Help to settle debate

[blackbelt3677]

70 tons of cooling for the Outback. I always figued a rule of thumb to be

1 ton of cooling= 400 square feet (general rule of thumb)
actual conditions will affect load
example= design temp
people in space
lighting
so with my rule of thumb that would be about a 30000 sq. foot restaurant.

just my 2 cents

[flange]

I did a resturant that was around that size a few years ago, and eighty tons were installed. It should have been a tad higher but the owner was a tad cheap.

[Tech Rob]

I don't really work in restaraunts, but I look at HVAC equipment everywhere I go. I notice here in Florida, there are many small restaraunts about town with 3 or 4 20-25 ton rooftop units.

I've seen some pretty complex systems in restaraunts before, with building pressure controlled makeup air/exhaust, VFDs, 100% outside air units feeding the returns of other units, etc. etc. I heard somewhere in Orlando, there's a steakhouse with a 300 ton screw chiller. Never seen it before, though.

[rscamaro]

1 ton of cooling= 400 square feet (general rule of thumb)

<snipped>

so with my rule of thumb that would be about a 30000 sq. foot restaurant.

just my 2 cents

A company I used to work for had a book with all kinds of design rules of thumb in it. A house would be something like 28 btus per square foot heat and 30 or 32 btus for cooling, whereas say a jewelry store would be closer to 50 btus cooling per square foot and minimal for the heat.

That's why it is so important to do your heat loss calculations, you may get by with the rules of thumb but more information is always better for you and the customer.

...Ron