Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285

www.elsevier.com/locate/enbuild

An experimental investigation of application of radiant cooling

in hot humid climate
Prapapong Vangtook, Surapong Chirarattananon *
Energy Field of Study, School of Environment, Resources and Development, Asian Institute of Technology,
P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
Received 31 March 2005; received in revised form 18 May 2005; accepted 10 June 2005

Abstract
This paper reports an experimental and simulation study of application of radiant cooling using natural air for ventilation under hot and humid
climate of Thailand. To avoid condensation of moisture on the cooling panel, the temperature of water supplied to the panel was limited to 24 8C.
This led to the expectation that the low heat reception capacity of the panel would limit its use only to situations when loads were low. Experiments
were conducted in an experimental room over the hot and dry period of March, the humid period of May, and the cool period of December. The
results generally confirm the good potential for application of radiant cooling. However, the room was served by radiant panels with a total area of
7.5 m2. Its capacity was grossly inadequate during the hot period, even for night time application only. A special configuration was devised to
achieve thermal comfort for the area served by the panel. The well-known TRNSYS program was used to simulate the use of cooling panels and
conventional air-conditioning in the experimental room. Simulation results match experimental results very well. Using comfort criterion adopted
by ASHRAE and International Standards Organization, results from experiments and simulation show that thermal comfort could be obtained with
application of radiant cooling.
# 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Thermal comfort; Radiant cooling; Energy conservation; Air-conditioning; Building energy simulation

1. Introduction and a level of energy efficiency superior to those of

Thailand is located in a tropical region and is subject to hot
and humid climate. Air-conditioning has reached saturation in
large commercial buildings. For residential buildings in urban
and suburban areas, air-conditioning is also widely used. This is
a cause for concern because air-conditioning is highly energy
intensive. If each the 15 million families in Thailand use a small
air-conditioner (rated at 1 kWe), the total power required is
15,000 MWe. This is about two-third of the existing generating
capacity in the country.
The present air-conditioning system is based on circulation
of cooled dry air throughout the (enclosed) air-conditioned
zone or space to remove sensible (and some latent) heat from
human body and from other bodies in the space.
In radiant cooling system, the cool panels receive thermal
radiation load and some heat convected to it from ventilation
air. This configuration has been suggested to offer quiet comfort
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +66 2 524 5420; fax: +66 2 524 6589.
E-mail address: surapong@ait.ac.th (S. Chirarattananon).
0378-7788/$ – see front matter # 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2005.06.022
conventional air-conditioning system, [1,2].
When radiant cooling is used with unconditioned (humid)
ventilation air in hot and humid climate, it is perceived to be a
challenge to use radiant cooling to achieve thermal comfort.
The attempt to avoid condensation of moisture from air limits
cooling capacity of a radiant cooling panel and incapacitates the
system against latent load.
This paper reports an experimental study on application of
radiant cooling panels under the climate of the central region of
Thailand that is hot and humid. Cooling panels are installed on
the ceiling and a wall in an experimental room in the Energy
Park, an outdoor experimental area, in the Asian Institute of
Technology (AIT). The Institute campus is located 40 km
north of Bangkok. A well-known simulation program called
TRNSYS is used to simulate application of radiant cooling and
conventional air-conditioning. Experimental results obtained
under different weather conditions and under different confi-
gurations of experiment agree well with simulation results.
In conventional air-conditioning, cooled airflow by forced
circulation over a person to convect heat and removes moisture
from the body and the surrounding surfaces directly. It was
274 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285

