A house is served with natural gas having a heating value of about 1,000 Btu per cubic foot. The connected appliances are a 100,000 Btu/h furnace, a 40,000 Btu/h water heater and a 35,000 Btu/h clothes dryer. What total flow, in cubic feet per hour, must the piping downstream of the meter carry?

Explanation

Add the loads: 100,000 + 40,000 + 35,000 = 175,000 Btu/h, then divide by the 1,000 Btu per cubic foot heating value to get 175 cfh. 132 cfh is what you get if the dryer is left out or a propane figure is mixed in; 70 cfh comes from dividing by 2,500, which is the propane heating value; 1,750 cfh comes from dividing by 100 instead of 1,000.