A parametric study on radiant floor heating system performance

Abstract

Efficient radiant heating systems are promising technologies for energy saving in commercial and building sectors together with improving occupant thermal comfort. However, the thermal performance of radiant systems in buildings has not been fully understood and accounted for in currently available building energy simulation software. In this paper, the effects of design parameters on performance of a typical radiant floor heating system have been studied using finite element method. A radiant heating system includes a number of pipes filled with hot water. Therefore, several design parameters such as pipe diameter, type (material), number, thickness and cover of system are affected on the value of transferred heat. In this study, transient conduction, convection and radiation heat transfer mechanisms are considered meanwhile analyzing the typical problem by using a finite element method solver. It is noted that the type and thickness of the floor cover are the most important parameters in the design of radiant heating systems.