perceived that radiant cooling would not be able to remove heat

Nomenclature from the body of person and his surrounding at the speed
achievable by conventional air-conditioning. Also, due to the
Ai area of surface i of the rectangular box (m2) need to limit the temperature of supply cooling water to avoid
F i–j view factor from surface i of the rectangular box condensation on the panel, the cooling capacity (in unit of
to surface j in a room W m
2) of the panel would be limited and the system would not
Fj view factor between the person in a room and a function sufficiently well in heavy load situation. From these
given surface j rationales, the present study aims to concentrate on application
PMV predicted mean vote of radiant cooling in the night or for the whole day.
PMVm predicted mean vote calculated from measured
values of physical variables 2. A brief review of radiant cooling
PMVT1 predicted mean vote calculated from TRNSYS
simulated values of physical variables Radiant cooling system has been employed in northern
PMVT2 predicted mean vote obtained directly from Europe for more than 20 years, [3]. The system comprises
TRNSYS panels installed on the ceiling of a room, or in some cases hung
Ta ambient air temperature outside of the room from a high ceiling. Cooling water is supplied to the panels at
(8C) temperature above dew-point temperature of air in the room to
T1 air temperature from sensor located on the wall in avoid condensation of moisture in the air on the panels. Heat is
the room for controlling the air-conditioning transferred between the space and the cooling panels through a
system (8C) temperature differential. The cool ceiling panels absorb heat
T2 air temperature from sensor located in the middle through a combination of radiation and convection. Radiative
of the room for controlling water flow through heat transfer occurs through a net emission of electromagnetic
radiant (8C) waves from the warm occupants and their surroundings to the
Trm mean radiant temperature (K) cool ceiling. On the other hand, the room air convects heat to
Tj absolute temperature of surface j (K) the cool panels and creates convection currents within the
Trmi mean radiant temperature corresponding to sur- space.
face i of the rectangular box (K) Radiant cooling panels are normally used with displacement
Tsccm temperature of the surface of ceiling panel from ventilation where ventilation air is introduced into a room at
measurement (8C) low level and flows by natural means to replace existing air. In a
TsccT temperature of the surface of ceiling panel from typical radiantly cooled office building, two to three air
TRNSYS simulation (8C) exchanges per hour is required. The ventilation air drawn from
Tscwm temperature of the surface of wall panel from outdoor should be dehumidified in order to reduce latent load
measurement (8C) since the cooling panels remove sensible load only.
TscwT temperature of the surface of wall panel from Performance of a radiant cooling system depends on its
TRNSYS simulation (8C) ability to receive heat convected to the panels by air and to
Tsem temperature of the surface of east wall from receive heat radiated to the panels by surfaces in the room.
measurement (8C) The quantity of radiant energy transfer involves mainly the
TseT temperature of the surface of east wall from continuous exchanges of radiation between all bodies in a built
TRNSYS simulation (8C) environment. The rate at which radiant energy is transferred
Tarm measured room air temperature (8C) depends on the following factors: temperature (of the emitting
TarT room air temperature calculated from TRNSYS surfaces and the receivers), emittance (of the radiating
simulation (8C) surfaces), reflectance, absorptance and transmittance (of the
Trmm mean radiant temperature calculated from mea- receivers) and view factors between the emitting surfaces and
sured surface temperatures (8C) the receivers (viewing angle of the occupant to the radiant
TrmT mean radiant temperature calculated by sources). Any hindrance in the panel to heat transfer tp or from
TRNSYS simulation (8C) its surface (and eventually the cooling water) will reduce the
Tamm air temperature within the space enclosed by the performance of the system. Also, the lower the panel’s inlet
mosquito net from measurement (8C) temperature, the higher the potential heat-transfer of the
TamT air temperature within the space enclosed by the cooling system. Therefore, the inlet temperature should be
mosquito net obtained calculated by TRNSYS controlled to be as close as possible to the room’s dew point
(8C) temperature. Consequently, the cooling capacity of a radiant
Tsmm temperature of the surface of mosquito net from cooling system is generally limited by the minimum allowable
measurement (8C) temperature of the inlet water relative to the dew point
TsmT temperature of the surface of mosquito net from temperature of the room air and the size (area) of the panel.
TRNSYS simulation (8C) There are many advantages of radiant cooling system, [4].
Comfort levels can be better than those of other conditioning
systems because radiant loads are treated directly and air
 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285
motion in the space is at normal ventilation levels. Supply air
quantities do not exceed those required for ventilation and
dehumidification. This provides a draft-free environment.
Noise associated with fan coil or induction units is eliminated.
Draperies and curtains can be installed at the inside wall
without interfering with the heating and cooling system.
Operational costs are reduced for the mechanical chilling
system since cooled ceilings operate at relatively high
temperatures (average surface temperature of 15 8C or above).
Chillers can operate at higher temperatures resulting in an
increase in efficiency and reduction in energy costs.
In terms of thermal comfort, Imanari et al. [2], reported that
the radiant ceiling panel system was capable of creating smaller
vertical variation of air temperature and a more comfortable
environment than conventional systems. Nagano and Mochida
[5], reportedly used a rectangular box to represent a reclining
person in the calculation of mean radiant temperature sensed by
the subjects and found that the resulting temperature was about
1 8C lower than the mean radiant temperature obtained from
globe thermometer method. The reclining position is common
for human subjects in hospitals and in bedrooms. Miriel et al.
[6], reportedly used materials of good thermal conductivity and
fast thermal response for radiant cooling panels to achieve
thermal comfort. They also developed a mathematical model of
the operation of the panel and used the model with the TRNSYS
simulation program. Kitagawa et al. [7], reported a study on
thermal sensation for subjects under temperature asymmetry
and different levels of relative air humidity in climate chamber.
They reported that small air movement at 0.1–0.3 ms
1 under
radiant cooling system could improve thermal comfort for
occupants. Carli and Olesen [8], reported field assessment of
thermal comfort under a radiant cooling system where pipes
were embedded in the building structure. Measurements taken
for one office in Austria and two offices in Germany led to the
conclusion that acceptable indoor thermal environments were
attained during summer. Kulpmann [9], reported an investiga-
tion of thermal comfort in a test room equipped with a smooth
and cooled ceiling surface and supplied with upward
displacement ventilation air. The results showed that high-
level thermal comfort was attained and that the temperature of
the room surfaces (not only the cool ceiling) was lower or at
least equal to the air temperature in the room, which was
