Guide to

Understanding Heat
Loss Calculations
Understanding Heating**
To understand “heating”, we must understand heat losses, because really,
there would be no need for heating without them!

Heat losses occur due to heat being transferred from inside a property
through walls & windows etc (fabric heat losses) and being transferred, via
drafts of warm air, through gaps in the fabric, which is replaced by cooler
outside air (ventilation & infiltration losses).

First of all, let’s establish what “Heat” is.

Heat is simply thermal energy. It is the result of particles bouncing around at

”different speeds”.

The faster the particles move, the higher the kinetic energy. We call the
average kinetic energy temperature.
So the higher the kinetic energy, the higher the temperature. Don’t mix up
heat and temperature! They’re not the same.

Temperature is the speed of the particles, and heat is the number of particles
in motion.

Imagine you’re in a room and you light a small candle, which is burning at
about 1000˚C. Will the candle heat up the room? No, of course not (unless it
was a particularly big candle!).

Now imagine a radiator in the same room, which is 70˚C. Will the radiator
heat the room?

Yes, it will because the radiator has more heat, even though it’s a much lower
temperature than the candle.

Moving Heat
Rule number 1 about heat is the conservation of energy. This is important
because it means that we can’t simply create new energy, we can only
transfer it from one thing to another.

Rule number 2 is also important and relevant to understand when talking

about heat losses. Rule number 2 states, quite simply, that things with
higher temperatures will always be “attracted to” and tend towards cooler
things.

In other words, hot stuff really likes cold stuff and will only ever move in the
direction of cold stuff. It’s kind of like dropping a ball.

A ball can only ever fall towards the ground; it can never fall up! This is the
flow of kinetic energy.

Faster-moving particles bump into slower-moving particles, which causes

the slower ones to speed up a bit and the faster ones to slow down a bit.

This will continue to happen until all the particles are all bouncing around at
the same speed.

Equilibrium
We call this, equilibrium.

In simple terms, if you placed a hot cup of coffee on a table, the heat from
the cup would move in the direction of the table and of course, heat that part
of the table up.

So the cup is cooling down because it’s giving up heat to the table.

This will continue to happen until the coffee cup, and the table is the same
temperature, which would then mean that no more heat can be
transferred. They’re at equilibrium.
This is also known as “Newton’s Law of Cooling”. Important - there must
always be a difference in temperature (∆T) for heat to flow.

If you remember from school, there are 3 ways that heat energy can be
transferred: conduction, convection and radiation, all of which play a big part
in heating systems of course.

Let’s first talk about conduction. Conduction is pretty easy to get your head
around as it’s the heat transfers due to physical contact between mediums.

So when you touch a glass of ice water, it feels cold because heat from your
skin is flowing (using conduction) to the glass.

Fabric Heat Losses

This is exactly what is happening in a property when we are talking about
fabric heat losses. I guess you could also think of “heat loss” as “heat gain”,
but to outside.

Either way, it’s simply heat transfer, and as we know, heat can only move in
one direction: hot to cold.

This is of course undesirable, because the more heat we lose, the more heat
we need to add to compensate.

Importantly, the bigger the difference in temperature between inside and

outside, the bigger the rate of heat transfer. Think of it like this:

Imagine a 10-litre bucket. The sort of thing you’d use to wash a car.

You fill it up with water from the tap until it’s at the 5-litre mark.

You then drill some holes in the bottom of the bucket and of course, the
water will just leak out.

This is like your heat loss. Bigger holes would obviously represent a larger
rate of heat loss.

To try to maintain the water level at the 5-litre mark, you’d have to open the
tap again, but just enough so that the amount of water flowing into the
bucket, is the same as the amount leaving.

In this analogy, the tap is the boiler, as it’s compensating for what is being
lost.
So, to reduce the transfer of heat from inside to outside, we insulate our
properties. This reduces how conductive the fabric of the property is and
makes it “more difficult” for heat through conduction to occur.

U-Values and R-Values

As you look deeper into fabric heat losses, you will inevitably stumble across
things like U–Values and R-Values.

U-Values are very commonly associated with heat losses and insulation.

