The possibilities of application of radiant wall cooling in existing buildings as a part of their retrofit

Abstract

In the following years and decades the increase in cooling capacity will put tremendous pressure on the energy infrastructure and severely increase the environmental impacts. In a moderate climate and well thermally insulated buildings like, e.g., in Europe, installation of low-exergy radiant systems could help alleviate these negative effects. Wall systems may be especially suitable for installation in existing buildings, however, their possible applications in buildings retrofit have not been fully explored. We therefore investigate the possible applications of wall cooling in existing buildings by numerical simulations of two-dimension heat flow through a wall fragment. Three wall systems are proposed and compared in terms of thermal response and heat transfer. The effect of various parameters is investigated to facilitate the design of the wall systems.In the following years and decades the increase in cooling capacity will put tremendous pressure on the energy infrastructure and severely increase the environmental impacts. In a moderate climate and well thermally insulated buildings like, e.g., in Europe, installation of low-exergy radiant systems could help alleviate these negative effects. Wall systems may be especially suitable for installation in existing buildings, however, their possible applications in buildings retrofit have not been fully explored. We therefore investigate the possible applications of wall cooling in existing buildings by numerical simulations of two-dimension heat flow through a wall fragment. Three wall systems are proposed and compared in terms of thermal response and heat transfer. The effect of various parameters is investigated to facilitate the design of the wall systems.