different from the situation in an air-conditioned room.
Simmonds [10] reported that the traditional design criteria
such as dry-bulb temperature and operative temperature were
not always sufficient. Mean radiant temperature had a large
influence on the comfort results. Radiant cooling was a superior
means to bring condition in a space to comfort limits
(PMV  0.5). Meierhans [11], reported the use of a water-
carrying pipe system installed in the core of the concrete
ceilings to actively control the thermal mass of an office
building in Horgen, Switzerland successfully over three
summers. Comfort measurements under actual and simulated
conditions confirmed the suitability of the system for small and
medium loads.
In terms of energy consumption, radiant cooling system has
an advantage over conventional system. A significant amount of
275
the electrical energy used to cool buildings by conventional
systems is consumed by fans, which are used to transport cool
air through the ducts. Part of this electricity used to move the air
also heats the conditioned air and, therefore, is part of the
internal thermal cooling load. If the tasks of ventilation and
thermal conditioning of buildings are separated, the amount of
air transported through buildings can be significantly reduced.
In this case the cooling is provided by radiation using water as
the transport medium and the ventilation by outside air systems
without the need for recirculation and cooling of air. Although
the supply air necessary for ventilation purposes is still
distributed through ducts, the electrical energy for fans and
pumps can be reduced to approximately 25% of that of
conventional air-conditioning system. Brunk [12], reported
using cooling ceiling with ceiling-mounted air outlets and
mechanical as well as free cooling and additional ice storage
plant, the total energy costs can be reduced by 50% compared
with a variable-volume system. A study based on TRNSYS
simulation compared energy costs of operation of radiant
cooling system with a number of configurations of conventional
air-conditioning system concludes that radiant cooling system
saves much fan energy. Energy consumed by chillers is also
lower for radiant cooling system because chilled water is
produced at higher temperature, Niu et al. [13].
Carli and Olesen [8], reported that in 2001 more than 60
buildings equipped with active thermal slab for radiant cooling
were in operation in Germany. These were mainly office
buildings but museums, hospitals and schools were also
included. Simmonds [10] reported that radiant cooling system
was installed in the three floors of the podium section of a 49-
floor office building in Shanghai, China. Meierhans [14],
reported the operation of radiant cooling system in an office
building in Horgen, Switzerland. The New Bangkok Interna-
tional Airport nearing completion will be equipped with
extensive embedded pipes that carry cooling water for radiant
cooling. It is designed to intercept load from solar radiation
transmitted through transparent fenestration.
3. Experimental room and measurement setup
3.1. The experimental room
This room has been constructed for physical experiment on
energy conservation in buildings. It is a single story building
that measures 4 m wide, 4 m long and 3 m high with a flat roof.
The height of the ceiling is 2.5 m, so the height of the ceiling
plenum is 0.5 m. Fiberglass insulation and radiant barrier have
been placed above the ceiling to reduce heat gain from roof.
Moisture blocking membranes were placed on the interior
layer of opaque walls during construction to reduce moisture
entry and air leakage. The wall on the east facade comprised six
different opaque sections installed for demonstration of
dynamic heat gain through sections of wall of different
thermal resistances and thermal capacitances. Four different
glazing types cover the window on the western façade that takes
up 55% of area of the façade. The north and south facades
comprise 8 cm brick walls plastered with cement mortar on
276 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285
Fig. 1. A photograph and a diagram of the experimental room.
both surfaces. Fiber glass insulation and gypsum board form
additional interior layers for these two walls. Most of the wall
sections on the east façade do not have insulation so this wall
possesses inferior average thermal resistance in comparison to
opaque walls in other facades.
Because of excessive heat gain from solar radiation on the
western façade, an exterior board was placed at 10 cm from the
window glazing that allowed air to flow through but totally
blocked sun and sky radiation from entering the window for all
experiments described in this paper. Even for the experiments
carried out during night time only, heat gained from solar
radiation entering on the western façade during afternoon
accumulated in the building masses and persisted until late in
the night. This was severe during the hot and dry period and
prompted us to use the shading board.
3.1.1. Radiant cooling panels
A 5.75-m2 radiant cooling panel constructed from copper
coil bonded to copper sheet has been installed on the ceiling.
Another 1.75 m2 of radiant cooling panel was installed on the
opaque section beneath the window on the western façade.
These two panels were installed prior to the present rounds of
experiments. Fig. 1 shows a photograph and a diagram of the
experimental room. The diagram illustrates the position of the
cooling panels, one on the ceiling and one on the opaque wall
below the glazed window. The diagram also illustrates the
position of the boards placed to shade solar radiation.
3.1.2. Air-conditioning system
This experimental room is equipped with a fan coil unit that
uses chilled water supplied from central chilled water plant of
AIT. The fan coil is rated at one refrigeration ton or 3.5 kWth.
The air is re-circulated at a rate of 400 cubic feet per minute
Fig. 2. Configuration of the conventional air-conditioning system used in the
experimental room.
(CFM) or 0.189 m3 s
1. Ventilation air is drawn into the room
by a fan rated at 0.016 m3 s
1 through a duct into an inlet
airport measuring 0.2 m  0.2 m. Fresh ventilation air flows
from the port at a linear speed of 0.4 m s
1. A separate exhaust
port of the same size is also provided. A study on air flow in this
room using computational fluid dynamics showed that the flow
was not laminar and the speed of flow varied from 0 to about
0.3 m s
1. For this reason, the speeds of airflow in calculations
to be described are taken as 0.15 m s
1. The ventilation system
is also equipped with another cooling coil of capacity of
0.5 kWth to pre-cool the ventilation air if this is required. Fig. 2
shows a diagram of the air-conditioning system. An air
temperature sensor T1 is located in the room. This thermostat
controls the flow of chilled water through the coil through
turning the solenoid valve on or off.
3.1.3. Cooling water supply and its control system
Cooling water that flows to the cooling panels is supplied
from a tank and is circulated by a pump. Fig. 3 shows a diagram
of the cooling water supply and control system. Chilled water
from AIT central chilled water plant is supplied into a mixing
tank through a solenoid valve. A controller turns the solenoid
valve on or off based on signal from a temperature sensor
placed in the cooling water loop. A pump in the cooling water
loop drives cooling water through the mixing tank into the
cooling panels.
The pump and the solenoid valve are operated simulta-
neously by a controller using signal from an air temperature
sensor T2 located in the room. When temperature of the air in
the room rises above a set value, the pump and the solenoid
