Thermal comfort analysis of radiant cooling panels with dedicated fresh-air system

Abstract

Radiant system has been increasingly applied in buildings due to its good thermal comfort and energy-saving potential. In this research, a simplified predicted mean vote (PMV) model and sensible cooling load equation were proposed based on human thermal comfort. Simulations were carried out using Airpak to explore relationships among thermal comfort characteristics, design and operation parameters. Results show that radiant surface temperature, fresh-air supply temperature and the area ratio are correlated approximately linearly with the indoor air temperature, while the relative humidity has little effect on the indoor air temperature. The indoor air velocity in the simulated environment was no more than 0.15 m/s, satisfying the requirements of limit values in the occupied zone. The results indicate that the optimum radiant surface temperature ( tc) is 19°C to 23°C when fresh-air supply temperature ( ts) is 26°C. The relative humidity ( φ) should be maintained at 50% to 70%, and the area ratio of radiant panels to total surfaces ( k1) should be kept within 0.15 to 0.38 when the radiant surface temperature is 20°C and the fresh-air supply temperature is 26°C. The simplified PMV model and the sensible load equation can provide reference for panel design based on characteristics of radiant cooling panels with a dedicated fresh-air system.