IP7/2 -PLANT.ROOM.POSITION.AND.

SIZE
From page 30

DISTRIBUTION a suspended ceiling.

There are a number of services which may require Ducting is the most difficult system to accommodate
distribution throughout a building. These include; hot since it has a much larger cross sectional area than
and chilled water, potable water, electrical power and water pipes. This is especially so close to the air
lighting, control cabling, conditioned air, handling unit where the ducting must carry all the con-
communications cables and fire systems cabling. Taking ditioned air for each space. The cross sectional area
heating as an example hot water is generated in the reduces the further away from the air handling unit
plantroom by the boilers. It must then be distributed to you are as the conditioned air is progressively divided
the heat emitters in each room. Finally, water which has off into successive spaces.
had its heat removed must be returned to the plantroom
for re heating. It can be seen that vertical runs of pipe Service runs should preferably be linear. This provides
are required to carry heated water to each floor. economy of installation and operation. A change of
Horizontal runs of pipe are required to distribute the direction in ductiong or pipework requires additional
hot water to each heat emitter. In domestic buildings components and fabrication. Bends and junctions of-
vertical pipes are surface mounted and boxed in for fer greater resistence to fluid flow. As a result a larger
cover. Horizontal runs are made between joists and and therefore greater energy consuming pump or fan
under the floorboards. In commercial buildings vertical would be required.
service shafts are required. Horizontal distribution
usually takes place under a raised floor system or above
Flue header
Expansion vessels
dhw flow pipe (unvented dhw system) Flue from water heater Draught diverter

Water heater Expansion

(Dorchester vessel (heat-
direct fired) ing system)

Top to bottom Twin pump

recirculation set
pipe

Cold water feed

pipe
Pressurisation
dhw return unit
pipe (Portland)

Atmospheric
Gas burner

Figure IP7. Some of the components found in a typical heating plantroom Multiple boilers (Purewell cast
photo: Hamworthy Heating Ltd. iron, atmospheric boilers)

32
 the room as required.
1.6 Controls
Controls are required to ensure that the heating system Programmer. This is a time switch that determines
operates safely, efficiently and provides comfort for the the times within which the heating will respond to a
building occupants. Figure 1.27 shows a typical arrange- call for heat from the room thermostat. The start and
ment of controls for a domestic central heating system. It stop times between which the heating will be allowed
is comprised of the following components. to operate are entered into the programmer. For ex-
ample, heating may be required from 07:00 to 08:30 in
the morning then 17:00 to 23:30 in the evening. Mod-
ern microprocessor controlled programmers allow
multiple daily heating periods and the ability to pro-
gramme each day of the week with a different heat-
ing programme. An example is that the first "on"
period at the weekend may start at 8:00 and end at
12:00 to reflect the fact that the occupant is not in
work on that day.

Cylinder thermostat. This is a temperature control-

led switch similar to the room thermostat. The differ-
ence is that it is clamped on to the indirect cylinder
and therefore senses and controls the temperature
of the dhw. When the switch is closed and therefore
calling for heat, the three way valve will be instructed
to divert boiler flow through the calorifier in the cyl-
Figure 1.27 Domestic heating controls inder. This will cause the temperature of the water in
the cylinder to rise. When the temperature reaches
Room Thermostat. Is a device which controls room tem- the setting on the thermostat the switch will open.
peratures. Control is made in relation to a preferred tem- The three way valve will then direct the flow away
perature setting made on the thermostat by the occu- from the cylinder and back to the heating circuit.
pant. The thermostat is in fact a switch opened and closed
as the room temperature rises above or falls below the Thermostatic Radiator Valve (TRV). This is a valve
temperature setting respectively. (section 1.7) fitted to the inlet of the radiator. Gas in
the TRV head (figure 1.28) expands with temperature
The thermostat should be positioned in a representative and pushes a gate downwards blocking the inlet
room such as the living room at standing chest height flow. This will restrict or even stop the flow of heat
away from sources of heat such as direct sunlight. This into the radiator. The heat output will then be reduced
means it will accurately sense the air temperature experi-
enced by an occupant in the room. When the thermostat
switch is closed, current can flow through it. This is inter- Gas expands as temperature
Gas filled Belows increases
preted by the boiler as a call for heat. The boiler will fire,
the pump will run and the three way valve will direct hot
water to the radiators. When the room temperature rises
above the preferred temperature setting, changes within
the thermostat either electronically sensed or due to the
differential expansion of metal in a bi metallic strip cause
the thermostat switch to open. As a result the control
current will stop and the boiler and the pump will switch
off. It can be seen therefore that room temperatures are
controlled by stopping and starting the flow of heat into Figure 1.28 Thermostatic radiator valve

33
34
causing the room to begin to cool. As it does so the the heating in the morning to achieve the desired inter-
gas in the TRV head will contract and the valve will nal temperatures by the start of occupancy. In the
open up once more. TRV's allow room by room control above example the optimum start controller would de-
of temperatures to be achieved. They are particularly lay the onset of heating until 3:30 am. Thereby saving
useful in south facing rooms and rooms subject to two and a half hours of heating which for a large build-
casual heat gains, giving an extra layer of control be- ing represents a significant saving in fuel costs.
yond the single room thermostat.

