Effects of the radiant heating system location on both the airflow and ventilation efficiency in a room

The effect of temperature of the heating system elements is a parameter that could affect the airflow in terms of buoyancy and thermal comfort and that should be studied to ensure the quality of ventilation. This study aimed to assess the air change efficiency and thermal comfort with three thermal conditioning systems (radiators, underfloor heating and radiant ceiling) in winter conditions, varying its position in the interior space. This can be used by architects and engineers when planning the position of the heating systems or refurbishing a room. The experimental analysis was developed in the test chamber of the Laboratory of Ventilation of the University of Valladolid, serving as validation of multiple CFD simulations. The results show that, being the thermal comfort achieved, the mean air change efficiency varied only 2.40% among all cases, which makes this factor not significant. Even so, the trajectory of the airflow in the premise would be affected by the thermal action, due to the convective effect, presenting great differences according to the location of the thermal systems. Thus, the air trajectory could falter when it enters the room or rise towards the ceiling creating areas with lower temperature in its centre