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help sizing rads based on room by room heat loss

 
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Last Post by JamesPa 1 day ago
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 AdamK
(@adamk)
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Topic starter 28/03/2025 12:14 pm  

scratching my head a bit as to what size rad i need for a given room based on its heat loss. the system is designed to 40c flow @-3.1c outside. lots of sites list rad outputs based on delta t50, is this the flow temp? so if i can find out the output at dt40 for instance is that the output i need to match to this chart?

image

   
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 Gary
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28/03/2025 12:33 pm  

With a flow of 40C the dT for a 20C room temp is 20 it’s the difference in temp between flow and room.  The output of a rad at dT 20 is 0.3 of its output at dT50


   
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 AdamK
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Topic starter 28/03/2025 12:58 pm  

so why dont sites list the output based on flow temp? cause most seem to use dt.


   
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 AdamK
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Topic starter 28/03/2025 1:14 pm  

@gary so does that mean at a dt of 50 the actual flow is 70c for a 20c room temp?


   
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 Gary
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28/03/2025 1:53 pm  

Yep exactly that 


   
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 JamesPa
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28/03/2025 1:55 pm  

Posted by: @adamk
↑

so why dont sites list the output based on flow temp? cause most seem to use dt.

Because they don't know your room temperature and it's only (average) DT that matters

Posted by: @adamk
↑

so does that mean at a dt of 50 the actual flow is 70c for a 20c room temp?

Not strictly I think.  It's 20 plus half the DT between flow and return so that the average dt rad to room is 50

 

 

This post was modified 3 days ago 2 times by JamesPa

4kW peak of solar PV since 2011; EV and a 1930s house which has been partially renovated to improve its efficiency. 7kW Vaillant heat pump.


   
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 AdamK
(@adamk)
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Topic starter 28/03/2025 2:04 pm  

Posted by: @gary
↑

Yep exactly that 

jees ive got 2 hopes of heating my bathroom then. someone suggested an standard design aluminium rad, instead of a towel rad, but im worried in a copper and steel setup ill get galvanic corrosion.

 


   
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 JamesPa
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30/03/2025 9:28 am  

I just left the old towel rail which is now way underpowered.  I am relying on heat transfer from the adjacent hallway, which has excess capacity, together with steam when you run a bath/shower.  It works just fine - the level of thermal separation between rooms is quite modest in practice. 

Obviously this is house dependent but more than one prospective installer remarked to me that they frequently do not install a 'fully compliant' radiator in a bathroom (because of the low output of and desire for towel rails).

4kW peak of solar PV since 2011; EV and a 1930s house which has been partially renovated to improve its efficiency. 7kW Vaillant heat pump.


   
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