valve in the cooling water loop operates. If there is sufficient
load on the cooling panels, the temperature in the cooling water
loop will rise beyond the water temperature set point. If this
Fig. 3. Cooling water supply and control system for radiant cooling.
 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285
happens, the chilled water controller will open the solenoid
valve to allow chilled water from the AIT central chilled water
supply system, which is at a higher pressure, to flow into the
mixing tank. This will reduce the temperature of the water in
the cooling water supply loop.
3.2. Measurement setup
3.2.1. Temperature of surfaces
The temperature of each of the 22 distinct surfaces in the
room was measured by a thermocouple, type T. Each of the six
wall sections on the east façade constitutes a distinct surface,
for example, four thermocouples are placed on the surface of
the cooling panel on the ceiling and two are placed on the wall
cooling panel.
3.2.2. Air temperatures and relative humidities
The temperature and relative humidity of the room air, of the
air at the inlet and outlet of the cooling coil of the fan coil unit,
and of the ventilation air (at the inlet port in the room) were
measured by electronic sensors. In addition, three thermo-
couple sensors were hung beneath the ceiling cooling panel at
distances of 0.2, 1.25 and 1.75 m from the floor to measure air
temperature beneath the panel.
3.2.3. Heat flows
The heat flows through all opaque walls and cooling panels
were measured by heat flux sensors attached to the surfaces of
the wall sections and the cooling panels.
3.2.4. Water flows
The rate of water flows (m3 s
1) at the inlet of each cooling
panel and at the cooling coil of the fan coil unit were measured
by three rotameters equipped with signal transmitters.
3.2.5. Data recording
The data from the sensors were transmitted to the respective
signal conversion panels and stored in a personal computer. The
data were recorded at every minute. A software was used to
process the data that allowed graphs of data values to be viewed
in real time.
3.2.6. Airflow
The rate of airflow of the ventilation air at the inlet port and
of the circulation air at the inlet and outlet of the cooling coil of
the fan-coil unit were measured manually by hot-wire
anemometer and were recorded manually.
4. TRNSYS program and computation of comfort
indices
The TRNSYS program was employed to simulate operation
of the cooling panels and the fan coil under the conditions of the
experiments and under other condition in this study. Release 15
of this program, so-called TRNSYS 15, now incorporates an
‘‘active wall’’ component that allows simulation of operation of
cooling panel. It also performs computation of comfort indices.
277
Fig. 4. Information flow among computation modules used with the multi-zone
building module.
4.1. TRNSYS program
This is an energy system simulation program introduced
over 25 years ago, [15]. Module 56 of TRNSYS for simulation
of multi-zone building is employed extensively in this study.
Fig. 4 illustrates information flows between other program
modules and the multi-zone building module configured for
simulation of operation of a room with radiant cooling panels.
Input weather file is processed by a radiation processor module
to produce appropriate solar radiation inputs for the multi-zone
building module. Another module, not shown in the figure,
processes building description into dimension and geometric
information. It also calculates response factors for calculation
of heat gain through walls for use by the multi-zone building
module.
The multi-zone building module computes heat gain through
walls and through fenestration via energy balance, using given
input weather data and solar radiation. It defines an air node and
computes convective heat exchanges. Radiative heat exchanges
between surfaces in the zone and contribution from loads in the
zone are accounted. The operative temperature, that is the
weighted temperature of the mean radiant temperature of the
surfaces in a zone and dry-bulb temperature of air, is also
calculated. This operative temperature forms a part of comfort
index that this module also outputs.
Release 15 of TRNSYS is capable of modeling an ‘‘active
wall’’, a wall with embedded pipes that carry hot or cool fluid for
radiant heating or radiant cooling, [15,16]. In our case, this
module is used to model active walls each comprising a thermally
conductive material for the layer that faces the interior of the
room, and an insulation layer that comes into contact with other
interior surfaces. The ‘‘active walls’’ model the cooling panels at
the ceiling and at the opaque wall beneath the glazed windows.
An active wall must possess certain minimum thickness and
mass. Computed temperature and heat responses are expected to
be retarded by the finite time constant corresponding to the effect
of thermal mass of the ‘‘active wall’’.
Fig. 4 also shows a thermostat module that accepts value of
air temperature in the room computed by the multi-zone
building module as input and produces an on-off signal to
control the pump that supplies cooling water to the cooling
panels. In automated simulation of the operation of the cooling
panel, air temperature computed by the multi-zone building
module is used to turn the pump on or off at the same duration
as the size of time step specified in the input file. Instead of
using thermostat control of the operation of the cooling water
278 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285
pump, a user can also input a sequence of on-off controls
directly.
4.2. Computation of comfort indices
TRNSYS adopts International Standards Organization’s
procedure for computation of predicted mean vote or PMV for
moderate thermal environment as given in standards document
EN ISO 7730-1995 [17]. This standard in turn adopts Fanger’s
recommended equations for calculation of PMV based on four
given physical variables of dry-bulb temperature, relative
humidity, mean radiant temperature and air speed. Two
personal variables of clothing insulation value and metabolic
rate are also required for PMV evaluation.
The multi-zone building module calculates values of three
physical variables in a simulation run. The air speed, the fourth
variable, was entered as 0.15 m s
1 for TRNSYS simulation as
well as for manual calculation of PMV of a condition using
measured values. With user-input values of the two personal
variables, the module produces a value of PMV for the
environment in the zone at each time step.
Mean radiant temperature (Trm), this is one of the four
physical variables required for PMV evaluation. It is defined as
the uniform temperature of a black enclosure that would lose or
receive heat from the surrounding through thermal radiation as
would a person [18], and can be approximately calculated from
X for the cases reported here.
4
Trm ¼ F j T 4j (1)
j 4.2.2. Configuration 2
where F j is the view factor between the person and a given
surface j in the given environment and Tj is the absolute tem-
perature, K, of the surface j. The view factor F j is dependent on
the position of a person. We generally distinguish three positions,
standing, sitting and lying down. The multi-zone building mod-
ule of TRNSYS also gives values of temperature of each surface
in the model room. In our study, we use a rectangular box to
represent a person in the lying position. For night time applica-
tion of radiant cooling, resting and sleeping are the main activity
for the occupant. So the occupant is assumed in the reclining
position. We adopt a procedure used in reference [5] to calculate
the mean radiant temperature appropriate for such an object.
First, the mean radiant temperature corresponding to a surface i
