I. Fundamentals of the method.

This text will outline the fundamentals of the RTSM method. A further explanation
A detailed account of it can be found in the specialized bibliography [1], [2], [3], and [4].

The RTSM method is based on the idea that any heat gain produced in a
local can be broken down into two components, a radiant portion and a portion
convective. The convective portion can be considered an instantaneous load, but the
The radiant portion has a strong thermal inertia component that is evaluated through
the RTF coefficients (radiant time factors). Thus, the method consists of two basic steps: in a
The first step is to calculate the heat gains due to the different contributions (windows,
opaque enclosures, occupants, ventilation, lighting and other internal loads) and in a
The second step is to calculate the refrigeration load corresponding to each of those.
contributions.

II. Calculation of the intensity of solar radiation incident on a

surface.
To calculate heat gains through gaps (windows, skylights, etc.) and
Opaque enclosures require information about the incident solar radiation.
about that gap or closure. The procedure for calculating that incident radiation is the
as described below. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the
solar angles.

Figure 1. Solar angles, [1].

II.1. Obtaining the angle of incidence of solar radiation.
A. Calculation of the apparent solar time (AST).

(1)
60 15
Where:
LST: local solar time.
-ET: time coefficient (table 1).
LSM: local standard meridian (in Spain 0).
LON: longitude of the location considered.

B. Calculation of the hour angle (H).

A B 15 12 C D E (2)

C. Calculation of the solar altitude angle (β).

(3)
Where:
‐ L: latitude of the considered place.
‐ δangle of declination (table 1).

ET Declineδ) A
B C
(minutes) (degrees) (W/m2)
January 11.2 20.2 1202 0.141 0.103
February 13.9 10.8 1187 0.142 0.104
March 7.5 0.0 1164 0.149 0.109
April 1.1 11.6 1130 0.164 0.120
May 3.3 20.0 1106 0.177 0.130
June 1.4 23.45 1092 0.185 0.137
Julio 6.2 20.6 1093 0.186 0.138
August 2.4 12.3 1107 0.182 0.134
September 7.5 0.0 1136 0.165 0.121
October 15.4 10.5 1166 0.152 0.111
November 13.8 19.8 1190 0.142 0.106
December 1.6 23.45 1204 0.141 0.103
Table 1. Solar data for the 21st day of each month, [1].

D. Calculation of solar azimuth.

Measured from the north, that is, measured as the angle of the solar projection
forma con el eje norte –sur y comenzando a contar desde el norte, el azimut solar se
you can obtain as:

(4)
In this calculation, it should be noted that expression (4) does not distinguish between
morning and afternoon - cos (154.16º)=0.9 and cos(205.84º)=0.9, but the first case
corresponds to an azimuth of less than 180º (before solar noon) and the 2nd case to a
azimuth greater than 180º (after solar noon) –, therefore if it is implemented in
In Excel, it will be necessary to apply conditional formatting to the hour value.
solar local (LST).
 E. Calculation of the solar surface azimuth.
Ψ (5)
Being Ψ the angle formed by the normal to the surface considered with the north axis
south (measured clockwise starting from the north).

F. Calculation of the angle of incidence.

Σ (6)Σ
Where is the inclination of the surface considered (0 if it is horizontal, 90 if it is vertical)?
vertical).
Therefore, this angle of incidence depends, in addition to the inclination of the
surface considered, of the solar altitudeβ and the solar-surface azimuthγIt is necessary
take into account that values ofγ greater than 90º or less than 90º imply that
the sun is behind the surface and, therefore, that surface will not receive
direct solar radiation (although diffuse radiation is present).

II.2. Obtaining solar radiation.

A. Calculation of total direct solar radiation.
Total direct solar radiation can be obtained as:

(7)
⁄
Where:
-AyB can be obtained from table 1 andβ it is the calculated solar altitude angle
previously. It is important to keep in mind that values ofβ less than
zero implies that the sun is below the horizon and therefore, it is
in this case, solar radiation will be null.
It is the clarity coefficient, which gives us an idea of the turbidity of the
atmosphere. Its value ranges from 0.9 for very turbid atmosphere (for example in
contaminated areas or with high humidity in the environment) and 1.15 for
very clear atmospheres (without pollution and clear atmosphere). In the absence of
information, take CN=1.

