Abstract
Recently, the application of radiant floor heating systems has significantly increased in many countries, resulting in the improvement of thermal comfort and energy efficiency. When it comes to the control method, individual room control is highly recommended because it can ensure thermal comfort and energy saving more successfully than that of central control, which had been widely adopted in the early days of radiant floor heating systems. To maximise the performance of individual room control, it is significantly important to adopt hydronic balancing, especially if a building is composed of rooms with diverse heating loads and floor areas. In this study, the necessity and the effect of hydronic balancing on individual room control are investigated through computer simulations. In addition, secondary problems caused by current hydronic balancing are also studied. Finally, this paper presents a new balancing method to improve an individual room control for a radiant floor heating system.
Practical applications: In terms of the life cycle of a radiant floor heating system, good operation is as important as good design to maximise the system performance. Hydronic balancing is an essential procedure for the successful operation and optimisation of a radiant floor heating system. The results of this paper can be applied to the improvement of hydronic balancing, which ensures good operation and enhances the performance of a radiant floor heating system adopting individual room control. This paper could provide useful information for commissioning engineers; testing, adjusting and balancing practitioners; control equipment manufacturers; and researchers.
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