About WarmingHome
What is WarmingHome?
WarmingHome is a small, independent website built around a set of free calculators for home heating — sizing a heater, checking heat loss through a wall or window, picking a radiator, estimating what a heater costs to run, sizing a heat pump, and working out a room’s volume. It also hosts a museum walking through the history of home heating. There’s no company, brand, or HVAC business behind it — just the tools, the museum, and some articles.
Who is this site for?
Anyone trying to get a rough, honest number before making a heating decision: how big a heater a room needs, whether a radiator is undersized, what a space heater is really costing to run this winter, or what capacity a heat pump needs for a given heat loss. It’s aimed at homeowners and renters doing their own planning, not at installers or engineers who already have proper load-calculation software.
What tools does WarmingHome actually have?
Six calculators, all free, all usable without an account:
- Heating BTU Calculator — estimates the heating output a room needs in BTU/hr from its floor area and your local climate.
- Heat Loss Calculator — works out how much heat escapes through a wall, roof, floor, or window from its area, U-value, and the inside-to-outside temperature difference.
- Radiator Size Calculator— converts a room’s air volume and an insulation factor into the radiator output, in BTU, needed to keep it warm.
- Heating Cost Calculator— turns a heater’s power, hours of use, number of days, and your energy rate into a running-cost estimate.
- Heat Pump Sizing Calculator — converts a home’s design heat loss into the heat-pump capacity needed, in kilowatts and refrigeration tons.
- Room Volume Calculator— finds a room’s floor area and air volume from its length, width, and ceiling height, which feeds into the radiator and heater tools above.
The full list, with descriptions, is always on the tools page.
Where do the numbers come from?
Each calculator runs on a plain, published formula rather than a black box: BTU/hr sizing rules of thumb, the standard heat-loss equation (area × U-value × temperature difference), per-cubic-foot radiator factors, straightforward cost arithmetic (power × hours × rate), and the heat-loss-to-capacity conversion used to size a heat pump. You supply the room’s numbers; the tool does the arithmetic and shows the formula behind the result rather than hiding it.
Is WarmingHome affiliated with a manufacturer, installer, or standards body?
No. WarmingHome is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any heat pump, boiler, furnace, or radiator manufacturer, any HVAC installer or trade body, or any energy-efficiency standard or certification scheme it may mention. Any brand or standard named on the site is referenced only for context.
Are the results here professional advice?
No. Every calculator produces a general estimate based on the figures you enter, not a certified heat-loss survey or an engineering sign-off. Real installations depend on details a calculator can’t see — wall construction, ventilation, local code, existing ductwork or pipework, and more. Treat the results as a starting point, and confirm system sizing, specifications, and installation requirements with a qualified HVAC professional and the equipment manufacturer before spending money or altering a heating system.
What’s the Home Heating Museum?
The Home Heating Museum is a set of galleries covering how home heating has developed — the hearth and fireplace, furnaces and boilers, central heating and radiators, radiant and underfloor heat, and modern heat pumps and smart thermostats. Every entry, image, and fact in it comes from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons.
Is there anything to read besides the tools?
Yes — the blog covers heating topics in more depth, and learn holds shorter reference articles that pair with the calculators above.
Are the tools free, and is there a catch?
Every tool on WarmingHome is free, with no account and no paywall. The site is supported by advertising, which is how a small, independent site like this one stays free to run. That’s the whole business model — there’s no premium tier hiding behind it.
Who runs WarmingHome?
WarmingHome is an independent, ad-supported site, not a heating company, retailer, or installer. If something looks wrong or you think a tool should work differently, the quickest way to reach us is the contact page.