B. Calculation of the incident direct solar radiation.

The direct solar radiation incident is obtained immediately from the radiation.
solar and the angle of incidence such as:
(8)

C. Calculation of diffuse solar radiation.

The calculation of the diffuse solar radiation incident on a surface depends on the
tilt of it.
-For vertical surfaces:
(9)
Where:
Take the table 1.
Y=0.45 if 𝒅𝒊 = 0.20
A B 0.55 D 0.437 C EFGH D 0.313 C EFG the 0.20
 For non-vertical surfaces:
1 G GHIΣ
(10)
2
Where is the angle of inclination of the surface (measured over the horizontal).

D. Calculation of reflected diffuse radiation.

The diffuse radiation reflected by the ground is obtained as:
1 ʓ ʒʓʏΣ
(11)
2
Where es el coeficiente de reflexión del suelo (tabla 2).

E. Calculation of total radiation.

The total radiation incident on a surface will be obtained as the sum of the radiation
direct incident, diffuse radiation (depends on whether the surface is vertical or horizontal) and
the reflected diffuse radiation:
(12)

Table 2. Reflection coefficients of different types of soil, [1].

III. Calculation of the solar-air temperature.

The solar temperature is defined as the temperature that the outside air should have for the flow of
heat over a considered surface, in the absence of heat transfer by radiation,
it was the same as that in a real situation where, in addition to exchange
heat by convection with the surrounding environment, there is heat transfer by radiation.

Your determination is necessary to calculate heat loss through enclosure.

opaque. It can be obtained as:

, , (13)
Where:
 ‐ t ohIt is the exterior dry temperature at the considered hour. Its value is determined from
from the maximum recorded outdoor dry temperature in [5] and the correction that must be
to obtain that value based on the daily average temperature fluctuations in
the considered location, according to the procedure described in UNE 10014 [6].
It is the absorption coefficient of solar radiation of the surface.
‐ E tit is the total radiation incident on the surface.
-hcit is the combined convective coefficient (takes into account both the effect of the
convection proper as the contribution of radiation), which can
take from the CTE (annex E of the HE1) [7].

Once a method has been provided to calculate the total incident radiation on
a surface and the solar temperature, the calculation of the different heat gains can be approached.

IV. Obtaining heat gains.

IV.1. Heat gain through opaque enclosures.
The heat gain through opaque enclosures is strongly influenced by the
thermal inertia of the enclosure, which is taken into account through the CTSFs factors
(conduction time series factors), which are response factors of the enclosure to
variations in thermal conditions. For each hour of the day, the heat gain by
Conduction through an enclosure is obtained as:

, W, N_FR (14)

Where:

-U: overall heat transfer coefficient of the enclosure (W/m2∙K).

A: surface of the enclosure (m2).
-cjCTSF coefficient.
‐ t e,h_jδ:The temperature before solar noon.
-trcTemperature inside the premises.

In this expression, the CTSF coefficients give us an idea of the amount of heat.
that has been previously stored in the enclosure and is released at the considered hour.
As can be seen in figure 2, for lightweight enclosures, the CTSF values will be
high in the early hours and close to zero at other times, while for heavy walls the
CTSF values will remain relatively constant during the 24-hour calculation.
considered.
 Figure 2. Evolution of the CTS factor for 3 types of walls.

The value of the CTSF factors depends on the composition of the enclosure and exists in the
specialized bibliography [1] tables that provide their value for compositions of
most typical enclosures. Alternatively, the PRF/RTF Generator software can be used.
which allows obtaining all the necessary parameters for the application of the RTSM method.

IV.2. Heat gain through semi-transparent enclosures.

