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Mechanical HVAC Design & Loads

Project: Audubon Society Location: New York City, NY Architect: Croxton Collaborative Arch. Solution: Heat Mirror 55, 66, 77/Clear

After design development, glazing choices are arguably the most important decisions made in the building envelope. In an important sense, glass provides a connection between the building and the world around it. So important is glass impact on the building's environment that it has been said that glass should be the first decision made in the building's mechanical system.  Glass impact on heat gain and heat loss in a structure leads to important decisions relative to mechanical delivery systems, cooling tonnage, and perimeter systems. From a design perspective, the U-factor and solar heat gain coefficient are the most critical design metrics.

Heat Mirror products provide the broadest range of performance levels, with U-factors less than 0.10 and SHGC performance below 0.20, Heat Mirror is unsurpassed in delivering performance which allows for mechanical system downsizing, providing capital savings and long term operating savings.

While the impact of solar heat gain on chiller size is appreciated, the impact of low U-factor in mechanical design is often not fully appreciated.  Research has shown that maintaining an interior glass surface temperature of 60 deg F at winter design temperatures, allows for the elimination of perimeter base board heaters, further reducing both capital expenses and on-going operating costs.

Benefits

• Thermal Performance - U-values lower than 0.10 for savings in heating costs
• Super Solar Control - A range of choices including SHGC performance below 0.20 reducing chiller requirements
• LEED/ Sustainable design - Very High Performance Heat Mirror glass can help designers realize 10 LEED points or more based upon design execution.