CONTROLS FOR COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS

Large buildings cannot be controlled effectively using

domestic control systems. The components must be
scaled up and certain refinements made to provide ad-
equate control. The difficulties encountered in heating
control in large buildings arise due to their; thermal
sluggishness, different heat loads/gains and differ-
ences in hours of usage of spaces. Both time and tem-
perature control require consideration.

Optimum start controller. Time control in domestic

buildings is adequately carried out using the fixed on/
off time controller described previously. This is be- Figure 1.29 Graph of room temperature against time
cause even on cold days the time taken for the majority of day showing the benefits of optimum starting
of domestic buildings to warm up to comfortable tem-
peratures is unlikely to be more than thirty minutes. The most difficult parameter to determine for the effec-
This period when the building is warming up to the tive operation of the device is the thermal inertia of the
occupancy temperature setting is known as the pre building. Initial estimates of this may need to be modi-
heat period. In large buildings the pre heat period will fied during the commissioning stage to achieve accu-
be considerably longer due to the thermal inertia of the rate performance. Some devices monitor their own per-
structure of the building and the heating system itself. formance and carry out this adjustment automatically.
The pre-heat period is also variable. It is longer in win- They are known as self learning optimisers.
ter than in spring and autumn because the building
cools more during the night. This means a fixed start Compensated temperature control. Temperature con-
and stop time would be wasteful. This is illustrated in trol is achieved in domestic buildings by simply switch-
figure 1.29. It can be seen that on a cold night the ing on and off the flow of heat to the radiators. When
heating must come on at 1.0 a.m. to heat the building the desired room temperature is achieved the boiler
up to adequate levels by the start of occupancy at 8.00 will be switched off and after a short run on period, to
am. If this fixed on time is retained on a mild night then dissipate residual heat, so will the pump. This is not
the building is raised to the occupancy temperature at practical in large buildings because of the thermal iner-
5:30 am. This is two and a half hours prior to occu- tia of the large volume of water circulating in the heat-
pancy and so is wasteful. ing system. Swings in temperature about the set point
would be too great as the water in the heating system
To overcome this problem an optimum start controller was alternately heated and cooled. Instead, large build-
is used. This is a device into which the operator inputs ings do not switch on and off the flow of heat to the
the times of the beginning and end of occupancy, say building but modulate it up or down as the demand for
8.00 am and 5.00 pm. The optimum start controller then heating goes up or down. This process is achieved
monitors inside and outside temperatures, combines using a compensated flow circuit.
this with a knowledge of the thermal inertia of the build-
ing and as a result determines at which time to activate Compensated flow circuits vary the boiler flow tem-

35
36
perature in response to changes in outside air tem-
perature.

Figure 1.30 illustrates the principle. The graph is known

as a compensated flow curve. Moving from right to left
on the graph, it can be seen that as the outside tem-
perature increases the temperature of the boiler flow is
progressively decreased. At 16oC outside air tempera-
ture the boiler flow temperature is equal to ambient
conditions. In effect the heating is switched off . This
temperature is known as the outside air cut off tem-
perature. At this temperature no mechanical heating is
required since 6oC worth of heating can be achieved
from casual gains in the building from passive solar
energy, body heat, lighting and appliances.

Figure 1.31 Variable temperature flow circuit

ZONING

In large buildings some spaces may need heating and

some may not. Differing heating demands within the
same building occur for two primary reasons, these
are; differences in heat gains and differences in
occupancy patterns (hours of use).

For example, south facing rooms will experience solar

gains and the heating effect may be sufficient to re-
move the need for mechanical heating. In this situa-
tion the heating to the south side of the building should
Figure 1.30 Compensation curves be shut off. Heating will still be required in north facing
rooms. It can be seen then that the building can be
The adjustment in flow temperatures is achieved using split along an east/west axis into two zones one facing
a variable temperature (VT) heating circuit. How this is north and the other facing south. Further zones can be
achieved is illustrated in figure 1.31 and IP8. The boiler identified such as those subject to other heat gains.
produces hot water for the constant temperature (CT) For example, rooms with high occupancy levels or
circuit at 80oC. Using a three way valve a proportion of where extensive use of computers is being made.
this hot water is allowed to pass into the heating cir-
cuit. When the demand for heat is high such as on a Individual room by room control of the south side of a
cold day more hot water will be allowed into the heat- building can be achieved using thermostatic radiator
ing circuit. On a mild day less heated water would be valves. An alternative method of zoning, which is more
allowed into the heating circuit. The radiator tempera- appropriate to larger buildings, is to install separate
tures will therefore be hotter on a cold day than a mild pumps and flow and return pipe work to supply each
one zone. A motorised valve, zone temperature sensors and