The gain of heat through semi-transparent enclosures (windows) is due to three
different contributions:

• Radiation transmitted through the windows.

• Part of the radiation absorbed by the window and that is subsequently transmitted to
interior of the premises.
• Heat transmitted by conduction/convection through the window.

To simplify the calculation process, the profit is usually calculated on one side.
heat by conduction, convection, and on the other hand, the gain from transmitted radiation
absorbed.

The calculation of heat gain by conduction and convection is done immediately.

applying the following expression:

, , (15)
Where:

-U: overall heat transfer coefficient of the opening (W/m2∙K).

‐ A: surface of the hole (m 2).
-tohDry exterior
: temperature at the time (do not confuse with solar-air temperature).
‐ t rcTemperature inside the establishment.
To obtain the heat gain through radiation via windows, it is necessary to determine
first the SHGC (solar heat gain coefficient). It is a dimensionless coefficient that
it depends on the composition of the window and the angle of incidence of the radiation, θ, (for
direct solar radiation, in the case of diffuse radiation it only depends on the composition of the
window). Its value for the most typical window compositions can be found in the
specialized bibliography [1], [9]In practice, these tables are limited to a number
relatively small windows of the type, so what will have to be done is to look for that one
composition more similar to that of the window under study. One must look for the one
composition that at least has the same number of layers, a light transmittance value
visible (Tvaccording to the nomenclature used in these tables) as similar as possible to that of the
window study object and a description of it as close as possible.

The SHGC coefficient is referred to in Spanish regulations (CTE-DB HE) as the solar factor of
glass (g)1and it is defined as the percentage of energy that passes through a glazed surface
regarding the total incident radiation:

(16)

Where:

-EDdirect solar radiation incident.

-Ed: radiación solar difusa incidente.
‐ τDtransmittance of glass for direct solar radiation.
‐ τdtransmittance of glass for diffuse solar radiation.
‐ αDabsorption of glass for direct solar radiation.
‐ αdabsorption of glass for diffuse solar radiation.
‐ hc iconvective coefficient on the inner face of the glass can be taken from [7].
-hceconvective coefficient on the outer surface of the glass can be taken from [7].

Knowing the value of SHGC, the calculation of heat gain through radiation is obtained through
gaps are divided into gain from direct radiation and gain from diffuse radiation:

, (17)
, (18)
, , (19)
Where:

A: total surface of the opening, including frame (m2).

-ASLsurface of the gap free of shadows (m2)

The calculation of shadow projection by a horizontal or vertical overhang is done starting from
of the values of the solar altitude angleβ and the azimuth angleγFrom these two
the angle of shadow is obtained as:

1
The CTE in its DB HE1 'Limitation of energy demand' establishes that the modified solar factor
The calculation of a hole or skylight is based on the solar factor of the semi-transparent part at incidence.
normal .
 tanβ
tan Ω (20)
tanγ
The width and height of the shadow projected by the overhang are obtained as:

tanγ
| | (21)
tan Ω (22)
Where PHyPVthey are the depth of the horizontal and vertical overhangs respectively (see figure
3).

The surface exposed to direct radiation (ASL) and shaded (ASH) are obtained
respectively as:

(23)
(24)
If there are interior shadow elements such as curtains or Venetian blinds, the effect of
attenuation produced by these elements is taken into account through the coefficients of
attenuation IACs. Table 3 shows the values of the attenuation coefficients for some
typical solutions. More detailed information can be found in the bibliography
specialized [1], [9].

Figure 3. Shadow projection on a window, [1].

Table 3 provides, in addition to the attenuation coefficients, the value of the factor mr, which
represents the percentage of energy transmitted in the form of radiation through the gap:

(25)
 Blinds
Interiors Exteriors
IAC Mr. IAC mister
Light color 0.50 28.8 0.14 96.2
Medium color 0.65 17.9 0.11 96.2
Dark color 0.80 12.2 0.09 96.2
Interior curtains (amount of thread)
Medium Spaced Thick
IAC Mr IAC Mr IAC Mr
Light color 0.67 84.0 0.54 75.0 0.45 48.0
Medium color 0.77 64.0 0.69 42.0 0.64 23.0
Dark color 0.87 49.0 0.84 26.0 0.82 10.0
Table 3. Attenuation coefficients for blinds and curtains.