of the rectangular box is calculated from
X A weather station has been maintained on the flat roof (of
4
Trmi ¼ Fi
j T 4j (2a)
j
where F i–j is the view factor from surface i of the rectangular box
to surface j of the surrounding. The mean radiant temperature for
the rectangular box is then taken as the area weighted average of
the mean radiant temperature of each surface,
P
i Ai Trmi
Trm ¼ P (2b)
i Ai
where Ai is the area of surface i of the rectangular box. Mean
radiant temperature obtained using this representation was used
together with values of other physical variables and given
values of personal variables to calculate PMV using a computer
code distributed by ASHRAE [19]. Mean radiant temperature
obtained this way reflects the configuration of a human being
exposed to radiant panel more effectively. The experiments in
this study utilize the rectangular box to represent a reclining
human body in two configurations. In the first configuration, the
whole volume of the experimental room was utilized. In the
second configuration, a reduced volume of the room was
utilized. The dimensions of the rectangular box were: length
1.8 m, width 0.4 m and thickness 0.2 m.
4.2.1. Configuration 1
The rectangular box was placed on a platform that was
raised 0.75 m from the floor as in Fig. 5(a). The platform was
placed in the middle of the room. Values of view factor from
each side of the rectangular box to the 22 distinct surfaces in the
room, F i–j, were calculated. Because the upper surface of the
rectangular box representing a reclining subject faced the
ceiling cooling panel directly, the value of the views of the
factor from this upper surface to the cooling panel was
calculated as 0.40. Since all relevant surfaces are flat and have
rectangular shapes and are either geometrically parallel or
perpendicular to each other, closed form relationships for
calculation of view factors are available [18]. We use a
computer for program for numerical calculation of view factor
This configuration was devised to reduce the load on the
cooling panel. A mosquito net was hung from the ceiling to
enclose the cooling panel and the platform that supported the
rectangular box as shown in Fig. 5(b). There were four surfaces
on the sides and one on top of the rectangular box. The view
factor from the upper surface of the rectangular box to the
cooling panel remains the same at 0.40.
With the use of rectangular box to represent a human body in
the reclining position, value of mean radiant temperature
calculated using Eqs. (2a) and (2b) were slightly lower than
those that would result from other configuration. This result is
also noted in reference [5].
4.3. Weather data for TRNSYS
height 10 m) of the Energy Building close to the Energy Park.
Fig. 5. Configuration of the rectangular box on a platform and the ceiling panel:
(a) in the room and (b) enclosed by a mosquito net.
 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285
The station measures and records global, beam and diffuse solar
radiation, infrared radiation from sky, air temperature and
relative humidity and wind speed. A complete set of daylight
measuring equipment is also maintained, that enables the
station to be classified as a research station for daylight
measurement. The data are recorded from the sensors at interval
of 1 min, then averaged and archived as 5-min data. Weather
data used as inputs for TRNSYS were taken from the archived
data and averaged to form 15-min data. Simulations reported in
this paper utilize this data and the time step used is 15 min.
5. Results of experiment and TRNSYS simulation
Experiments on radiant cooling have been conducted for
sometime, but the results to be reported here are selected to
represent those conducted during hot and relatively dry period,
hot and humid period, and cool and dry period. These
experiments were undertaken when the air-conditioning
system, the cooling water supply and control system and the
measurement system described in Section 3 were completed
and operational. The primary aim has been to show that thermal
comfort could be achieved in the enclosed space even when
natural air without dehumidification is used for ventilation. In
all cases, TRNSYS was run to produce results for comparison.
5.1. Night time application using the cooling panels for the
whole room
The set of experiments reported here was conducted for two
consecutive nights of 25–26 and 26–27 of March 2004 using
radiant cooling and unconditioned ventilation air in the
configuration of Fig. 5(a). This period of the year is hot and
dry. Mean daily minimum temperature is 24.8 8C, mean is
29.4 8C and mean daily maximum is 36.1 8C. The results
obtained from the experiment are described in the following.
Apart from a personal computer and the signal conditioning
panels used for data acquisition, an electric kettle-thermos rated
at 700 We was used as internal load in the room. The device
contains an electric heating element that boils the water and
Table 1
Data of the room and the cooling panels for TRNSYS simulation, 20:00–6:00 h
Quantity
Initial temperature of air and surfaces in the room
Flow rate of cooling water at ceiling panel (kg h
1)
Flow rate of cooling water at wall panel (kg h
1)
Set temperature of cooling water at inlet to panels (8C)
Electric kettle-thermos load
Moisture generated (kg h
1)
Latent load from moisture generated (Wth)
Radiative heat rate (Wth)
Convective heat rate (Wth)
Values of personal variables for evaluation of PMV
Metabolic rate, Met
Clothing insulation, clo.
279
keeps it simmered. It has a certain level of insulation. In the
nights, 0.283 and 0.265 kg of water evaporated during each
10 h period of the experiment. The average power taken by the
device was 200 We.
Because the room was closed and solar radiation was not
allowed to enter, temperatures of air and of surfaces in the room
were uniform, with differences of less than 1 8C prior to the
start of each experiment. Even though the experiment was
carried out during the night, heat gain accumulated in the
masses of walls and floor during the day constituted substantial
external load to the cooling panels.
5.1.1. TRNSYS simulation
Exterior environmental data from the meteorological station
from 20:00 h were inputted to TRNSYS for simulation. Table 1
summarizes relevant data of the room and of the operation of
the cooling panel.
Note that the temperature of water at inlet to the panels on
the first day was chosen to avoid condensation, but that for the
second day was set to increase cooling capacity of the panel
and to decrease air temperature in the room to enhance
comfort. On the second day, there was some condensation
of moisture on the cooling panel because the temperature of
water was set below dew-point temperature of the air in the
room.
5.1.2. Results of experiments and of simulation
Computer code TRNSYS uses energy balance calculation of
heat gain through walls, of radiation heat transfer between
surfaces and of heat gain by air in a zone. Therefore, the code is
able to produces values of surface temperatures of walls, of
surface temperatures of radiant panels, of air, and of
temperatures of outlet water from the panels. The values of
these variables change with time. In order to ascertain accuracy
of calculation, we calculate the mean bias deviation, MBD, or
the mean difference between experimentally measured value
and TRNSYS computed value, and root mean square
difference, RMSD, each for a number of chosen variables.
These two quantities are mathematically expressed as
Values for
25–26 March 2004 26–27 March 2004
32.0 31.0
315 320
70 70
24 22.5
0.0283 0.0265
17.7 16.6
140 140
60 60
0.7 0.7
0.5 0.5
280 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285

