Heat Flow 19

Other expressions of heat power are:

1000 Btuh (can be expressed as MBh).
1,000,000 Btuh (can be expressed as MMBh).
(Roman numeral “M” = 1000, Roman numeral “MM” =
1,000,000).

UNITS OF ELECTRICAL ENERGY

AND ELECTRICAL POWER

Watt-hours (Wh) or kilowatt-hours (kWh,) are units of elec-

trical energy. A kilowatt-hour is equivalent to 1000 Watt-hours.
Watts (W) and kilowatts (kW) are units of electrical power. A
kilowatt is equivalent to 1000 Watts (kilo (k) = 1000).

POWER EQUALS ENERGY TIMES TIME, P = E × t.

Btu/hr (a unit of power) = Btu (a unit of energy) × hr (a unit

of time).
kW (a unit of power) = kWh (a unit of energy) × hr (a unit
of time).
Mathematically, kWh is also expressed kW/hr.

ELECTRICAL POWER AND

HEAT POWER EQUIVALENTS

1 W = 3.413 Btuh
1 kW = 3413 Btuh

MOTOR HORSEPOWER AND

HEAT POWER EQUIVALENTS

1 hp (horsepower) = 2545 Btuh

20 HVAC Fundamentals

MOTOR HORSEPOWER AND

ELECTRICAL POWER EQUIVALENTS

1 hp = 746 W
1 hp = 0.746 kW

BOILER HORSEPOWER AND HEAT POWER EQUIVALENTS

1 boiler horsepower = 33,475 Btuh

HEAT CONTENT AND SPECIFIC HEAT

The heat content of a substance is called enthalpy. The sym-

bol is h. The units of enthalpy are Btu/lb or Btu/lb°F. Specific
heat (Fahrenheit scale) is the amount of heat necessary to raise the
temperature of 1 lb of a substance 1°F. Every substance has a
different specific heat. Some examples of specific heat values for
HVAC substances are: The specific heat of water is 1.0 Btu/lb°F.
The specific heat of air is 0.24 Btu/lb°F and the specific heat of
steam or ice is approximately 0.5 Btu/lb°F.

HEAT MEASURED IN HVAC SYSTEMS

Sensible Heat
People, lights, motors, heating equipment and outdoor air
are examples of substances that give off sensible heat. A seated
person in an office, for instance, gives off approximately 225 Btuh
of sensible heat into the conditioned space. Enthalpy units of sen-
sible heat are in Btu/lb°F. The change in the sensible heat level as
measured with an ordinary thermometer is sensible temperature.
Sensible temperature is measured in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) and
it is indicated as dry bulb (db) temperature. Sensible temperatures
are written °Fdb. For example, 55°Fdb.