Experimental study on the thermal performance of radiant floor heating system with the influence of solar radiation on the local floor surface

Abstract

In some buildings with radiant floor systems for heating, solar radiation can irradiate the local floor surface, causing overheating and affecting the heating performance of the radiant floor. In this paper, an experiment was carried out to study the thermal performance of radiant floor partially irradiated by solar radiation. Results show that the solar radiation can promote the heat transfer from the irradiated floor to the room and reduce the heat transfer from the hot water to the floor. Compared with the cases without the solar radiation, the heat transfer from the hot water to the floor was reduced from 131.8 W/m2 to 79.7 W/m2 and the heating capacity of radiant floor surface was increased from 128.0 W/m2 to 402.8 W/m2 with the solar radiation on one third of the floor surface and the absorbed intensity of 456.2 W/m2. With the same irradiation area, if the solar radiation irradiated at the centre of the floor, the reduction effect on the heat transfer from the hot water was more obvious. Based on this experiment, these results can be used to evaluate the thermal performance of irradiated radiant floor, and are beneficial to the design of heating systems.

A Novel Model for Calculating Human-Body Angle Factor in Radiant Heat Transfer: Balancing Computation Accuracy and Speed

“…The radiant heat transfer between a certain human body and radiant panels is largely affected by other indoor objects [21] or complex shapes of rooms [28]. In addition, some researchers have suggested that solar radiation through windows may affect the results related to the MRT [45,46] and thermal comfort [47,48], which was not mentioned in this study. In further research and investigation, situations in which objects interpose, areas have complex shapes, and the effect of solar radiance should be addressed to enlarge the application of the HNU Angle Factor Model.…”

Thermal balance of human body at local workplace

“…In recent times, several innovative papers on radiant heating have also been published. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Wu et al 1 investigated the thermal responses and the thermal environmental parameters of various indoor and outdoor spaces to compare the thermal comfort of these spaces. In the study by Zhang et al 2 a two-dimensional numerical model of the floor heating system combined with the phase-change materials has been developed.…”

“…A two-dimensional heat transfer model of the radiant cooling panel with multiple air layers was established to remove condensation problems with the heating cooling system. Zheng et al 17,18 studied the thermal performance of a partially irradiated radiant floor by solar radiation. Results showed that solar radiation can promote the heat transfer from the irradiated floor to the room and reduce the heat transfer from the hot water to the floor.…”