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Formulas to calculate the required power output of a radiator for a room of a specific size. Do they exist?

Arran Cameron
Are there any recognised formulas to calculate the required power output of a radiator for a room of a specific size that also takes into account variables such as extra height, large areas of glass, insulation of walls etc? Good quality formulas devised by people who know about thermodynamics as opposed to plumber's rules of thumb passed down from the 1950s.


Numerous online radiator power outlet calculators exist but the formula behind them is not disclosed and the results for the same input variables vary from website to website.
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    I'm not interested in software. I'm interested in formulas with a solid physics backing.


    HVAC seems to be an industry with only so so knowledge of physics and plenty of rules of thumb handed down over the generations. Mention the Stefan-Boltzmann law or Newton's law of cooling to somebody who has been in the central heating trade for years and the chances are you will get a puzzled look. It's notable that the central heating trade stubbornly sticks with BTU/h (more often than not erroneously quoted as just BTU) but not all central heating installers know the definition of a BTU or that it is convertible into watts, and vice versa.
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    I'm not interested in software. I'm interested in formulas with a solid physics backing.


    HVAC seems to be an industry with only so so knowledge of physics and plenty of rules of thumb handed down over the generations. Mention the Stefan-Boltzmann law or Newton's law of cooling to somebody who has been in the central heating trade for years and the chances are you will get a puzzled look. It's notable that the central heating trade stubbornly sticks with BTU/h (more often than not erroneously quoted as just BTU) but not all central heating installers know the definition of a BTU or that it is convertible into watts, and vice versa.
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