The lower the U-Value, the better the insulation. But what actually are U and
an R values?

In simple terms, when referring to fabric heat loss, a U-Value is a measure of

how much heat will be conducted through a specific material.

It’s measured in units W/m²K (watts per meter squared kelvin).

An R-Value is basically the opposite and is a measure of how resistive a

specific material is to heat conduction.
It’s measured in m²K/W (meters squared kelvin per watt). So U and R-Values
are reciprocals (opposites) of one another.

But still, what does this mean? What actually are W/m²K and m²K/W?

To understand this, we must first sort of reverse engineer where these units
came from.

Since fabric heat losses are all about thermal conduction, let’s start with
thermal conduction (how conductive material is).

We know that conduction is the heat transfer due to physical contact

between two mediums, but how can we measure it?

Well, this is the hard bit to get your head around. Thermal conduction
defines the proportional relationship between two other properties of a
material.

Thermal Conductivity Coefficient

This is the thermal conductivity coefficient. It’s a unique “constant” for any
given material that is given the symbol “λ” (Lamda) or sometimes “k”
(lowercase k).

Its units are W/mK (watts per meter kelvin). The two properties that this
coefficient relates to are the “heat flux” and “temperature gradient” of a
material.
Heat Flux
Heat flux - this is defined as the rate of heat transfer per unit area. Its units
are W/m² (watts per meter squared).

So this is a measure of the number of watts that are being transferred for
every 1 square meter of a material.

Temperature Gradient
Temperature gradient – this is defined as the change in temperature over a
specific distance between two points.

Its units are K/m (degrees kelvin per meter). So it’s simply the difference in
temperature between one side of a material to the other.

Or, the temperature difference relative to a materials thickness. Or, the

change in temperature for every meter…
Making Sense of it All
Right. Is your head hurting? Let’s try to make some sense of this.

We are basically saying that any given material has a thermal conductivity
value, which is the relationship between that materials heat flux and
temperature gradient…

But earlier we said that thermal conductivity (λ) has units W/mK (watts per
meter kelvin)? That is λ = W/mK. Easy! We just need simplify!
So…… λ = W/mK

Still with me? Right! Now we understand thermal conductivity, we can see
how the U & R-Values come about.

Let’s start with the R-Value, which we said is the thermal resistance of a
specific material and has the units m²K/W.

The R-Value is therefore, defined as the thickness (in meters) of a material,

divided by that material’s thermal conductivity.

Again, we can break down the above to see how we got to the units for the
R-Value, which are:
So……R-Value = m²K/W

Now we can see where the R-Value comes from.

Finally, this means we are able to see where the all-important U-Value comes
from too.

Remember, we said that the U-Value is the reciprocal of the R-Value, which
means they are the inverse of each other.

Therefore, the U-Value is 1 divided by the R-Value.

Once more, we can break this down to see where the U-Values units
(W/m²K) come from too.
So……U-Value = W/m²K

Okay. We’re all good on what a U-Value is and where it comes from. But
how can we apply it to heating design?

Well, U-Values are everything when it comes to fabric heat losses. They give
us crucial information that is specific to the materials that a property is
constructed from.

This can be used to determine how much heat is going to be lost through
thermal conduction, under design conditions.

When we talk about design conditions, we are referring to the biggest

variable factor that will affect a properties fabric heat loss. Temperature!

Or more accurately, the temperature difference between inside a property

and outside. So “design conditions” are really just the worst case scenario
that the heating system is likely to encounter.

This is simply the difference between the ideal inside, comfortable living
temperature (21˚C) and the regional average lowest outside temperature.

We call this the “design outside temperature” or “DOT”.

This could be anywhere between 1˚C to -5˚C in the UK, depending where the
property is. You could design a system with whatever inside and outside
temperature you like.

You could design for an internal temperature of 35˚C and DOT of -100˚C if
you like! However, this would be ridiculous for many reasons.

Firstly, 35˚C would be really really uncomfortable inside and the likelihood of
it ever reaching -100˚C in the UK is nil.

Secondly, the system would be huge! The heat source, the pipes the
emitters, everything! This would be impractical and very very expensive.

