DESIGN OF HEATING SYSTEMS

Decide on the following items;

type of heating system to be implemented
fuel type
type of emitters
boiler(s)
location of pipes and/or ductwork.
location of plant.

Carry out the rest of the design as follows;

1. Calculate heat losses for rooms in the building.
See Thermal Transmission pages of these notes in Science section.

2. Size heat emitters.
Heat loss + factor for regulation and reduced output after several years in use.
This factor is usually between 10% and 15%
Check the catalogue for a factor for temperature difference between mean water and air other than 55
degC.
A further factor of 1.1 is often applied to heat loss.

3. Indicate heat emitters on a drawing.
Positioning emitters under windows reduces the effect of cold down draughts from glass.
Radiators require clearance - 100 to150mm bottom for floor cleaners.
25mm under cill board
100 to 125mm either side for valve clearance.

4. Size hot water cylinder and indicate on drawing.
See Hot Water Generation & Storage pages of these notes in Hot & Cold Water section.
CIBSE guide Table B4.9 gives Hot Water Storage and Boiler Power, e.g.
Medium rental flat or dwelling = 30 litre/person.
High rental flat or dwelling = 45
Offices = 5
NIHE require: 117 litre HW cylinder for 1/2 person dwellings.
140 litre HW cylinder for dwellings.

5. Calculate boiler requirement in kW for heating hot water.
See Hot Water Generation & Storage pages of these notes in Hot & Cold Water section.




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Where;
H = Boiler Power required (kW)
m
water
= Mass of water in hot water cylinder (kg)
Cp = Specific heat capacity of water 4.2 kJ/kg degC.
dt = Temperature difference between hot water in cylinder and cold water in cold feed pipe (60-10).
Hours heat up = Usually allow 1.5 hours for smaller cylinders, check manufacturers data.


6. Size boiler(s) and indicate on drawing.

Boiler output = (total heat loss for building (Plus margin) + Power requirement for hot water
heating) + boiler margin.
A boiler margin oversizes the boiler to allow for any future extensions to the system, quick heat up
and abnormal loads.
A margin of 15% to 25% is not uncommon.
In larger installations if two boilers are used, each may be sized for 60% to 66% of the full heating
requirement.


7. For open vented systems Size Feed and Expansion Tank and indicate on drawing.
For domestic use an 18 litre plastic tank is used.
For larger installations or large houses see CIBSE Table A3.19.
For pressurised systems size expansion vessel.
See System Pressurisation pages of these notes in Heating section.

8. Indicate pipework on drawing.
A schematic drawing is useful in the design of the system and aids location of pipe runs.

9. Size heating pipework.
As a rule of thumb the maximum heat load which a pipe can carry can be calculated if it is assumed
that the maximum pressure drop of 300 N/m
3
is the result of resistances in the system.
See Table below.


Pipe Size
(mm)
Mass flow
Rate
(kg/s)
Maximum
Heat Load
(kW)
Approx.
Heat Load
(kW)
15 0.080 3.36 3
22 0.233 9.79 9
28 0.469 19.70 19
35 0.844 35.45 35
42 1.420 59.64 59

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See Pipe Sizing (Heating Systems) pages of these notes in Plant Sizing section fro more accurate sizing.


10. The following are NIHE recommended pipe sizes for housing;
(i) DHW primaries 28mm
(ii) Heating open vent 28mm
(iii) Heating cold water feed 22mm
(iv) DHW open vent 22mm
(v) DHW cold feed 28mm
(vi) F & E tank overflow 32mm
(vii) Heating small bore 15mm
(viii) Heating micro-bore 10mm



11 PUMP SIZING

Size pump(s) and indicate on drawing.
When specifying a pump the mass flow rate of water and pump head or pressure are required.

The mass flow rate m in kg/s is found from the following expression:

H
m = ___________________
Cp x (t
flow
-t
return
)

Where;
H = Total heat load in kW through the pump.
Cp = Specific heat capacity of water 4.187 kJ/kg degC
t
flow
-t
return
= 80 - 70 = 10 deg C for LTHW systems.

H
This approximates to: m = _____
42

The head or pressure to be developed by the pump must at least equal to the total resistance to flow in
the Index Circuit.
As a quick guide, if the worst case is taken, the pipes are sized for a maximum pressure drop of 300
N/m
3
.
Thus the length of the index circuit can be measured from the drawing (flow and return) + 20% to
30% for resistance of fittings to give a total Equivalent Length of pipework.

Pump Pressure = Equivalent Length of pipework x Pressure Drop per metre length.
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Pump Pressure (N/m
2
) = E.L. (m) x 300 (N/m
3)
.

Pump Pressure
or Pump Head (metres) = ____________
r x g

where;
r = density of water at m.w.t. 75
o
C = 975 kg/m
3
.
g = acceleration due to gravity = 9.81 m/s
2
.

This may be approximated to;

Pump Pressure
or Pump Head (metres) = _______________
9,600 or 10,000

A pump may be specified from a catalogue which is capable of delivering a mass flow rate against a
head of x metres.

12. Design the heating control system.

13. Allow for maintenance, commissioning and testing of the system.

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