A Quick Look At Heat Loss And Why It Matters

Heat loss is defined as the measure of total transfer of heat through fabric; from inside to outside a building. This can be a result of conduction, radiation, convection or a combination of two or more of these. Heat loss is calculated in kW (kilowatts). It represents the total amount of energy that is needed to keep a room at the right temperature on the coldest days.

With the understanding of what heat loss is, you will be able to select the most effective heating system to use in your home. This information will also help you determine if under-floor heating systems will be ideal for your room.

What makes heat loss so important?

There are so many reasons why understanding the amount of heat loss is crucial. The main reasons include the following:

• Helps determine the type of heating and power requirements that will provide adequate heating in a building
• Helps determine if a building meets all the regulatory approvals
• Helps you know if the comfort levels can be met for people in a building
• Determines energy requirements as well as the running costs of a heating system

Understanding heat loss in a room is crucial before selecting a system for heated floors. A clear understanding of this will help install a system that is capable of providing adequate heating in a cost-effective way.

How to reduce heat loss

The key to reducing your energy bills is to reduce heat loss. Doing so will further reduce the strain on your heating system. There are a number of methods that can be used to reduce heat loss and energy consumption:

• Installing better insulation: This reduces heat loss through conduction
• Reducing air leakage to prevent convective heat losses
• Using efficient heating methods

To achieve significant heat loss reduction, you have to consider all the above points. You have to add insulation or ensure there are no gaps that lead to insulation problems. When it comes to the under floor heating, you should consider using insulation boards to reduce heat loss to the subfloors and also to guarantee fast heating. The installation of insulation boards is easy and can lead to significant improvements in both heating and heating time. On concrete subfloors, the installation of insulation boards reduces the heat up time from 2.5 hours to just 20 minutes.

Choose the right under floor heating system

Still on heat loss, your choice of  under floor heating system will determine its efficacy. Heat loss has to be accounted for when selecting a heating system so as to avoid failure. The installer must also ensure there is adequate insulation. There are four considerations you will have to make when deciding on the heating system to install:

• Size of the heated floor area
• Type of flooring and surface temperatures
• Floor insulation
• Desired air temperature
• Maximum power of the system

Understanding the heat loss of a building is vital in an energy assessment. You should bring onboard an energy assessor. An energy assessor will help identify the problem areas and help decrease heat loss to boost the building performance levels.