37
38
an appropriate control system are required to control perature setting known as the set point. Temperature
the flow of heat into each zone. As a result there is a sensors will signal this to the outstation. Using the
capital cost associated with zoning a building. How- logic contained in the control strategy the outstation
ever, these additional costs will be recouped over time will send signals to actuators to make the boiler fire
in the value of energy savings made. There are also and pumps operate to supply heat to the room. The
additional benefits to zoning a building such as greater control strategy refers to other rules before carrying
degree of temperature control leading to improved ther- this out for example heating will only be supplied if the
mal comfort and greater productivity of staff. time is within the occupancy or pre heat period.

Separate heating circuits can also be used to cater for

differential occupancy of spaces within a building.
One example is in the case of a school which holds
night classes. Rather than heat the whole school for
this event the school should be zoned and heating can
then be supplied to the night school block only.

If the use of parts of buildings are being charged for

separately heat meters can be fitted to each heating
zone pipe work. These meters monitor how much heat
is being taken by the zone from the central boiler plant.
Knowledge of this allows accurate costing of out of
hours use of spaces to be made

BUILDING ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

(BEMS)
Figure 1.32 Building energy management system
All of the control functions discussed previously in- components
cluding boiler step control, optimisation, compensa-
tion and zoning can be carried out using a building Sensors are the input devices for the outstation. They
energy management system (BEMS). A BEMS is a com- are transducers which convert a physical state into an
puter based heating, ventilation and air conditioning electrical signal. There are two main types; analogue
control system which offers a great deal of flexibility in sensors and digital sensors. Analogue sensors return
the way it is set up and operated. It also offers the a varying signal to the outstation. For example, a sig-
possibility of close interaction between the operator nal in the range 0 to 5 volts from a temperature sensor
and the building services systems. The main compo- can be set to represent the temperature range 0 to 25oC.
nents of a BEMS are shown in figure 1.32 and are de-
scribed below. A digital signal can only take one of two values for
example 0 volts or 5 volts. Such a signal can be sent
Outstations are small computers. Unlike dedicated hard from a switch to represent it being opened or closed.
wired controllers which only control the functions for So for example if a boiler was firing a 5V signal would
which they have been purchased outstations are flex- be returned if it had failed then a 0V signal would be
ible in what they can do. The outstation can be pro- returned.
grammed to perform any or all of the above control
functions. The outstation receives information about Actuators like sensors can be either analogue or dig-
what is happening to the heating system and the build- ital. They are devices which turn electrical signals into
ing from sensors. The programme which decides what physical actions using motors or solenoids. An exam-
this information means and what to do as a conse- ple of an analogue actuator is one which sets the posi-
quence is called a control strategy. A simple example is tion of a motorised valve. The electrical signal to it may
if the room temperatures are below the required tem- vary between 0 and 5V this corresponds to the fully

39
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IN

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40
shut and fully open positions. Hence a signal of 2.5V systems. It is also possible to communicate with other
would cause the valve to be half open. control systems in buildings. For example it is possible
to integrate BEMS systems with security systems. So
A digital signal can be used to open or close a sole- for example access to spaces using key cards can be
noid. For example changing the signal to a pump from monitored. When it is known that all people have left a
0 to 5V causes a pump to operate returning the signal space the heating can be turned off or turned down to
to 0V causes it to stop. a set back position. Communication can also occur be-
tween BEMS and fire systems. Ventilation systems
The supervisor allows human operators to interface which would cause spread of smoke can be closed by
with the system. It is a standard personal computer dampers in the event of fire being detected and smoke
which is loaded with the necessary software to inter- clearance fans can be turned on.
act with the outstations. The supervisor can be used
to programme the outstation with its control strategy.
Once this is achieved it is possible to visualise on
1.7 Valves
screen all of the information available to the outstation.
So for example room temperatures, the status of boil- Valves have a role in the commissioning, operation and
ers, pumps and other equipment such as the position maintenance of wet indirect heating systems. In com-
of valves or dampers can all be displayed. This missioning, valves are used to balance the flow of wa-
information id displayed graphically so that their inter- ter around the distribution and heat emitter network, in
pretation is easily understood with only a small amount operation, valves are used to direct and control the
of training. extent of heat output and finally, in maintenance, valves
are used to isolate failed sections of pipework and com-
The system constantly upgrades the information it ponents for repair. These roles are achieved using the
presents and also stores data at the outstation for later way that valves modify the flow of water in pipes. There
inspection. For example, room temperatures over the are many different types of valve. The following sec-
last 24 hours can be displayed graphically. This is a tion describes the three valve functions associated with
most useful tool for diagnosing faults and commis- flow modification and gives an example of a specific
sioning the heating system following installation. The valve type used to carry out each one. These valves
supervisor is also used to set variables. One example are illustrated in figure 1.33.
is the inputting of room temperature set points.
The first function is to stop the flow of water
Buildings fitted with a BEMS have been found to have completely. These valves, also referred to as isolating
low energy consumptions. There are a number of rea- valves, are fitted on both sides of components such as
sons for this. The first is the accuracy of control that pumps. The valve, when closed, stops the flow of wa-
can be achieved. The second is the ability of the sys- ter so that the pump can be removed for repair without
tem to signal heating system faults which may other- having to drain down the entire system.
wise go undetected causing excessive energy usage.
Finally, monitoring and management of energy One type of isolation valve is the globe valve. Water
consumptions is also facilitated by fitting sensors on normally flows through a gap in the valve body. Turn-
to the utility meters. This allows logging of energy ing a threaded rod by hand or by a motorised actuator
consumptions which can then be used to prepare re- causes a plug on the end of the rod to block the gap in
ports and note excessive consumptions. the valve body stopping the flow.