Table 2 good agreement between calculated results from TRNSYS

Values of MBD and RMSD for some chosen variables
simulation and experimental measurement.
Variable MBD (8C) RMSD (8C) Table 2 also serves to define some variables that appear in
Interior surface temperature the text that follows. We use additional suffix m to the subscript
Ceiling panel, Tscc 0.058 0.652 to indicate that a given variable represent measured value and
Wall panel, Tscw
0.612 0.821 suffix T to indicate a TRNSYS calculated value. For example,
East wall, Tse
0.243 0.355 Tsccm represents measured surface temperature of ceiling panel
North wall
0.159 0.294
and TsccT represents its TRNSYS calculated value.
South wall
0.505 0.525
Window
0.401 0.490 Fig. 6(a—1) shows graphs of mean radiant temperatures,
Ceiling 1.097 1.173 temperature of the interior surface of the east wall and
Floor
0.279 0.422 temperatures of the surfaces of the cooling panels of first night.
Room air temperature, Tar 0.046 0.093 Fig. 6(a—2) shows air temperatures at exterior and interior of
Mean radiant temperature, Trm
0.098 0.171 the room, respectively, of first night. Fig. 6(b—1 and 2) and
Relative humidity 2.140 2.633 show similar graphs for the second night.
The mean radiant temperature calculated from measure-
follows:mean bias difference, MBD, between measured value ments, Trmm, in each graph is derived from measured surface
Mi and computed value Ci temperatures and calculated according to Eqs. (2a) and (2b) for
the rectangular box representing a reclining person. The mean
1XN
radiant temperature from TRNSYS simulation, TrmT, in each
¼ ðCi
Mi Þ; and (3)
N 1 graph is derived from surface temperatures obtained from
TRNSYS simulation and calculated according to Eqs. (2a) and
root mean square difference, RMSD, between measured value (2b). The values of mean radiant temperatures for both nights
Mi and computed value Ci were less than the surface temperature of the east wall but were
vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi higher than the temperatures of the cooling panels from 20:00
u N
u1 X to 02:00 h. This results from the presence of the cooling panels
¼t ðCi
Mi Þ2 (4) and would lead to lower PMVs. However, the east wall lost heat
N 1
to the ambient faster than other walls and from 2:00 h its
Table 2 shows the values of mean bias difference (MBD) and surface temperature became lower than mean radiant tempera-
root mean square difference (RMSD) between measured values ture.
and calculated values of some variables for the night between In Fig. 6 (a—2 and b—2), temperatures of air in the room
26 and 27 March 2004. These values are all small indicating dropped noticeably during the first half of an hour, probably due

