Evaluation of Heated Window System to Enhance Indoor Thermal Comfort and Reduce Heating Demands Based on Simulation Analysis in South Korea

Abstract

Heated glass can be applied to improve windows’ condensation resistance and indoor thermal comfort in buildings. Although this applied technology has advantages, there are still some concerns in practical applications, such as additional energy consumption and control issues. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a heated window heating (HWH) system in terms of thermal comfort and heating energy performance (HEP). The simulation-based analysis is performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the HWH using a residential building model and to compare it with radiant floor heating (RFH) and hybrid heating (HH) systems (i.e., combined HWH and RFH). This study also investigates the peak and cumulative heating loads using HWH systems with various scenarios of control methods and setpoint temperature. The predicted mean vote (PMV) is used as an indoor thermal comfort index. The ratio of cumulative thermal comfort time to the entire heating period is calculated. The results show that HWH and HH can reduce the heating load by up to 65.60% and 50.95%, respectively, compared to RFH. In addition, the times of thermal comfort can be increased by 12.55% and 6.98% with HWH and HH, respectively. However, considering the social practices of South Korea, HH is more suitable than HWH. Further investigations for HH show that a surface setpoint of 26 °C is proper, considering both heating demands and thermal comfort. In addition, the setpoint temperature should be determined considering HEP and the thermal comfort for HWH, and the optimal setpoint temperature was suggested under specific conditions.