One supervisor can be used to control the operation of The second function is to regulate the flow of
many outstations. The supervisor will be located in water between full flow and no flow. If the water is
the office of the energy or building manager. It can heated the amount of heat delivered to a heat emitter
communicate with various outstations using the tel- can be varied by varying the flow of water. Thermo-
ephone system and network cabling on site. This com- static radiator valves (section 1.6) work in this way.
munication is not limited to outstations and other BEMS One type of flow regulating valve is the butterfly valve.

41
42
This valve has an internal disk whose diameter is the of these in the bore is a ball. This ball has a hole bored
same size as the bore of the valve. When the disk is through it. Water normally passes through inlet to out-
positioned across the valve flow is stopped, when the let 1 through the hole in the ball. However, rotation of
disk is in line with the bore full flow is achieved. The the ball at first shares flow with outlet 2 then diverts it
position of the disk is determined by a rod connected wholly to outlet 2.
to the disk centre pivot and extending out of the valve.
Rotation of the rod determines the alignment of the A mixing valve is a three port valve working in the
disk and hence rate of flow of water. opposite sense. It has two inlets and one outlet. Inlet 1
carries hot water, inlet 2 carries cold water. Variable
The third function is to direct the flow of positioning of the ball will mix the two flows to give a
water down one of two alternative outlet pipes constant temperature at the outlet ranging between
connected to the valve. For example a three port valve the two flow temperatures.
has one inlet and two outlets. Flow entering the inlet
can be directed down either of the outlets or shared The build quality of valves is an important issue. For
between them. One example of the use of this is in example globe valves must seat positively if they are
domestic heating system control. Hot water from the to stop flow. Control valves must be constructed to
boiler can be diverted either to the heating circuit, dhw close tolerances because when they begin to close the
cylinder or shared between the two depending on which pressure increases and there is a tendency for water to
thermostats are calling for heat. seep past the valve. This will result in energy wastage
and poor control. This is particularly important when
valves carry out more than one of the functions de-
scribed above. For example globe valves can act as a
flow regulation and an isolation valve (page 42).

The setting of valves can be adjusted manually as is

the case with most isolation valves. However they can
also be set using a motorised actuator which is the
case for valves associated with control. The position
of the butterfly or ball within the valve is usually indi-
cated by a visual marker outside the valve. This ena-
bles maintenance workers visiting the plantroom to as-
sess its current position and check that the position
changes in response to a control signal.

1.8 Feed and Expansion

Indirect heating systems using water as the heat trans-
fer medium must have some means of replenishing
minor water losses and accommodating the expansion
that occurs as water is heated. Domestic systems use a
feed and expansion tank. In commercial systems the
pipe work is sealed and a pressurisation unit is used to
satisfy the requirements for feed and expansion.

Figure 1.33 Functions and types of valve Feed and Expansion (FE) Tank is usually sited in the
loft so that it is higher than the heating system it serves.
An example of a flow diverting valve is the ball valve. Water from the mains fills the tank to a pre set level
The valve body has three ports. Situated at the centre determined by the ball valve (figure 1.34). If water is

43
IP8 -SCHEMATIC-TWO.ZONE.MULTIPLE.BOILER.SYSTEM

Reproduced with permission from Hamworthy Heating Ltd. from their publication 'Energy Efficient Multiple Boiler Systems'

44
lost from the heating system it is replenished from the system. The benefit of this is that the boiler flow tem-
FE tank via the feed water pipe. The expansion pipe is peratures can be increased above 100oC without it boil-
connected to the heating system pipe work and termi- ing. This means that the same volume of water will
nates in FE tank (figure 1.1, page5). If the heating con- carry more energy to the heat emitters. In a large build-
trols should fail the temperature of the boiler flow could ing this will result in smaller pipe diameters which are
rise causing the water in the system to expand. If the easier to accommodate within service runs. The tem-
system were sealed the resulting pressure rise would perature ranges encountered are;
damage the system. However this does not occur since
the additional water volume can escape through the Low temperature hot water (LTHW)
expansion pipe. Excess water in the FE tank will be 70 - 100 oC
safely discharged outside via the overflow pipe. Medium temperature hot water (MTHW)
100 - 120 oC
High temperature hot water (HTHW)
120 - 150 oC

