Sixteen years after the last CIBSE Guide on heating, the 2002 edition of Guide B1 is available, offering a fully updated and detailed source of information for system designers.
It might not say much for the publication that preceded CIBSE's new Guide B1: Heating, but the chairman of the task group is at pains to point out in his foreword that this is a 'completely new guide, thoroughly revised in both format and content'. In fairness to its 1986 predecessor however, Paul Compton goes on to state that the updated content, leaving little from the previous guide remaining, is due in no small part to the development of new products and practices in the intervening years.

This new Guide provides a comprehensive and detailed reference for engineers involved in the specification and design of heating systems for buildings, and takes a logical route through the process from the strategic choices for the system designer, including the requirements imposed by the intended use of the building, energy and environmental target, legal requirements and possible interaction with other building services.

In addition to the vast amount of fresh material in the Guide, it has drawn upon a wide range of sources with information taken from sections of the original CIBSE Guide B, as well as details from Guides A and C, various BSRIA publications, manufacturers' guidance material and numerous British and European standards.

The Guide also contains information and data on the characteristics of heating components systems, referring the reader where necessary to other publications that explain the specialised topics in further detail.

In the introduction it is recommended to the designer that the Guide should be used after the design process has been fully mapped out and offers a universal format for the procedure to be followed across each application: problem definition; ideas generation; analysis; and selection of the final solution. This process is illustrated in a simple flow chart.

Content
The Guide lends itself to easy navigation. Following the introduction, there are five main sections to the guide, the first of which is strategic design decisions. This covers a broad range of issues and is intended to be read as a reminder, from time to time, of the key decisions that need to be made at the start of the design process. Next is the design criteria section. This, as with all the other sections is divided into subsections by topic allowing them to be used for reference as and when issues arise.

In the design criteria section, there are five such sub-topics which follow an overview of the methods to be adopted. Those sub sections cover internal climate requirements; design room and building heat loss calculation; buildability, commissionability and maintainability; energy efficiency targets; and life cycle issues.

Following this is the section on system selection with subdivisions covering the areas of choice of heating option; energy efficiency; hydronic systems; steam systems; warm air systems; radiant systems; and plant size ratio.

Chapter five covers plant and equipment, looking at the different choices of equipment for hydronic, steam and warm air systems, each allocated its own sub-section. There are also sections on radiant heaters; chimneys and flues; and corrosion in boilers, flues and chimneys. The fuels section – the final one of the guide – covers classification and properties of fuels; factors affecting fuel choice; and handling and storage of fuels.

There are two appendices, the first offers example calculations split once again into three: sizing of water expansion vessel; effect of flow rate on radiator output; and pipe sizing. The second appendix covers the sizing and height of chimneys and flues, with four sections: general considerations; chimney heights for sulphur bearing fuels, chimney heights for non-sulphur bearing fuels and determination of flue/chimney area. Each of these is complemented by a number of graphs, tables and illustrations and is supplemented by a comprehensive bibliography that points readers in the direction of other CIBSE Guides, BSRIA publications and appropriate British Standards.

CIBSE Guide B1 heating costs £45 for members and £90 for non-members and is available by calling CIBSE publications on 020 8772 3618 or via the CIBSE website www.cibse.org

Source

Building Sustainable Design