Question: During a plant visit, it was observed that a 1.5-m-high and 1-m-wide section of the vertical front section of a natural gas furnace wall was too hot to touch. The temperature measurements on the surface revealed that the average temperature of the exposed hot surface was 110°C, while the temperature of the surrounding air was 25°C. The surface appeared to be oxidized, and its emissivity can be taken to be 0.7. Taking the temperature of the surrounding surfaces to be 25°C also, determine the rate of heat loss from this furnace. The furnace has an efficiency of 79 percent, and the plant pays $1.20 per therm of natural gas. If the plant operates 10 h a day, 310 days a year, and thus 3100 h a year, determine the annual cost of the heat loss from this vertical hot surface on the front section of the furnace wall.
