Floor Radiant Cooling System

Homes built on concrete slabs are prime candidates for radiant heating systems and radiant floor cooling takes advantage of the same principle using chilled water.

Floor radiant cooling system.

Types of radiant cooling systems. Radiant cooling systems typically use chilled water running in pipes in thermal contact with the surface. The capacity of a radiant cooling system depends on factors such as insulation pipe spacing floor construction and indoor air temperatures. Radiant cooling from a slab can be delivered to a space from the floor or ceiling.

The house will be well insulated and well sealed walls insulated to r 30 the roof insulated to r 60 and airtightness at 1 5 ach50. But mackay writes that he is building in climate zone 6a where humidity ranges between 20 and 35. The circulating water only needs to be 2 4 c below the desired indoor air temperature heat is removed by the water flowing in the hydronic circuit once the heat from different sources in the space is absorbed by the actively cooled surface ceiling. Under optimal design conditions capacities of a floor system up to 16 btu h ft can be achieved with more typical capacities in the 8 to 12 btu h ft range.

Radiant cooling systems have been embedded in the ceilings of adobe homes taking advantage of the thermal mass to provide a steady cooling effect. Chilled water between 55f to 58f is circulated through the pipes which are embedded in either floor or ceiling. Since radiant heating systems tend to be in the floor the obvious choice would be to use the same circulation system for cooled water.