Electric heating for merchant ships

Abstract

A brief review of the differences between heating requirements at sea, and shore heating installations, opens the subject, and the paper proceeds to examine the heat losses on board ship and the heat-loss coefficientsavailable for the calculation of quantities. The existence of internal heatoutput and reserves is then dealt with; ventilation losses are discussed; and the special conditions existing in the public rooms of passenger ships are reviewed. After considering the methods of heating and the growth of theuse of electricity for that purpose, the rules and regulations controlling the design and installation of electric heaters on board ship are reviewed. The question of radiant versus convection heating is discussed; also the question of fire risk and the difficulties found in the application of radiant heating. The use of thermostats and the cost of thermostatic control is considered, and the paper closes upon the question of the testing of heatinginstallations on board new ships. The conclusions drawn from this review are that calculation of quantities is possible, and that there is room for development in the application of electric heating to ships.