Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237

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Energy and Buildings

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Inuence of the optical and geometrical properties of indoor

environments for the thermal performances of chilled ceilings
Natale Arcuri, Roberto Bruno , Piero Bevilacqua
Mechanical, Energetic and Management Engineering Department, University of Calabria, Ponte P. Bucci 46/C, ZIP 87036 Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The sizing of radiant ceilings for cooling applications requires the correct evaluation of the dynamic
Received 5 March 2014 removal thermal loads in indoor environments. The evaluation of thermal power removed by convection,
Received in revised form 30 October 2014 infrared radiation and direct absorption of solar radiation incident on ceiling surface, called direct water
Accepted 6 December 2014
load (DWL), for systems with low thermal inertia (chilled ceilings or ceilings made by capillary pipes)
Available online 12 December 2014
has to be carried out. The latter contribution must be evaluated in an accurate way because it is not a
thermal load for indoor environment and strongly modies the thermal balance in the air-conditioned
Keywords:
volume. In order to evaluate DWL, a parametric study developed as a function of the main optical and
Chilled ceilings
Solar heat gains
geometrical characteristics of the cavity has been carried out with TRNSYS code. The development of a
Cooling loads case study has highlighted the dynamic aspects of the several contributions involved in the thermal loads
Buildings dynamic simulation removal. The obtained results have allowed the denition of a new calculation methodology to evaluate
the effective solar radiation absorbed by the cavity and, subsequently, to determine the fraction of solar
radiation incident on ceiling surface and removed by DWL. Its evaluation has allowed estimation of the
DWL incidence on the sizing procedure of light radiant ceiling for cooling applications.
2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Radiant ceiling cooling systems are increasingly used since they
give better comfort conditions, owing to their particular ther-
mal exchange, and especially provide thermal energy savings [1].
The energy savings can be extended also to the primary energy
sources, because the inlet water temperature of radiant ceilings
are higher than conventional air-conditioning systems. Additional
advantages are the full utilization of spaces and the reduction of
vertical indoor air temperature stratication. Andrs-Chicote et al.
have recently investigated the cooling capacity of radiant ceiling in
cooling applications by experimental results analysis [2]. Imanari
et al. investigated the achievable energy savings and comfort condi-
tions obtainable by radiant ceilings in an ofce building, comparing
their performances with traditional air-conditioning systems [3].
The economic analysis developed has highlighted that the payback
period of radiant ceiling systems may be advantageous in relation to
the installation costs. In this context, the use of radiant ceiling with
negligible thermal inertia, such as chilled ceilings or capillary pipes
radiant systems mounted in the ceiling, is very interesting because
Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 0984 494158; fax: +39 0984 494673.
E-mail address: roberto.bruno@unical.it (R. Bruno).
their light weight simplies the installation operations and there-
fore allows the system to be less expensive. Moreover, the use of
capillary pipes directly drowned in the ceiling plaster coating leads
to a more uniform surface temperature with consequent benets to
the radiant thermal exchange and to thermal comfort conditions.
Finally, a low thermal inertia permits the use of simpler control
systems.
A limitation in the use of radiant ceilings in cooling applications
is the lack of appropriate sizing procedures and the uncertainty
in the determination of their performances when they are cou-
pled with other air-conditioning plants. Radiant panels, in fact, can
remove only sensible loads, while the control of humidity level
and air cleanliness is assigned to conventional air ventilation sys-
tems. In terms of achievable energy consumptions and thermal
comfort level, Corgnati et al. have conrmed, with numerical and
experimental analysis, the good performance of the radiant ceil-
ing coupled to primary air ventilation systems in ofce buildings
[46]. However the presence of sensible and latent loads delivered
by other plants can affect the sizing procedure of radiant ceilings.
In this eld many calculation methodologies are available, but the
majority are steady state models validated for panels with non-
negligible thermal mass.
Diaz and Cuevas, for instance, developed a procedure to evalu-
ate the main thermal performances by modelling the radiant ceiling

