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Air Heating Systems

Using air to heat buildings - temperature rise diagram

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It is often convenient to heat buildings with air. Air heating systems may be cost effective if they can be made simple or if they can be combined with a ventilation system. Be aware that due to the low specific heat capacity of air the use of air for heating purposes is very limited. Larger heat loads requires larger volumes of air resulting in huge oversized ducts and fans. Transport of huge volumes of air requires a lot of energy.    

Required Air Volume in Air Heating Systems

air heating system

Required air volume in an air heating system can be calculated as

L = Q / (cp ρ (th - tr))          (1)

where

L = air volume (m3/s)

Q = heat loss from the building (kW)

cp = specific heat capacity air - 1.005 (kJ/kgoC)

ρ = density of air - 1.2 (kg/m3)

th = heating air temperature (oC)

tr = room temperature (oC)

As a rule of thumb the heating supply temperature should be in the range 40-50oC. The air flow should be in the range 1-3 times the room volume. 

Equation (1) expressed in imperial units:

 L = Q / (1.08 (th - tr))          (2)

where

Q = heat (btu/hr)

L = air volume (cfm)

th = heating air temperature (oF)

tr = room temperature (oF)

Air Heating - Temperature Rise Diagram

The diagrams below can be used to estimate heat required to rise temperature in air flows. 

SI units - kW, m3/s and oC

air heating temperature kw diagram

Imperial units - Btu/h, cfm and oF

air heating temperature btu/h diagram

Example - Heating a single room with air

A building with a large room with heat loss 20 kW is heated with air with a maximum temperature 50 oC. The room temperature is 20 oC. The required air volume can be calculated as

L = (20 kW) / ( (1.005 kJ/kgoC) (1.2 kg/m3) ((50 oC) - (20 oC)) )

    = 0.55 m3/s

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Related Topics

  • Heating Heating systems - capacity and design of boilers, pipelines, heat exchangers, expansion systems and more
  • Ventilation Systems for ventilation and air handling - air change rates, ducts and pressure drops, charts and diagrams and more

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Resources, Tools and Basic Information  for Engineering and Design of Technical Applications!

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