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Hearth & Field · Track 5

Heat and cooling: worksheet

Name: ____________________________   Date: ______________

Lesson 30: How heat moves, and the heat-loss estimate

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Name the three ways heat moves and spot each one in a house.
  • Estimate heat loss in BTU per hour from area, R-value and temperature difference.
  • Turn an hourly heat loss into a rough winter total using degree days.

  1. A 400 sq ft wall is R-10. Inside is 70 °F and outside is 20 °F. About how much heat does it lose each hour?

    Key: About 2,000 BTU per hour

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

Lesson 31: Heating options compared

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Compare the main heating options on cost, labor, power use and risk.
  • Explain what a heat pump's coefficient of performance means.
  • Name the fire and carbon monoxide risks of combustion heat and how they are managed.

  1. A heat pump has a COP of 2.5 on a cold day. The house needs 25 kWh of heat that day. About how much electricity does the heat pump use?

    Key: About 10 kWh

  2. Diagnose it: “Our new heat pump runs nonstop in January, and our electric bill doubled.” What is the most likely cause, and what clue tells you?

    Key: Backup resistance heat is carrying the load in deep cold, made worse by air leaks

  3. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

  4. Which parts of this topic need a licensed professional or a permit, and what would you ask them?

Lesson 32: Cooling without much power

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Name where summer heat comes from in a small home.
  • Match low-power cooling methods to dry and humid climates.
  • Decide when a small heat pump is the better choice.

  1. Your loft hits 90 °F (32 °C) by late afternoon. It has a big west window with no shade. Nights in your area are humid and stay near 78 °F. What is the best first step?

    Key: Shade the west window from the outside

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

Lesson 33: Hot water

Open the lesson

By the end you can:

  • Work out the daily energy needed to heat your hot water.
  • Compare heat-pump, solar thermal, gas and wood-fired water heating.
  • Name the scald, pressure and carbon monoxide risks of water heaters.

  1. Why should a water heater’s temperature and pressure relief valve never be capped or removed?

    Key: It lets the tank release heat and pressure before the tank can burst

  2. Name one trade-off from this lesson. What do you gain, and what does it cost (money, time, space, upkeep or risk)?

  3. Which parts of this topic need a licensed professional or a permit, and what would you ask them?

Homestead Lab activity

First winter in a drafty cabin

Goal: Keep indoors at 59 °F (15 °C) or warmer for at least 95% of hours, December through February, on 2,500 kg (about 1.5 cords) of wood.

  1. Run the starting setup to the end. Write down what failed and when.
  2. Predict which single change will help most. Write your prediction before you try it.
  3. Pin the first run as a baseline, make one change, press Restart and run again. Record what moved in the comparison table.
  4. Keep changing one thing at a time until the goal is met. What did your final setup cost, as a range?

Questions come from the lessons' checks. The course is in draft; check answers against the current lesson text.