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.12.009
0378-7788/ 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
230 N. Arcuri et al. / Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237

the stationary approaches is the lack of assessment of the effective

Nomenclature distribution of solar radiation in the indoor environment without
considering the optical properties of the indoor cavity.
A surface [m2 ] Corgnati et al. veried that the incidence of solar radiation on
CLA cooling load air [W m2 ] the ceiling can improve the total heat transfer coefcient for the
CLW cooling load water [W m2 ] radiant ceiling [12]; therefore to neglect the real distribution of
DWL direct water load [W m2 ] solar radiation in the air-conditioned volume can modify the siz-
f view factor [] ing procedure. Moreover, the solar radiation absorbed by cavity
F fraction of optical solar radiation absorbed by walls affects the energy performances of the radiant ceilings. De
chilled ceiling Carli and Tonon, for instance, investigated the solar distribution in
h heat transfer coefcient [W m2 K1 ] rooms equipped with a radiant oor, considering both the direc-
HG heat gain [W m2 ] tional aspects of beam solar radiation (detailed approach) and the
q indirect thermal exchange coefcient [] entering solar radiation considered as diffuse radiation (simplied
Q thermal power [W] approach) [13]. They concluded that a simplied approach is suf-
RL room load [W m2 ] cient to have accuracy in energy evaluations, whereas it is not
SL surface load [W m2 ] indicated for thermal comfort analysis.
t time [h] The knowledge of the solar radiation distribution in the room
and of the storage properties of the cavity allows evaluation of the
Greek symbols
real power delivered. The real cooling capacity of the radiant ceiling
absorption coefcient []
allows the required surface to be evaluated [14]. The solar radiation
emissivity []
that reaches the ceiling, as a result of multiple reections within the
thermal ux [W m2 ]
indoor environment, is instantly removed by the water circulating
 ratio between the whole glazed surface to the whole
in the ceiling, not being accumulated in the structure, so it is not
opaque surface []
a thermal load for the indoor environment. This part of the load
 reection coefcient []
is generally dened direct water load (DWL) and is determined by
 StephenBoltzmann constant [W m2 K4 ]
the environment geometry, optical properties of the walls, geom-
 transmission coefcient []
etry of the radiant panel and, in the case of radiant ceiling with
capillary pipes, on the thickness of the ceiling plaster layer [15].
Subscripts, superscripts
The remaining thermal loads are removed by liminar (radiative
b,n beam normal
and convective) heat exchange between the ceiling surface and the
C convective
indoor air. These loads depend on ceiling surface temperature and
cav cavity
they are affected by storage properties of the other opaque sur-
ceil ceiling
faces. By the ASHRAE transfer function method, the concept of heat
d diffuse
gain (HG), which represents the thermal power transferred to the
dp dew point
indoor environment at the instant t, and Cooling Load (CL), which
e outdoor
represents instead the thermal power that must be removed by the
i indoor
plant at the same time t to keep the room temperature and rel-
ia indoor air
ative humidity at set point values, is introduced [16,17]. Assuming
int,Oc internal occupancy
the solar irradiation as the only thermal load in the air conditioned
int,A internal equipments
volume, its removal mechanism is shown in Fig. 1. Considering
gl glass
the air conditioned volume black to the transmitted solar radi-
m mean
ation, the fraction of the radiative load (F*) is instantly removed
mr mean radiant
from HG by the DWL, while the remaining fraction (1 F*), called
mr,cav mean radiant excluding the ceiling
heat gain room (HGROOM ), is removed by CL after a temporal delay.
op opaque
HGROOM , together with the convective and latent loads, constitutes
R radiative
the thermal load of indoor environment called room load (RL). In
sol,ass solar absorbed
the presence of air ventilation systems, RL is removed in part by
sol,inc solar incident
