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Ways Heat is Transfered?
Common Questions And Answers About Radiant Barrier
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This picture shows you where your energy dollars go in an average home. We should be a little more careful with turning off the lights around the house when we arent in the room. The utility companies have suggested that we put a blanket around our hot water heater. This will lower the cost of heating our water in our home up to 9%. It is amazing how much hot water we all use in our homes. But it is still heating and cooling our homes that uses the biggest percentage of our energy.
The first thing we have to understand is that there is a basic law of nature that says heat always transfers towards cold. Most people, like I did, thought the cold came into the house to keep the furnace running. It is just the opposite! In winter, the heat getting out of our homes is what keeps the furnace running. In summer, it is the heat coming in our homes that keeps the air-conditioner running.
The three ways heat is transferred is conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is simply when two solid objects touch each other, heat is transferred through the objects. A good example is when the stove gets hot, heat is transferred to the teapot. Convection is heat movement through the air, occurring when air is warmed. The warm air expands, becomes less dense and rises. So when the furnace turns on, heat goes up to the ceiling. There are two ways to get heat down where we need it. A ceiling fan is one and the other is to go over to your thermostat and turn it up a few degrees. We all know what happens if we turn it passed that pre-determined number that we set it at.....the fuel bill at the end of the month is higher than we would like it to be. Radiation is the most comfortable type of heat. It travels in a straight line till it is reflected or absorbed. Everything radiates heat, your bodies, chairs, tables, walls, and drapes. Everything collects heat and radiates it away. An example of radiant heat is a quartz space heater. Remember the radiators we used to have in every room? They would radiate heat in all directions. It was just as warm on the floor as it was through the rest of the house.
This is why your furnace runs in the winter. Conduction is where your drywall is touching 2x4's. Convection is the heat loss around your windows, doors, cracks in the foundation, and up the chimney. The biggest loss of convection heat is your front door! Every time we open it, we lose heat. Radiant heat loss (the most comfortable type of heat) is the biggest reason your furnace runs in the winter.
In summer time the percentages change: Conduction stayed the same (same drywall touching 2x4's); Convection is less than 1%; Radiant heat gain is the main reason the air-conditioner runs. On a 90 degree day the shingles on the house can get up to 175 degrees, conducting heat into your home and keeping the air-conditioner running.
Common Questions And Answers About Radiant Barrier
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