Study on thermal performance of a PCM enhanced hydronic radiant floor heating system

Larwa, Barbara; Cesari, Silvia; Bottarelli, Michele

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2021.120245

Cited by 69 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Numerous investigations have been carried out on the thermal performance of radiant floors from different perspectives, such as control [13,[16][17][18], thermal inertia [19,20], the use of PCMs [21][22][23][24][25][26][27], the arrangement of tubes [23,28], and the most suitable radiant surfaces [6], but fewer publications has been found on the influence of floor coverings properties, although, as Sattari and Farhanieh [29] showed in a parametric study, the thickness and thermal properties of the finish or covering have a major bearing on the performance of radiant floor heating.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Wood Properties and Building Construction on Energy Demand, Thermal Comfort and Start-Up Lag Time of Radiant Floor Heating Systems

et al. 2022

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Radiant floor heating is becoming increasingly popular in cold climates because it delivers higher comfort levels more efficiently than conventional systems. Wood is one of the surface coverings most frequently used in radiant flooring, despite the widely held belief that in terms of thermal performance it is no match for higher conductivity materials if a high energy performance is intended. Given that the highest admissible thermal resistance for flooring finishes or coverings is generally accepted to be 0.15 m2K/W, wood would appear to be a scantly appropriate choice. Nonetheless, the evaluation of the thermal performance of wooden radiant floor heating systems in conjunction with the building in terms of energy demand, thermal comfort, and start-up period, has been insufficiently explored in research. This has led to the present knowledge gap around its potential to deliver lower energy consumption and higher thermal comfort than high-thermal-conductivity materials, depending on building characteristics. This article studies the thermal performance of wood radiant floors in terms of three parameters: energy demand, thermal comfort, and start-up lag time, analysing the effect of wood properties in conjunction with building construction on each. An experimentally validated radiant floor model was coupled to a simplified building thermal model to simulate the performance of 60 wood coverings and one reference granite covering in 216 urban dwellings differing in construction features. The average energy demand was observed to be lower in the wood than in the granite coverings in 25% of the dwellings simulated. Similarly, on average, wood lagged behind granite in thermal comfort by less than 1 h/day in 50% of the dwellings. The energy demand was minimised in a significant 18% and thermal comfort maximised in 14% of the simulations at the lowest thermal conductivity value. The vast majority of the wooden floors lengthened the start-up lag time relative to granite in only 30 min or less in all the dwellings. Wood flooring with the highest thermal resistance (even over the 0.15 m2K/W cited in standard EN 1264-2) did not significantly affect the energy demand or thermal comfort. On average, wood flooring lowered energy demand by 6.4% and daily hours of thermal comfort by a mere 1.6% relative to granite coverings. The findings showed that wood-finished flooring may deliver comparable or, in some cases, higher thermal performance than high-conductivity material coverings, even when their thermal resistance is over 0.15 m2K/W. The suggestion is that the aforementioned value, presently deemed the maximum admissible thermal resistance, may need to be revised.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Wood Properties and Building Construction on Energy Demand, Thermal Comfort and Start-Up Lag Time of Radiant Floor Heating Systems

et al. 2022

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“…It was found that the simulated results were verified to accurately reflect the bridge heating efficiency in actual winter environment. Larwa et al [19] simulated the heat flux and temperature distribution of phase change materials enhanced radiant floor systems by 2D model constructed by COMSOL program; it was verified that the utilization of COMSOL program could effectively reflect the heating situation of the system. In summary, COMSOL program can be expected to establish the relationship between different physical fields, especially in the electrothermal physical field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Temperature Development of Ohmic Heating Cured Nonmass Concrete under Subzero Temperature