the ventilation ow rate, constituting the cooling load-air (CLA ) to
sol,out solar exiting
control humidity level and air renewal, and in part by liminar heat
TOT total
exchange from ceiling surface (surface load SL). The cooling load
W wall
removed from the ow rate circulating in the pipes is called cooling
load-water (CLW ) and is the sum of the instantaneous DWL and SL.
A correct evaluation of DWL is necessary in buildings with large
as a nned heat exchanger coupled with an air ventilation system, glazed surfaces, widely used in modern architecture, where part of
given ceiling and room dimensions, materials properties and air and the entering solar radiation is reected outside by the cavity inner
water ow rate temperature supplying cooling rejection devices surface. In this work, the results provided by the simulation code
[7]. Tye-Gingras and Gosselin proposed a modelling method to TRNSYS 17 have allowed the evaluation of the cooling load gener-
evaluate the performances of radiant panels with low thermal iner- ated from chilled ceiling with negligible thermal inertia considering
tia, both for heating and cooling applications, for serpentine pipes the absorption of solar radiation in the cavity by means the knowl-
layout [8]. Okamoto et al. proposed a sizing method for radiant edge of the optical properties of glazed and opaque surfaces.
ceiling for spiral and meandering pipes congurations [9]. Jeong The absorbed solar radiation is quantied by using a cavity
and Mumma, after having investigated the cooling capacity of non- absorption coefcient cav evaluated by a correlation developed
integrated chilled ceiling systems such as suspended metal panels from the authors, for windows solely equipped with external
[10], proposed a different procedure from ASHRAE, suggesting an shading device, to remove the hypothesis of black cavity to the
analytical model developed starting from a procedure initially con- transmitted solar radiation [18]. The knowledge of cav is required
ceived for thermal solar collectors [11]. A common limitation in to determine the real fraction of solar radiation that strikes the
 N. Arcuri et al. / Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237
Fig. 1. Removal of thermal loads in indoor environments considering the absorbed
solar radiation from inner cavity.
ceiling and is instantly removed by DWL. Successively, a simplied
and a more precise approach have been described for the evalu-
ation of the fraction of the solar radiation that strikes the ceiling
and, consequently, of the DWL. Case studies varying the geometri-
cal and optical characteristics of a reference room, to highlight the
removal of the thermal loads in the air conditioned volume, have
been presented. Finally the effects of the geometrical and optical
properties of indoor environments have been quantied in the siz-
ing procedure of chilled ceilings with negligible thermal inertia,
together with a numerical example.
2. Cooling capacity of radiant ceiling with low thermal
inertia
The radiant ceiling surface required to deliver cooling loads in
an air conditioned environment is evaluable starting from its cool-
ing capacity. In radiant ceilings with negligible thermal inertia, the
cooling capacity is represented by CLW and it can be dened as the
sum of the instantaneous DWL and the surface load SL. The cor-
respondent heat ux, evaluated with reference to a ceiling surface
area Aceil , is dened as:
CLW = DWL + SL [W m2 ]
In order to improve the radiant ceiling cooling performances,
it is preferable to increase the heat ux extracted by DWL rather
than the heat ux extracted by SL, since the latter is limited by
the ceiling surface temperature, that it has to be greater than the
indoor air dew point temperature to prevent condensation of water
vapor. The heat ux related to surface load SL is calculated with
231
the relation:
4 4
SL = R + C =  (Tceil Tmr,cav )
+ hC (Tceil Top ) [W m2 ] (2)
where Tceil is the ceiling temperature, Top the indoor operative air
temperature measured at 1.10 m above the oor level and Tmr,cav
is the mean radiant temperature of the indoor environment evalu-
ated without the ceiling surface. The last two temperatures can be
evaluated by the following relations [12]:
Tia + Tmr
Top = Tia,adj (3)
2

