Skip to main content
Log in

Non-uniform operative temperature distribution characteristics and heat-source-controlled core-area range of local heating radiators

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Building Simulation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Heating the whole space, which is currently used in northern China, leads to high energy consumption and substantial pollution. A transition to local heating has the potential to help address this problem. In this paper, the effects of radiator-related parameters (position, power, and size) and room-related parameters (aspect ratio and height) on local heating were studied. Two evaluation indices, the effective coefficient of operative temperature (OTEC) and the effective coefficient of local heating (LHEC), were proposed. In addition, the heat source-control core-area (HSCCA) was proposed, and the effect range of heat sources in the space was evaluated by the attenuation of operative temperature. The findings demonstrated that the radiator position has a greater influence on local heating than size. When the position of the radiator was changed from “close to the inner wall” to “close to the outer wall”, the LHEC (the interior one-quarter of room is a local heating zone) was found to decrease by 73%. The size of the radiator, which is close to the inner wall, doubled or quadrupled, and the LHEC increased by 9% and 18%. Moreover, rooms with a larger aspect ratio or small room height were found to be the most optimal for local heating applications. The area of the HSCCA decreased as the position of the radiator approached the outer wall. The findings of this study can be used as a design reference for the radiator when the heating mode changes from “full-space heating” to “local heating”.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ali AHH, Gaber Morsy M (2010). Energy efficiency and indoor thermal perception: a comparative study between radiant panel and portable convective heaters. Energy Efficiency, 3: 283–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ANSYS (2018a). ANSYS Fluent theory guide, version 19.0. Ansys Inc.

  • ANSYS (2018b). ANSYS Fluent user’s guide, version 19.0. Ansys Inc.

  • ASHRAE (2009). ASHRAE Handbook: Fundamentals. Atlanta, GA, USA: American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cai WG (2020). China building energy consumption research report. China Association of Building Enery Efficiency. Available at http://www.cabee.org/site/content/24021.html. Accessed 31 Dec 2020. (in Chinese)

  • Calisir T, Yazar HO, Baskaya S (2017). Determination of the effects of different inlet-outlet locations and temperatures on PCCP panel radiator heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics. International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 121: 322–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohn S (2017). Development of a Personal Heater Efficiency Index. Master Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dehghan MH, Abdolzadeh M (2018). Comparison study on air flow and particle dispersion in a typical room with floor, skirt boarding, and radiator heating systems. Building and Environment, 133: 161–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dudkiewicz E, Jezowiecki J (2009). Measured radiant thermal fields in industrial spaces served by high intensity infrared heater. Energy and Buildings, 41: 27–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Embaye M, Al-Dadah RK, Mahmoud S (2016). Numerical evaluation of indoor thermal comfort and energy saving by operating the heating panel radiator at different flow strategies. Energy and Buildings, 121: 298–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fanger PO (1970). Thermal Comfort. Copenhagen: Danish Technical Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrantelli A, Võsa K-V, Kurnitski J (2018). Optimization of radiators, underfloor and ceiling heater towards the definition of a reference ideal heater for energy efficient buildings. Applied Sciences, 8(12): 2477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foda E, Sirén K (2012). Design strategy for maximizing the energy-efficiency of a localized floor-heating system using a thermal manikin with human thermoregulatory control. Energy and Buildings, 51: 111–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ganesh GA, Sinha SL, Verma TN (2020). Numerical simulation for optimization of the indoor environment of an occupied office building using double-panel and ventilation radiator. Journal of Building Engineering, 29: 101139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo H, Aviv D, Loyola M, et al. (2020). On the understanding of the mean radiant temperature within both the indoor and outdoor environment, a critical review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 117: 109207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawila AAW, Merabtine A, Troussier N (2020). Metamodeling of mean radiant temperature to optimize glass facade design in PMV-based comfort controlled space. Building Simulation, 13: 271–286.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jahanbin A, Zanchini E (2016). Effects of position and temperature-gradient direction on the performance of a thin plane radiator. Applied Thermal Engineering, 105: 467–473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jahanbin A, Semprini G (2020). Numerical study on indoor environmental quality in a room equipped with a combined HRV and radiator system. Sustainability, 12: 10576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Tu J (2019). Evaluation of the eddy viscosity turbulence models for the simulation of convection—radiation coupled heat transfer in indoor environment. Energy and Buildings, 184: 8–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li H, Geng, Xue Y (2020). Atrium energy efficiency design based on dimensionless index parameters for office building in severe cold region of China. Building Simulation, 13: 515–525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Z, Zhang D, Li C (2021). Experimental evaluation of indoor thermal environment with modularity radiant heating in low energy buildings. International Journal of Refrigeration, 123: 159–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lu Y, Wang Z, Liu J, et al. (2021). Zoning strategy of zonal modeling for thermally stratified large spaces. Building Simulation, 14: 1395–1406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magni M, Campana JP, Ochs F, et al. (2019). Numerical investigation of the influence of heat emitters on the local thermal comfort in a room. Building Simulation, 12: 395–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mcintyre DA (1980). Indoor Climate. London: Applied Science Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moemenbellah-Fard MS, Noori S (2020). Discrete ordinate and P1-based approximations of heater transparency on radiation-convection of four separate gases in factory setting. Building Simulation, 13: 647–663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MOHURD (2010). JGJ 26-2010. Design Standard for Energy Efficiency of Residential Buildings in Severe Cold and Cold Zones. Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Developm of China (MOHURD). (in Chinese)

