to the zone is
conditioned first, with the zone heating providing supplementary heating, reallocate more of
the zone heating capacity to the ventilation air heating (system heating description). Zone
heating schedules and fan operating schedules differ from each other. The methodology
must be documented. If the model reallocates zone heating to the system and the fans are
turned off (night unoccupied space), none of the system heating will be distributed to the
zone, and the zone may become underheated.

9.8.4 Zone exhaust fans

Power and flow rate of zone exhaust fans are defined in the Air-Side HVAC Zone
Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab. As mentioned in Section 9.2.1, these are only
small fans that exhaust directly to the outdoors. Entering zone exhaust fan air flows does not
reduce the modelled return fan air flow or the entered heat recovery effectiveness. See

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Section 9.5 on modelling heat recovery systems with zonal exhaust fans. However, if the
exhaust air flow that has been entered is higher than the outdoor air flow, CAN-QUEST will
increase the modelled outdoor air flow to match the exhaust.

While there are four types of Tracking Ctrl that can be selected in CAN-QUEST for zone
exhaust fans, only two can be modelled:
 No Airflow Tracking: The exhaust air flow will be modelled as entered.
 Track Supply Flow: The exhaust will be set to match the hourly supply flow.

CAN-QUEST will model the exhaust fans on the same schedule as the system supply.
Therefore, if a different schedule applies to the exhaust fans, a weighted power usage may
be entered to compensate.

Example

If HVAC fans operate 18 hr/day but bathroom exhaust fans operate 24 hr/day, the fan power
entered in the kW per Flow field under Exhaust Air in the Outdoor Air tab is the following:

Fan power = rated fan power × 24/18

If zone exhaust fan operation relies on a sensor (occupant or washroom door switch) or
timer, you must derive a total daily operational time to adjust exhaust fan power.

9.8.5 Fan coils and hydronic heat pumps

For zone terminal systems, such as fan-coil units and heat pumps, model the supply fan
power in the system supply fan inputs in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue
box, Fans tab. The air flow is modelled at the zone level. Because the fan power entered at
the system level will be applied to each zone under that system, the zones must have the
same kW/air flow. If they do not, a separate system will need to be entered for each zone
with a different kW/air flow. The heating and cooling capacities can be entered at the system
or zone level. If entered in both places, the zone level will override the system level value.

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10. MODELLING OF HVAC SYSTEMS

Choosing an appropriate HVAC system is one of the most important and challenging aspects
of building energy modelling. In CAN-QUEST, there are 26 basic system types. Although
there are dozens of system types used in practice today, most can be adequately modelled
using one or more of the 26 basic models. Some systems cannot explicitly be described
using one of the fundamental systems, but a workaround can be performed in CAN-QUEST
that is a reasonable representation. In some cases, two or more of the 26 basic models could
be used to describe a building system. A fundamental understanding of these basic models is
essential in order to choose the most appropriate one.

This section outlines the conventional CAN-QUEST system types (the systems found in the
Single-Supply Duct, Air Mixing and Terminal Unit categories in Table 10-1) and includes
instructions on how to apply these system types to model common, real-world systems. In
addition, detailed workaround instructions on how to model some non-conventional systems
within CAN-QUEST are presented. Descriptions of the basic system types are available in
the wizard help through the CAN-QUEST Help menu.

10.1 Fundamental system types in CAN-QUEST

CAN-QUEST can model 26 types of HVAC systems. The system types are listed in Table
10-1. A building often has more than one HVAC system type.

Table 10-1 – HVAC systems modelled in CAN-QUEST

Category Keyword Description
Single-Supply Duct SZRH Built-up Single Zone
PSZ Packaged Single Zone
*SZCI Single Zone Ceiling Induction
RHFS Constant-Volume Multi-Zone with
Reheat
VAVS Built-up Variable-Air-Volume
PVAVS Packaged Variable-Air-Volume
PVVT Packaged Variable-Volume, Variable-
Temperature
PIU Powered Induction Unit
*CBVAV Ceiling Bypass Variable Air Volume
*EVAP-COOL Evaporative Cooling
Air Mixing MZS Built-up Multi-Zone
PMZS Packaged Multi-Zone
DDS Dual-Duct
Terminal Unit IU Induction Unit
HP Water Loop Heat Pump
FCU Fan Coil
*PTAC Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner

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*Heating Only FPH Floor Panel Heating
HVSYS Heating and Ventilating
UHT Unit Heater
UVT Unit Ventilator
*Residential RESYS Residential with cycling furnace and
cycling air conditioner
RESYS2 Residential with cycling furnace and
cycling air conditioner
RESVVT Residential Variable-Volume, Variable
Temperature
*Diagnostics SUM Sum Zone Loads
*User-Defined FNSYS1 Defined using Input Functions

To fully describe a building’s HVAC system requires specifying system information in the
Water-Side HVAC, Air-Side HVAC and Internal Loads features. For most of the systems,
all system inputs are entered in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box. The
Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box is used for zone equipment modelling (e.g.
baseboards, reheat coils, VAV boxes). The respective sections of this guide define what
information is to be entered in each feature.

10.2 Selecting the appropriate system

With so many basic system types, it sometimes may appear as though two or more
CAN-QUEST models could be used to model a system, or that none apply. Outlined below is
a step-by-step procedure to arrive at the most appropriate model for the proposed system.
This procedure will help direct you to the more commonly modelled system types (those that
are not starred in Table 10-1).

Step 1: How is cooling/heating distributed to the space – by air or by water?

If the space is cooled by cold air blown from a central air handling system, it
is an “air-based” system; go to step 2.

If the space is conditioned by hot, chilled or tempered water piped to the

space, the system must be modelled as a Terminal Unit or a Heating Only
system. See Sections 10.3.1 to 10.3.3. and 10.4.2 to 10.4.5 for more
information.

Step 2: Does the system supply one or two air temperatures simultaneously?

If the system is controlled to deliver one air temperature at a time, go to step

3.

If the system has two air temperatures exiting and has mixing dampers to
combine them, it is a multizone or dual-duct system. See Sections 10.3.4and
10.3.5.

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Step 3: Is the air volume flow rate leaving the central air handler constant or
variable?

If the air flow is variable, it is a variable-volume system. See sections 10.3.8

to 10.3.10.

If the air flow is constant, it is one of the first four system types in Table 10-1.
See Sections 10.3.6 and 10.3.7.

10.3 System types

Following the procedure described in Section 10.2 will help to select a general system type.
This section defines the criteria to choose one of the more commonly used system types. For
additional information related to system types available in CAN-QUEST, refer to eQUEST
documentation, Volume 3: Topics (http://doe2.com/download/DOE-22/DOE22Vol3-
Topics.pdf).

10.3.1 Ground/water-source heat pump systems

If there are water-to-air heat pumps used to deliver conditioning to the space, select Water
Loop HP in the System Type field on the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue
box, Basics tab. Select Water Loop HP regardless of whether the heat pump is ground-
source or water-loop; this distinction is made in the Water-Side HVAC feature (see Section
8.7).

Enter the heat pump information (capacity, COPs) in the Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters dialogue box. Enter air flow and outdoor air in the Air-Side HVAC Zone
Parameters dialogue box. Cooling and heating capacities can also be entered in the Air-
Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, in which case they will override any value
entered in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box.

CAN-QUEST assumes this system type brings outdoor air directly into the zone from
outdoors. If another system provides the outdoor air, it has to be modelled separately in
CAN-QUEST and then selected in this system’s Outdoor Air tab in the Outside Air from
System field (refer to Section 10.4.1 for further information).

10.3.2 Fan-coil systems

Fan-coil systems consist of terminal heating/cooling units that contain a fan, a heating coil
and/or a cooling coil. A two-pipe fan coil has one set of pipes that delivers either hot water or
chilled water at one time. This is specified by attaching the fan coil to a 2-Pipe circulation
loop (refer to Section 8.1). Under this system, the entire building’s hydronic loop must be in
either heating or cooling at any given time. A four-pipe fan-coil unit system has dedicated
chilled water pipes and hot water pipes, permitting simultaneous heating and cooling. This
system type is defined by attaching the fan coil to two circulation loops (a hot water loop and
a chilled water loop). With all fan-coil systems, a boiler and chiller must be defined in the
Water-Side HVAC feature.