When applying the values from table 3, it is necessary to take into account that it has been assumed that the
additional elements are regulated in such a way that they completely interrupt the passage of radiation
directly, that is, for 100% of performance. If not, the factor IAC would be included
between the value provided in the table and the unit (it is common to use the average value between
both ends.

IV.3. Heat gain by ventilation.

The heat gain from ventilation has a latent component and a sensible component.
El aire que entra desde el exterior se mezcla inmediatamente con el aire del local, variando sus
thermal conditions, so the heat gain from ventilation can be considered
snapshot, that is, all heat gain will be accounted for as thermal load.

The ventilation flows are set by Spanish regulations. For the case of buildings of
housing, the CTE in its basic document HS3 'Indoor Air Quality' [10] establishes that the
The ventilation flow rates will be those collected in table 4.

Table 4. Minimum ventilation flows required by the CTE for residential buildings. The number of
occupants are considered equal to 1 in single bedrooms and equal to 2 in double bedrooms; in
Dining rooms and living rooms are considered equal to the sum of those counted for all the bedrooms.
 from the housing. In the premises of the homes intended for various uses, the flow is considered
corresponding to the use for which a greater flow results, [10].

For buildings in the tertiary sector, the ventilation flows are those established in the RITE.
[11], which states that ventilation rates will depend on indoor air quality
required in the building. The RITE establishes different methods to determine the necessary flow rate, being
the simplest one that sets the flow based on the occupancy level, as described in the
table 5.

Table 5. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) based on the rate of outdoor air per person, [11].

The values of sensible and latent load due to ventilation can be obtained as:

, , , , (26)

, , , (27)
Donde:

Airflow introduced from the outside (m)3/s).

-vespecific volume of air under outdoor conditions (m3/kg).
‐ W: specific humidity (kg/kg dry air) (e→outside, rc→inside the room).
-cp: calor específico (kJ/kgºC) (as→aire seco,va→vapor de agua).
-cflatent heat of vaporization of water (kJ/kg).

IV.4. Heat gain from infiltrations.

The treatment of heat gain from infiltrations is identical to that of the load due to
ventilation. The problem lies in accurately estimating the amount of infiltrated air. The air is
it infiltrates into the premises due to the greater pressure it has on the outside of the building,
mainly due to the airspeed that impacts the enclosures, and due to the difference
of the existing densities between the air outside and inside.

There are also many facilities where there are practically no infiltrations, such as
they can be:

Installations where the return air volume is less than the supply volume, due to
what keeps the premises at a certain overpressure, so in practice there are
exfiltrations and not infiltrations.
Facilities that do not include a fan in the return.
Facilities where there is no air extraction to the outside.
IV.5. Internal heat gains.
The internal heat gains are due to occupancy, lighting, and other equipment.
The heat gain from occupancy always has a latent component and a component
sensible, while the lighting load only has a sensible component. The
The loading by equipment will always have a sensitive component and, depending on the
Equipment that exists inside the premises may or may not have latent components.

The latent component of any internal heat gains is considered a load.

snapshot, while the sensitive component has a significant inertia component
thermal and therefore only part of the sensible heat gain will count as load
thermal at each moment.

The heat gain from occupancy will depend on the number of occupants and the level of
activity that those occupants are carrying out. The data of latent and sensible heat
detached by a person based on their activity is tabulated and collected in the
specialized bibliography [1], [12], [13]. Table 6 shows a summary of that information.

The heat gain from lighting is probably the most important of the gains.
internal heat, especially in tertiary sector buildings, where the levels of
lighting is generally very high, leading to significant internal loads. This
the load only has a sensitive component and has a strong thermal inertia component that
It will also depend on the type of lighting employed (incandescent, fluorescent,
fluorescent with reactance, etc.).