Thirdly, the system would spend it’s whole working life being oversized. This
is true for normally sized systems actually.

We’re realistically only going to reach DOT around 1% of the year, so our
heating systems could spend 99% of the time being in fact, “oversized”.

It is obvious from this that the smaller the temperature difference between
inside and outside, the smaller the rate of conductive heat loss.

What You Need to Consider

So what information about a property do we need in order to find out how
much heat it’s going to lose through the fabric that it’s constructed from?

Simple:

• Internal design temperature

• Design outside temperature (DOT)
 • Surface area of the property
• U-Values of the property

Of course, the walls, the roof, the windows etc are all made from different
materials and therefore, all have different U-Values and of course, different
surface areas too.

This is why generally, you would calculate heat losses of all of these
separately and add them all up for the total property fabric heat loss.

So you can see that the only variable is the outside temperature. We are
always going to design to a comfortable living temperature inside.

Unless the property is made from elastic, the surface area can’t change and
the U-Values are absolutely fixed too, since they’re a property of the specific
building materials.

From this, we can simply say that fabric heat loss is a result of: Surface Area x
U-Value x (inside temp – outside temp).

Heat Loss = A x U x ∆T

Or

Q = AU∆T

Knowing this, we are able calculate the rate of heat loss per every degree of
temperature change. Since A and U are fixed, they become the constant
that defines the proportionality between Q and ∆T.
(AU) = Q/∆T

Example:
You have a 2.4 m x 3 m wall made from 102 mm thick brick. It has a U-Value
of 2.97 W/m²K. The inside temperature is designed to be 21˚C and the
design outside temperature is -3˚C.

We can calculate the walls heat loss under these conditions like this:

• Area of wall (A) = 2.4 m x 3 m = 7.2 m²

• U-Value (U) = 2.97 W/m²K
• Temperature difference (∆T) = 21˚C – (-3˚C) = 24˚C
• Q = AU∆T

Q = 7.2 m²x 2.97 W/m²K x 24˚C = 513.2 W

Now to find out the fabric heat loss per degree of temperature change. W/K
(watts per kelvin).

You simply take the fabric heat loss (Q) of 513.2 W and divide it by ∆T of 24˚C.
That is, Q/∆T, which we already said is equal to AU right?

So to further tie all of this together:

Q/∆T = A x U Or W/K = m²x W/m²K,

So that’s fabric heat losses, but as mentioned, that’s not the only way heat
losses occur. We also have to factor in ventilation and infiltration losses.

Ventilation & Infiltration Losses

These are heat losses due to air changes within a property.

Air changes are due to both controlled and uncontrolled air leaks through
gaps in the fabric of the property and through purpose made ventilation.

Each type of room will also have a specific amount of stated required air
changes per hour, for ventilation purposes.

This simply means that the air that leaves the property is replaced by outside
air, which needs to be heated up to the designed internal temperature.

This of course significantly contributes to the total heat losses of a property.

Ventilation & Infiltration
Remember, this isn’t NASA, so we can only assume that these air changes
are indeed taking place.

I guess in newer properties, the specific ventilation requirements are more

easily accounted for, since these may be carried out using more accurate
means of natural ventilation and the use of mechanical ventilation.

In older properties, it’s harder to say, but they do exist of course, so we must
factor them in.

In general, ventilation and infiltration is a little easier to calculate.

During the design stage, the designer will dictate the amount of ventilation
that each room requires in terms of air changes per hour (ACH), according to
current standards.

Again, whether these air changes are actually happening in reality is another
matter, but we have to design around something.

The trickle vents in windows, for example, should provide the designed
natural ventilation stipulated by building requirements, in theory. As should
MVHR systems etc.

So when we are specifying how many air changes per hour (ACH) a particular
room requires, what does it depend on?

Well, most obviously, the main factor is the type of room. Bathrooms will
need more ventilation than say, a living room!

Another factor is the amount of uncontrollable infiltration, which depends on

the building itself, in terms of the expected air leakage.

Older buildings, which are built to dated standards, have more

uncontrollable infiltration and therefore, the designer would need to account
for more ACH than newer buildings.

