ISO 52016-1:2017 specifies calculation methods for the assessment of:

a) the (sensible) energy need for heating and cooling, based on hourly or monthly calculations;

b) the latent energy need for (de-)humidification, based on hourly or monthly calculations;

c) the internal temperature, based on hourly calculations;

d) the sensible heating and cooling load, based on hourly calculations;

e) the moisture and latent heat load for (de-)humidification, based on hourly calculations;

f) the design sensible heating or cooling load and design latent heat load using an hourly calculation interval;

g) the conditions of the supply air to provide the necessary humidification and dehumidification.

The calculation methods can be used for residential or non-residential buildings, or a part of it, referred to as "the building" or the "assessed object".

ISO 52016-1:2017 also contains specifications for the assessment of thermal zones in the building or in the part of a building. The calculations are performed per thermal zone. In the calculations, the thermal zones can be assumed to be thermally coupled or not.

The calculation methods have been developed for the calculation of the basic energy loads and needs, without interaction with specific technical building systems, and for the calculation of the system specific energy loads and needs, including the interaction with specific systems. The hourly calculation procedures can also be used as basis for calculations with more extensive system control options.

ISO 52016-1:2017 is applicable to buildings at the design stage, to new buildings after construction and to existing buildings in the use phase.

NOTE Table 1 in the Introduction shows the relative position of ISO 52016-1:2017 within the set of EPB standards in the context of the modular structure as set out in ISO 52000-1.