Figure 1.34 Feed and Expansion tank

Pressurisation unit. The pipe work in heating sys-

tems incorporating a pressurisation unit has no open-
ings to the outside air. It is sealed. A pressure sensor is
fitted into the system as shown in figure 1.35. If the
pressure falls too low a pump is operated that feeds
mains water into the pipe work. When the boiler fires
pressure in the system will increase due to the expan- Figure 1.35Pressurisation unit
sion of water. This increased water volume is accom-
modated in the expansion tank. The tank is partially The high temperatures can be used to provide heat for
filled with nitrogen which is compressed by the incom- certain industrial processes such as drying. However
ing water. If, due to a boiler control fault, the pressure care should be taken with positioning heat emitters
increase is too great then an interlock between the pres- which will have very hot surfaces and would burn any-
surisation unit and boilers will switch the boilers off one touching them.
until the cause of the fault can be corrected. Excess
pressure is released by allowing water to escape
through the pressure release valve. Continuous filling 2.0 Indirect Warm Air
of the system by the pump would signal a leak in the
system. Heating
As well as keeping system water levels maintained the Air can be used as a heat transfer medium in the same
pressurisation unit can also pressurise the water in the way that water is used to carry heat. The warm air is

45
46
delivered to the space to be heated in ducts rather than COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS
pipes. Air has a much lower heat carrying capacity
than water and so ducts need to be bigger in cross Indirect warm air heating systems for large buildings
sectional area than a water pipe to carry the same share many of the characteristics of air conditioning
amount of heat. The space required for these ducts systems which are discussed in detail in section 7.0
must be allowed for in the structure of the building. Figure 2.1 shows a typical warm air heating system.
Outside air is drawn into the air handling unit using a
There are three benefits of warm air heating. The first is centrifugal fan. It is filtered and heated before leaving
that ventilation can be supplied to a room along with the unit to be delivered to each room using ducting.
the heat. The second is that the time taken to warm up The outlet diffusers may be sited under the window sill
rooms to comfort temperatures is less than that taken to counteract perimeter heat losses. Dampers are fitted
by a wet system and finally the room warm air outlet to control the flow of warm air out of the unit. The
terminals take up much less wall space than a radiator. return air outlet is positioned to give a good flow of air
Figure 2.0 shows the main components of a domestic across the room, possibly within a suspended ceiling.
indirect warm air heating system. The return fan is smaller than the supply fan so that
the rooms become slightly pressurised. This helps to
prevent the ingress of draughts into the building.

An advantage of warm air systems is that in summer

the heater coil can be turned off and free cooling
obtained by bringing in fresh outside air. By pass
ducting will be required to avoid any heat recovery
devices to ensure that the incoming cool air is not pre-
heated by the outgoing stale air.

If the exhaust air quality is good then the majority of it

will be re circulated back into the inlet. The remainder
of the air supply will be fresh air. In this way some of
the energy used to heat the air will be recovered. If the
air quality is poor then 100% fresh air will be used. To
avoid wasting energy heat should be recovered and
Figure 2.0 Domestic warm air heating system used to pre heat the supply air (section 4.4).

A centrifugal fan is used to pass air over a surface

which is heated by a gas burner. This air is then deliv-
ered to the various rooms using ducts. The vertical
ducts are sited centrally in the building to achieve
economy of duct lengths and ease of accommodating
them. Short horizontal runs deliver the air to each room.
The outlet grilles should be directed towards external
walls to counteract the cold down draughts which oc-
cur at windows. Air typically returns to the heater via
the stairwell and halls. Gaps are usually created in doors
to allow the free passage of return air. Air can also
return to the heater via ducting as is shown in the
diagram. Return inlet grilles should not be sited in toi-
lets or bathrooms due to the risk of re circulating mois-
ture and odours throughout the building. Fresh air
enters via infiltration routes into the building. Figure 2.1 Commercial warm air heating system

