HI-02-6-2
Control of Slab Heating and Cooling Systems
Studied by Dynamic Computer Simulations
Bjarne W. Olesen, Ph.D. Klaus Sommer, Ph.D., P.E.
Fellow ASHRAE Member ASHRAE
ABSTRACT
Due to the high energy consumption and first cost, several
European countries debate if air conditioning of buildings is
to be recommended or prohibited by law. Air conditioning will
give better control of the indoor temperature and improve
comfort and productivity. There exist, however, many examples
of discomfort in air-conditioned buildings due to draft, noise,
and sick building syndrome.
Alternatively, sensible heating and cooling loads may be
satisfied by hydronic radiant heating and cooling systems,
where pipes are embedded in the concrete slabs between each
story. These systems are often combined with a ventilation
system, where the outside air volume is based on the require-
ments for acceptable air quality. Because these types of
systems use the building mass for heating and cooling, it is
often questioned what kind of control concept should be used.
The present paper presents a parametric study of different
control concepts, based on dynamic computer simulations.
The results show that a combination of time control and water
temperature control according to outside temperature condi-
tions will provide acceptable indoor conditions and low energy
consumption.
INTRODUCTION
A new trend, which started in the early nineties in Swit-
zerland (Meierhans 1993, 1996), is to use the thermal storage
capacity of the concrete slabs between each story in multistory
buildings to heat or cool buildings. Pipes carrying water for
heating and cooling are embedded in the center of the concrete
slab.
By activating the building mass, there will not only be a
direct heating/cooling effect, but due to the thermal mass, the
Bjarne W. Olesen is the head of research and development at Wirsbo-Velts Gmbh, Norderstedt, Germany. Klaus Sommer is a professor at
the University of Applied Sciences, Köln, Germany. Björn Düchting is with VDI-TGA, Düsseldorf, Germany.
698
Björn Düchting
peak load will also be reduced and it will be possible to transfer
some of the load to outside the period of occupancy. Because
these systems for cooling operate at water temperatures close
to room temperature, they increase the efficiency of heat
pumps, ground heat exchangers and other systems using
renewable energy sources.
These types of systems are mainly used in multistory
office buildings with a low heating load in winter (10 to 30 W/
m2) and a moderate cooling load in summer (30 to 60 W/m2).
As office buildings often have a raised floor for cabling, most
of the heat transfer between the heated or cooled slabs and the
space will take place through the ceiling surface. Suspended
ceilings are not installed with these kinds of systems.
When using surface systems for cooling, it is important to
control surface temperatures or water temperatures to avoid
condensation. One possibility is to set a lower limit for the
supply water temperature (Olesen 1997; Simmonds 1994)
equal to the dew-point temperature, i.e., absolute humidity in
the space.
In many applications, surface heating and cooling
systems are combined with a ventilation system. In this case,
the supply air is preconditioned to obtain a supply air temper-
ature lower than the space temperature and remove latent loads
by dehumidification. In this way, the humidity (i.e., the dew
point) will be controlled and the performance of the radiant
cooling systems is then increased.
Using pipes embedded in the concrete slabs will result in
a system with a very high thermal mass. In this case, individual
room control is not applicable. In most cases, a zone control
(south-north) is used, where the supply water temperature, the
average water temperature, or the flow rate may differ from
zone to zone.
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