The system and zone inputs are similar to the ground/water-source heat pump system
described in Section 10.3.1.

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10.3.3 Induction unit systems
Induction units differ from fan-coil units in that there is no fan in the terminal unit. High
velocity primary air is introduced to the induction unit from a central system, which induces a
secondary flow of room air. A heating or cooling coil conditions the mixed air. This system
type can also be two-pipe (one set of pipes delivers either hot water or chilled water) or four-
pipe (there are dedicated chilled and hot water pipes, permitting simultaneous heating and
cooling). This system type is recommended for the modelling of a chilled beams system.

The system inputs are for the primary air unit supplying the induction units. This can be a
dedicated outdoor air system or a mixed air system. If it is a single-zone system, the air flow
can be entered only at the system level. For multizones, the air flow supplied by this system
will need to be entered in each of the zones. Enter the heating and cooling capacity of the
induction units in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box.

10.3.4 Mixed air multizone systems

Air is heated and cooled by the central air handling unit year round. Two air streams (one hot
and one cold) leave the central system, to be mixed in proper proportions to meet zone
heating needs. Separate ducts – a hot duct and cold duct – deliver the air to zone mixing
dampers, which modulate independently to serve the zone’s temperature requirement.
Although this system provides very precise zone temperature control, it is not very energy
efficient.

Choose Packaged Multi-Zone if air is cooled by direct expansion of a refrigerant. Select

Multi-Zone if there is a chiller water loop that delivers cold water to a coil in the air handling
unit.

For these system types, both the cooling and heating minimum flow rates must be defined at
the zone level. Define a Minimum Flow Source that specifies the source of makeup air used
by the outlet controller when the total supply air flow falls below the Overall Minimum Flow
ratio that has been entered (in the Air Flow tab of the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters
dialogue box). Options are as follows:

 Cold Duct: causes the makeup air to be drawn from the cold duct
 Hot Duct: causes the makeup air to be drawn from the hot duct
 Snap Acting: causes the makeup air to be drawn from the hot duct during the heating
mode and from the cold duct during the cooling mode. When neither heating nor
cooling is required, the makeup air is drawn from whichever duct was last active. A
snap-acting controller, together with a large overall minimum flow ratio, may cause
the zone temperature to oscillate back and forth between the heating and cooling set
points.

10.3.5 Dual-duct systems

Dual-duct systems are similar to multizone systems (Section 10.3.4), with one important
difference – the air flow rates of the air streams are varied to improve energy efficiency.
Mixing does not occur until one of the air streams is reduced to the user-defined minimum.

These system types can be either single-fan or dual-fan (defined in the Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters dialogue box, Basics tab). The dual-fan type has a dedicated fan for
each air stream.

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10.3.6 Single-zone systems
If the system is a constant-volume single-zone system (and not a hydronic heat pump, fan-
coil or induction system) or serves multiple zones but is controlled by only one zone, it is
either a Packaged Single Zone or Single Zone Reheat system.

Choose Pkgd Single Zone if air is cooled by direct expansion of a refrigerant. These
systems are very common in residential and smaller commercial buildings. For instance,
packaged rooftop units on small stores or restaurants are direct expansion (DX) single-zone
systems. A house with a forced-air furnace and central air conditioning is a DX single-zone
system. A hotel in which heating, cooling and fresh air are provided by packaged,
through-the-wall air conditioner/heating units is a series of DX single-zone systems.

Select Single Zone Reheat if there is a chilled water loop that delivers chilled water to a coil
in the air-handling unit. These systems are usually found only in large buildings.

When modelling this system type as serving more than one zone, it is important to take
special care when selecting the Control Zone. This zone will determine the heating or
cooling mode of the system. To avoid unmet heating load errors, try to anticipate which zone
will most often be in heating mode (a zone with many north-facing windows, for instance) and
select that as the control zone.

10.3.7 Constant volume multizone systems

In CAN-QUEST, this system type is referred to as the Reheat Fan System. The main
difference between this system type and the single-zone reheat system type (Section 10.3.6)
is that there is no control zone. For this system type, normally the supply air temperature is
held at a constant value to ensure that moisture removal leaving the cooling coil meets
design specifications. A thermostat in each zone modulates a reheat coil to maintain
temperature.

10.3.8 VAV systems

In a variable-air-volume (VAV) system, only a single air stream (hot or cold) leaves the
central air handler and is throttled at the zone through a VAV box. In cooling mode, the
supply air temperature is set by the modeller, usually at around 13°C. Zone terminals contain
dampers that control the flow of cold air being fed into the zone, depending on the amount of
cooling required for space conditioning. Again, note that you will have to set the minimum air
flow rates as described in section 9.8.1. In heating mode, the temperature entering the zones
is fixed at the cooling supply temperature unless a Warmest cooling or a Coldest heating
control reset schedule has been entered. This control is defined in the Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters dialogue, Cooling tab and Heating tab in the Cool Control and Heat
Control fields. The air flow rate is constant at your specified minimum air flow rate as long as
the thermostat type has been selected to be proportional.

For reverse action thermostats, the VAV damper will also modulate back to fully open during
heating (see Section 9.8 for thermostat type details). For perimeter zones, baseboard heaters
(hot water or electric) or reheat coils must be defined to meet the heating load, or a CAN-
QUEST heating error will result. If both reheat coils and baseboards are defined, CAN-
QUEST will use the baseboard as the first heating device in the zone, followed by the reheat.

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In the Pkgd Var Vol system, air is cooled by the direct expansion of a refrigerant. In the
Variable Air Volume system, a chilled water coil cools the air stream.

If the VAV system has fan-powered boxes in the zone, a more appropriate system type would
be the Powered Induction Unit as described in the next section.

10.3.9 Powered induction unit

The only time a Powered Induction Unit operates differently from a VAV system is when the
Terminal Type in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Air Flow tab is set to
Series PIU or Parallel PIU. By choosing Powered Induction Unit for the System Type and
using these settings for the zone Terminal Type, you can model a VAV system with fan-
powered terminal units in the zone. More information on how to model these terminal fans
can be found in Section 9.8.2.

At least one core zone that always requires cooling with a standard VAV terminal must be
specified for this system type, even if it is simply a corridor.

10.3.10 Packaged variable-volume variable-temperature

The main difference between this system type (Pkgd Var Vol Var Temp) and the packaged
VAV system type is that it has a control zone that specifies whether it is in heating or cooling
mode. This control zone will also control the supply air flow and temperature. This system
type is frequently used to model VRV/VRF systems as explained in Section 9.7.

10.4 Special HVAC system cases

In most cases, following the procedure described in Section 10.2 should narrow down the
choice of system types. However, there are additional system types that may not seem to fit
any specific model in CAN-QUEST. This section explains common workarounds so that
these special systems can be modelled in CAN-QUEST with reasonable accuracy.

