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Convector Placement

Roland_6
Roland_6 Member Posts: 8
in THE MAIN WALL
Hi All, Why are convectors(boxy units) installed below windows?

Comments

  • Al Letellier_9
    Al Letellier_9 Member Posts: 929
    placement of convectors

    It's the point of greatest heat loss and that's the best place to put the heat....

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  • Brad White
    Brad White Member Posts: 2,399
    Al is correct

    Early on, "central heating" was exactly that, a central masonry chimney, later with coal stoves in each room, usually on an interior room.

    Anyone who suggested to place the heat source on the outside wall was probably ridiculed or burned as a witch. Stopped them from complaining of the cold I suppose.

    The thinking was, "the heat would all go outside faster" but soon it became apparent that putting heat between you and the outside cold made more sense. With the heat toward the interior, your backside still faced a cold, uninsulated exterior wall -and this was in the best houses!

    It is all about MRT, mean radiant temperature. Your body has a surface temperature of about 85 degrees (except for the aforementioned witch). That body heat will be lost to cold as is it's way, and the departure point is rewarded with the feeling of cold.

    One reason baseboard heat is so effective is that it places a flux, a layer, of warm air between you and the outdoors. Radiators similarly do the same but using actual IR radiation. With today's better sealed and insulated homes, the MRT differential is a lot less than it used to be.

    So you see, Al is correct. :)
    "If you do not know the answer, say, "I do not know the answer", and you will be correct!"



    -Ernie White, my Dad
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