 Relatively small temperature differences between the
heated or cooled surface and the space are typical for surface
heating and cooling systems. This results in a significant
degree of self control because a small change in the tempera-
ture difference will significantly influence the heat transfer
between the cooled or heated surface and the space.
For a well-designed building with a low heating and low
cooling load, a concrete slab system may be controlled at a
constant core (water) temperature year-round. If, for example,
the core is kept at 22°C, the system will heat at room temper-
atures below 22°C and cool when the room temperature
increases above 22°C. As the cooling capacity of such a
system, which also uses the heat storage potential of the
concrete slabs, is difficult to predict and as it is a very dynamic
system, it may be necessary to use building computer simula-
tion to evaluate the performance of a concrete slab heating/
cooling system.
The present paper presents the results of a dynamic
computer simulation of such a system. A parametric study of
different control concepts has been performed.
METHOD
The study was performed with the aid of a dynamic simu-
lation program (TRNSYS 1998). The multidimensional heat
transfer processes in the slab were modeled via a special
module developed by Fort (1996). The following describes the
test space and other boundary conditions, which were very
similar to the conditions reported in the study by Hauser et. al.
(2000).
Description of System and Test Space
The system considered is shown in Figure 1. The ceiling/
floor consists of an 18 cm thick concrete slab with 20 mm plas-
tic pipes embedded in the middle with 150 mm spacing. The
slab is finished with 20 mm of acoustical insulation and 45 mm
of screed. Heat is supplied or removed by the heated or cooled
water flowing in the embedded pipes. The mass flow rate of
the system is constant at 350 kg/h.
The effect of heating and cooling the ceiling is described
using a central room module in an office building with offices
on either side (west and east) of the corridor. This character-
Figure 1 Construction of the thermal slab. All dimensions
in mm.
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
izes the thermal behavior of all rooms that are at least two
rooms away from the roof, corner, and ground floor rooms.
The geometrical dimensions of the room module are shown in
Figure 2.
Table 1 contains the thermal characteristics of the compo-
nents used as the basis for this study. A differentiation is made
between lightweight and heavyweight types of construction.
Boundary Conditions
The meteorological ambient boundary conditions corre-
spond to those of Würzburg, Germany (open terrain). The
external temperature variations for the simulated period from
May 1st till September 30th are shown in Figure 3. Both the
hourly temperature and daily mean values are given in Figures
3a and b. The time of occupancy was Monday to Friday from
8:00 to 17:00, 12:00 to 13:00 lunch break. The system was
only in operation for cooling by room temperatures higher
than 23°C. The system was only in operation for heating by
room temperatures lower than 22°C.
Internal Heat Sources: During occupied periods, 550 W
corresponding to 27.8 W/m2, which
corresponds to two persons, two
computers, a printer, and light. During
the lunch break, 350 W corresponding
to 17.7 W/m2, 50% convective, 50%
radiant.
Moisture Production: During occupation, 100 g/h.
Ventilation: Outside time of occupation 0.3 h-1.
During occupation 0.8 h-1.
At operative temperature above 24°C,
5.0 h-1 .
At operative temperature above 26°C,
10.0 h-1
Outside time of occupancy the
windows were closed.
Figure 2 Central room module used for the computer
simulation of a building with concrete slab
cooling. All dimensions are in m.
699
 TABLE 1
Thermal Characteristics of the Building Components

