Energy and Comfort Performance

of Radiant Slab Systems

Advantages and differences from
air systems
Fred Bauman, P.E.
Center for the Built Environment
University of California
Berkeley, California

Friday, January 23, 2015

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Presentation outline

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Introduction to radiant systems

Radiant slab vs. air systems
Thermal comfort
Energy efficiency
Design considerations
Case studies
Upcoming Viega/CBE training sessions on radiant systems

Friday, January 23, 2015

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Slab sections for 3 main types of radiant systems

Thermally Activated
Building System (TABS)

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Embedded
Surface System (ESS)

Radiant Panels
(RP)

TABS vs. Radiant panels

TABS

Radiant panels

Overhead slab or floor slab

Suspended or surface-mounted
ceiling panels
Cooling and heating

Larger surface area

Cooling and heating

Thermal mass, slower response
Possible pre-cooling to reduce peak
cooling loads
Moderate costs ($2-7/ft2)

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Faster response, easier to control

No pre-cooling
Typically less surface area
Relatively high cost for large
surface areas ($15-20/ft2)
4

Air vs. radiant cooling systems

Air systems
Address ventilation, sensible and latent
loads
Designed to meet a single peak cooling
load value
Designed to maintain constant zone air
setpoint temperature
Remove heat using convection only
Radiant systems
Provide sensible load control with
separate air system for ventilation and
latent load control (e.g., dedicated
outdoor air system, DOAS)
Cooling load is more complex
Designed to maintain operative
temperature within comfort range
Remove heat using convection and
radiation
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Water can store 3,400 times more thermal energy

per unit volume than air!

Specific heat

Density

kJ/kgC

Btu/lbF

kg/m3

lb/ft3

Water

4.2

1,000

62.4

Air

1.0

0.24

1.25

0.08

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Photo: Peter Rumsey

Comparison of water pipes and air ducts

Radiant system
Dimension of the radiant pipes
(hidden in the slabs)

Air system
Dimension of the air ducts
(square section)

Dimension of the air ducts

Image: Viega
Friday, January 23, 2015
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Image: The NovaFrex Group

Image: The NovaFrex Group

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Comparison of floor sections

Radiant system

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Air system

Comparison of building heights

Radiant system

Air system

Illustration: 6-floor building with radiant vs. air system

(floor-to-floor height of 9 ft)
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Thermal comfort

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Thermal comfort

Air systems control zone air temperature and primarily remove heat by
convection
Radiant slab systems control the temperature of the building mass and the
zone air temperature. They remove heat by both radiation and convective
heat transfer
Assess comfort using operative
temperature to capture the
combined effects of the air and
mean radiant temperature

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Air vs. radiant systems

Typical conditions for the two systems:
System type

Air

Radiant

73.4F

76.5F

79F

76F

Operative temp.

76.2F

76.2F

Comfort (PPD)

5%

5%

Mean air temp.

Mean radiant temp.

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CBE comfort tool for ASHRAE-55

cbe.berkeley.edu/comforttool
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CBE occupant survey results

Satisfaction with thermal comfort

CBE benchmark
(buildings with conventional
HVAC since 2004)

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Buildings with radiant systems

(since 2004)

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Energy efficiency

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Radiant slab vs. air systems: Improved energy efficiency

1. Water vs. air as heat transfer fluid

Heat capacity and density of water vs. air

2. Use thermal storage in slab to reduce peak cooling loads and shift
operating times to nighttime and off-peak times

Nighttime pre-cooling strategies

Smaller chilled water plant capacities and piping sizes as cooling load is
spread out over a 24 hour period, reducing first cost

3. Relatively warmer chilled water temperatures improve chiller efficiency

Cooling towers

Heat pumps

Ground heat exchange

4. Disadvantage: Smaller-sized air system reduces potential for outside air

economizer savings (in suitable climates)

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Cooling load comparison: Air vs. TABS

TABS with nighttime pre-cooling reduced peak cooling load by more than 50%
compared to air system in west perimeter zone of an office building

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Real examples using these systems

Air system

Radiant with ground source heat pump

Sutardja Dai Hall, UC Berkeley

Architect: SmithGroup JJR

Image: hdcco.com

Radiant with chiller

SMUD ECOC, Sacramento

Architect: Stantec
Image: Wakely & Stantec
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IDeAs Z2 Building, San Jose

Architect: EHDD Architecture

Image: David Wakely

Radiant with cooling tower

David Brower Center, Berkeley

Architect: Solomon E.T.C.

