Energy Saving Potential of Radiant Floor Heating Assisted by an Air Source Heat Pump in Residential Buildings

Abstract

The objective of this research is to establish an appropriate operating strategy for a radiant floor heating system that additionally has an air source heat pump for providing convective air heating separately, leading to heating energy saving and thermal comfort in residential buildings. To determine the appropriate optimal operating ratio of each system taking charge of combined heating systems, the energy consumption of the entire system was drawn, and the adaptive floor surface temperature was reviewed based on international standards and literature on thermal comfort. For processing heating loads with radiant floor heating and air source heating systems, the heating capacity of radiant floor heating by 1 °C variation in floor temperature was calculated, and the remaining heating load was handled by the heating capacity of the convective air heating heat pump. Consequently, when the floor temperature was 25 °C, all heating loads were removed by radiant floor heating only. When handling all heating loads with the heat pump, 59.2% less energy was used compared with radiant floor heating only. Considering the local discomfort of the soles of the feet, the floor temperature is expected to be suitable at 22–23 °C, and 31.5–37.6% energy saving compared with those of radiant floor heating alone were confirmed.