47
I P 9 - H E A T . T R A N S F E R . M E C H A N I S M S

Heat naturally flows from a body at a high temperature heat away from radiators and convector heaters.
to bodies at a lower temperature. It is as if the universe Convection also causes stratification of temperatures
is trying to balance out the temperature of all the in tall spaces (see page 51). Downward convection
objects contained within it. In the far future it can be currents occur when cold air is present in a space. This
predicted that everything will have the same is a particular problem along the perimeter of highly
temperature and heat transfer will stop. Until that day glazed buildings. Downward cold convection currents
we can use heat transfer mechanisms to make our from the windows can produce uncomfortable
heating systems work.Heat draughts. Which must
moves by three mechanisms; be countered by a
conduction, convection and perimeter heating system
radiation. (see page 23).
All of the universe would
CONDUCTION really like to be one RADIATION
temperature. To achieve Any warm object will
This is the transfer of heat
through solid materials. This this, heat flows from high radiate heat to another
mode of heat transfer is often to low temperature object at a temperature
descibed by imagining that the lower than itself. This
atoms of a material vibrate. The
objects..... Until this final heat is in the form if infra
hotter the material the greater temperature is met we can red radiation which does
are these vibrations. Conduc- not require gaseous or
use the effect to make our solid material for its
tion is explained by the transfer
of these vibrations from one heating systems work! transfer. When an object
atom to the next, moving from absorbs infra red
the warm end of the material to radiation its temperature
the colder end. An example of will be increased. Infra red
conduction in buildings is the radiation is the warmth
loss of heat through the building fabric from the warm we feel from the sun. It is also used as the heat transfer
interior to the cooler outside. Conduction of heat is mechanism by radiant heaters. Thermal radiation is a
also used in calorifiers and plate heat exchangers. Close similar form of energy to light. As a consequence just
contact is required between the hot and cold fluids to as light can be guided and directed using reflectors so
ensure good heat transfer is made. can thermal radiation.

CONVECTION MASS TRANSFER

This is the transfer of heat within liquids. Here we can An additional mode of heat transfer used in buildings
consider both air and water to be a type of liquid. Using is that of mass transfer. In this a fluid such as air, water
the concept of vibrating atoms introduced above. It or steam is used as a heat transfer medium. By moving
follows that the atoms in warm air will be more widely the air or water from one place to another the energy
spaced due to their increased vibrational amplitude held by it is also transferred. Following the mass transfer
than those in cool air. As a result the warm air will be the occupants in the room are heated by one of the
less dense, and so will float in the cooler air causing it above three mechanisms.
to rise. When the warm air becomes cooled once more
it will have the same density as the rest of the room air
and convection will stop. Convection currents carry

48
3.0 Direct Heating
Systems
Direct heaters, which were introduced in section 1.0
give out their heat by a combination of convection and
radiation directly into the space they are heating (see
IP9). Common domestic gas fires are one type of direct
room heater which aim to encourage both forms of heat
output. However, for purposes of discussion in this
book direct heaters will be grouped in to two main cat-
egories; those which give out most of their heat by
radiation and those which give out most of their heat
by convection.

This section will consider common types of domestic

and industrial convector and radiant heaters and will Figure 3.1 Gas convector heater
conclude by looking at direct water heaters
Electric storage heaters. This type of heater comprises
of a metal casing which is filled with dense blocks (fig
3.1 Convector Heaters
Convector heaters give out their heat using the natural
buoyancy of warm air. Room air comes into contact
with a hot surface. When warmed this air becomes less
dense and so rises out of the heater to warm the room.
Some devices use fans to increase airflow across the
heated surface. This increases heat output and reduces
the time taken to heat the room.

DOMESTIC HEATERS

Gas Convector Heaters. These heaters are room sealed

combustion devices. The combustion air is taken from
outside the building via a balanced flue rather than
from the room itself (figure 3.1). As a consequence heat-
ers are usually installed on outside walls. Heaters can
be installed on internal walls using longer lengths of
flue and exhausting the flue gasses using a fan. To Figure 3.2 Electric Storage Heater
avoid the complexity associated with electrical wiring,
basic models are fitted with a piezoelectric spark ure 3.2). The blocks have a high specific heat capacity
ignition. Temperature control is achieved manually (see IP6). This means they can store large amounts of
using a variable burner setting. The only connections heat for each degree of temperature through which they
required by the heater therefore is a gas supply. To are heated. The blocks are heated by electrical heating
improve the level of control some models incorporate elements which run through them. Charging with heat
a room thermostat and a time switch the operation of usually takes place overnight to take advantage of
which requires connection to an electrical supply. cheaper night-time electricity tariffs. The amount of
heat given out by the storage heater in the day de-

49
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pends on how much heat is stored by it overnight this, fort is achieved by contact with the warm air. If this
in turn, depends on the time over which the heating warm air is regularly removed from the space for exam-
elements are operated. Charging time can be set manu- ple by opening loading bay doors then comfort will
ally using a dial on the heater graduated in hours or it not be achieved and energy will be wasted. Care should
can be carried out automatically. Automatic control also be taken where the space to be heated is tall. This
requires a controller which monitors outside air tem- is because warm air rises and hence stratification will
peratures. If the air temperature is low, indicating that take place.
more heating will be required the next day, then the
heating current will be allowed to flow for longer.

