2018 Issue

40 to make assumptions that allow them to simplify the cal- culations. While in school, most of these assumptions are made for them. This is how the class can all come up with the same result. If the students were given the responsibility to make the assumptions themselves, there would likely be many different answers to most of the homework assignments. The answers would not necessarily be wrong. They may all be different while all are still correct, depending on the assumptions made. It may be possible to gather enough information in the real world that will make science an exact science. However, for most applications, this is not feasible. For example, let’s say you were tasked with calculating the heating load for an office building. The building has not been built yet, so you will have to make some assumptions. Here is a list of a few of those assumption and why we must make assumptions for these items. • Building envelope (walls, windows, roof, doors, floor, etc.). * These components are not built yet. The heating loads are influenced by the insulation value, leakage and other properties that are dependent on how the assemblies are built. They can vary depending on who is building them. They are also dependent on how they interface with other components. There are so many factors that could change the properties of the building envelope that we are left to make assumptions on how the end product will perform. • Building occupants * The heat load calculations are dependent on the building occupants. This includes number of occu- pants, how active they are, the metabolism rate of each individual, where they are located in the building, what they are wearing, etc. We can’t predict exactly how a building is going to be occupied. You would have to build the building and then carefully monitor each individual that used the building. • Lighting Loads * Similar to building occupants, the lighting loads are dependent on how the building will be used. The Art of Science By Brad Welch, American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) Forward: My background is in HVAC and plumbing design for commercial buildings. Since, this is my experience, the examples included in the article below are primarily specific to HVAC and plumbing. However, I would bet my ductulator that the theory applies to all sciences and engineerings. If your background is in another discipline and the HVAC examples don’t interest you much, simply replace my exam- ples with your own. Engineers are raised through school to believe that science is an exact science. The lectures are designed to guide all the students in the class to the same conclusion. The homework assignments are carefully planned and tested to make sure there is one answer. The majority of the class is expected to come up with the same answer. Sufficient information is giv- en for each problem, so everyone can derive the same result. Once students are “done” with school and enter the real world, they will eventually learn that there is not always just one answer. Sure, if the problem they are faced with in the real world is 2+2, they will hopefully settle on 4 as the answer every time. However, I am sure there is a video on YouTube or somewhere that presents a situation where 2+2 does not equal 4. Most problems engineers face in real life are not that simple. The laws of physics are intricately complex and complexitively intricate. Engineers are trained