Have any of you been involved in a thoughtful discussion of "real" peak loads vs those typically calculated by the design form?
Our experience is that a typical (designer) load calculation includes exaggerated lighting and plug loads, does not account for non-coincident load schedules AND adds safety factors - sometimes in multiple levels. We think the actual load may be 30% lower, affecting fan sizes, coil selections, duct and piping, control valves, chillers, boilers.
We'd like to initiate a discussion with the design firm(s) and want to be confident we consider all of the key factors, since there is some risk if we undersize....