Heat output is by convection currents passing across

the casing and through the heater. If the room becomes
sufficiently warm further heat output can be restricted
by closing a damper to block the internal convection
path. Fanned storage heaters are available. These
utilise well insulated casings to minimise heat losses.
Heat output is via forced circulation of air through the
unit. These storage heaters give a better degree of
control but utilise additional electricity to operate the
fan.

COMMERCIAL WARM AIR HEATERS

Direct heaters used in commercial or industrial build- Figure 3.3 Cabinet heater
ings are bigger in scale than domestic heaters so that
they can satisfy the increased heating demand of the Stratification is the creation of a temperature gradient
large spaces that are used by industry. They are usu- which increases between the floor and roof. The tem-
ally less decorative but are more robust. They are of- perature adjacent to the roof in a 4m high space may be
ten mounted at high level to free up floor space which as high as 30oC. At low level, in the zone occupied by
is more economically used as production area. people, the temperature is 21 o C. The high air
temperature next to the roof is unnecessary for com-
Floor standing cabinet heaters. Figure 3.3 shows a fort and will increase heat losses through the roof.
diagram of a floor standing cabinet heater. Air is drawn
from the space by a fan and is passed over a surface The problem of stratification can be avoided using de
heated by a gas burner. The hot air is then directed stratification fans (figure3.4).
back into the room via cowls. Adjustable vanes within
the cowls allow further variations to be made to the
direction of the warm air jet. Combustion air for the
burner is drawn into the heater from the adjacent space
or it may be taken from outside using ducting. The
times within which the heater can operate is controlled
using an optimiser as described in section 1.6 (page
35). The space temperature is controlled using a
thermostat which monitors the temperature of the air
entering the heater. If the temperature is above set point
the burner is switched off or modulated down.

It is not advisable to use warm air heaters when the

space to be heated is draughty. This is because com- Figure 3.4 De-stratification fan

51
52
These are fans mounted at high level in the space. An would de-stratify the space. If ventilation is required
inbuilt thermostat monitors the air temperature next to during occupancy 100% recirculation can still be used
the fan. If the temperature rises above a threshold during the pre occupancy period to shorten the build-
temperature setting such as 27oC then the fan operates ing warm up time.
pushing the warm air back down into the occupied
space.

Unit heaters. Unit heaters are a smaller version of cabi-

net heaters which are mounted at high level in a space
(figure 3.5). Air flows through the heater, driven by a
fan. It is heated as it passes through a series of venturi
shaped plates made hot by a gas burner. Adjustable
vanes on the warm air outlet directs the heat down into
the occupied space. One of the benefits of this type of
heater is that they do not occupy any floor space.
Another benefit is that they help to avoid stratification
by taking in air at high level and directing it down to-
wards the occupied space.

Figure 3.6 Ventilation unit heater

Ventilation. If the room air quality deteriorates

then a mix of fresh and recirculated air can be used.
The proportions in this mix can be determined using
room air quality sensors fitted into the inlet duct of the
heater. Poor air quality would result in greater propor-
tions of fresh air being used.

Full fresh air. If 100% fresh air is to be used for

Figure 3.5 Unit heater extended periods it would be economical to add an
extract duct to the heater to enable the incoming and
Heating and Ventilation. The warm air heaters described outgoing airstreams to pass through an air to air plate
above use re-circulated room air as the medium for heat exchanger (see section 4.4). This would save en-
heating. However, fresh air can be supplied to the heater ergy by pre-heating the incoming airstream using en-
using a length of ducting so that heating and ventilation ergy contained in the exhaust airstream. In summer the
can be provided to the space at the same time. use of 100% fresh air can also provide free cooling by
switching off the heater and bringing in outside air if it
Figure 3.6 shows, using a roof mounted unit heater as is cooler than the space temperature.
an example, that three modes of operation are possible
by varying the position of dampers in the heater.
3.2 Radiant Heaters
Recirculation. If the room air quality is good,
100% recirculated air can be used. The high level input All hot surfaces radiate heat to objects cooler than

53
54
themselves (see IP9). When a person is near a heated often used to give spot heating to a particular location.
surface this radiant heat is felt as warmth. The essential This could, for example, be a workstation sited in the
element of a radiant heater is, therefore, an exposed middle of a warehouse. Comfort can be achieved
heated surface. The human body is very sensitive to without heating the entire space.
radiant heat and feelings of warmth are readily experi-
enced in its presence (see IP5). As a result it is possible
to feel comfortably warm in draughty spaces such as
warehouses or workshops if a source of radiant heat is
present, even if the air temperature is low.

