Development and experimental validation of a transient 2D numeric model for radiant walls

An experimental set-up consisting of a house like cubicle exposed to outdoor weather was used to validate a numerical model of a radiant wall. The 2D transient finite volume model used as inputs the indoor temperature, outdoor temperature, global solar radiation incident on a vertical surface, and temperature and flow of the supply water. The simulation results closely agreed with the temperature profiles and heat fluxes for the three studied orientations (East, South, and West). Furthermore, a parametric study was carried out with the radiant wall model, concluding that pipes spacing between 125 mm and 150 mm and depth between 45 mm and 65 mm minimized the temperature difference on the surface while maximizing the heat flux. Furthermore, a control strategy with shorter activation periods improved the heat transfer efficiency.