Numerical investigation of a new method to control the condensation problem in ceiling radiant cooling panels

Radiant cooling panels are believed to be of considerable energy saving potentials and can be employed as new cooling devices in HVAC systems. Even though the popularity of radiant cooling systems grows, particularly for cooling and heating commercial buildings, the condensation problem limits their application. The present research is conducted to introduce and evaluate a new method to control the condensation problem in the Ceiling Radiant Cooling Panels (CRCP). A dehumidification coil is integrated with CRCP in order to regulate the water condensation and remove the latent heat load. To evaluate the capability of the new model, the performance of the system was numerically investigated in a sample office, for different wall insulation and room configurations. The results showed that the integrated cooling coils enhance the natural convection heat transfer and remove the water vapor from the space. Therefore, the condensation problem on the CRCPs could be solved using the introduced method. The thermal comfort calculated according to temperature and humidity distributions demonstrated that the new system has the ability to maintain comfort conditions. Moreover, the calculated cooling load to preserve thermal comfort is much lower in the introduced method compared to the conventional system. The comparison of cooling load between the new configuration and the conventional system exhibited the energy saving potential up to 30% in the new system.