Density Conducting Capacity

[mm] [kg/m³] [W(mK)] [Wh(kgK)] Emission
Floor, ceiling Screed 45 2000 1.4 0.28
Acoustical insulation 20 50 0.04 0.42 0.94
Concrete 180 2400 2.1 0.28

Outside wall, light Aluminum 2 2600 200 0.28

(U = 0.37) Insulation 100 30 0.04 0.28 0.30
Aluminum 2 2600 200 0.28

Outside wall, heavy Plaster 8 1000 0.7 0.28

(U = 0.37) Insulation 80 40 0.04 0.42 0.82
Sandlimebrick 240 1200 0.56 0.28
Plaster 15 1200 0.35 0.28

Internal wall, light Plasterboard 25 900 0.21 0.28

Insulation 60 20 0.04 0.28 0.82
Plasterboard 25 900 0.21 0.28

Internal wall, heavy Plaster 15 1200 0.35 0.28 0.82

Sandlimebrick 115 1800 0.99 0.28 0.93

Window Wooden frame, 30% glass Uframe 2.1 W/(m²K)

Uglass 1.1 W/(m²K)
Uwindow 1.4 W/(m²K)
g 0.58

Figure 3a Hourly external temperature used in the computer Figure 3b Daily average external temperature used in the
simulation for the time period of May 1-September computer simulation for the time period of May 1-
30. September 30.

