24 C.F.R. § 3280.508
(a) Information, values and data necessary for heat loss and heat gain determinations must be taken from the 1997 ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, Inch-Pound Edition, chapters 22 through 27. The following portions of those chapters are not applicable:
23.1 Steel Frame Construction 23.2 Masonry Construction 23.3 Foundations and Floor Systems 23.15 Pipes 23.17 Tanks, Vessels, and Equipment 23.18 Refrigerated Rooms and Buildings 24.18 Mechanical and Industrial Systems 25.19 Commercial Building Envelope Leakage 27.9 Calculation of Heat Loss from Crawl Spaces
(c) Areas where the insulation does not fully cover a surface or is compressed shall be accounted for in the U-calculation (see § 3280.506). The effect of framing on the U-value must be included in the Uo calculation. Other low-R-value heat-flow paths (“thermal shorts”) shall be explicitly accounted for in the calculation of the transmission heat loss coefficient if in the aggregate all types of low-R-value paths amount to more than 1% of the total exterior surface area. Areas are considered low-R-value heat-flow paths if:
(d) High efficiency heating and cooling equipment credit. The calculated transmission heat loss coefficient (Uo) used for meeting the requirement in § 3280.506(a) may be adjusted for heating and cooling equipment above that required by the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act of 1987 (NAECA) by applying the following formula:
Uo adjusted = Uo standard × [1 + (0.6) (heating efficiency increase factor) + (cooling multiplier) (cooling efficiency increase factor)]
where: Uo standard = Maximum Uo for Uo Zone required by § 3280.506(a) Uo adjusted = Maximum Uo standard adjusted for high efficiency HVAC equipment Heating efficiency increase factor = The increase factor in heating equipment efficiency measured by the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE), or the Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) for heat pumps, above that required by NAECA (indicated as “NAECA” in formula). The formula is heating efficiency increase factor = AFUE (HSPF) home − AFUE (or HSPF) NAECA divided by AFUE (HSPF) NAECA. Cooling efficiency increase factor = the increase factor in the cooling equipment efficiency measured by the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) above that required by NAECA. The formula being cooling equipment = SEER home—SEER NAECA divided by SEER NAECA. The cooling multiplier for the Uo Zone is from the following table:
| Uo zone | Cooling multiplier (Cm) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.60 (Florida only). |
| 1 | 0.20 (All other locations). |
| 2 | 0.07. |
| 3 | 0.03. |
[58 FR 55011, Oct. 25, 1993, as amended at 70 FR 72047, Nov. 30, 2005]