Image: Tim Griffith
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Maximum theoretical coefficient of performance (COP)

comparison
For a refrigerant cycle:
Te = evaporator temp, Tc = condenser temp
Needs

COP

Air system

Te= 2C (36F)
Tc =34C (93F)

8.6

Radiant with chiller

Te= 14C (57F)

Tc =34C (93F)

14.4

Radiant with ground source

heat pump

Te= 14C (57F)

Tc =19C (66F)

57.4

Radiant with cooling tower

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Free cooling no refrigerant cycle needed, only

power for water pumps and cooling tower fans.

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Design considerations for radiant slab systems (1/2)

1. Provides only sensible cooling

Must be integrated (combined) with ventilation system that typically also

provides latent cooling, e.g., dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS)

In humid climates, dehumidification is required

2. Cooling capacity is limited by dew point temperature (condensation),

comfort, building materials, and surface area

Floor surface temperature must be moderated to maintain comfort: 19C to

29C (66F to 84F), from ASHRAE Std. 55-2013

3. High performance envelope design is required limit heat gains that

radiant system must address
4. In spaces with high solar load (atria, airports, etc.), radiant cooled floor
slab has increased capacity to directly remove solar gain
(up to 44 Btu/h-ft2 [140 W/m2])

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Design considerations for radiant slab systems (2/2)

5. Avoid rapid changeover from heating to cooling with radiant slab

system. Decision to heat or cool should be made once per day
6. Integrated control strategy

Use hydronic slab for steady state base cooling (slow response)

Use air system for transient trim control (quick response)

7. Reduced airflows (by 50-80%) allows smaller AHUs and reduced

ductwork
8. Allows reduced floor-to-floor heights and faade/structural savings
9. Consideration must be taken of acoustic quality of exposed concrete
surfaces

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Modeling tool selection

Tools

Modeling method

Capability to capture the dynamic

radiant behavior

IES (VE)

Heat balance method

Yes

TRNSYS

Heat balance method

Yes

EnergyPlus

Heat balance method

Yes

ESP-r

Heat balance method

Yes

DOE-2

Weighting factor method

No

eQUEST

Weighting factor method

No

TRACE

RTS method or TF method

No
Source: Feng, Bauman, Schiavon (2014)

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Case studies

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Online map of radiant systems

Map: bit.ly/RadiantBuildingsCBE
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Current status of radiant system database

Categories
Radiant system type

Building type

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Sub-category
Embedded Surface System
Thermally Activated Building Systems
Radiant Panels
Office
School (K-12)
University
Laboratory
Museum/Exhibition
Retail
Theater/Assembly
Hotel/Dormitory/Residential
Transportation
Multi-purpose
Other
Total number of buildings

Buildings
51
39
8
31
5
14
8
9
5
1
7
3
12
3
98
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Online map of radiant systems

Map: bit.ly/RadiantBuildingsCBE
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ARTIC Project, Anaheim, CA

Map: bit.ly/RadiantBuildingsCBE
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ARTIC, Anaheim, CA

General

17700 ft2, Anaheim Regional

Transportation Intermodal Center
LEED Platinum

Features

Steel tubular structure with ETFE

and glass
Cooled thin slabs over structural
slabs; Viega PEX barrier tubing

Designers

HOK and Parsons Brinckerhoff

(Architects)
Buro Happold
(MEP/Radiant system designer)
Viega (Radiant manufacturer)

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Image: HOK

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Infosys SDB-1, Hyderabad

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Source: Sastry and Rumsey (2014)

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Infosys: Energy use

Radiant system used 34% less energy than VAV system

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Source: Sastry and Rumsey (2014)

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Infosys: Energy use

Thermal comfort satisfaction

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Source: Sastry and Rumsey (2014)