700 ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia

Sun Protection: During occupation by direct exposure
of sunlight and operative temperature
above 23°C, reduction factor z = 0.5.
Control Methods
Three methods of control were studied:
• Time of operation
• Intermittent operation of circulating pump
• Control of water temperature
Time of Operation
Due to the thermal mass, some of the internal heat will be
stored in the concrete slab during occupancy. It may therefore
be sufficient to operate the system outside the time of occupa-
tion. This will be beneficial for use of the often lower energy
costs during nighttime and better potential for use of free cool-
ing at the lower outside temperatures during nighttime.
If the water-based system is combined with a mechanical
ventilation system with precooling of the supply air, it may be
possible to operate the cooling of the supply air during time of
occupancy and cooling of the water outside time of occupancy,
where the ventilation is not needed for indoor air quality
reasons. In this way, the cooling equipment can be downsized.
Four different schedules of operation were studied: 24
hour, 8:00-17:00, 18:00-06:00, and 22:00-06:00.
Intermittent Operation of Circulation Pump. It has
been suggested by Meierhans and Olesen (1999) to operate the
pump intermittently and save electrical energy. If the pump is
stopped, heat in the slab will continue to flow toward the
cooler center, where the temperature will increase. When the
pump is started again, it will operate with a larger temperature
difference between water and concrete and remove more of the
stored heat in a shorter time.
Three types of intermittent pump operation were studied:
• Pump on for 1 hour – Pump off for 1 hour
• Pump on for ½ hour – Pump off for ½ hour
• Pump on for ¼ hour - Pump off for ¾ hour
During the first two types of operation, the total daily
running time for the pump may be the same, while for the last
it should be shorter.
Control of Water Temperature. In most heating and
cooling systems, the supply water or supply air temperatures
are controlled according to internal room temperature, outside
temperature, or a combination of both. The goal for the system
used in the present study is to operate water temperatures as
close to the room temperature as possible. If very high or very
low water temperatures are introduced into the system, it may
result in overheating or undercooling. Because of the large
thermal mass, it is not possible to change the temperature of
the slab quickly. On the other hand, if water temperatures are
close to room temperature, there will be a high degree of self
control where a small room temperature change immediately
changes the heat transfer.
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
The highest amount of cooling is obtained by controlling
the water supply temperature at the lowest level possible
before condensation occurs. This is done by controlling the
supply water temperature according to the dew-point temper-
ature in the room. For this purpose, a humidity balance (latent
loads from people, outside humidity gain from ventilation)
was also included in the simulation. It was then possible to
calculate the dew point in the room for each time step in the
simulation. This is an extreme case and should not be used in
practice because it may result in overcooling, but for reason of
comparison it is included in the present study.
Instead of controlling the supply water temperature, it
may be better to control the average water temperature. The
return water temperatures are influenced by the room condi-
tions. By constant supply water temperature, an increase in
internal loads from sun or internal heat sources will increase
the return temperature. The average water temperature will
then increase and the cooling potential will decrease. If instead
the average water temperature (½(treturn – tsupply)) is
controlled, an increase in return temperature will automati-
cally be compensated by a decrease in supply water tempera-
ture.
In well-designed buildings with low heating and cooling
loads, it may be possible to operate the system at a constant
water temperature. This was also studied. The following
concepts for water temperature control were studied:
• Supply water temperature is equal to internal dew-point
temperature.
• Supply water temperature is a function of outside tem-
perature according to the equation:
t supply = 1, 3∗ 0, 4∗ ( 20 – t external ) + 20
• Average water temperature is a function of outside tem-
perature according to
t average = 1, 3∗ 0, 4∗ ( 20 – t external ) + 20 .
• Supply water temperature is constant and equal to
18°C, 20°C, and 22°C.
• Average water temperature is constant and equal to
18°C, 20°C, and 22°C.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The simulations were done for both an east- and a west-
facing room and for heavy and light construction. Only results
for a west-facing heavy room are presented in this paper. In a
pretest, it was found that the highest exposures occurred in the
room facing west. The heavy construction was estimated to be
the most common.
Results from the summer period May 1st to September
30th are presented.
The total number of hours in this period is ∼ 3690, number
of working days ∼ 109, and number of working hours ∼ 981.
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The results will be evaluated based on comfort (operative
temperature ranges, daily operative temperature drift during
occupancy) and energy (running hours for circulation pump,
energy removed or supplied by the circulated water).
The calculated operative temperatures may be compared
to the comfort range 23°C to 26 °C recommended for summer
(cooling period) in ASHRAE Standard 55 (1992), ISO 7730
(1993), or CR 1752 (1998). But they are based on a fixed level
of clothing insulation (0.5 clo), which may not be relevant for
the whole period of May to September. Instead, the data are
compared to the temperature ranges included in the German
DIN 1946 part 2 (1994), corresponding to Figure 4.

