Hi Arran

I'm not HVAC, but I was responsible for the training of "Mechanical" Building Services Engineers, for what was arguably the UK's leading major contractor in the field and historically a pioneer and leader of the discipline. I'm not a member of CIBSE either, but as The former "Institution of Heating and Ventilating Engineers", they would be interested. 

Engineers in training carried out manual heat loss calculations and radiator sizing during the ONC (first year) element, but aslo got a student license for "FACET". I think that this is the successor? https://www.iesve.com/software/ve-for-engineers .  I also seem to recall that "Building Physics" was a key component of CEng Accredited (which ours wasn't) MEng & MSc courses, so their material is out there. I get the impression that errors in the software packages used by design consultants and major contractors have been mostly ironed out? 

Because material is 1950s, or even Victorian for that matter doesn't necessarily make them wrong. Particularly during the post-war period the National College of Heating Ventilating Refrigeration and Fan Engineering, now part of South Bank University carried out much research.  There are also BRE , BSRIA & ASHRAE in the US. 

"Rules of thumb" are often "near enough" for everyday purposes, although it  might be of academic interest to evaluate them against an analysis from first principles. I would have a speculative punt with a pint on it, that the the best Victorian efforts were within 10% of today? http://www.hevac-heritage.org/

The issue here might be expecting an academic answer from a practically trained person. They are operating at different ends of the spectrum. Many smaller Heating Engineers are self-employed plumbers who have learned by experience, perhaps with some formal learning to Technician standard. More sophisticated approaches can probably only be justified on large multi-million pound jobs. I know that it irritates many of a more academic persuasion that they are even allowed to call themselves "Engineers", but they got there first.   

Hi Arran

I'm not HVAC, but I was responsible for the training of "Mechanical" Building Services Engineers, for what was arguably the UK's leading major contractor in the field and historically a pioneer and leader of the discipline. I'm not a member of CIBSE either, but as The former "Institution of Heating and Ventilating Engineers", they would be interested. 

Engineers in training carried out manual heat loss calculations and radiator sizing during the ONC (first year) element, but aslo got a student license for "FACET". I think that this is the successor? https://www.iesve.com/software/ve-for-engineers .  I also seem to recall that "Building Physics" was a key component of CEng Accredited (which ours wasn't) MEng & MSc courses, so their material is out there. I get the impression that errors in the software packages used by design consultants and major contractors have been mostly ironed out? 

Because material is 1950s, or even Victorian for that matter doesn't necessarily make them wrong. Particularly during the post-war period the National College of Heating Ventilating Refrigeration and Fan Engineering, now part of South Bank University carried out much research.  There are also BRE , BSRIA & ASHRAE in the US. 

"Rules of thumb" are often "near enough" for everyday purposes, although it  might be of academic interest to evaluate them against an analysis from first principles. I would have a speculative punt with a pint on it, that the the best Victorian efforts were within 10% of today? http://www.hevac-heritage.org/

The issue here might be expecting an academic answer from a practically trained person. They are operating at different ends of the spectrum. Many smaller Heating Engineers are self-employed plumbers who have learned by experience, perhaps with some formal learning to Technician standard. More sophisticated approaches can probably only be justified on large multi-million pound jobs. I know that it irritates many of a more academic persuasion that they are even allowed to call themselves "Engineers", but they got there first.