Why Verified F280-12 Software is Important
As readers may be aware, CSA F280-12, requires that any software claiming to provide results according to the standard be verified according to the procedure set out in the standard.
The CSA adopted the verification system to protect homeowners from known issues after testing showed that several software systems in Canada did not produce results consistent with the standard. For heat loss, whole house errors of up to 30% were observed with individual rooms showing up to 50% differences. For cooling, differences between software and expected results could lead to the selection of incorrectly sized equipment.
All Canadian Building Codes require the use of CSA F280-12 to select heating and cooling equipment. The CSA adopted the requirement for software to be verified:
CSA F280-12 sentence 8.1.2.(a) states: Software systems that claim to conform to the CSA F280 calculation procedure shall be verified according to the procedure set out in Clause 8. (Clause 8 is the verification section of the Standard).
When the verification requirement was brought into effect, the core methodologies of the standard were not changed.
A designer using verified software can be sure the results they are producing are accurate and therefore can confidently specify appropriately sized heating and cooling equipment. Using unverified software may lead to incorrectly sized equipment which do not adequately address the heating and cooling needs of a building resulting in functional issues with equipment, homeowner comfort, and more importantly homeowner health and safety.
Designers and other users should be aware that software which claims to be “F280-12 compliant” but is not verified may result in significant errors and does not comply with the intent of the Canadian Building Codes.
HVAC-DC publishes the list of 8 officially verified software found here: www.HVACDC.ca/Software. Verified software can also be recognized by the standardized three-page results form accompanying this article. The cover page will cite the verification status of the software and may include the “Verified” logo.
Download the sample form here.
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