Understand The Principles Behind Convection Heat Transfer

If you want to ensure that your property is as efficient as possible in terms of its energy use then you will need to comprehend the basic principles behind heat transfer engineering as worked on by Pratt Whitney. For most of us the cost of heating our home makes up the greatest part of our annual utility bills. Without adequate insulation then the associated cost can be very high. As the world is still struggling to come out of recession we should do as much as we can to ensure we are not wasting energy and unnecessarily paying a high electricity bill.

Even at a young age we are taught that heat moves from a hot surface to a cold one. We can see this everyday in our lives. For example, if you have a chair next to an electric heater then it is going to heat up faster than a chair further across the room. The basic principle is referred to as radiation.

If the heat transfers through an object then the process at work is known as conduction. A good example is when we place an iron poker in an open fire; the heat transfers through the metal to the handle. This is an essential principle to understand when we come to insulate our properties. Without choosing the right material you’ll find that heat is lost more rapidly through the structure of the building.

The third form of heat transfer is known as convection. This occurs when the energy is dissipated into water or air. A convection current is often thought of as a moving body. For example the global weather systems operate through convection. Also, a heating system that involves a fan or blower could be described as using convection. If you have draughts in your property then heat can be lost through convection.

Now you understand the basic concepts of how heat is transferred, but how can you take this knowledge and implement it into the design of your home? Well, to begin with you should realize that convection heat transfer have dramatically advanced over the last ten years. It does not just relate to keeping a property warm in the cold winter months, it also is important to ensure that your property does not get too hot during the long summer days. Through the choice of the correct insulation and building materials you can make adaptations that will reduce the amount of heat transferred both out and into your home.

When checking out insulation materials you need to keep your eyes open for a special rating. This is often termed an “R” rating. The greater the number, the more efficient the product will be at slowing down the transfer of heat.

It is essential to realize that heat is not just lost through the roof or ceiling. Doors, walls, windows, and any physical structure can be a surface through which heat is transferred. You need to address your building as a whole rather than focus on individual rooms.

It is no use designing a plan to keep your home warm in the winter months but then not consider how to cool the property during hot summer days. The technology from Pratt Whitney involved with fluid heat transfer has rapidly advanced over the last decade as greater emphasis is placed on energy efficient homes. Apart from the cost benefits there is also the factor that less energy use and wastage will cause less damage to the environment.