ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the theory behind the calculations involving heat transfer and its relation to the amounts or types of insulation used. Thermal insulation plays an important role in reducing the energy costs in many situations. Good engineering design of insulation systems will reduce undesirable heat loss or gain by at least 90% in most applications and will often improve environmental conditions at the same time. Solar energy causes substantial heat gain in buildings, and even some heat gain in process equipment. Unwanted solar heat gains can often be controlled by suitable insulation, but sometimes the solar heat gain is a benefit in reducing use of fuel or electricity for heating. The surface film coefficient is the amount of heat transferred from a surface to air or from air to a surface per square meter of surface for each degree of temperature difference.
