Sunday, February 9, 2014

It's a Numbers Game


A heat-loss calculation is where it all starts. It’s the basis for sizing any new or replacement system. It’s a roadmap to a well-designed, high-performing and comfortable heating system. And it’s not hard to do. It just takes some time and a little patience.

First, I measure each room ­— length, width and height. I also measure windows and doors and categorized them by construction type. Then I check the quantities and location of insulation. Usually I make a sketch to scale. For the average home, it takes about two hours to accomplish.

Next, I enter those measurements into a worksheet or use specialized software to produce a room-by-room and whole-house heat-loss calculation. The resulting numbers are the amount of heat lost by your house on the coldest days of the heating season.

These calculations tell me (or another heating designer) what size boiler or furnace is needed. It gives me the information I need to determine how much heating element or how many ducts are needed in each room — or how hot the water needs to be. Or what the flow rates need to be. And the pump sizes, pipe diameters, tubing spacing, panel size, and on and on and on.

Without a heat-loss calculation, it’s all guesswork. Luck. A wing and a prayer.

This is your heating system. The one you’ll be living with and fueling for the next 15, 20 — even 30 years. Ask for it. Demand it. Accept no shortcuts.

Heidronically yours,

Wayne

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