Metabolic rate data defines a category of human metabolic output. The metabolic rate can be selected in Model data on the Activity tab by choosing a Metabolic rate component.
The metabolic rate per person data is supplied to EnergyPlus which multiplies it by the number of people in the zone as the starting point for occupancy heat emission calculations.
Metabolic rate data can be found in the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, Chapter 8, Table 5.
DesignBuilder data is derived from this data and is for adult males having typical surface area of 1.8m2. For women multiply the adult male value by 0.85 and for children multiply by 0.75.
Component data can be accessed:
Heat is generated in the human body by oxidation at a rate called the metabolic rate. This heat is dissipated from the body surface and respiratory tract by a combination of radiation, convection and evaporation. The relative proportions of sensible and latent heat from people is a complex function of the metabolic rate and the environmental conditions.
EnergyPlus uses a polynomial function to divide the heat gain into sensible and latent portions.
More details can be found in the EnergyPlus EngineeringDoc.pdf documentation.
See also the section on metabolic activity data.