How to Find the Heat Requirement of a Room
If you want to make the most of your radiators, then you need to choose one that can provide enough heat for the room at a reasonable running rate. This will both ensure that the room is warm and that your energy bills stay low.
In this article, we are going to teach you how to find the heat requirement of a room.
British thermal units per hour
In the UK, we measure the heat requirements of a room in British thermal units per hour, or BTU/ph. This is the amount of heat that a room need within an hour. When you are buying a radiator, you will notice that they have a BTU/ph. rating. You must first establish the BTU/ph. Requirements of the room and then match this to the radiator to ensure that you buy the correct radiator.
BTU/ph. Calculator
To establish the BTU/ph. of a room, you need to use a BTU calculator. You can find these at any radiator shop, both in the real world and online. These are not calculated in the traditional sense of a little rectangle thing that you hold. These are software that you access online or the shop may have its own access that you can use. They are free to use. You should never have to pay to use a BTU calculator.
Make sure that you use a comprehensive calculator that allows you to input as much data as possible. Some of them are very simplistic, but you want to use one that covers the points numbered below.
What do you need to input in the calculator?
In order to use the calculator properly, you will have to gather information about the room. Here are the most important things that you need to find out:
1. What are the dimensions of the room? You must take a tape measure or take laser and measure the room from length to length, width to width, and height to height. In other words, you are looking at the cubed area of the room. Try to be as accurate as possible, but it's ok if you are out by a few centimetres or inches. This is just a rough measurement, but it needs to be relatively accurate.
2. What is the cardinal orientation of the room? In the UK, North-facing walls are always colder than west, east, and south facing walls. This means that if a room has North-facing walls, it will require a slightly more heat than a room that does not have a North-facing wall. For this reason, you need to find out in which direction the walls point. If you have a North-facing wall, you must take note of this so that you can tell the calculator.
3. Are the windows double or triple glazed? Rooms that have single glazed windows require more heat than those that are well insulated with multiple glazes.
4. Which room are you buying the radiator for? Finally, you need to tell the calculator whether you are buying a radiator for the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, or living room. Each of these has slightly different keep requirements.
If in doubt about any of the points raised above, ask your local radiator shop. They have in-depth knowledge about the best way to find the correct heat output for a room.