ISO 52016-1:2017

Overview

ISO 52016-1:2017 - “Energy performance of buildings - Energy needs for heating and cooling, internal temperatures and sensible and latent heat loads - Part 1: Calculation procedures” - defines standardized calculation procedures to quantify heating/cooling energy needs, internal temperatures and both sensible and latent heat loads. The standard supports hourly and monthly calculation intervals and is applicable to residential and non‑residential buildings at the design stage, after construction and during the use phase.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Output scope: energy need for heating and cooling (sensible), latent energy need for (de-)humidification, internal temperatures, sensible heating/cooling loads, moisture and latent heat loads, and design sensible and latent loads. Also specifies supply-air conditions needed for humidification/dehumidification.
• Calculation methods: detailed hourly and monthly procedures, including inputs, assumptions and choices between methods; hourly procedures are suitable for detailed load profiles and system interaction modeling.
• Thermal zoning: calculations are performed per thermal zone; zones may be treated as thermally coupled or uncoupled. Guidance is provided on zoning size, heat exchange between zones and handling of adjacent unconditioned spaces.
• Inputs and parameters: geometry, thermophysical properties, internal gains, ventilation, solar gains, operation schedules, constants and physical data. Annexes provide templates and default input choices.
• System interaction: methods cover basic building loads (without system interaction) and system‑specific calculations that include interaction with HVAC systems and control strategies; hourly procedures can form the basis for advanced control modeling.
• Verification and quality control: requirements for calculation reporting, verification test cases, validation for alternative procedures and compliance checks are included to ensure reliable and reproducible results.
• Supporting material: normative and informative annexes (input templates, regional references, multi‑zone coupling, window and shading calculations, dynamic transparent elements).

Practical applications and users

Who uses ISO 52016-1:

• HVAC engineers and energy modelers for accurate load sizing and system selection
• Building designers and architects to assess thermal performance and passive measures
• Energy assessors and certification bodies for compliance with EPB (Energy Performance of Buildings) frameworks
• Facility managers and system integrators for optimizing control strategies
• Researchers and policymakers working on building energy regulation and standards

Practical uses:

• Sizing heating, cooling and dehumidification equipment
• Producing energy need estimates for design-stage simulations and retrofit assessments
• Supporting compliance with national/regional EPB regulations and standards
• Feeding hourly load profiles into building automation and control optimization

Related standards

• ISO 52000-1 (context and modular structure for EPB standards)
• Other parts of the ISO 52016 series (for complementary procedures and data)

Keywords: ISO 52016-1:2017, energy performance of buildings, heating and cooling, hourly calculation, monthly calculation, sensible and latent heat, internal temperature, thermal zones, HVAC sizing, EPB standards.