Zhou

Tian

et al. 2021

Advances in Civil Engineering

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In this paper, carbon fiber/carbon nanofiber strengthening nonmass concrete slab was designed, and ohmic heating (OH) curing was used to promote the strength formation of the slab under −20°C. COMSOL multiphysical field coupling program has been used to simulate the heating process of nonmass concrete slabs under different conditions. COMSOL analysis results showed that the optimal loading power density of OH cured sample under −20°C was 1000 W/m2∼1200 W/m2. Moreover, numerical analysis results were experimentally validated by the multipoint temperature measurement method. Furthermore, the mechanical properties showed that the compressive strength of the sample cured by 2 days OH curing at −20°C reached up to 48.2 MPa. SEM analysis exhibited that OH curing could improve the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between the fiber and the matrix, leading to a denser microstructure. This study proved that COMSOL program could provide good theoretical guidance for OH cured nonmass cement concrete under subzero temperature. This work establishes an accurate guideline for electric power supplementation, laying a solid foundation of winter construction with high efficiency and low energy consumption.

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“…In combination with the ability to ensure high thermal comfort, reduced energy consumption, and quiet operation, RFSs became increasingly popular, currently being installed in 30-50% of EU new buildings [7,8]. Additionally, RFSs ensure uniform temperature distribution [9] with low distribution losses [10], and therefore highly efficient heating systems, able to deliver improved thermal comfort with minimal vertical temperature gradient compared to air systems solutions [11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…RFSs have been the subject of numerous studies focusing on the system configuration, material layers, thermal behaviour, numerical simulation methods, and operation strategies. Recent research has been conducted on RFSs and important aspects have been pointed out by the scientific community: system configuration and material layers/components [22][23][24][25][26]; thermal analysis (energy transfer, heating/cooling capacity) and, indirectly, thermal comfort [9,27]; numerical thermal and energy simulation (floor-and building-scale) [28][29][30]; and smarter energy control/operating strategies [31]. Regarding system configuration and material layers, the use of functionalized materials with highly conductive matrices and phase change materials (PCMs) acting as thermal energy storage systems is proving to be a promising strategy toward efficiency and RFS performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results indicated the advantages of using a PCM-capillary mat combination for low-temperature floors with hot water heating systems. In this subject an increasing trend was observed in recent years, focusing on thermal conductivity, temperature distribution, heat flux analysis, water system temperatures, setpoint optimization, and energy consumption reduction [9,[34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. Concerning the use of innovative materials for enhancing the thermophysical properties of RFS, a current line of research involves the incorporation of industrial by-products into screed mortar [41,42].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimental and Numerical Simulation of a Radiant Floor System: The Impact of Different Screed Mortars and Floor Finishings

et al. 2022

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The radiant floor system market is growing rapidly because Europe is moving toward a low-carbon economy and increased awareness about environmental sustainability and energy efficiency, stimulated by the ambitious EU Energy Efficient Directive and nZEB challenge. The high growth rate of the market share is due to the involvement of homeowners in the specifications of their living commodities, so they are thus willing to invest more at the initial stage to obtain long-term benefits and lower energy exploration costs. We performed an experimental campaign over three slabs with a hydronic radiant floor system of equal dimensions, shape, and pipe pitch with different screed mortar formulations to assess their performance throughout a heating/cooling cycle. The temperature at different heights within the interior of the screed mortars and at the surface were monitored. The results revealed that an improved screed mortar has a relevant impact on the efficiency of the system. Moreover, a three-dimensional transient heat transfer model was validated using the experimental data. The model was used to evaluate the impact of different finishing materials, namely wood, cork, ceramic, and linoleum, on the floor surface temperatures. The results showed differences of 15% in the surface temperature when using different floor finishing solutions.

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Study on thermal performance of a PCM enhanced hydronic radiant floor heating system

Cited by 69 publications

References 26 publications

Influence of Wood Properties and Building Construction on Energy Demand, Thermal Comfort and Start-Up Lag Time of Radiant Floor Heating Systems

Influence of Wood Properties and Building Construction on Energy Demand, Thermal Comfort and Start-Up Lag Time of Radiant Floor Heating Systems

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Temperature Development of Ohmic Heating Cured Nonmass Concrete under Subzero Temperature

Experimental and Numerical Simulation of a Radiant Floor System: The Impact of Different Screed Mortars and Floor Finishings

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