Building automation
HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water
Design an HVAC system on paper and in a spreadsheet: heat load, ventilation, duct and chilled-water sizing, then the drawings.
HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for mechanical and MEP engineers designing HVAC for buildings and data centres. It has 14 modules and takes about 12.6 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 12.6 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Mechanical and MEP engineers designing HVAC for buildings and data centres
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: building automation engineer, BMS technician, facilities engineer and controls integrator. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- A spreadsheet and a psychrometric chart (printed or online). Carrier HAP is used in one module: Carrier offers a time-limited free trial on request (check its page for the length), and every exercise can also be done by hand. Hardware: none.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Read the psychrometric chart and calculate sensible and latent heat
- Choose between split, VRF, packaged and chilled-water systems
- Calculate a space cooling load by hand and in Carrier HAP
- Size ducts, chilled-water pipes and pump head
- Select AHU and FCU coils, chillers and cooling towers
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Mechanical and MEP engineers designing HVAC for buildings and data centres.
Level: Beginner. Beginner to intermediate. For mechanical and MEP engineers and graduates. You should be comfortable with basic thermodynamics, unit conversion and a spreadsheet; no design experience is needed.
What you need
Software: A spreadsheet and a psychrometric chart (printed or online). Carrier HAP is used in one module: Carrier offers a time-limited free trial on request (check its page for the length), and every exercise can also be done by hand..
Hardware: None.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
14 modules in order, at your own pace. 12.6 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1How HVAC design works: the system, comfort and units28m
- 2Psychrometrics: reading the chart23m
- 3Psychrometric processes: sensible heat, latent heat and SHR27m
- 4The refrigeration cycle26m
- 5System types: split, VRF, packaged and chilled water39m
- 6Heat load by hand: CLTD/CLF and the RTS method47m
- 7Heat load with software: Carrier HAP34m
- 8Ventilation to ASHRAE 62.134m
Show the other 6 modules
- 9Duct design: equal friction and velocity limits36m
- 10Chilled-water pipe sizing and pump head36m
- 11Air handling units and fan coil units38m
- 12Chillers, cooling towers and the central plant38m
- 13Controls handoff, drawings and schedules1h 2m
- 14Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Nothing to install
Any spreadsheet (Excel, Google Sheets or LibreOffice Calc) is enough for the calculations.
Carrier HAP is used in HVD7 and the project's software check; every calculation can also be done by hand or in a spreadsheet.
Show what to download (2 tools)
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 01Free trial: 60 days
Carrier HAP (Hourly Analysis Program)
Carrier
- Runs on
- Windows desktop software. Carrier's product pages do not list system requirements; confirm them with Carrier when you request the trial
- Account
- A trial request form on carrier.com (name, email, company and address); Carrier emails download instructions
Carrier offers 60-day trial versions of its eDesign software, including HAP, at no charge on request. After the trial HAP is licensed software; a licence includes program updates and technical support from Carrier's HVAC engineers. The current release named on Carrier's site is HAP v6.40.
Steps
- 1.Open Carrier's eDesign trial software page.
- 2.Fill in the trial request form for HAP.
- 3.Wait for Carrier's email with download and installation instructions, usually within one or two business days.
- 4.Install HAP on a Windows PC and open a new project.
- 5.Follow the HVD7 notes: weather, schedules, assemblies, spaces, then air systems.
- Plan the HVD7 exercise and the project's software check inside the 60 days.
- Check every HAP report against a hand calculation for one room on each facade before using it.
Official download pagecarrier.comAlternatives
- EnergyPlus (US Department of Energy): Free and open-source building energy and load simulation.
- OpenStudio: Free graphical front end and toolkit for EnergyPlus.
- 02Free
LibreOffice
The Document Foundation
- Runs on
- Windows 10 or 11, macOS 11 or newer (Intel or Apple silicon), Linux
- Account
- None needed
- Size
- up to 1.5 GB of disk space on Windows
LibreOffice is free, open-source software under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, for any use including business. Calc is its spreadsheet.
Steps
- 1.Open the LibreOffice download page.
- 2.Check the page has picked your operating system, then select Download.
- 3.Run the installer (administrator rights are needed on Windows).
- 4.Start LibreOffice Calc for spreadsheet work.
- 5.Save as .xlsx if you need to share files with Excel users.
- Choose the latest main version unless your organisation asks for the older, more conservative release.
Official download pagelibreoffice.org
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
What you practise
Course project, about 16 hours
HVAC design for a typical office floor: loads, outdoor air, ducts, chilled water, AHU selection and the controls handoff
Design the air conditioning for one typical floor of a six-storey office building on a humid coast. Write the design basis. Calculate the cooling load by hand and check it in software. Set the outdoor air to ASHRAE 62.1, size the ducts and the chilled-water branch, and select the air handler. Hand the controls contractor a sequence of operations and a points list. A sample pack shows each document for the same floor.
