Hi all - I'm hoping to solicit a few opinions on an interpretation of Section 11 rules for 90.1-2010.
I'm modelling a mid-sized office in Canada that uses zonal water-source heat pumps. The water loop is heated to around 60-70 degF by gas boilers, and is cooled by a tower to around 90 degF.
What should the baseline system be per Section 11 (ECB) rules? On one hand I would suggest System Type 6, as heat is provided to the space via heat pump and it gives me a straightforward comparison between WSHP in the Proposed and Reference. The complication is that I am then required to compare the proposed Tower+WSHP to the reference DX system required for System 6.
The alternative would be System 7. If I consider the building to be a control volume, heat pumps are not the primary energy source working to bring heat into the control volume; rather, the primary heating energy entering is the gas used in the boilers... With System Type 7 I would be comparing my Proposed WSHP+Boiler+Tower to the Reference FPFC+Chiller+Boiler.
Does anybody have any opinions they could share, official or unofficial as they might be?