10.4.1 Central make-up air serving compartment units or terminal units

A common system type is a makeup air unit (MUA) that uses 100% outdoor air and has its
own heating and/or cooling coils tempering outdoor air and delivering it to compartment or
terminal units. To model this system type in CAN-QUEST, define it as its own system,
serving a 1-m³ “dummy” zone. Some key tricks to modelling this system type are as follows:

1. The MUA can provide outdoor air to more than one system.
2. In the Detailed Data Edit mode, a dummy space will need to be defined with an area
of 1 m² and a volume of 1 m³. A dummy zone will also need to be created and the
dummy space assigned to it. Be sure to specify the proper set point heating and
cooling temperature for the dummy zone, which is the desired temperature of the air
coming from the MUA unit.
3. The MUA system must be listed above the system(s) it serves in the building tree
under the Air-Side HVAC feature. If this system is defined after the systems serving
the zones, you will need to manually edit the CAN-QUEST generated DOE-2 input file
(Project Name.INP) in a text editor. Copy the .INP file before editing it to ensure that
you can go back to a working version. Edit the .INP file by moving the system code
keywords for the MUA system to the top of the HVAC Systems list. System locations

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 cannot be moved within the CAN-QUEST interface itself.
4. Select the system type Pkgd Single Zone or Single Zone Reheat (both with the
Zone Heat Source set to Not Installed so no reheat is modelled) to model this MUA.
5. To make the system type 100% outdoor air, in the MUA Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters dialogue box, Fans tab, Flow Parameters subtab, set the Supply Flow
to the outdoor air amount. In the Outdoor Air tab, Outside Air and Economizer
subtab, set the Minimum Outside Air ratio to 1.0.
6. Set the MUA fan schedule to the same schedule as the system(s) it serves.
7. In the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab, Outside
Air and Economizer subtab of the compartment/terminal unit(s) served by the MUA,
the MUA must be selected in the Outside Air from System field.
8. The zones under the system(s) served by the MUA must still have the outdoor air flow
rates defined in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air
tab. By defining it here as well as in the MUA/dummy zone, you will not be double-
counting the outdoor air as long as you follow step 7 above.
Note: Be aware that when this system type is modelled, return air is not properly conditioned
because the zone it is supplying is a dummy zone. This return air is not affected by the
building loads modelled in the real zones.

10.4.2 Water-based radiant heating and cooling system

Radiant heating and/or cooling systems can be modelled in CAN-QUEST by treating the
radiant heating or cooling surface as an induction unit.

The system inputs will describe the air handling unit supplying these zones, which can be a
mixed air or a 100% outdoor air system. To model it as a 100% outdoor air system, set the
Minimum Outside Air ratio to 1.0 in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box,
Outdoor Air tab. Then in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Air Flow tab,
set the Overall Design Flow to equal the outdoor air amount entered in the Outdoor Air tab
in each zone.

Enter the capacity of the radiant cooling and/or heating in the Air-Side HVAC Zone
Parameters dialogue box, Cooling and/or Heating tabs.

Another option is to model this as a fan-coil unit (FCU) with no fan power. However, for this
scenario the system must be served by a 100% outdoor air system (MUA). Because the FCU
system type is a recirculating terminal system type, this MUA will need to be modelled as a
separate system following the instructions in Section 10.4.1.

Enter the heating and cooling capacities in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue
box. Leave the system and zone air flow to default values for CAN-QUEST to autosize them.
The system fan power in the Air Flow tab must be set to zero.

Either the fan-coil or the induction unit systems used to model the radiant system will need to
be connected to a hot water loop and/or to a chilled water loop. The circulation pumps on
these loops need to be sized properly to reflect the pumping power used in the actual radiant
system.

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10.4.3 Radiant (gas-fired) unit heaters
Gas-fired radiant heaters (no fans) are often used to heat warehouses, arenas and light
manufacturing areas. There are different procedures used for modelling these units in
CAN-QUEST depending on whether there is a ventilation system supplying these zones and
whether a 100% outdoor air or a mixed air system is installed.
No ventilation system
Select Unit Heater system type in CAN-QUEST. Enter the fan power, heating type and
heating capacity for the heater in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, and
enter the air flow in the zone. The heating capacity can also be entered at the zone, which
will override the system value.
Mixed air system
If mixed air is being supplied to zones with radiant heaters, select an air-based, single-supply
duct system. The Baseboard Source is to be set to Furnace (specified in the
Preht/Basebrd subtab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Heating
tab). The heater capacities are then modelled in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters
dialogue box in the baseboard heating Capacity field under the Heating tab. Either
Thermostatic or Outdoor Reset should be specified for the baseboards Control.
One hundred percent outdoor air HVAC system
Model this heating system the same way as the mixed air system above, but make sure of
the following:

1. It is a constant volume system (SZRH, PSZ or Heating Ventilating system if no

cooling is in the makeup air unit).
2. The modelled supply air flow equals the outdoor air flow, thereby modelling a 100%
outdoor air system.

10.4.4 Solar water and ventilation air heating systems

Two common applications of solar heating in Canada are solar water heating and solar
ventilation air heating. Solar water heaters preheat water for domestic and industrial use.
Solar collectors heat water from the main, which is then stored in a preheat tank.

The conventional (fossil-fuel) water heater supplements solar heating to ensure that the
water is always delivered at the set point temperature. Unglazed collectors are used if the
water heating load is primarily required in the summer. Glazed collectors are better suited to
provide heated water year-round. Solar ventilation air systems consist of a perforated metal
cladding attached to the south façade of a building. Ventilation air is preheated as it is pulled
through the perforated plate. A bypass damper is installed to avoid heating the air in the
summer.

Energy savings can be determined from a modelling program such as RETScreen. The
proposed building energy consumption is the value determined by CAN-QUEST, assuming
no solar heating system less the energy savings of the solar heating systems determined by
RETScreen. The cost savings should be calculated based on the “virtual” energy rate of the
building. The “virtual” energy rate can be determined by dividing the total energy cost
(regulated and unregulated) of the building by the total energy use or by using the “virtual
rate” given in the ES-D (Energy Cost Summary) report of the .SIM simulation output file
generated for the proposed building.

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The only exception to the rule above occurs when the proposed building has both a solar
ventilation air heating system and a heat recovery ventilation unit coupled for the same
ventilation air flow, as described in Section 9.5.6. In this case, the two technologies must be
analyzed together to avoid double-counting energy savings.

Note: The above reductions will have to be documented. The decision to accept or reject a
written rationale for credit is solely at the discretion of the authority having jurisdiction.

10.4.5 Parking garages

The NECB 2011 treats parking garages as unconditioned spaces. A parking garage can be
considered unconditioned and excluded from the model if the temperature set point is in
accordance with LEED rules (i.e. less or equal to 4°C). In other words, parking garages can
be excluded if the space is heated to just above the freezing point. Otherwise, parking
garages should be included in the model. Procedures to include parking garages in the
model are outlined below:

1. Model the entire garage as a single zone/space with the classification Parking
Garage. Define a heating schedule with a temperature set point of 4°C. This
temperature reflects the fact that garages need to be heated only to keep pipes from
freezing; no credit will be given for heating the garage above this temperature. It is not
possible to model a parking garage in a single compliance run in CAN-QUEST
because the heating schedules are not user-defined when a compliance simulation is
performed. To apply the proposed and reference heating schedules following a
compliance run, it is necessary to individually reopen the proposed and reference
.INP input files in CAN-QUEST and select the appropriate heating schedule for all
hours, and then simulate both files again.

2. Define the operating schedules. Select the same schedules for the garage as for the
rest of the building, with the exception of the heating schedule as described above.

3. Define ventilation requirements according to the applicable standard (for example, the
ASHRAE exhaust requirement for a parking garage is 3.7 L/s/m2). For any other
code/standard, follow the guidelines specified in Section 9.3.3. If the carbon
monoxide/dioxide (CO/CO2) control is used to determine the amount of ventilation for
the garage, the modelled outdoor air flow may be reduced to account for the number
of hours that no ventilation is provided during the occupied schedule. A standard run-
time for ventilation control using CO sensors is two to six hours per day. Anything
outside of this range must be supported by written documentation. The decision to
accept or reject a written rationale is solely at the discretion of the authority having
jurisdiction. Because CO sensors are mandatory, no credit is given for this design
feature; the reference building will therefore have the same outdoor air flow as the
proposed building.

4. Determine where the ventilation air originates. Certain designs use exhaust air from
the building as the ventilation air for the garage. To obtain credit for this, calculate the
available heat in the portion of the building exhaust air discharged via the parking
garage and subtract this from the heating required in the parking garage each hour.
This credit is limited to providing 9ºC of heating for heated garages and 5°C for
unheated garages. The procedure for using this credit can be found in Appendix A.

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 Parking garages. Note that the calculations supporting this will need to be
documented. The decision to accept or reject a written rationale for credit is solely at
the discretion of the authority having jurisdiction.

10.5 System modelling examples

This section presents examples of common buildings and describes how to model their
HVAC systems in CAN-QUEST.

