Verwarmingskant

Verwarmingskant is a Dutch term that literally means the side of an object or system where heat is supplied or generated. In technical contexts it is used to denote the heating side of a component, as opposed to the cooling side or the ambient side. The word is a compound of verwarming (heating) and kant (side). It appears in disciplines such as thermodynamics, heat transfer, and building physics to describe boundary conditions and the spatial organization of heat sources.

In practice, the verwarmingskant can be realized by a heating element, a hot fluid, a solar absorber, or any source that raises the temperature on that side. The thermal behavior of a device or structure is often described by specifying the temperature or heat flux at the verwarmingskant, together with the conditions at the opposite side (cooling side or insulated side). For example, in a solar thermal collector the verwarmingskant is the absorber plate that captures solar energy; in underfloor heating the heating tubes form the verwarmingskant of the floor surface.

In architectural and construction literature, the term is used when discussing thermal performance, heat losses, and insulation layouts: the area adjacent to the verwarmingskant can influence heat distribution, surface temperatures, and comfort.

See also: verwarmingszijde, verwarming, koelzijde, boundary condition, heat transfer.