Energy, cost, and CO2 emission comparison between radiant wall panel systems and radiator systems

The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the possibility of application or replacement of radiators with low-temperature radiant panels. This paper shows the comparison results of operations of 4 space heating systems: the low-temperature radiant panel system without any additional thermal insulation of external walls (PH-WOI), the low-temperature radiant panel system with additional thermal insulation of external walls (PH-WI), the radiator system without any additional thermal insulation of external walls (the classical heating system) (RH-WOI), and the radiator system with additional thermal insulation of external walls (RH-WI). The operation of each system is simulated by software EnergyPlus. The investigation shows that the PH-WI gives the best results. The RH-WOI has the largest energy consumption, and the largest pollutant emission. However, the PH-WI requires the highest investment.

► We analysed radiator heating system and radiant wall heating system.
► Analysed building is a residential house.
► Wall heating with thermal insulation provides the lowest energy consumption.
► Wall heating with thermal insulation provides the lowest CO2 emission.
► Embodied energy of thermal insulation does not much affect the total energy.