Example 1. Restaurant served by rooftop units

Description: Three rooftop units condition a one-storey restaurant. Two identical rooftop
units serve different areas of the dining area (east side and west side) and are equipped with
gas-fired heating and electric DX cooling, while a third rooftop unit is a makeup air unit
serving the kitchen area with a gas-fired heating section with electric DX cooling. Electric
baseboard radiators serve all areas of the building. An electric hot water heater provides
domestic hot water.

Modelling solution: First, zone the building according to HVAC system and space function.
If the restaurant is relatively small, this building is best modelled as three zones: one for the
east side of the dining area, one for the west side and one for the kitchen. Each rooftop unit
is accordingly dedicated to one zone.

Because there is no central boiler or chiller and no central heat pump loop, the only system to
be defined in the Water-Side HVAC feature is the domestic hot water system. Define a
domestic hot water circulation loop with a domestic hot water heater. In the Domestic Water
Heater Properties dialogue box, Basic Specifications tab, select Electricity as the Type,
and enter the Equipment Capacity and storage Tank Volume. Leave the Elec Input Ratio
at 1.0.

This building has three systems, each serving a single zone; consequently, they are all
single-zone systems. Because the systems cool air by direct expansion of a refrigerant (as
opposed to a chilled water coil), Pkgd Single Zone is the appropriate system selection. On
the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Basics tab, choose Pkgd Single
Zone for the System Type. On the Heating tab, for Heat Source, choose Furnace and
enter the Heating Capacity (as a negative number), and Zone Entering Max Supply Temp.
Set the Zone Heat Source to Not Installed because there are no reheat coils. Enter the
Furnace Heat Input Ratio in the Unitary Power subtab. Similarly, on the Cooling tab, enter
the Total Cooling Capacity, Zone Entering Min Supply Temp and Cooling Electric Input
Ratio under the Unitary Power subtab.

To include the electric baseboards, on the Preht/Basebrd subtab of the Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab, select Electricity as the Baseboard
Source. Enter the baseboard heater Capacity on the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters
dialogue box, Heating tab (also as a negative number) and specify the Control strategy to
be used (Thermostatic or Outdoor Reset).

Because two of the rooftop units are identical, the same system as defined above can be
copied and used again for the other zone (right click on the system icon in the building tree,
select Create another HVAC System, and choose Copy an existing component under the

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Creation Option). Because the kitchen makeup air unit is slightly different, a new Pkgd
Single Zone system needs to be defined. To make this unit 100% outdoor air, in the Air-
Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Fans tab, set the Design Supply Flow to
the outdoor air amount. Then in the Outdoor Air tab, set the Minimum Outside Air ratio to
1.0, as described in Section 10.4.1.

Example 2. Office served by ground-source heat pumps

Description: A medium-sized three-storey office building is served by a large ground-source

heat pump loop. Water is circulated through 30 heat pumps distributed throughout the
building, each with identical fan power ratings, and fed from a vertical ground heat
exchanger. Three rooftop units condition the ventilation air by natural gas-fired heating and
electric DX cooling. One rooftop unit serves the first floor, one serves the second floor and
the other serves the top floor. A small electric water heater provides domestic hot water.

Modelling solution: Define the zones for this building according to area of influence of the
heat pumps. The three rooftop units are essentially three makeup air units delivering air to
three water-loop heat pump systems. Therefore, model this building with three makeup air
units delivering ventilation air to three dummy zones, which will then be transferred into the
zones under the three water-loop heat pump systems.

Enter the domestic hot water system information in the Water-Side HVAC feature. Define a
domestic hot water circulation loop with a domestic hot water heater under it. In the
Domestic Water Heaters Properties dialogue box, Basic Specifications tab, select
Electricity for the Eype, and enter the Equipment Capacity and Tank Volume. Leave the
Elec Input Ratio at 1.0.

To model the ground loop, create a circulation loop of type Water Loop HP with a Ground-
Loop Heat Exchanger attached to it. Refer to Section 8.7 for more information. Input the
dedicated ground-loop pump Flow Ctrl and Head. Because there is no option to input pump
power directly, you may need to adjust the input for pump Head after the model is operational
in order to match the design power.

In the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, model the rooftop MUA units by
creating three Pkgd Single Zone type systems serving three dummy zones (refer to Section
10.4.1 for more information). In the Fans tab, enter all supply fan information relating to the
rooftop makeup air unit only. Set the Design Supply Flow equal to the outdoor air flow.

Because the unit is 100% outdoor air and is not equipped with an air-side economizer, on the
Outdoor Air tab, set the Minimum Outside Air ratio to 1.0 and the Outside Air Control
method to Fixed Fraction. Input Total Cooling Capacity on the Cooling tab. On the
Heating tab, choose Furnace as the Heat Source and set the Zone Heat Source to Not
Installed. Input the Heating Capacity (as a negative number). Input the efficiency of the
furnace as a Furnace Heat Input Ratio on the Unitary Power subtab of the Heating tab.

Create three Water Loop HP systems representing the distributed heat pumps (HP) on the
first, second and third floors. The actual zones for this building will be located under these
systems. On the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab, select
the rooftop unit providing ventilation using the Outside Air from System drop-down menu.
On the Fans tab, enter the fan power (Fan Power and Control subtab) and select whether
the fans cycle with intermittent loads or are on continuously using the Indoor Fan Mode

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drop-down menu (Flow Parameters subtab). Note that Intermittent can only be selected if
the MUA delivers room temperature air, and therefore handles the entire ventilation load.

If the HPs are to provide some of the ventilation heating/cooling, their fan control must be
continuous. If all 30 HPs are identical, it is necessary to input only the heating and cooling
capacities at the system level. These values will be used for each zone and are not a sum of
the capacities. If the HPs are not identical, the heating and cooling capacities should be input
at the zone level.

Enter the ventilation rate for each zone in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue
box, Outdoor Air tab. The sum of the ventilation rates for all zones must equal the supply
flow of the MUA.

Example 3. MURBs with hot water radiators and in-suite chilled water fan coils

Description: A MURB is heated with perimeter hot water baseboards. Chilled water fan coils
located in each suite provide cooling. To maintain suite comfort, both boiler and chiller
operate during shoulder seasons when some suites require heating and others require
cooling. A large air handler, located in the penthouse mechanical room, delivers tempered air
to corridors and provides ventilation air to the building. The air handler contains both a chilled
water coil and hot water coil. The building contains four natural gas boilers, each with a 300-
kW capacity (1 200-kW total), that serve the heating water. A 500-kW boiler serves the
domestic hot water.

Modelling solution: Following the procedure described in Section 10.2, cooling is provided
to the space by means of chilled water (because fan coils are located within the apartment
units), so the system type is fan-coil, induction unit, or heat pump. Because neither induction
unit nor heat pump is a suitable option, the suite systems must be modelled as fan-coil
systems. The central makeup air unit (MUA) is defined separately from the fan-coil systems.
Details of the modelling procedure are described below:

Zoning
Theoretically, each apartment suite is a different zone. However, because the building is
almost entirely one space use, suites of similar orientation can be grouped together. If the
building is eight storeys high, it is best to group all south-facing suites on floors two through
seven together and all east-facing suites on floors two through seven together, etc. Corridors
should be zoned separately because they are directly conditioned by the central air handling
unit. Using this strategy, the building can be accurately described in about 15 zones (top and
bottom floors are not grouped with all other floors because they have different load
characteristics).
Plant
In the Water-Side HVAC feature, it is necessary to create several components: circulation
loops (hot water, chilled water, condenser water, domestic hot water), domestic hot water
heaters, boilers, chillers, cooling towers and all associated pumps.

Define a domestic hot water circulation loop with a domestic hot water (DHW) heater under it.
In the Domestic Water Heaters Properties dialogue box, Basic Specifications tab, select
Gas for the Type, and enter the Equipment Capacity. Because the DHW is provided by a

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boiler, the heater volume should be set to a very small value. Set the Heat Input Ratio to
1/efficiency of the heater.

Define a hot water circulation loop with four boilers under it (each with 300-kW capacities).
CAN-QUEST will automatically stage the pumps depending on capacity. However, if a
specific sequence is desired, create a control scheme by clicking the Equipment Controls
button on the Controls tab of the hot water Circulation Loop. Associated circulation and
distribution pumps should also be defined for the boilers and loop.