Table 6. Heat generated in different physical activities, [13].

The heat gain from lighting at each moment will be obtained as the sum of the powers.
of all the lights on at that moment. In the case of using lighting
Fluorescent with reactance will also need to include the consumption of those reactances.
Finally, in a building there may be other internal loads due to the existence of
different teams that dissipate heat into the environment, such as computers,
photocopiers, televisions and, in general, any energy-consuming equipment.
In the majority of cases, these units will only emit sensible heat, although there may be others.
devices such as coffee makers, fryers, dishwashers, etc. that also provide load
latent. However, when there are systems that contribute latent load, the most common is
that there is also an extractor hood, which is usually assumed to remove from the premises both the
latent load as the instantaneous sensible load, so in these cases (when there is a
extraction hood) only the sensible heat gain emitted by these is usually accounted for
radiation-shaped equipment.

V. Division of heat gains into radiant and

convective.
The instant thermal load of a space is defined as the amount of energy that is
transmits by convection to the air of that room per unit of time. The calculation of the gain of
convection heat transfer becomes complicated due to the exchange of radiant energy that occurs
produced between different surfaces, furniture, etc.

The RTSM method is based on, once all heat gains are calculated, to separate them into
radiant and convective portions. The entire convective portion will represent thermal load
snapshot, while the radiant portion introduces a strong component of inertia
thermal that will be evaluated as described in point VI.

Table 7 shows the recommended values for dividing each heat gain into
convective and radiant component.
 Table 7. Recommended coefficients for dividing profits
of heat in radiant and convective components, [1].

VI. Conversion of radiant heat gain into thermal load.

To convert the radiant portion of hourly heat gains into hourly load, the method
RTSM uses the RTF (radiant time factor) factors. The RTSM method calculates the thermal load in
a given moment based on the heat gain that is present both at that moment and in the
previous hours, in such a way that the expression used to calculate the thermal load in a
instant is a radiant load time series (Radiant Time Series Method). This series
shows the portion of radiant energy that is transmitted by convection to the air from the
local every hour. Thus,r0represents the fraction of radiant energy transmitted to the air
by convection at the current hour,1in the previous hour, etc. The series generated is used
to convert radiant energy into instantaneous charge according to the following expression:

, , , , (28)
Where:

-Qhthermal load in the considered hour.

‐ q hheat gain in the considered hour.
-h,ngain δof heat hours before.
 -rjRTF coefficients j hours before the considered hour.

The values of the RTF coefficients are unique for each location and depend on both the
geometric characteristics of the premises as well as the composition of its enclosures. These
factors depend on the distribution of radiant energy entering the premises. Thus, the
direct solar radiation that enters through the windows (shortwave radiation) tends to
directly affect the soil, causing its warming (which subsequently
will generate heat transfer by convection to the space), while wave radiation
The charge emitted by the internal charges is distributed more or less homogeneously among
all the surfaces of the premises, which can lead to significant differences in the response
thermal against solar radiation and non-solar radiation. For this reason, two are used
different values for the RTF coefficients, one related to solar radiation and the other of
application to the internal loads and heat gains through the building's enclosures
(excluding the gain from radiation through windows).

The values of the RTF coefficients (both for solar gain and non-solar) can
to be found in the specialized bibliography [1] for some of the most typical compositions
of enclosures. However, the existing bibliography comes from the United States, where
The types of enclosures commonly used do not match those that are used.
normally in Spain, so it is more convenient to calculate the exact values of
those RTF coefficients using the software [8].

