Heat Loss from Open Water Tanks

Due to evaporation - heat loss from open water tank as a swimming pools, may be considerable

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The overall heat loss from an open water tank can be expressed as:

Q = Q_{evaporation fluid} + Q_{radiation fluid} + Q_{transmission through walls} (1)

The heat loss due to evaporation of water from a surface of an open tank is totally dominant at higher water temperatures. In general heat loss through insulated walls can be almost neglected. Major heat loss can be avoided by covering the surface.

Water Temperature (^oF)	Heat Loss from Liquid Surface (Btu/ft²hr)			Heat Loss Through Tank Walls (Btu/ft²hr)
	Evaporation Loss	Radiation Loss	Total	Bare Steel Uninsulated	Insulated (inches)
	Evaporation Loss	Radiation Loss	Total	Bare Steel Uninsulated	1	2	3
90	80	50	130	50	12	5	4
100	160	70	230	70	15	8	6
110	240	90	330	90	19	10	7
120	360	110	470	110	23	12	9
130	480	135	615	135	27	14	10
140	660	160	820	160	31	16	12
150	860	180	1040	180	34	18	13
160	1100	210	1310	210	38	21	15
170	1380	235	1615	235	42	23	16
180	1740	260	2000	260	46	25	17
190	2160	290	2450	290	50	27	19
200	2680	320	3000	320	53	29	20
210	3240	360	3600	360	57	31	22