Define a chilled water circulation loop for the chillers and a condenser water circulation loop
for the cooling towers. Assign the chiller, cooling tower and associated pumps to their loops.
Note that the cooling tower is required only if the chiller Condenser Type is Water Cooled
(Chiller Properties dialogue box, Condenser tab). In this case, a condenser water loop
must also be created. Otherwise, select an air-cooled condenser and include the fan power in
the chiller electric input ratio.
HVAC – fan-coil systems
In the Air-Side HVAC feature, define the System Type as either Fan Coil or Single Zone
Reheat. If all fan-coil units in the zones are identical in terms of kW/air flow, the fan-coil unit
model will result in fewer systems. If the kW/air flow varies per zone, you will need to define
one system per zone, making it simpler to choose Single Zone Reheat. For this example,
the Single Zone Reheat selection will be described.

In the Basics tab of each system, select Single Zone Reheat under System Type. This
assumes hydronic cooling (if cooling were being done with DX coils, Pkgd Single Zone
would be selected). Under the Heating tab, set Heat Source and Zone Heat Source to Not
Installed because the fan coils are not providing heat. Instead, heating is provided by
baseboards, which are modelled by setting the baseboard source field (Preht/Basebrd
subtab of the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab) to Hot Water
Loop. The heating capacities of the baseboards will be specified at the zone level.

In the Cooling tab, enter the fan-coil cooling capacity. If not already specified, select the
CHW loop.

Enter the characteristics of the fan-coil fans in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters
dialogue box, Fans tab, along with the supply fan power as a Design kW/air flow value or a
total static pressure (Static Pascals/in WG) and combined efficiency (Tot Eff Frac). Define
fan control and operating schedules on this tab as well. The design Supply Flow rate of the
system is entered in the Flow Parameters subtab. If the units are capable of cycling on and
off to meet the space set points, you can set Indoor Fan Mode to Intermittent to achieve fan
savings. Note that this will also shut off outdoor air delivered to these zones. For this
scenario, this is an acceptable ventilation design becuse the central makeup air unit,
modelled as a separate system, is handling the entire ventilation load.
HVAC – central makeup air unit
The central makeup air unit provides ventilation to the building by delivering tempered air to
the corridors. The suites draw in the ventilation through under-cut doors. Assuming the unit
delivers a constant flow of ventilation air, the system is defined as another Single Zone
Reheat serving the corridor zones (a typical corridor can be selected as the control zone). As
with the fan-coil systems, the heating, cooling, and fan properties are defined in Air-Side
HVAC System Parameters dialogue box. To simulate the ventilation air being delivered to

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the suites, the Outside Air from System selection on the fan-coil systems Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab is to be set to the makeup air unit. This
will identify the makeup air unit as the source of this fan-coil unit’s outdoor air. See 10.4.1 for
further details.
HVAC – zones
Specify the amount of ventilation being delivered to each zone in the Air-Side HVAC Zone
Parameters dialogue box, Outdoor Air tab. Model exhaust flow and fan power in the suite
washrooms in the same tab. Enter baseboard heating capacities under the Heating tab and
specify either Thermostatic or Outdoor Reset for the baseboards Control.

When modelling outdoor air, it is important to enter all of the MUA outdoor air flow in the
corridor zone(s) directly under that system. In the SZ system zones (the suites), you can
enter the portion that would make it into the apartments. By entering the outdoor air in the
MUA zones and the SZ system zones, it will appear that you are double-counting this outdoor
air flow. However, the Outdoor Air from System command that is selected in the SZ system
tells CAN-QUEST that your suite outdoor air is in fact coming from the zone supported by the
MUA, and therefore does not model additional ventilation. For the SZ system zones, it is
important that they do not total more than the MUA capacity (though less is acceptable).

Example 4. Warehouse served by rooftop units and gas infrared heaters

Description: A warehouse is equipped with a gas-fired rooftop unit that only provides
ventilation air tempering. The tempered air is ducted to a few central drops. Gas-fired infrared
heaters are installed on exterior walls and at the overhead bay door openings to meet
envelope losses. A gas-fired unit heater with blower is installed at the main entry door
blowing hot air into the warehouse space. This unit heater does not have a direct fresh air
supply, only heating and circulating air at the entrance space.

Modelling solution: Zone the building so that the infrared heaters serve the exterior walls
and overhead delivery doors by creating a 1-m warehouse space strip with exterior walls.
Include the doors and a small portion of the roof in these zones. There will be a series of
perimeter zones (one per orientation) to accommodate the infrared heaters.

The rooftop unit will be zoned for the centre of the warehouse space, with envelope losses
through the slab and roof, but it will contain the majority of ventilation air heating. The rooftop
unit is the makeup air unit for the building.

Model the gas unit heater at the entrance as an entrance zone. If entry defined under the
Compliance Analysis Data dialogue box is by Building Type, you can define the entrance
as a separate zone. If the entry is by the Space Type method, create a warehouse entrance
zone with two spaces: a dummy 0.5-m2 space using the warehouse Occupancy Type and a
space using the stairway Occupancy Type to represent the entrance space.

The building will have two systems modelled. The entrance zone will be served by a Unit
Heater system. Enter the fan power for this unit heater in the Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters dialogue box, Fan tab and its air flow in the Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters
dialogue box, Air Flow tab. Make sure that the outdoor air value for this zone (defined in the
Outdoor Air tab) is set to zero, or, 0 L/s (do not leave it blank). Set the Heat Source (Air-
Side HVAC System Parameters, Heating tab) to Furnace and enter the Heating Capacity,
Zone Entering Max Supply Temp and Furnace Heat Input Ratio.

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Because the MUA system does not contain a cooling coil, the rest of the zones are to be
served by a system of type Heating/Ventilating Sys. Set the Heat Source for this system to
Furnace and the Zone Heat Source to Not Installed. Enter the air flow, capacity, supply air
temperature and efficiency of the MUA in the Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue
box. In the Outdoor Air tab, set the Minimum Outdoor Air ratio to 1.0. In the Heating tab,
Preht/Basebrd subtab, set the Baseboard Source to Furnace.

Enter the individual infrared heater capacities in the perimeter zones in the Air-Side HVAC
Zone Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab in the Baseboards Capacity field (as a
negative number). Set the baseboards Control to either Thermostatic or Outdoor Reset
depending on the control strategy to be used. Set the Overall Design Flow on the Air Flow
tab to zero, or, 0 L/s.

For the core warehouse zone, enter zero (0) for the baseboard heating capacity, and set the
Overall Design Flow to be equal to the MUA supply flow.

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11. UTILITY AND ECONOMICS

11.1 Utility rates

The utility rate structures are entered in the Utility & Economics feature. All rate structures
used in Canada can be entered. The natural gas price structure should include the cost of
gas, transportation to the utility and delivery to the customer. These are often listed as
separate items on the utility bill, but need to be totalled for entry into CAN-QUEST. The
electricity structure should include both consumption and demand charges.

Utility rates can be input in either the wizard mode or the Detailed Data Edit (DDE) mode.
Entering complex rate structures (such as time-of-use pricing) is more time-consuming and
complex in the DDE mode and therefore should be done in the wizard mode, if possible.
11.1.1 General charges
Fixed monthly charges are entered on the General tab for each utility rate shown on the
building tree.

For all utility rates, Uniform Energy Charge ($/unit) and Monthly Demand Charge ($/peak
unit) can be entered on the Energy/Demand tab. Note that this is the easiest way to enter
flat charges in the DDE mode, even though rates entered in the wizard mode will be
generated using block charges. The billing units for each type of utility rate are as follows.