VII. Implementation of the method.

Once all the heat gains have been calculated and the share of each has been determined
gain that becomes thermal load at every moment, obtaining the load
Thermal at each moment only needs to add each of the contributions. In this way
In summary, the procedure for applying the RTSM method is as follows:

1. Calculate the angle of incidence of solar radiation and the solar-air temperature according to the
procedure described in sections II and III.
2. Calculate the heat gain through opaque enclosures (eq. 14). To do this, it will be
It is necessary to determine the CTSF coefficients for all exterior enclosures.
It can be done approximately based on the tables provided in the
specialized bibliography [1] or, more precisely, using the software
proposed [8].
3. Calculate the heat gain through semi-transparent enclosures. It
break down into:
a. Heat gain by conduction convection (eq. 15).
b. Heat gain by radiation (eq. 17, 19, and 19).
To determine this gain, it is necessary to have the solar factor of
glass for angle of incidence of radiation. This value can
obtained from the tables collected in the bibliography [1], [9], collected
in the Excel file 'Window Characteristics'.
 ii. In case there are shadows projected on the window, it will be
It is necessary to calculate the area of the shadow-free opening (eq. 20 a
24).
iii. In case there are internal elements for radiation attenuation
it will be necessary to take into account its influence, multiplying the value
obtained from equation 19 by the attenuation coefficient
(IAC).
4. Calculate the heat gain from ventilation (eq. 26 and 27). It is necessary to determine the
ventilation level required by the applicable regulation. It will also be necessary to evaluate
the possible existence of infiltrations.
5. Calculate the heat gain from internal sources.
6. Divide all heat gains into convective component and component
radiant, using the coefficients suggested in table 7.
7. Convert radiant heat gain into thermal load.
First of all, it is necessary to determine the RTF coefficients, both for radiation.
solar as well as non-solar. Its value can be obtained approximately.
using the tables provided in the existing bibliography [1] or,
more accurately, using the proposed software [8].
b. For each of the heat gains by radiation calculated, obtain,
empleando la ecuación 27, la carga térmica en cada instante debida al aporte
of radiation. The RTFsolar coefficients will be used solely for
calculate the load due to the gain of heat from direct solar radiation to
through windows. For the rest of the heat gains by radiation (including
the diffuse radiation through windows) the coefficients will be used
RTFnosolar
8. Obtain the thermal load at the considered moment as the sum of all contributions.
considered: convective heat gains, radiation load, and heat gain
latent at that moment.

Bibliography.
[1] Spitler, J. D. 2010. Load Calculation Applications Manual, SI Edition, ASHRAE.
[2] Spitler, J. D., D. E. Fisher, C. O. Pedersen. 1997. The Radiant Time Series Cooling Load
Calculation Procedure, ASHRAE Transactions. 103(2): 503‐515.
[3] Spitler, J.D., D.E. Fisher. 1999. On The Relationship between the Radiant Time Series
and Transfer Function Methods for Design Cooling Load Calculations. HVAC&R
Research. Vol. 5, No. 2. pp. 123-136.
[4] Spitler, J.D., D.E. Fisher. 1999. Development of Periodic Response Factors for Use with
the Radiant Time Series Method. ASHRAE Transactions. 105(2): 491‐509.
[5] IDAE. 2010. Technical guide for external climate conditions of the project. Download at
through the web:
[Link]
as/[Link].
 [6] AENOR. 2004. UNE 10014 IN. Air Conditioning. Basis for the project. Conditions
calculus exterior.
[7] Ministry of Housing. 2006. Technical Building Code. Basic Document HE1.
Limitation of energy demand. Download through the web:
[Link]
[8] Iu, Ipseng (Calvin), D.E. Fisher. 2001. Periodic Response Factor Generator Software.
Download via the web:[Link]
[9] 2009 ASHRAE Handbook‐Fundamentals. Chapter 31, Fenestration.
[10] Ministry of Housing. 2006. Technical Building Code. Basic Document HS3.
Indoor air quality. Download through the web:[Link]
[11] Ministry of Industry. 2007. Regulation of thermal installations in buildings.
Download via the web:
[Link]
[Link]
[12] 2009 ASHRAE Handbook‐Fundamentals. Chapter 30, Nonresidential cooling and
heating load calculations.
[13] IDAE. 1998. Commentary Book on the RITE.