Heat Pumps and Electric Heating - 10kW, 15kW, or 20kW Heater?
Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.View Full Version : 10kW, 15kW, or 20kW Heater?
mossman
03-24-09, 03:54 PM
I need to know what size heater coil to purchase with my new air handler. Two story house with finished basement (3 levels total), 2200 sq. feet.
airman.1994
03-24-09, 06:42 PM
You will have to do a heat load to know!
idler
04-18-09, 04:55 PM
If this is your only source of heat then go with 20kw (or even 25kw if available). The heaters typically come in pieces of 5 kw, so that for 20kw you get four 5kw heaters.
So if you buy too large, you can always switch one or more of the 5kw elements off.
If this is backup heat for a furnace or heat pump then size the electric heater to be roughly the same as the primary heat source.
For example, if you have a 3 ton heat pump, that means that at 47F it will put out 3*12000 = 36000 btu/hr. Each 1kw is equivalent to 3412 btu/hr, so 10kw is 34120 btu/hr - so that'd work - but go a little larger won't hurt.
The only reason not to go with larger electric heat (not much extra expense) is that the electrical wiring from the main breaker box to the air handler has to be sized to the load - so the wiring could be more expensive.
So if you buy too large, you can always switch one or more of the 5kw elements off.
If this is backup heat for a furnace or heat pump then size the electric heater to be roughly the same as the primary heat source.
For example, if you have a 3 ton heat pump, that means that at 47F it will put out 3*12000 = 36000 btu/hr. Each 1kw is equivalent to 3412 btu/hr, so 10kw is 34120 btu/hr - so that'd work - but go a little larger won't hurt.
The only reason not to go with larger electric heat (not much extra expense) is that the electrical wiring from the main breaker box to the air handler has to be sized to the load - so the wiring could be more expensive.