Resource Billing unit Metric Billing unit

Chilled Water MBTU 1055 MJ
Coal Ton 0.90718 Tonnes
Diesel Oil Gallon 3.785 Litres
Electricity kWh kWh
Fuel Oil Gallon 3.785 Litres
LPG Gallon 3.785 Litres
Methanol Gallon 3.785 Litres
Natural Gas Therm 2.8317 cubic metres
Steam MBTU 1055 MJ
Other MBTU 1055 MJ

If the utility rate varies seasonally (summer charge from May 1 to September 30 and winter
charge from October 1 to April 30) or based on time-of-use (prices increase during times of
peak demand), create an Energy Charge Schedule to apply to the rates. The values
entered into the schedule are $/unit. Where both a schedule and a Uniform Energy Charge
are input, they will be added together.
11.1.2 Block charges
Many utility companies have a variable rate structure in which the price of energy fluctuates
depending on the amount used per month. These rate structures are handled by CAN-

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QUEST as multitier systems called Block Charges. For each block or limit, enter both the
energy cost and the maximum number of units sold at that rate. The blocks can be applied to
any type of utility (electricity, natural gas, etc.) and must be entered as either cumulative or
incremental values (i.e. rate for the first 100 m3, rate for the next 1 000 m3, rate for anything
greater than 1 100 m3. If using incremental blocks, enter 100 and 1000 into the first and
second Step Size boxes in CAN-QUEST. If using cumulative blocks, enter 100 and 1100 into
the first and second Cumulative Limit boxes. The Block Type is entered to calculate block
charges based on the amount of energy consumed, peak demand or a ratio of kWh unit
consumption to the peak monthly kW demand.

Create a Block Schedule if blocks change seasonally or hourly. This schedule defines the
period over which energy or demand is accumulated and must use Flag as the type. The
Schedule Flag Value input indicates the value in the schedule that activates the block. For
example, if a utility rate includes increased demand charges during the month of December,
a Block Schedule active only during December is required. Create the schedule with a value
of 1 during December and 0 for the rest of the year. The Schedule Flag Value would be 1.
11.1.3 Ratchet charges
The Ratchet tab of the utility rate may be used to modify the time period over which the peak
demand charge is calculated. The Number of Months specifies the time frame used to
determine the peak billing demand. An input of 1 would result in the billing demand being
equal to the peak demand of each month. An input of 3 would result in the billing demand
being equivalent to the peak demand in the previous three-month time frame. The Ratchet
Type specifies whether the billing demand is calculated as the “Highest Peak,” the peak
demand occurring within the specified time frame, or the “Average,” which is the average of
the monthly peaks within the specified time frame.

Create a Ratchet Schedule if ratchets change seasonally or hourly. This schedule defines
the period over which demand is accumulated and must use Flag as the type. The Schedule
Flag Value input indicates the value in the schedule that activates the ratchet. For example,
if a ratchet applies from January through March, a Ratchet Schedule active only during
those months is required. Create the schedule with a value of 1 from January through March
and 0 the remainder of the year. The Schedule Flag Value would be 1.
11.1.4 Deregulated pricing
A referenced price is required to determine the estimated cost savings. Under a deregulated
regime, the contract with the energy supplier may be required as part of the submission
package by the authority having jurisdiction for compliance. Users should verify with a
representative of the authority having jurisdiction. Nevertheless, electricity and gas rates
should be based on the long-term contract printed from the supplier’s Web site. You must
determine how the utility pricing is generated. For example, Ontario has an independent
energy market operator (IMO) (theimo.com). The IMO lists the average electricity price from
May 1, 2002 (when the market opened). To this number, add the retailer charges for
consumption and demand (which can be obtained from the local municipal utility),
transportation charges, debt retirement charges, transmission charges and provincial sales
tax. This information is available from all utility Web sites.

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11.2 Meters

CAN-QUEST uses electricity and fuel meters, listed in the building tree under the Utility &
Economics feature. The inputs in this section apply to both electricity and fuel meters. Inputs
specific to electricity or fuel meters are explained in the following sections. The default Type
of meter created from the wizard is a Utility meter, which will most often be the only type of
meter required in the model. At times it is useful to create additional meters to track the
energy use of specific equipment. The following types of meters are available.
Utility
The meter is intended to be connected to a Utility Rate. Submeters are connected on the
Building and/or Submeters tab. This type of meter is intended to be the main meter for a
site (although you may define several meters of this type).
Building
The meter is intended to be one of many building or client meters at a site. This type of meter
must be connected to a Utility Electric Meter type. Its children are connected on the
Building and/or Submeters tab.
Submeter
This type of meter should be connected to a Building Electric Meter type, but may instead be
attached to an Electric Meter of Type Utility. This type of meter is intended to be one of
possibly many submeters or “client" meters at a site.
For example, the two meters described above would be useful when modelling a
multibuilding campus. A building meter would be created to meter an individual building. A
submeter would then be connected to the building meter to allow metering of one or more
tenants within an individual building.
Electric sale
This type of meter is a special meter that accepts electricity produced by electric generators
(ELEC-GENERATOR) for sale to a utility. No other types of loads, such as lighting, are
permitted to be attached to these meters.

The following inputs are available on the Basic Specifications tab for all types of utility rates
and should remain as default values. A description of their function is provided here for
information purposes only.

 The Source-to-Site Eff value affects only the source energy shown in the BEPS
report. In most cases, the source energy consumption is not a commonly assessed
value, and this value will not need to be modified.

 The values for Billing Unit Labels default based on the type of meter created. These
values allow conversion between IP and SI units. If this or other fields are left blank in
the model, default values are often used; you can view these default values by
right-clicking and selecting View Default/Range.
11.2.1 Electricity meters
The inputs available on the Basic Specifications tab are rarely used. Their function is used
with advanced modelling approaches that are beyond the scope of this manual.
11.2.2 Fuel meters

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When creating a fuel meter, the fuel must be defined as natural gas, LPG, fuel oil, diesel oil,
coal, methanol, or other. CAN-QUEST allows for a single fuel meter and does not support
multiple fuel meters.
11.2.3 Process loads
Process loads for non-HVAC equipment can be added to the model as a direct load on a
meter. An example of a process load that may need to be added to a model would be exterior
lighting or elevator energy use. Enter a peak kW load on the Direct Loads tab for the meter.
Then apply a custom Schedule as well as an End use, to categorize the energy
consumption in the simulation reports.

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12. SETTING UP THE COMPLIANCE RUN

CAN-QUEST offers the option of checking compliance with the National Energy Code of
Canada for Buildings (NECB 2011) by automatically creating the appropriate NECB 2011
reference building. This chapter describes the steps to set up a NECB 2011 compliance run.
Note that the reference building generated by CAN-QUEST may not be fully compliant with
the NECB 2011. The user should confirm compliance of the reference model with the NECB
2011 and modify it as necessary.

12.1 Steps to set up a compliance run

There are several steps that must be followed to set up a successful compliance run in
CAN-QUEST. The inputs required under some of the building features are described below:

1. Project & Site feature: At the top of the building tree, select Project: “Name,” which
will open the Project Properties dialogue box. Under Energy Code Compliance,
select the Code & Version: NECB 2011 (NECB2011.bin)”

2. Project & Site: Open the Compliance Analysis Data dialogue box by double
clicking on the Compliance Data icon in the building tree and select Space Type or
the applicable building type under Basis-Sp. Use. It is important to indicate the
correct number of storeys under Num. Stories because this number will be used to
select the correct system type. Be sure to check the Includes DHW box if domestic
hot water is to be included in the analysis.

3. Building Shell or Internal Loads features: For each space, there are required inputs
on the Basic Specs and Compliance tabs of the Space Properities dialogue box.
These parameters need to be set only once (i.e. if this is entered under the Building
Shell feature, it does not need to be entered again under the Internal Loads feature).
The Basic Specs tab contains a section that calls for Space Use Distribution (see
Section 2.1 for a description of how to break up zones into spaces). It is very
important that the predominant space type be listed first. CAN-QUEST uses the first
item on the list to determine the system type of the reference building as well as the
appropriate schedule for the space/zone when Use M/NECB default schedules is
selected. (This will not be required if Building Type analysis is selected). See Section
12.1.1 for more details on the space-by-space method. The Compliance tab requires
you to define a domestic hot water schedule (DHW Schedule) and Fan Schedule.
The DHW schedules will be averaged across the building where multiple space types
and schedules are present. The Compliance tab also requires the outdoor air
distribution configuration to be defined (Air Dist. Config.) in order to determine the
ventilation effectiveness (Ez) as per ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2010 Ventilation for
Acceptable Indoor Air Quality. See Figure 12-1 – Space Properties, Compliance and
below for a description of the Compliance tab checkboxes.