Study of Time of Operation

Figure 4 Recommended ranges for operative temperature
depending on outside temperature (DIN1946 part
2, 1994).
The results of the simulation are listed in Table 2.
From Table 2, it is seen that the operative temperature
never exceeds 27°C even if the operation of the system is only
nine hours during the night. There is almost no difference
between twelve hours and nine hours operation regarding
operative temperature. The shorter operating time results in a
6% increase of working hours at temperatures above 25°C but
results in 7% to 9% decrease of hours in the cool range 20°C
to 22°C.
The temperature drifts during a day are in most cases
(95%) lower than 4 K. With a shorter time of operation the drift
is only during three to five days (3% to 5%) between 4 to 6 K.

TABLE 2
Operative Temperatures, Temperature Drift, Pump Running Time, and Energy Transfer for Different Operation Times

May to September Average Water Temperature Controlled

According to Outside Temperature
Time of operation 24 hours 18-6 22-6
0905 0901 0902
°C % % %
Operative temperature interval <20 0 0 0
20-22 11 4 2
22-25 88 88 92
25-26 1 6 5
26-27 0.0 2 1
>27 0.0 0 0

Temperature drift <2 53 41 39

2-4 46 54 58
4-6 1 5 3
>6 0 0 0

Pump running hours 1217 515 412

% of time 33 14 11

Energy Cooling 1180 855 775

(kWh)
Heating 493 83 11

702 ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia

Figure 5 Operative, external, supply, and return
temperatures for the week of September 2-8. On
the diagram is also indicated when the pump is
off. Average water temperature controlled as a
function of outside temperature. Time of
operation is 24 hours (code 0905).
By the shorter time of operation, the running time of the
circulation pump is significantly reduced from ∼ 1200 hours to
400 to 500 hours. Even for 24 hours of possible operation time,
the system is only in operation one-third of the time (pump
running). This occurs when the room temperature is below
23°C, and the pump is stopped. When the room temperature
falls below 22°C, heating is required and the pump will start
again.
This can be seen in Figure 5, which shows outside temper-
ature, operative temperature, supply water temperature, and
return water temperature for the week of September 2 to
September 8 for 24 hours operation. During the first two days
and during the last day (weekend), the operative temperature
falls below 22°C. Heating is required, the pump will start, and
the supply temperature is heated to about 26°C. From Table 2
for 24 hours of operation, it can also be seen that heating is
often required during the whole period of May to September.
This is, however, partly because by 24-hour operation, too
much cooling takes place, which, despite the significant
amount of heating, results in room temperatures between 20°C
and 22°C during 10% of the occupied time. Therefore, 24
hours of operation of the system results in a significantly
higher energy consumption for heating and cooling (1673
kWh) while a reduced time of operation with almost the same
comfort uses only 786 to 938 kWh and mainly for cooling.
Figure 6 shows calculated temperatures for the reduced
operation time 18:00-06:00. Here, the room temperature is
never below 22°C and no heating is required. Because of the
reduced time of operation, the pump is running less than with
24-hour operation (Figure 5). It should also be noted that the
pump is only running part of the operation time. As soon as the
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
Figure 6 Operative, external, supply, and return
temperatures for the week of September 2-8. On
the diagram is also indicated when the pump is off.
Average water temperature controlled as a
function of outside temperature. Time of operation
18:00 to 06:00 (code 0901).
space temperature falls below 23°C, the pump will stop. It is
indicated on the x-axis where the pump is running.
Study of Intermittent Pump Control
The results of the simulation are shown in Table 3.
The results are based on tests with supply water temper-
ature equal to dew point. The interval and drift of operative
temperatures by 24 hours of continued operation are almost
exactly the same as for 24 hours of continued operation but
with average water temperature controlled according to
outside temperature (Table 2). The running time of the pump
is a little less. This is probably due to the somewhat cooler
water temperature when controlling according to the dew
point.
To decrease the running time, the operation time as in
Table 2 can be reduced or the pump can be operated intermit-
tently. For this case, Table 3 shows very good performance,
even if the pump is only operated half of the time or even one-
forth of the time.
Only during a very few hours (∼ 1%), the temperature will
increase above 26°C. With the intermittent operation a small
percent of the time, temperatures will increase above 25°C and
fewer hours will be in the cool range of 20°C to 22°C.
As the computer simulation routine basically performs
calculations on an hour-by-hour basis, the results with the
pump “on” only 15 minutes and “off” 45 minutes or “on” 30
minutes and “off” 30 minutes are not very accurate. Therefore,
the calculated energy use for these tests cannot be fully relied
upon. It is, however, clear from the results that intermittent
operation not only reduces the pump running time but also
reduces energy consumption compared to continuous opera-
tion.
The intermittent operation, however, does not give better
performance at a reduced time of operation (see Table 2).
703
 TABLE 3
Operative Temperatures, Temperature Drift, Pump Running Time, and Energy Transfer for Intermittent Operation
of the Pump (Supply Water Temperature Equal to Room Dew-Point Temperature)

May to September
Operation 24 hours
Pump operation Continuous 1 hour on – ½ hour on- ¼ hour on –
1001 1 hour off, ½ hour off, ¾ hour off,
0102a 0102 0102b
°C % % % %
Operative temperature interval <20 0 0 0 0
20-22 12 8 8 6
22-25 88 89 89 87
25-26 0.4 3 3 5
26-27 0 0 0 1
>27 0 0 0 1

