Heat Transfer Methods for Wood

What is Heat Transfer?

• Heat transfer is sensed through our physical relationship with the environment and objects we touch, feel and taste. It is felt through temperatures and always exists from a hotter object to a cooler one. Heat transfer methods for wood are shown in a similar way. They can occur three ways: through convection, conduction and radiation.

Conduction

• Heat as a transfer to wood occurs in conduction. This is a transfer when wood is in direct contact with a hot surface. Electrons within the wood are stimulated and produce heat. Wood has less of a heat transfer than other objects like metal or water, because it has fewer electrons. Wood is actually a substance that holds onto heat, and is used for insulation rather than a reflective surface, which repels energy.

Radiation

• Electromagnetic waves traveling through space is a phenomena called radiation. When electromagnetic waves hit wood, the radiation transfers heat to it. This can happen because of the electromagnetic waves of the sun. The way a wooden house heats on a sunny day is an example of radiation as a method of heat transfer.

Convection

• Convection occurs with many substances, usually liquid and gas. It can occur with wood as well. An example is the wood we use in fireplaces. The wood is heated and expands. Gases are released. The gas warms and cools rapidly, and heat is transferred through a convection current.