Preliminary design considerations for a rockbed/floor space-heating system

Thermal performance of a radiant floor heating system with different heat storage materials and heating pipes

“…For active application of PCMs, the heat sources could be solar air, electric heat and hot water, respectively. Salt [6] did earlier work to analyze the performance of PCM floor heating. He developed a rockbed floor heating system using solar air and pointed out that if PCM is used in the porous bed, the bed could be very thin, but there is danger of high pressure drop and complex subfloor ductwork.…”

Customization of laboratory for radiant cooling ceiling measurements

“…This radiation exchange between the radiant surface and occupants allowing air temperature to be at lower level than within conventional systems. This also helps to reduce heat losses from the building which could be significant in mild climates [5]. Furthermore, room air temperature can be maintained at lower values than with conventional all-air systems.…”

The influence of natural convection on the temperature decay of a porous thermal layer

“…It occurs in all fibrous insulation on equipment and in buildings due to intermittent and variable use. The current work arose from the need to know how natural convection within an underfloor rockbed would influence the performance of a solar space heating system (Peck and Proctor, 1983;Salt, 1985;Woodridge and Welch, 1980). The rockbed thermal energy store is located beneath and in good thermal contact with a concrete slab floor.…”