• Models of direct-condensation radiant panels are established and verified. Flow and heat transfer performances of each panel are compared. Thermal potentials of DCRPs with different modes and panel numbers are compared. The most suitable form is obtained through application analysis. The direct-condensation convection-radiation panel (DCRP) was authenticated to be competitive in thermal performances and heating efficiencies, which contributed to energy conservations in space heating. To promote the application of the heating terminal, a comprehensive model of DCRPs with different connection modes and panel numbers is established in this paper. The accuracies of the model are validated with experimental data. The comparison results show that the deviations of the refrigerant outlet temperature, outlet enthalpy, pressure drop and heating capacity range from -10.8% to 6.2%, -2.4% to 5.3%, -10.9% to 11.5%, -8.4% to 3.0%, within the acceptable range. Based on the comprehensive model, the flow and heat transfer potentials of the DCRPs are investigated. Under the same structural parameters, the heating capacity of the single panel is maximal, followed by the outermost panel, the innermost panel and the middle panel of the DCRP. Meanwhile, the heating capacity and flow resistance loss of the DCRPs in parallel mode are superior to that in series mode. The average radiation proportion of the DCRPs declined from 48.1% to 14.4% as the panel number increased from one to three. As corroborated by application analysis, the DCRP with a single panel is more suitable for a residential room with an area of less than 15 m 2 , while the DCRP with three parallel panels is more appropriate for a room higher than 20 m 2 .