Hi, Can anyone point me in the direction please as to where I may calculate the heating requirements / boiler output size for my home? I'll be going for a Regular boiler. I'm totally happy in measuring room volumes etc. I assume that there are formulae available somewhere? Someone suggested matching the existing but, I know for sure that the property has been extended since built and the boiler is likely, the original still. 1983 build. TIA
Either work out each room individually using an online radiator calculator, or consider each major section of the structure as a whole and do the same. Then add enough to service the hot water cylinder - 7 to 11kW unless you have a quick recovery cylinder. Or call someone in to give you some quotes, maybe British Gas as a stick in the sand.
Your average system boiler is probably 15-16kw. This won’t be far out. If you oversize the boiler if will probably cycle slightly more often. If you undersize it then it will probably take a little longer to heat both the heating and HW when on at the same time in cold temperatures. Just our of interest how were others taught to size a boiler for a new installation. I mean from tradesmen during your apprenticeship not textbooks?
Just by calculating each room and adding for cylinder. Most houses obviously didn’t have to calculate boiler output as were standard size semi house
What did you add for the cylinder though. The full kw amount or a different figure. I was taught to add up all the rads then add 10%. Then add 4kw for the cylinder (average size vented)
Rule of thumb, 1.5kw per room (1.5kw is average size radiator), add 3kw for hot water cylinder. Have an 18Kw here for 3 bed semi FWIW.
Used to allow 12000 btu for average cylinders (about 3.5 kw) but then upped that to 15000 (about 4.4kw) - so similar to what you were taught. I now add 6kw due to cylinders being larger nowadays in many average homes. I added typically 10% to most rooms, especially any that would be on colder side of house or large rooms or with 2 or more outside walls etc. I tend to think of extreme weather requirements
Very true. You never will get a customer complaining that they have a good functioning radiator. To have plenty of output in a rad has the advantage that the boiler can run at lower temperature to achieve required room temperatures. Also when we get extreme winter weather of say, minus 10 and below, the rads will still cope. Condensing boilers need rads to be slightly oversized. Personally I try to have most rooms in a home to have accurate sized rads with equal addition percentage output. But in living rooms or rooms that would be difficult to keep warm I make sure rads are well oversized. With modern convector rads they tend to not look oversized thankfully
This heat loss calculator is easy to use https://starsapp.co.uk/basic-heat-loss-calculator/ As mentioned by Jimbo,if hot water heating required some more boiler kw's will be required.It depends on the cylinder manufactures instructions. Mear calculator or what ever boiler the installer had spare & sometimes guess work. Them days boilers cold be range rated to suit varying demand s
Assuming you are keeping existing radiators,add up their outputs by their type and size,add 10%,then allow another 3.5 kw for a tank.You can heat a reasonable sized home with a 15kw boiler!
Hi I’m not in the game anymore, but when I started it was 5 btu per cubic foot ! It may help you ? Good luck Peter
5 btu per cubic foot is actually a very good guide,though there are considerations for insulation,glazing types etc,and different rooms have different design temperatures! Now they talk more in kw more than btu.
By the time DS999 comes back,gas will be a banned fuel or the greeny politicians will have taxed it out of existence. its happening in proper euroland,poxy brussels Sprouts. been there seen it