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Figure 12-1 – Space Properties, Compliance Tab

Use M/NECB default schedules: Checking this box overwrites previously selected
schedules with the appropriate NECB 2011 schedules that are connected to the first space
type selected in the Space Distribution table on the Basic Specs tab.

Use NECB default non-regulated loads: A checked box triggers defaulting of non-regulated
loads for the entire space, which include occupancy densities, metabolic heat injection rates,
equipment loads, outdoor air rates and solar water heating (SWH) loads. An unchecked box
signifies that user-provided non-regulated loads for each space will be considered in the
compliance analysis.

Include lighting of unconditioned space: By default, unconditioned spaces are considered

to be unoccupied, and any associated lighting load is considered to be beyond the scope of
the code and therefore compliance-neutral, as with any receptacle or process loads. Check
the Include lighting of unconditioned space checkbox if such lighting is to be considered
in the compliance analysis (e.g. lighting in an unheated storage space). An unchecked box
renders lighting in unconditioned spaces compliance-neutral.

Occupant sensor lighting control credit(s): See Section 7.3 for more information related to
occupancy sensors. Check the Occupant sensor lighting control credit(s) box to indicate
that a space’s lighting load is to be controlled by occupant sensors. Section 4.3.2.10 of the

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NECB 2011 provides the adjustment factors that are to be applied to space types that are
admissible for occupancy sensor control factors. If Occupant sensor lighting control
credit(s) is checked, CAN-QUEST will apply the appropriate adjustment factors, as per
NECB 2011 Article 4.3.2.10, to the lighting load of all subspaces defined within the space.
Make sure to take this limitation into consideration when applying occupancy sensor lighting
controls (e.g. either reconsider the zoning or space grouping strategies, or manually apply
the appropriate lighting control adjustment factors and reset the proposed lighting power
densities accordingly, while leaving the checkbox unchecked).

Heated Only: Checking this box indicates that the proposed system is only heated, requiring
the NECB 2011 reference system 1 for residential buildings only.

Vented Kitchen Appliances: This box is applicable for supermarket/food preparation

building types or space functions to identify whether the space has any vented appliances.
This sets the appropriate system type for the reference case (NECB 2011 Table 8.4.4.8.A).

12.1.1 Space-by-space method

If you select the space-by-space method for lighting, each “conditioned” CAN-QUEST space
should be subdivided into one or more (sub) space types, as per Table 4.2.1.6 of the NECB
2011. For each Occupancy Type entry in the Space Use Distribution table, specify a valid
corresponding Area entry, the sum of which must match the overall space area.

Although the Space Use Distribution table provides up to 10 row entries, only the first 5 row
entries will be considered for NECB 2011 compliance purposes. Row entries 6 to 10 will halt
the compliance analysis with an error message. Additionally, multiple row entries must start
at row 1, and move sequentially up to row 5. Thus, for example, three entries cannot fill in
rows 3, 4 and 5; they must fill in rows 1, 2 and 3, or the compliance analysis will be halted
with an error message.

Individual row entries of power densities, overall power and scheduling in both the
Equipment and Lighting tables under the Equipment and Lighting tabs, respectively, have
a one-to-one relationship with row entries in the Space Use Distribution table.

Example

A 100-m2 office space subdivided into open-plan offices (Row 1, 60 m2) and meeting
rooms (Row 2, 40 m2).

Under the Lighting tab, Row 1 lighting power density and its scheduling will be applied to
60 m2 of open-plan offices, while Row 2 lighting power density and its scheduling will be
applied to 40 m2 of meeting rooms. Under the space-by-space method, mismatches
between the number of row entries in either the Equipment or the Lighting tables and the
number of row entries in the Space Use Distribution table will result in user-prompt
messages or error messages during a compliance simulation. For example, if the number
of occupancy types specified in the Space Use Distribution table is different from the
number of lighting type entries, compliance error messages will appear to identify this
mismatch (see Figure 12-2 – User Prompts Example). The same applies to equipment
type entries.

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Figure 12-2 – User Prompts Example

12.1.2 Building area method

If the building area method is selected, you do not need to complete the Space Use
Distribution table. However, you still have the option of subdividing a space as in the
space-by-space method by providing one or more (valid) subarea entries (m2). CAN-QUEST
only allows subareas when using the building area method, not occupancy types (as only a
single occupancy type per building is allowed under the NECB 2011 building area method,
with the exception of dwelling unit space types, which can still be specified).

As with the space-by-space method, the use of the Space Use Distribution table under the
building area method will trigger a one-to-one relationship between its sub-area row entries
and matching Equipment and Lighting row entries (i.e. the sum of the subareas must equal
the total area and there must be a one-to-one correspondence between the Space Use
Distribution table and the Equipment and Lighting tables). Mismatches between these
tables will result in user-prompt messages or errors during a compliance simulation run.

The Space Use Distribution table under the building area method provides a means of
defining multiple lighting or equipment loads and schedules, with corresponding loads and
schedules for the reference building, and also facilitates toggling between the space-by-
space and building area methods without losing data.

The Space Use Distribution table may be left empty when using the building area method.
However, multiple Equipment and Lighting table row entries will apply to the entire space
area in a cumulative manner in these cases. For example, if there are two lighting system
entries using the Power Definition method, each with a specific power density (W/m2), the
compliance module in CAN-QUEST will find the lighting power (W) for each of the two
lighting systems using the total area of the space, and then these two components will be
summed to find the total lighting level (W) for the space.

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12.2 Resolving errors

As Natural Resources Canada becomes aware of errors, they will be collated into regular
updates that will be shared with CAN-QUEST users. Known issues and the interpretations of
the NECB 2011 used in the development of CAN-QUEST are recorded in the software’s
Release Notes, available in the main CAN-QUEST installation folder.

See Figure 12-3 - Compliance Analysis Error Message below for an example of a
Compliance Analysis Error message. When Yes is selected, Rules Evaluation Error List
(see Figure 12-4 - Rules Evaluation Error List) will be displayed. This window indicates that
errors were generated during the compliance simulation and gives an indication of where the
errors occurred; this list is part of the Project-file.CAL file.

Figure 12-3 - Compliance Analysis Error Message

Figure 12-4 - Rules Evaluation Error List

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12.3 Reports generated

CAN-QUEST provides a number of reports that are available directly from the interface,
either by clicking on the Reports icon (Results View) or by selecting the Reports tab, to the
lower left of the CAN-QUEST interface. You can then select the report of interest. To see the
detailed simulation results, select Tools/View Simulation Output. These reports are
explained in the Introductory Tutorial and Modelling Procedures Quick Reference Guide
documents, which are available from the Help/Tutorials and Reference menu option.

Following a successful simulation run, you will be asked whether you would like to view the
CAN-QUEST compliance report. This report provides a summary of both the proposed
design and its equivalent NECB 2011 reference building that can help designers and
authorities having jurisdiction compare the relative performance of the proposed design to
that of the reference building.

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APPENDIX A. PARKING GARAGES

A.1. Uses of building exhaust air as low-grade heating

If a parking garage requires heating, a heating device, such as a unit heater, infrared heater
or fresh-air duct heater, is required. If the building discharges exhaust air via the parking
garage, less purchased mechanical/electrical heating is required. Therefore, this measure
saves energy. Simulators/designers need to be aware that this measure may contravene
some municipal and provincial building codes and is an acceptable energy conservation
measure only where permitted by the authority having jurisdiction (typically a city or
province).

Option: Calculate the available heat in the portion of building exhaust air discharged
via the parking garage and subtract this from the heating required in the
parking garage each hour. This credit is limited to providing 9°C of heating for
heated garages and 5°C for unheated garages. This credit can be combined
with space heating within the parking garage.

Reference: full mechanical/electrical heating each hour to the entered set point as per
drawings and specifications

Procedures: There are two options available.

