Energy model - electrical analogue


There exist a clear analogy between electrical flow and heat flow. In days gone by, this analogy was the basis for constructing electrical analogue devices (sometimes incorporated in analogue computers) which were/are used in the study of complex heat flow phenomena.

The technique was/is useful as a research tool, allowing long-term simulations to be completed in a short elapsed time, but has little application in a design context.

Using an electrical analogue network of thermal resitances representing the heat flows in a house, electrical outputs are generated, which - when properly scaled in terms of units (ohm -> thermal resistance, fahrad -> thermal capacitance, volt -> temperature, ampere -> heat flow) and frequencies (Hz -> 24 hour cycles) - can be translated in results with physical meaning in a thermal sense.