Fig. 6. Surface temperatures, mean radiant temperatures and air temperatures from measurement and from TRNSYS simulation for the nights of 25–27 March 2004.
(a1) Surfaces temperatures and mean radiant temperatures, first night. (a2) Air temperatures, first night. (b1) Surfaces temperatures and mean radiant temperatures,
second night. (b2) Air temperatures, second night.
 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285
Fig. 7. Graphs of total heat fluxes and radiation heat fluxes received by the panels: (a) ceiling panel, (b) wall panel.
to introduction of cooler ambient air for ventilation. These
temperatures then reached balanced values, probably after
the air mixture received heat convected to it from wall
surfaces.
On both days, the external ambient temperature, Ta, fell from
over 30 8C at the beginning to 24 8C at the end of the
experiment as seen from Fig. 6(a—2 and b—2). This implies a
steady loss of heat from the room through the walls. Mean
radiant temperatures, both from measurements and from
TRNSYS simulation, and surface temperatures of both panels,
fell during the course of the night. The steady decreases in the
wall temperatures were due to heat loss from the walls through
the exterior surfaces as the temperatures of ambient air and of
the sky decreased.
Fig. 7(a) shows graphs of measured and calculated heat
fluxes entering the surface of the ceiling panel for the
experiment on the first night. Total flux at 22:00 h is seen to be
approximately 40 W m
2 and fall to 30 W m
2 towards 6:00 h
of the next morning. A graph of thermal radiation flux received
by the ceiling panel calculated from radiosity equations using
measured values of surface temperatures is also shown in
Fig. 7(a). The value of this thermal radiation at 22:00 h is
30 W m
2. From these results we see that the share of thermal
radiation load on the panel is 75% against convection load of
25%. The share of thermal radiation found here is slightly
higher than that reported in reference [6], which is at two third.
Also due to the relatively high temperature of cooling water in
our case, the total heat flux received by the panel at 40 W m
2 is
similar to the results obtained in reference [6], but is lower than
values of 100 W m
2 or more expected from use of cooling at
Fig. 8. Cooling load calculated from measurement and from TRNSYS simulation, both night: (a) first night, (b) second night.
281
temperatures of 16–19 8C, [3,20]. Fig. 7(b) shows similar
results for the wall panel for the same day.
Fig. 8(a) exhibits cooling loads on the ceiling and wall
cooling panels, calculated as products of the difference in
entering and leaving temperatures of cooling water, at 1.1 and
1.4 8C, respectively, with values of mass flow rates of water
through the panels given in Table 1, for first night. The loads
exhibit decreasing trends with time and are in the same
magnitudes of heat gains arrived at from measured heat fluxes,
which is in the range of (40 W m
2) (5.25 m2) equaling
230 Wth for the ceiling panel. The cumulative loads from
measurements were obtained as 4.59 and 5.88 kWhth for the
sum of loads at ceiling and wall panels for the first night and the
second night, respectively. Calculated values differed from
measured values by 0.33 kWhth for both nights. These are 7 and
6%, respectively, of measured values. Similar results for the
second night are shown in Fig. 8(b).
Fig. 9(a and b) exhibit graphs of values of predicted mean
votes for both nights. In all PMV calculations, air speeds were
assumed 0.15 m s
1. The value PMVm was calculated from
measured values of physical variables with values of personal
variables as given in Table 1. Mean radiant temperature used
was calculated as in Eqs. (2a) and (2b). The value PMVT1 was
manually calculated in the same way as that in obtaining
PMVm, but with values of physical variables from TRNSYS
simulation. The value PMVT2 was obtained from TRNSYS
directly.
It is seen that the values PMVm and PMVT1 are close to each
other, but differ from PMVT2. Similar pattern is observed in the
graphs in Fig. 9(b).
282 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285

Fig. 9. Calculated PMV from measured values and from TRNSYS simulation, both nights: (a) first night, (b) second night.

The graphs in Fig. 9(a) show that the temperatures in the
experimental room were too high. The predicted mean votes
PMVm and PMVT1 exceed 0.5, the acceptable level, from
20:00 h until about 1:00 h. Then these start to fall below 0.5.
For the next day, the graphs of PMVm and PMVT1 in Fig. 9(b)
show that the values fall to 0.5 from 22:00 h, because the initial
temperatures of the wall at 20:00 were lower, as implied by the
lower value of Trmm at 20:00 from Fig. 6(b) in comparison to
that in Fig. 6(a).
From the results of the experiments described, it becomes
clear that radiant cooling panel supplied with water at
temperature below air temperature can compensate for the
effect of high air temperature to bring PMV to acceptable
level. It becomes clear by this point also that with the
constraint on the upper limit of cooling water temperature
(due to avoidance of condensation), the combined area of the
cooling panels in the room was too small so that the capacity
of the panels was not sufficient to meet load during some
periods of the year.
5.2. Night time application using the cooling panels to
limited space
Experiments were conducted during two consecutive nights
between 19 and 21 April 2004 using the ceiling radiant panel of
area of 5.75 m2 only in the configuration of Fig. 5(b). The
volume of air within the mosquito net was 10 m3. The days
were also in the hot and dry period, but were even warmer. This
configuration simulates the existing configuration of the use of
mosquito net to prevent insect entry into the confined space
around the bed while resting and sleeping practiced in
traditional houses and are still used.
Apart from the data acquisition equipment in the room, two
40 W electric lamps were employed in the mosquito net to
represent human load. The room had been closed and solar
radiation was shaded in the same way as in previously presented
experiments.
Because there was no latent load in the room, and because of
the dryer weather, there was no condensation of moisture on the
panel.
5.2.2. Results of experiments and of simulation
Fig. 10(a and b) show graphs of air temperature within the
confined space enclosed by the mosquito net, Tam, air
temperature in the room, Tar, temperature of ambient air, Ta,
and temperature of the surface of the panel, Tscc. Ambient air
temperature fell from 32 and 33 8C to 27.5 and 28.5 8C from
20:00 to 06:00 on the first and second day, respectively.
Because of the persistently high temperature of the external
environment, temperature of the air in the room varied a little
from 32 to 30.5 8C for the first night and similarly for the
second night. Similar pattern is observed for the air temperature
in the confined space from the figures, but this temperature is at
a level of 1 to 1.5 8C lower than the room air temperature for
both nights. This difference results from the use of the mosquito
net. Although air could flow through the net, but in the absence
of wind pressure, air exchange between the exterior and interior
was limited.
Fig. 11 shows graphs of surface temperatures, both from
measurement and from simulation for both nights. Tempera-
tures on the surfaces of the mosquito net were measured by
thermocouples. These are seen to be lower than surface
temperature of the east wall in the room. TRNSYS simulation
Table 3
Data of the room, cooling panels, and load during 20:00–06:00 of 19–21 April
2004
Quantity Values for
19–20 20–21
April 2004 April 2004
Initial temperature 32.0 31.0
Flow rate of cooling 551 398
water into ceiling panel (kg h
1)
Set temperature of cooling water 24.0 23.0