- 6documents in the pack
- 6steps to follow
- 6things to hand in
- 16 hof work, at your pace
- ReportDesign basis and cooling load summary, typical floor
- ReportHand calculation and software check, typical floor (example output)
- RegisterDuct and chilled-water sizing register, floor 3
- DatasheetAir handling unit AHU-03 datasheet
- Control narrativeSequence of operations, AHU-03 and its VAV boxes
- Points listPoints list, AHU-03
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Free 3D lab
PLC lab
Practise in your browser. Free, nothing to install.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
MEP and Building Services
Eight short weeks of mechanical, electrical and plumbing services in buildings, from HVAC and fire fighting to BIM coordination and handover: notes, diagrams, a few videos and worked exercises. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipMore free courses
Roles that use this skill
- Building automation engineer
- BMS technician
- Facilities engineer
- Controls integrator
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: The Engineering Mindset, MEP Academy, Trane, Carrier, Success Engineering Official. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
The Engineering Mindset · MEP Academy · Trane Commercial HVAC North America · Carrier Commercial HVAC · Success Engineering Official · MEP Engineering Tutorials · HVAC Easy Math · VRF Wizard · aircondlounge · HVAC TV · HVAC On Air · Mechanical PE Exam Prep · Plan and Spec. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Who is the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course for?
Mechanical and MEP engineers, graduates and site engineers who want to design HVAC systems, including those working in hot and humid climates and on data-centre projects. Basic thermodynamics and a spreadsheet are enough to start.
Do I need Carrier HAP?
No. One module teaches HAP, and Carrier offers a time-limited free trial of its eDesign software on request; check its page for the current terms. Every calculation in the course can also be done by hand or in a spreadsheet, and the notes check software results against hand calculations.
Are the calculations in SI or IP units?
Both, wherever engineers need them: kW and TR, L/s and CFM, Pa and in. wg, kPa and feet of water, with every conversion worked and checked.
Does it follow ASHRAE standards?
It teaches the ventilation rate procedure of ASHRAE 62.1 (in the edition your project adopts), the radiant time series (RTS) method of the current ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals with the older CLTD/CLF method for hand checks, and AHRI chiller ratings. CIBSE and ISHRAE design data and EN and ISO standards are named as examples where they apply. Always use the editions your project adopts. EDWartens is not affiliated with ASHRAE, Carrier or Trane.
How is it different from the BMS and data centre courses?
This course designs the HVAC system and stops at the handoff to controls. The Building Management Systems course covers BMS architecture and protocols, and the Data Centre Cooling, BMS and DCIM course applies these skills to data halls.
Is the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course really free?
Yes. Every module, the notes, the project and the final assessment. The only paid item is the certificate, if you want it.
What certificate does the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a number anyone can verify on our site. It is not an ASHRAE certification or a professional engineering licence.
How long does the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course take?
About 12.5 hours of video lessons, notes and practice questions, taken at your own pace. The optional project takes about 16 hours more.
What is the project in the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course?
You design the air conditioning for a typical floor of a six-storey office building on a humid coast: design basis, cooling load by hand and in software, outdoor air, duct and chilled-water sizing, the AHU datasheet, and the sequence of operations and points list. A complete sample pack shows each document.
What topics does the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course cover, module by module?
The HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course has 14 modules. It opens with "How HVAC design works: the system, comfort and units", goes through "Psychrometrics: reading the chart", "Heat load by hand: CLTD/CLF and the RTS method", "Duct design: equal friction and velocity limits" and "Controls handoff, drawings and schedules" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course?
After the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course: Read the psychrometric chart and calculate sensible, latent and total heat in SI and IP; Explain the refrigeration cycle and convert between COP, kW/TR and EER; Choose between split, VRF, packaged and chilled-water systems. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course, and does it cost anything?
For the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course, software: A spreadsheet and a psychrometric chart (printed or online). Carrier HAP is used in one module: Carrier offers a time-limited free trial on request (check its page for the length), and every exercise can also be done by hand. Hardware: none. The course itself is free.
Is the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course suitable for me, and what level is it?
HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water is rated beginner. Beginner to intermediate. For mechanical and MEP engineers and graduates. You should be comfortable with basic thermodynamics, unit conversion and a spreadsheet; no design experience is needed. It is written for mechanical and MEP engineers designing HVAC for buildings and data centres, and takes about 12.6 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course?
Skills from the HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water course (for example: read the psychrometric chart and calculate sensible, latent and total heat in SI and IP) are used in roles such as building automation engineer, BMS technician, facilities engineer and controls integrator, and in HVAC design engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
HVAC Design: Heat Load, Ducts and Chilled Water, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.