A.2. Heated garage

A.2.1. Option 1: Convert available heat to process energy

Calculate creditable building exhaust heat available using the following:

Exh = 1.21 × flow × 9°C

1.21 = (m3/1 000 L) × 1 000 g/0.833 3 m3 (factor includes specific heat and air
density when dry, at sea level, and 0°C)
flow = exhaust air flow into garage (L/s)
9 °C = temperature (°C)
Exh = exhaust heat (watts)

Note: The specific heat of air is rounded to 1.00 J/g·K.

Convert this value to a W/m2 value by dividing it by the area of the parking garage, and enter
this value in the Space Properties, Equipment tab.

Ensure that the Equipment Schedules (Space Properties dialogue box, Equipment tab)
and Fan Schedules (Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Fans tab) for the
parking garage are modelled as NECB 2011 schedule H to correspond to 24-hour, 7-day
operation of the building exhaust and process (8 760 hr/yr). Ensure that the garage heating
schedule is set to a constant 9°C and the design temperature is 9°C for the space (both
specified in Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters, Basic Specifications tab).

Set the air handling System Type for the parking garage to packaged single-zone system
(Pkgd Single Zone) serving a single parking garage zone with a single space having an

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Occupancy Type of Storage area. If the air handler does not contain any ventilation air-
heating device and the design relies on the building exhaust air for space heating, set the
Heat Source to Electric (Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab)
with a Heating Capacity of 0.1 kW. This will allow the reference case to heat the ventilation
air to the set point.

Run the simulation in CAN-QUEST proposed and reference cases.

Manually remove the process calculation from the proposed CAN-QUEST simulation results
by using the following:

Process (kWh) = (Exh/1 000) × 8 760 hr/yr

Process (MJ) = (Exh/1 000) × 3.6 MJ/kWh × 8 760 hr/yr
Process (cost) = (Exh/1 000) × 8 760 × average cost per kWh

A.2.2. Option 2: Allow high unheated hours

Calculate creditable building exhaust heat available, using the following:

Exh = 1.21 × flow × 9°C

1.21 = (m3/1 000 L) × 1 000 g/0.833 3 m3 (factor includes specific heat and air
density when dry, at sea level, and 0°C)
flow = exhaust air flow into garage (L/sec)
9 °C = temperature (°C)
Exh = exhaust heat (watts)

Note: Specific heat of air is rounded to 1.00 J/g·K

Ensure that the Fan Schedule (Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Fans
tab) for the parking garage is modelled as NECB 2011 schedule H to correspond to 24-hour,
7-day operation of the building exhaust (8 760 hr/yr). Ensure that the garage heating
schedule is set to a constant 9°C and the design temperature is 9°C for the space (both
specified in Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Basic Specifications tab).

Set the air handling System Type for the parking garage to Pkgd Single Zone serving a
single parking garage zone with an Occupancy Type of Storage Area. If the air handler
does not contain any ventilation air-heating device and the design relies on the building
exhaust air for space heating, set the Heat Source to Electric (Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab) with no Heating Capacity entered. This will allow
the proposed design to autosize the heating capacity.

Run the file to determine the capacity of the autosized heating coil. This can be viewed in the
Summary tab of the Air-Side HVAC feature.

Ensure that the autosized garage heating coil capacity is less than the building exhaust heat
available (Exh) converted to kilowatts (kW). This ensures that the building exhaust has
sufficient heat to meet the design heating load, which should be enough to maintain the 9°C
temperature in the space. If the building exhaust heat available is less than the design
requirement, additional mechanical heating (ventilation or zone heating) is required, or the
set point needs to be lowered from 9°C.

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Rerun the simulation with a Heating Capacity of 0.1 kW entered (Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab) and accept the high number of unmet heating hours
as the building exhaust air-heating load will meet this requirement. The reference case will be
mechanically heated to the set point.

A.3. Unheated garage

A.3.1. Option 1: Convert available heat to process energy

To obtain credits for building exhaust air heat, the unheated garage must be converted to a
heated space. This is accomplished by creating a constant 5°C heating schedule and a
design set point of 5°C.

Calculate creditable building exhaust heat available, using the following:

Exh = 1.21 × flow × 5°C

1.21 = (m3/1 000 L) × 1 000 g/0.833 3 m3 (factor includes specific heat and air
density when dry, at sea level, and 0°C)
flow = exhaust air flow into garage (L/sec)
5 ºC = temperature (ºC)
Exh = exhaust heat (watts)

Note: Specific heat of air is rounded to 1.00 J/g·K

Convert this value to a W/m2 value by dividing it by the area of the parking garage, and enter
this value in the Space Properties dialogue box, Equipment tab.

Ensure that the Equipment schedules (Space Properties dialogue box, Equipment tab)
and Fan schedules (Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Fans tab) for the
parking garage are modelled as NECB 2011 schedule H to correspond to 24-hour, 7-day
operation of the building exhaust and process (8 760 hr/yr). Ensure that the garage heating
schedule is set to a constant 5°C and the design temperature is 5°C for the space (both
specified in Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue box, Basic Specifications tab).

Set the air handling System Type for the parking garage to Pkgd Single Zone serving a
single parking garage zone with the space Occupancy Type set to Storage area. If the air
handler does not contain any ventilation air-heating device and the design relies on the
building exhaust air for space heating, set the Heat Source to Electric (Air-Side HVAC
System Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab) with a Heating Capacity of 0.1 kW. This
will allow the reference case to heat the ventilation air to the set point.

Complete the simulations.

Manually remove the process calculation from the proposed CAN-QUEST results, using the
following:

Process (kWh) = (Exh/1 000) × 8 760 hr/yr

Process (MJ) = (Exh/1 000) × 3.6 MJ/kWh × 8 760 hr/yr
Process (cost) = (Exh/1 000) × 8 760 × average cost per kWh

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A.3.2. Option 2: Allow high unheated hours
To obtain credits for building exhaust air heat, the unheated garage must be converted to a
heated space. This is accomplished by creating a constant 5°C heating schedule and a
design set point of 5°C.

Calculate creditable building exhaust heat available, using the following:

Exh = 1.21 × flow × 5°C

1.21 = (m3/1 000 L) × 1 000 g/0.833 3 m3 (factor includes specific heat and air
density when dry, at sea level, and 0°C)
flow = exhaust air flow into garage (L/sec)
5 ºC = temperature (ºC)
Exh = exhaust heat (watts)

Note: Specific heat of air is rounded to 1.00 J/g·K

Ensure that the Fan Schedule (Air-Side HVAC System Parameters dialogue box, Fans
tab) for the parking garage is modelled as NECB 2011 schedule H to correspond to 24-hour,
7-day operation of the building exhaust (8 760 hr/yr). Ensure that the garage heating
schedule is set to a constant 5°C and the design temperature is 5°C for the space (both
specified under Zone Heating and Cooling in Air-Side HVAC Zone Parameters dialogue
box, Basic Specifications tab).

Set the air handling System Type for the parking garage to Pkgd Single Zone serving a
single parking garage zone with a space function of inactive storage. If the air handler does
not contain any ventilation air-heating device and the design relies on the building exhaust air
for space heating, set the heat source to electric (Air-Side HVAC System Parameters,
Heating tab) with no heating capacity entered. This will allow the proposed design to
autosize.

Run the file to determine the capacity of the autosized heating coil. This can be viewed in the
Summary tab of the Air-Side HVAC feature.

Ensure that the autosized garage heating coil capacity is less than the building exhaust heat
available (Exh) converted to kW. This ensures that the building exhaust has sufficient heat to
meet the design-heating load, which should be enough to maintain the 5°C temperature in
the space. If the building exhaust heat available is less than the design requirement, then
additional mechanical heating (ventilation or zone heating) is required, or the set point needs
to be lowered from 5°C.

Rerun the simulation with a Heating Capacity of 0.1kW entered (Air-Side HVAC System
Parameters dialogue box, Heating tab) and accept the high number of unmet heating hours,
as the building exhaust air heating load will meet this requirement. The reference case will be
mechanically heated to the set point.

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APPENDIX B. NECB 2011 TABLES

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