Operative Temperature drift <2 47 73 36 46

2-4 52 26 63 51
4-6 1 1 1 3
>6 0 0 0 0

Pump running hours 1091 630 624 478

% 30 17 17 13

Energy, Cooling 1281 981 496 213

kWh
Heating 391 130 72 11

Figure 7 shows the calculated temperature for the week of
September 2 to 8. In this case, the system was operating for 24
hours and supply temperature was controlled according to dew
point. The results are very similar to the results in Figure 5,
where the supply water is controlled as a function of outside
temperature. The reason is the limitation by the room dew-
point temperature. During this week, the limit for the water
temperature is the dew point even if controlled according to
outside temperature.
Study of Water Temperature Control
The results of the simulation are listed in Table 4.
This part of the simulation study investigated the perfor-
mance of different water temperature control strategies.
Controlling the supply water equal to the dew point will
provide maximum cooling. The performance of the system
when controlling supply water equal to dew point and 12-hour
operation (Table 4, code 0202) is not as optimal as for 24-hour
operation (Table 3, code 1001). The distribution of operative
temperatures is almost the same, but the energy consumption
for cooling (639 kWh) and for heating (1031 kWh) is signif-
icant higher than for 24-hour operation. Even if the time of
operation is shorter (12 hours), the pump running time (1377
hours) is longer.
This can be explained by the low water temperature used
during nighttime operation (18:00-06:00) when controlling
water supply temperature equal to dew point. During this
period, the space is not occupied and there is no latent load
(humidity from people). Therefore, when the system starts
cooling after 18:00, it will be with a relatively low water
temperature.
This results in overcooling, which often will be compen-
sated by heating when the space temperature drops below
22°C. Due to the heating, the operative temperatures will not
drop and will stay above 20°C, but a lot of energy is consumed
for heating and cooling.
Outdoor air temperature dependent supply water control
is more efficient— there are no operative temperatures above
27°C but a 10% exceedance above 25°C than when controlling
according to dew-point temperature. On the other hand, there
will be almost no time when the temperatures are in the cool

704 ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia

 TABLE 4
Operative Temperatures, Temperature Drift, Pump Running Time, and Energy Transfer
by Different Control Strategies of the Water Temperature (Time of Operation 18:00-06:00)

May to September
Time of operation 18:00-06:00
Control water Supply = Supply = °F Average = °F Average = Supply = Supply = Supply =
temperature dew point, (outside), (outside), 22°C, 22°C, 20°C, 18°C,
0202 0801 0901 1201 1101 1105 1109
°C % % % % % % %
Operative <20 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
temperature interval 20-22 14 1 4 1 1 10 22
22-25 84 88 88 68 62 69 66
25-26 2 9 6 16 19 12 7
26-27 0 2 2 10 12 6 2
>27 0 0 0 5 6 3 1

Temperature drift <2 24 48 41 53 49 46 31

2-4 74 49 54 44 46 51 66
4-6 2 3 5 3 5 3 3
>6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Pump running hours 1377 1215 515 1989 1989 1989 1894
% of time 38 33 14 54 54 54 52