  • Myhren JA, Holmberg S (2008). Flow patterns and thermal comfort in a room with panel, floor and wall heating. Energy and Buildings, 40: 524–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pan D, Chan M, Xia L, et al. (2012). Performance evaluation of a novel bed-based task/ambient conditioning (TAC) system. Energy and Buildings, 44: 54–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Python (2018). Documentation of Version 3.7. The Python Standard Library. Available at https://docs.python.org/3.7/library/idle.html. Accessed May 2018.

  • Rahimi M, Tajbakhsh K (2011). Reducing temperature stratification using heated air recirculation for thermal energy saving. Energy and Buildings, 43: 2656–2661.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sevilgen G, Kilic M (2011). Numerical analysis of air flow, heat transfer, moisture transport and thermal comfort in a room heated by two-panel radiators. Energy and Buildings, 43: 137–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tecplot (2019). Tecplot 360 EX 2019 R1 Users Manual. Available at https://www.tecplot.com/documentation. Accessed 15 Feb 2019.

  • Tol Hİ (2020). Improved space-heating radiator model: Focus on set-back operation, radiator over-dimensioning, and add-on fans. Building Simulation, 13: 317–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Võsa KV, Ferrantelli A, Kurnitski J (2019). A combined analytical model for increasing the accuracy of heat emission predictions in rooms heated by radiators. Journal of Building Engineering, 23: 291–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang D, Song C, Wang L (2019). Theory and Application of Partial Time and Partial Space Thermal Environment Regulation. Beijing: China Architecture and Building Press. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan S, Li X (2021). Comparison of space cooling/heating load under non-uniform indoor environment with convective heat gain/loss from envelope. Building Simulation, 14: 565–578.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Chen W, Yu W, et al. (1995). Experimental study on the surfadce radiant exothermicity of radiators. Journal of Tongji University (Thermal Engineering), 23(06):654–659. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zheng D, Li N, Yang C (2015). Angle factors between surfaces in a radiant air-conditioned room. Journal of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, 37(1): 55–60. (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52078408), the Science Foundation for Outstanding Youth of Shaanxi Province (2020JC-43).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Dengjia Wang, Weijia Li and Yanfeng Liu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Weijia Li and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dengjia Wang.

Additional information

Declaration of competing interest

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, D., Li, W., Liu, Y. et al. Non-uniform operative temperature distribution characteristics and heat-source-controlled core-area range of local heating radiators. Build. Simul. 16, 87–103 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-022-0924-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-022-0924-x

Keywords

Navigation