Paper Conference

Proceedings of SimBuild Conference 2010: 4th conference of IBPSA-USA

     

A New Model for Calculating the Convective and Radiant Impact of Radiators and Baseboards in EnergyPlus

Daeho Kang, Richard K. Strand
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL

Abstract: Baseboards and radiators are by their very nature devices that deliver heat to a space via both convection and radiation. While it is possible to model the convective effects of these devices fairly easily in many whole building energy simulation programs, the presence of a radiation source from HVAC equipment is an impossible task for most programs since they do not use strict surface heat balance techniques derived from the First Law of Thermodynamics. One program that does at least have the capacity to deal with radiant heat transfer from HVAC equipment is EnergyPlus. EnergyPlus already has models for low and high temperature radiant systems that account for the radiation impact of these systems on each surface within the space. In the past, the radiator and baseboard model in EnergyPlus has been purely convective. This paper details the capabilities of the new radiant/convective baseboard models in EnergyPlus and provides a comparison to the convective-only model that to date has been the only model available in the program.
Pages: 185 - 192
Paper:
simbuild2010_TS04B-01-Kang