Imok,
Answer to your questions....
1, Do you use this method in your calculations?
Carrier seems to be the only Manufacturer that uses the Apparatus Dew point as part of their coil selection, they include a bypass factor, which is the psychrometric difference between the actual discharge temperature off the coil and the apparatus dew point on the saturation line,this bypass factor is a ratio of the entire length of the psychrometric line from the coil entering conditions to the saturation line as the denominator, and the length of the actual discharge conditions measured out to the saturation line.
Aerofin software and Heatcraft software do not indicate bypass factors or Apparatus dew points.
Trane does not include bypass factors or Apparatus dew points in their design book.
I know how to calculate it, but normally I use the manufacturer’s software, in the old days and I go way back, (I’m way beyond the point where normal people retire), you went to the manufacturer’s catalog and looked up his procedure for sizing the vendor’s equipment and every manufacturer had a different way of sizing airhandlers and coils, and then we did everything by hand calculation, (before calculators).
2, Do you believe that the standard method is that far off for the average say commercial building or small office building.
No, I don’t believe that the standard method is far off. The thing I really don’t like is seeing general rules of thumb being used, and the “if some’s good, more’s better” approach that a lot of engineers throw in, if I could stamp out over sizing of equipment I would. Math and physics should be applied in a scientific manner. Most of the time people throw in a lot of extra capacity and then wonder why the equipment is short cycling.
3. I do like the idea of future predictability if as a matter of fact it's really possible.
Future predictability, = we do the best that we can.
4, Like all these things however, its only as good as who is inputting the numbers. Your comments on these and any thing else are welcome for an old dog whose always trying to learn some thing he doesn't know.
You’re a part time teacher and worth an awful lot, I’ve read your comments on HVAC and they indicate a lot of experience, keep up the good work.
wilg