Modelling of Floor Heating and Cooling in Residential Districts

Xenia Kirschstein (), Joscha Reber, Rouven Zeus, Miriam Schuster and Nadja Bishara
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Xenia Kirschstein: Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
Joscha Reber: Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
Rouven Zeus: Institute of Geotechnics, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
Miriam Schuster: Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany
Nadja Bishara: Institute of Structural Mechanics and Design, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Technical University of Darmstadt, 64289 Darmstadt, Germany

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-17

Abstract: In this study, a method is proposed to expand the utilization of an existing calculation model for a floor heat exchanger (HX) from room scale to small district scale. The model, namely Trnsys Type 653, is typically employed for the simulation of single or simultaneously controlled parallel heating circuits. It uses a simplified approach to calculate the heat exchange between fluid and screed, taking the HX effectiveness as an input. In order to calculate the effectiveness based on the HX design, fluid properties and mass flow rate, a Python model is developed to be coupled with Type 653. The results are compared to a reference finite element model set up in COMSOL ® and depend on the HX design. The highest deviations range from over 1 K for 35 min to over 2 K for 175 min, while the lowest deviations range from below 0.5 K to below 1 K. Furthermore, the simplification of the floor HX model is analyzed by summarizing heating circuits from single rooms to a whole flat and from single flats to a whole floor. This approach results in deviations of approximately 2 and 4%, respectively, in the overall transferred heat over longer periods of time, while the switch-on frequency of the controller in an exemplary day is halved. While further analysis is required, the described simplifications seem promising for detailed district simulations with relatively low computational effort.

Keywords: floor heating; floor cooling; radiant floor; HX effectiveness; floor heat exchanger; district modelling; model simplification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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