5.2.1. TRNSYS simulation Load within the mosquito net

External environmental data from 20:00 h from the Radiative (W) 56.1 56.1
Convective (W) 23.9 23.9
meteorological station were used. Other relevant data are
summarized in Table 3. The space in the mosquito net was Values of personal variables
Metabolic rate (Met) 0.7 0.7
modeled as another zone within the room. The zone exchanges
Clothing insulation (clo.) 0.5 0.5
air with the room at a rate of 0.0023 m3 s
1.
 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285 283

Fig. 10. Air temperatures and temperature of the surface of the ceiling panel, both nights: (a) first night, (b) second night.

Fig. 11. Temperatures on the surfaces of the mosquito net and on east wall, both night: (a) first night, (b) second night.

gives similar pattern. The use of mosquito net improves mean
radiant temperature as well.
As a result of shielding by the net, PMVm and PMVT1 are all
below 0.5 for both nights as seen from the graphs in Fig. 12.
Despite the fact that air temperatures are in the range 29–31 8C,
the use of the cool ceiling panel in the mosquito net are effective
in reducing air temperature and mean radiant temperature that
results in acceptable PMV, especially for a reclining person.
5.3. Whole day application using the cooling panels for the
whole room
This experiment was conducted during 2–4 of December
2003, in the cool and dry period. Daily minimum temperature
for the period is 22.2 8C, mean 27.5 8C, and daily maximum
34.4 8C. No additional load, apart from the data acquisition
equipment, was added to the room. Both the ceiling panel and
the wall panel were used.
Fig. 13(a) shows 48-h plots of ambient air temperature and
measured and TRNSYS simulated room air temperatures.
Fig. 13(b) shows PMVT2 falls within 0.6 during the whole
period despite the fact that temperature during daytime reached
35 8C. In this case, values of personal variables were: Met 1.2,
clo. 0.5, suitable for office condition.
5.4. Night time application of air-conditioning for the
whole room
This experiment was carried out during 20:00–6:00 of 15–16
May 2004. This is a transitional period between hot and dry

Fig. 12. Predicted mean votes derived from measurement and from TRNSYS simulation, both nights: (a) first night, (b) second night.
284 P. Vangtook, S. Chirarattananon / Energy and Buildings 38 (2006) 273–285
Fig. 13. Air temperatures and predicted mean vote, cool period. (a) Temperature of ambient air and temperatures of interior air from measurement and from TRNSYS
simulation. (b) Predicted mean votes derived from TRNSYS simulation.
period and the hot and wet period. Mean daily minimum
temperature for the hot and wet period is 25.2 8C, its mean is
29.1 8C, and its mean daily maximum is 35.1 8C.
Apart from the data acquisition equipment, two 40-W lamps
formed the internal load. The initial temperature for TRNSYS
simulation used was 33.5 8C. Values of personal variables were
identical to those in Table 3.
The objective of this experiment was to obtain results of
cooling coil load and to test performance of TRNSYS program
in simulating an operation of a conventional air-conditioning
system. Here, ventilation air was not pre-cooled.
5.4.1. Results of experiment and simulation
Fig. 14 shows graphs of measured ambient air temperature,
measured room air temperature, and TRNSYS simulated room
air temperature. In this case, supply chilled water were turned
off almost periodically, each time for a duration of 1.5 h.
The same sequence of operation of the thermostat from
experiment was used in the operation of the controller for
supply of chilled water in the TRNSYS program. The same
temperature limits were also used. The graph of temperature
values from simulation is seen in the figure to match that from
experiment well. The graphs of cooling output from
experiment and simulation also match well. The cumulative
loads on the cooling coil were 7.65 kWhth from measurement,
and 7.59 kWhth from simulation. Even though this experiment
was conducted in milder weather, the load appears to be
higher than those recorded during 25–27 March 2004 using
cooling panels. Of course, the resulting air temperatures when
cooling panels were used were higher. These results are not
Fig. 14. Graphs of temperatures of exterior ambient air and of interior air from
measurement and from simulation.
meant for direct comparison. The conclusion intended to be
drawn here is that TRNSYS program provides credible
simulation results in this case of application of conventional
air-conditioning.
6. Conclusion
The results reported in this paper confirm that radiant
cooling can be used to achieve thermal comfort in hot and
humid climate. In cases where cooling panels cannot influence
air temperature sufficiently, it helps reduce radiant temperature.
In situations where cooling panels could affect air temperature,
its use could lead to quiet quality comfort. Due to the need to
avoid condensation of air moisture on the panel and the
consequential limit on the temperature of supply cooling water
to 24–25 8C, cooling capacity per area is limited to about
40 W m
2. But this also offers good opportunity for energy
conservation as very low energy means can probably be used to
reduce temperature of supply water to the required level. The
study also demonstrates that TRNSYS is a very viable tool to
use both with application of radiant cooling and conventional-
air-conditioning.
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