heating from 0 degrees to 70

bobrok

Greetings to all. New member. I hope i am not stepping on an old thread but my search of the forum didn't show anything...
There are many calculators on line that estimate btu/hr required to maintain an indoor temperature. What I am looking to calculate is how long and how many btu's it would take to raise the indoor temperature to 70 degrees from a 0 degree start. This question pertains to heating a mountain cabin that we plan to visit during the winter but that is otherwise closed up and not heated at all. Is there a formula to determine how many btu's it takes to heat a given area by 1 degree? Knowing this would allow me to figure how long it will take to heat the place when we arrive and help me to determine whether or not to supplement an existing propane heater with an additional kerosene space heater to get the temperature up quickly. Ultimately I want to install a wood stove, but I believe this would be used more to maintain heat than it would be to heat the cabin from scratch.
Thanks to all. I would appreciate any advice.

mrkool

Hello bobrok,

Hope your chosen user name isn't short for "Brother's Broke", but could be if your using propane, it's hit a high price here in Mid-Tenn.
Anyhow, the best way I figure out your answer is running a load calculation, that is how much heat is required at 0 degrees outside and 70 inside, then you could divide that number to get the amount of btuH's needed for the heat rise, but it's usually a curve on a graph, that is it takes more heat energy at 0 to get started, then of course less as you get warmer.

But really, a load calculation can give you just what you need, btuh's to be 70 inside with 0 outside.

Try here: http://www.getfreesofts.com/soft/427..._Software.html
and see if it will work for you, if not, do a search for "free load calculations"

Clutchcargo

Maybe an internet controlable thermostat is what you need. You can turn the heat on from anywhere in the world.
http://www.proliphix.com/NT-Basic.aspx

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bobrok

mrkool,

Sorry but I've been tied up and couldn't answer before now. I appreciate the advice. Load calculations are kind of foreign to me but I'm going to investigatge further and learn more about it.
The link you gave apparently is for a trial download only and, as far as I could ascertain, the calculator only worked for a preset location in India and it didn't accept other input. But I get the concept and will try to find another way to work this out. Of course I suppose I could always just give it the real-time test by going up there and taking my own readings using the combination of heaters I proposed. I don't want to overengineer the project; I just want the wife and me to be warm!!!
Thanks again for your reply.

bobrok

Clutchcargo,

I love the idea but we are off the power grid and rely on solar energy with a generator backup. I have seen a set up where a guy has a solar powered webcam running thru ham radio equipment to monitor his cabin inside and out. It's nice but not really the direction in which I want to go.