Watts through walls
So far we have counted heat in lump sums. But through a window, heat runs as a steady rate — joules every second, which is to say watts, the same watts as any power. The machine is (read aloud: P equals k A delta-T over d): is the heat flow in watts, the material's thermal conductivity in W/(m·°C) — a data-sheet number, glass leaks, foam doesn't — the area of wall that is leaking in m², the temperature difference across it in C°, and the thickness in metres, underneath because a thicker wall resists.
That placement of is the whole physics of insulation: double the thickness, halve the leak — the double-pane logic. And a field note: thickness arrives in millimetres, but the machine runs on metres. A 4 mm pane entered as 4 leaves your answer a thousand-fold wrong, in the embarrassing direction.
- = Heat flow rate (power)
- = Thermal conductivity (thermal conductivity)
- = Cross-sectional area (area)
- = Temperature difference (temperature difference)
- = Thickness (length)