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Radiant slab case studies

David Brower Center, Berkeley, CA

45,000 ft2, LEED Platinum

Radiant slab ceiling with
UFAD
Advanced shading, operable
windows
PV panels
Solomon E.T.C. WRT,
Integral Group

Source: Tim Griffith

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David Brower Center: Energy performance analysis

Current
ENERGYSTAR
(Ending 6/30/2010)
Label

PerformanceMetrics

ENERGY STARRating

National
Average

99

75

50

Site(kBtu/ft2)

47

109

147

Source(kBtu/ft2)

68

157

212

EnergyUseIntensity

45% savings over Title 24-2005

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Source: Center for the Built Environment

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Radiant slab case studies

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD)
East Campus Operations Center

200,000 ft2, LEED Platinum

Radiant slab, ceiling fans
Chilled beams
Geothermal exchange,
thermal energy storage
PV panels
Stantec

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Radiant slab system control in early December

Radiant cooling valve turning on at 10:00 12:00 each day

Temperature (F)

Water valve position (%)

Zone air temp.

Slab surface temp.

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Radiant slab system control during warm weather

Outside air temperature: July 28-Aug. 3, 2014

110

Temperature (F)

100

90

80

70

60

Jul 28

Jul 29

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Jul 30

Jul 31

Aug 1

Aug 2

Aug 3

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Radiant slab system control during warm weather

Compressor cooling not used during day
Radiant cooling valve precooling slab at 23:00 5:00 each weekday
80

78

100

Temperature (F)

Zone air temp.

76

80

74
60

72
40

70

Slab surface temp.

68

20

66
0:00

4:00

8:00

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12:00

16:00

20:00

0:00

4:00

8:00

12:00

16:00

20:00

0:00

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Water valve position (%)

120

Next steps

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Status of zero-net-energy (ZNE) buildings

New Buildings Institute (NBI)
conducted two reviews of ZNE
commercial buildings
2012
21 buildings

50% of buildings with HVAC

systems used radiant systems,
the most of any HVAC system

2014
160 buildings
Continuing trend away from
forced-air HVAC systems and
increased adoption of radiant
systems

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Upcoming Viega/CBE radiant training sessions

Two all-day training sessions planned in 2015

May 12, Washington, D.C.
November 3, San Francisco
Preliminary agenda
Heat transfer fundamentals
Energy use
Thermal comfort
Hydronic system design and sizing examples
Load calculation and design tools
Control strategies
Case studies and lessons learned
Viega will provide registration information
Friday, January 23, 2015
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New CBE research grant on radiant slab systems

Title: Optimizing Radiant Systems for Energy Efficiency and Comfort

Solicitation: EPIC Grant Program, $3M, 3-year project, 2015-2018
Scope of work
Fundamentals: Laboratory studies
Design and Controls: Development of simplified web-based design
and operation tool
Field Studies: Conduct three detailed field studies
Surveys: Collect energy, cost, and occupant survey data from 50
buildings with radiant systems
Codes and Standards: Propose changes to California Title-24 and
relevant ASHRAE Standards, Handbooks, and Guidelines on
radiant systems

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Summary

Radiant systems can be more energy efficient than air systems

Pre-cooling of radiant slab systems can be used to significantly reduce
peak cooling loads compared to air systems
Radiant cooled floor slabs have increased capacity to directly remove
incident solar gain
Radiant slab systems are slower to respond to control changes
Radiant systems (both slabs and panels) are quick to respond to zone
thermal loads
More research is needed to determine if radiant systems are more
comfortable than air systems
More radiant projects are being installed, particularly in low-energy and
ZNE projects
Upcoming Viega/CBE training sessions and CBE research will address
need for more information on radiant slab systems

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Acknowledgments

Center for the Built Environment, UC Berkeley

Paul Raftery, PhD, Professional Researcher
Stefano Schiavon, PhD, Assistant Professor
Caroline Karmann, Graduate Student Researcher
Taylor Engineering, Alameda, CA
Jingjuan (Dove) Feng, PhD, Mechanical Designer, CBE PhD
Graduate

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Questions?

Fred Bauman
fbauman@berkeley.edu

ARTIC Project, Anaheim (Image: HOK)

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