Energy, Cooling 1639 782 855 952 865 1092 1278

kWh
Heating 1031 44 83 0 0 0 0

range (20°C to 22°C, Table 4), which altogether will result in

better comfort.
Added to this, the energy consumption is much lower for
both cooling (782 kWh) and heating (44 kWh). This is because
undercooling is avoided so there is no need for additional heat-
ing.
If, instead, the average water temperature is controlled as
a function of outside temperature (Table 4, code 0901, Figure
6), the running time of the circulation pump is much shorter
(515 hours) but still results in somewhat lower operative
temperatures. The energy use is also higher. The reason is that
for this control concept, the average water temperature will be
lower than when the supply temperature is controlled accord-
ing to outside temperature. This means the same amount of
cooling can be provided in a shorter time. See in Table 4 the Figure 7 Operative, external, supply, and return
lower running time of the pump (515 hours). temperatures for the week of September 2-8. On
Figure 8 shows the calculated temperatures for the week the diagram is also indicated when the pump is
of September 2-8. The system is operating outside time of off. Supply water temperature = dew point
occupancy, 18:00-06:00, and the supply water temperature is temperature, °C. Time of operation is 24 hours
a function of outside temperature. It can be seen during the (code 1001).
night that when the outside temperature decreases, the supply
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia 705
Figure 8 Operative, external, supply, and return
temperatures for the week of September 2-8. On
the diagram is also indicated when the pump is
off. Supply water temperature is a function of
external temperature, °C. Time of operation is
18:00 to 06:00 (code 0801).
Figure 9 Operative, external, supply, and return
temperatures for the week of September 2-8. On
the diagram is also indicated when the pump is
off. Supply water temperature = 22°C. Time of
operation is 18:00 to 06:00 (code 1101).
water temperature increases. But the water temperature never
goes above room temperature, so no heating takes place. Most
of the time the pump is only running until 02:00-03:00 in the
night.
The other results in Table 4 are from a test with constant
supply or average water temperature. Almost similar results
are obtained by controlling supply water temperature as by
controlling average water temperature. During the time of
operation (18:00-06:00), the pump is in both cases running all
the time. A little more cooling is provided (952 kWh) when
controlling the average water temperature. It also resulted in
706
Figure 10 Operative, external, supply, and return
temperatures for the week of September 2-8. On
the diagram is also indicated when the pump is
off. Average water temperature = 22°C. Time of
operation is 18:00 to 06:00 (code 1201).
slightly lower operative temperatures. The operative temper-
atures are, however, in many cases too high.
Five to six percent of the time, which corresponds to 50
working hours, the operative temperatures are above 27°C and
15% to 18% of the time above 26°C. This is somewhat surpris-
ing because more heat is removed by the circulated water in
the case of constant water temperature (22°C) compared to
controlling according to outside temperature. The combined
energy use for heating and cooling is, however, very much the
same as if no heating has taken place. But due to the long pump
running time, the total energy use is higher with constant water
temperature control.
Figure 9 shows the results for a constant supply water
temperature of 22°C. For this week (September 02-08), the
operative temperature increases to 30°C, which is too warm.
Most of the time, operative temperatures are above 24°C, so
the pumps are running during the whole time of operation.
For comparison, Figure 10 shows the results with a
constant average water temperature.
Tests were also made with constant supply water temper-
atures of 20°C and 18°C. At 20°C, the comfort performance is
better than with 22°C but with higher energy consumption.
Using 18°C water will result in too many hours in the cool/cold
range.
Another way of representing the calculated operative
temperatures is shown in Figure 11 together with the recom-
mended comfort range by ASHRAE 55 and ISO 7730. The
examples are for supply temperature controlled according to
outside temperature and time operation 18:00-06:00 or 22:00-
06:00.
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
CONCLUSION
The results of a dynamic computer simulation of different
control concepts for a water-based radiant cooling and heating
system have been presented. The system was studied for the
period May to September.
For this type of system, where the pipes are embedded in
the building structure, it is important not to use water temper-
atures too high or too low due to the dynamic result in under-
cooling or overheating of the occupied space.
Controlling supply water temperature equal to dew-point
temperature in the occupied space provides the maximum
amount of cooling without resulting in condensation. Comfort
performance is not optimal due to undercooling. Energy
performance is also not good due to the need for reheating.
The time of operation can be limited by operating the
system only during nighttime or using intermittent operation
of the circulation pump.
The best comfort and energy performance is obtained by
controlling the water temperature (supply or average) as a
function of outside temperature but with a low inclination of
the control curve.
REFERENCES
ASHRAE. 1992. ASHRAE 55-1992, Thermal environmental
conditions for human occupancy. Atlanta: American
Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning
Engineers, Inc.
CR 1752 (1998): Ventilation for Buildings: Design Criteria
for the Indoor environment, CEN, Brussels.
DIN 1946 (1994): Ventilation and air conditioning; Part 2-
Technical health requirements. DIN, Berlin.
Fort, K. 1996. Type 160: Floor heating and hypocaust.
Hauser, G., C. Kempkes, and B.W. Olesen. 2000. Computer
simulation of the performance of a hydronic heating and
cooling system with pipes embedded into the concrete
slab between each floor. ASHRAE Winter meeting, Dal-
las, 5-9 February 2000.
ISO 7730 (1993): Moderate thermal environments—Deter-
mination of the PMV and PPD indices and specification
of the conditions for thermal comfort.
ASHRAE Transactions: Symposia
Figure 11 Operative temperature distribution for the period
of May 1 to September 30. Water supply
temperature controlled as a function of outside
temperature. Operation time is 18:00 to 06:00
and 22:00 to 06:00 (code 0802).
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