Radiant heaters have a low thermal capacity. This means

they will heat up quickly giving a quick response time,
creating comfort shortly after being switched on. The
heating effect is principally by radiation but eventu-
ally the radiant heat absorbed by people and objects
will be re-emitted by convection. This will result in a Figure 3.7 Radiant plaque heater
gradual increase in room air temperatures
Radiant tube heaters are composed of a gas burner
Radiant heat is a form of electromagnetic radiation. This connected to a steel tube (figure 3.8). The burner di-
is the same form of energy as light but at a different rects the flames it produces along the inside of the
wavelength. Because of this it behaves like light. It can tube. As a result the tube becomes hot and starts to
be reflected to where it is needed but also blocked by emit radiant heat. Sometimes the tube is formed into a
objects in its path. This latter point means that people U shape doubling the surface area for heat output. A
can be shadowed from its warming effects. One example reflector above the tube directs the heat downwards.
is the shading of customers by the tall shelves in a DIY Radiant tube heaters, as with all heat emitters, have a
store. To solve this problem radiant heaters are usually limited area of influence. To heat a large space evenly
sited over the aisles where customers circulate. Since an array of radiant tube heaters must be used arranged
the heaters do not rely on warm air for their heating in a similar way to luminaires used to light a space.
effect standard thermostats which detect room air
temperature cannot be used to control them. Control is
achieved using a black bulb thermostat. This is an elec-
tronic or bimetallic strip thermostat built into a black
plastic hemisphere. The hemisphere absorbs the radi-
ant heat which in turn warms the air trapped inside the
globe. It is this enclosed warm air that the thermostat
senses to provide control over the heaters.

There are two main types of direct radiant heater these

are plaque heaters and radiant tube heaters. Figure 3.8 Radiant tube heater

Plaque heaters. Are comprised of a flat surface (figure Energy issues. Radiant heaters can result in significant
3.7) heated either by an electrical element or a gas burner. savings in energy when used appropriately. The three
The surface of the heater is warmed until it radiates situations when this occurs are;
heat. Some units become red hot. This high surface
temperature means that they must be fixed at high Tall buildings - where excessive stratification would
level, usually above three metres in height, so that the occur with warm air heating.
occupants of the building cannot be burned. Lower
temperature plaque heaters are available which have Spot heating - For example heating a manned
much lower mounting heights. Plaque heaters are most workstation in the middle of a warehouse. Comfort can

55
56
be achieved without heating the entire space. work under the sink. Their use in this way at the point
of use avoids heat losses that occur from long pipe
Draughty buildings - High air change rates make warm runs.
air heating impractical and wasteful.
COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS

3.3 Direct Water Heating In large buildings the distance between the source of
hot water and the taps is large. This can result in exces-
The heaters in a direct heating system are dedicated to sive heat losses from the pipe work as the water runs
providing space heating. Because of this some form of from the source of heat to the taps. One way of avoid-
direct water heater is also required. In addition, it is ing this is to decentralise the hot water system and to
more economical and energy efficient to separate water provide sources of hot water throughout the site cor-
heating from the indirect space heating system by responding to demand. Small storage or instantane-
providing hot water from a direct fired water heater. ous heaters can be used as described above. For larger
This avoids the low efficiency of indirect systems when demands direct fired water heaters should be used.
firing at low loads to provide hot water only. These devices are cylindrical in shape containing a
small volume of stored water (figure 3.9). The gas
Direct water heating in domestic buildings takes one burner is sited at the bottom of the unit. The heat ex-
of two principle forms these are storage systems and changer and flue run up through the centre of the
instantaneous systems. stored water volume and so excellent thermal contact
is made between the source of heat and the water. Any
Storage systems. An example of a storage system is heat losses from the flue also pass into the water. The
the use of an electric immersion heater to heat the wa- exterior of the tank is well insulated to avoid standing
ter in a dhw cylinder. The immersion heater is a sealed heat losses. The volume of water stored is large enough
element through which electricity is passed causing it to satisfy peak demands but small enough to reduce to
to heat up. The immersion heater is fitted into the stor- acceptable levels, the standing losses that occur over-
age cylinder to make direct contact with the stored night as the stored volume of water cools down. As a
water. A typical domestic immersion heater would have consequence of this and the other features described
a power rating of 3 kW. above direct fired water heaters operate at an efficiency
of approximately 90%.
The immersion heater has an in built thermostat to con-
trol the domestic hot water temperature. This switches
the current on or off, as required, to maintain the pre
set temperature, typically 60-65oC. The duration of op-
eration of the heater can be controlled manually using
a switch or automatically using a time switch.

Instantaneous water heaters warm the water as it is

drawn from the tap so that it only heats the amount of
water that is required. Gas fired water heaters are con-
structed like small boilers with a burner and heat ex-
changer. The water input to the heat exchanger is from
the mains. Output is to the taps. Turning on the hot tap
causes a pressure drop in the pipe work which, after a
short delay, signals the burner to fire. Electrically heated
units are also available. Electrical heaters like the gas
heaters can supply all the taps in a small building. Small
units can supply individual sinks, their small physical
size means they can be fitted into the hot water pipe Figure 3.9 Direct fired gas water heater

57