These ACH are categorised for various building standards e.g. a kitchen in a
house that was built pre year 2000, would be Cat.A and would require 2 ACH.

Whereas a kitchen in a house constructed after 2006 would be Cat.C and

would only require 0.5 ACH.

Other factors such as chimneys, high ceilings and building exposure also play
a big part in infiltration losses too.

The way in which we calculate these losses is simple and widely used.
The factors that they depend on are the number of air changes per hour
(AHC), the internal volume of the rooms, the temperature difference
between the outside and inside air.

You may consider that humidity and the specific heat capacity of the air
would play a role, which of course they do, but again, this isn’t NASA!

These factors remain pretty much constant under the conditions we’re
dealing with, so we can use a constant value for SHC of air, as we would with
water in other heating calculations.

So the basic formula for ventilation and infiltration losses can be expressed
as:

Rate of heat loss = V x ACH x ∆T x 0.33

Or

Rate of heat loss per ˚C difference between inside and outside = V x ACH x
0.33

0.33 is a factor that is the product of SHC and density of air

V is the volume of the room

ACH is the number of air changes per hour

∆T is the temperature difference between the designed internal room

temperature and the design outside temperature

As we did above for fabric losses, we are able to further break this down and
understand why this works and how it comes about.

Let’s firstly consider that a room is simply a box filled with a fluid that we call
air. Air is actually a fluid!

Let’s say that the air is at the required temperature of 21˚C and it all escapes
and is replaced with new air, at a temperature of 5˚C.
We’ve lost heat and now need to replace it. If this box had 1 ACH, this would
be happening once per hour.

Of course, it doesn’t happen all at once! It happens gradually and constantly

but equates to the entire volume of air being replaced in an hour period.

So what we really need to know is, how much heat do we need to add to
compensate for this?

Easy! This is the same as calculating how much energy it will take to heat a
certain amount of water (also a fluid) up.

We have a fluid (Air), which has mass (everything has mass) and therefore,
has a specific heat capacity (the amount of energy to change a certain mass
of the substance by a certain temperature, usually this is joules per kg per
each degree of temperature change).

From this, we can simply say that the amount of heat required to increase
our boxes air temperature is expressed as:

Heat needed = M x C x ∆T

Or

Q = M x C x ∆T

M is the mass of the air that needs to be heated

C is the average specific heat capacity of the air at the conditions (approx.
1000 J/kg˚C)
∆T is the difference in temperature between the air entering the box (room)
and the required temperature of the room

Now the mass of the air depends on two things: volume and density. The
volume is simple, it’s the volume of the box (room).

Density changes with temperature but not so much as to make any

difference for these conditions, so we can use an average value for this (1.205
kg/m³).

Mass is simply volume x density. Remember, this mass is also based on ACH-
air changes per hour.

Because we work in terms of power (watts), which is energy per unit time
(joules per second), we need to make sure we convert from air changes per
hour to air changes per second. ACH/3600.

So The Calculation Now Becomes:

Q = V x ρ x C x ∆T x (ACH ÷ 3600)

ρ is the density of air

Let’s face it, that’s quite long winded, which is why you will only ever see a
“simpler” version of this.

If you’re good at maths, you may have noticed that it doesn’t matter where
you divide by 3600.

You can literally plonk it anywhere in the formula and the answer will be the
same.

This means that we can take the constant things that will always be the
same and “pre combine” them into a tidy “factor”, so the designer only needs
to fill out the variables and multiply them by this “factor”.

The density and SHC of air will be constant, so we can simply take these two
things and divide them by 3600.

So We Get:
Q = V x ∆T x ACH x (ρ x C / 3600)

Or

Q = V x ∆T x ACH x (1.205 x 1000/3600)

This is the same as Q = V x ∆T x ACH x 0.33, since 1.205 x 1000/3600 = 0.33! So
the factor is 0.33.

So, we can make it even more simple by saying:

Rate of heat loss (per˚C) = V x ACH x 0.33

From this the designer only needs to input the room volume and number of
air changes to know the ventilation losses per every degree of temperature
difference.

**Credit for this article goes to Heat Geek's Luke Hollinshead - Panasonic A2W Technical Specialist
Europe.