4 4
Tmr,cav = TW,i fic (4)
i
where Tia is the indoor air temperature, Tia,adj is usually called
adjusted indoor air temperature, fic the view factor between the
ith surface of the cavity and the ceiling and TW,i the correspond-
ing surface temperature. Eq. (3) is an approximated relation, but
it provides good results especially for low velocity of air ventila-
tion stream, and for small differences between indoor air and mean
radiant temperature of surfaces, such as the case of chilled ceil-
ings. Usually the mean radiant temperature of the cavity can be
evaluated also by the following simplied relation:

T Ai
Tmr,cav = 
i W,i
(5)
A
i i
Supposing for radiative and the convective ows a linear trend,
the total heat transfer coefcient h, referring to the indoor air tem-
perature instead of the operative temperature, can be introduced.
This simplication is advantageous for designers because they
usually use the indoor air temperature rather the operative tem-
perature, which is more difcult to assess. In this case Eq. (2) can
be rewritten as:
SL = hR (Tceil Tia ) + hc (Tceil Tia ) h (Tceil Tia ) (6)
To assess the radiant ceiling cooling capacity, the SL heat ux has
to be summed at DWL that can be easily determined in function of
the fraction of solar radiation that strikes the same ceiling. But the
evaluation of the part of solar radiation incident on the ceiling can
be done only if the effective solar radiation absorbed by the cavity
has been preliminarily determined.
3. Evaluation of the absorbed solar radiation in air
conditioned volumes
The trends of the different parameters which participate to the
removal of the thermal load can be determined by the dynamic
simulation code TRNSYS. With reference to the entering solar radi-
ation, the simulation code does not consider the cavity as a black
body because, as a result of multiple reections, a part of the solar
radiation is reected outside through the same glazed system. To
take into account this phenomenon, an absorption coefcient of
the cavity cav can be introduced. This coefcient is dened as the
difference between the solar energy entering through the glazed
surfaces with a transmission coefcient  and the solar radiation
reected out of the same cavity Qsol,out . The optical component of
(1) the transmitted solar radiation can be dened as the product of the
external incident solar radiation Qsol,inc by the  coefcient.
Qsol,inc  Qsol,out Qsol Qsol,out
cav = = (7)
Qsol,inc  Qsol
With reference to the solar radiation incident on the external
side of a glazed surface, the solar energy balance is shown in Fig. 2.
In the absence of solar radiation intercepted by the window frame
232 N. Arcuri et al. / Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237
Fig. 2. Energy solar balance for indoor environment.
and internal or external shading devices, it can be expressed as
follow:
Qsol,ass = Qsol,inc [  + qi qe  (1 cav )]
= Qsol,inc ( cav  + qi qe )
where Qsol,ass is the effective solar radiation absorbed by cavity,
Qsol,inc is the incident solar radiation on external glazed surface,
cav is the absorption coefcient of the indoor environment,  is
the transmitted solar radiation,  the reected solar radiation from
the external glazed surface, qi the fraction of absorbed solar radia-
tion from glazed surface transferred to the indoor environment by
convection and infrared radiation and qe the fraction of solar radi-
ation absorbed from glazed surface and emitted towards outdoor.
In the presence of external shading devices, Qsol,inc represents the
net diffuse solar radiation which strikes the window. The quantity
Qsol,inc (1 cav ) is the optical component of the solar radiation
reected outside by the inner cavity surface; the product cav is
representative of the absorbed solar radiation by the opaque walls.
To quantify the real solar radiation absorbed by the cavity, the
following relation can be used [18]:
  c 
m
cav = 1 a Exp b

that, in the absence of inner shading devices, depends on:
- the average solar absorption coefcient of all opaque surfaces of
the cavity. Assuming to separate the contribution of the ceiling
from that of the other walls, it can be expressed as:
 all the opaque walls of the cavity. Furthermore, the results provided
AW,i + ceil Aceil
m = i W,i 
A +
i W,i ceil
- the ratio of total glazed surface to total opaque surface in the
indoor environment:
 coefcient of the cavity m , and in function of the dimensionless
A
j gl,j
 =  (11)
A
i W,i
+ Aceil
- diffuse transmission coefcient of the glazed system  d , by the
three coefcients in Eq. (9) obtainable with the following corre-
lations:
a = 3.500 5.453 d + 4.516 d2
b = 3.700 5.388 d + 3.462 d2
c= 0.124 + 0.545 d 0.355 d2
4. Evaluation of the direct water load (DWL)
A part of the terms cav in Eq. (8) is instantly absorbed
from the ceiling and it represents the DWL. Therefore a correct
evaluation of DWL requires the correct evaluation of cav and its
values are strongly variable according to the optical and geometri-
cal characteristics of the cavity [1921].
4.1. Simplied approach
Initially the DWL, can be calculated in function of the fraction
of the solar radiation incident on the ceiling in simplied man-
ner, assuming that the air conditioned volume is black to the
transmitted solar radiation, by the following equation:
ceil Aceil
F = (13)
m ATOT
op
Successively, by the absorption coefcient of the cavity cav , the
hypothesis of black body of the air conditioned environment to
the transmitted solar radiation can be removed to evaluate the real
value of fraction F of the solar radiation that strikes the ceiling:
F = F cav (14)
(8) In the simplied approach, the transmitted solar radiation inside
the cavity has been considered uniformly diffuse. In this way the
results can be generalized because other parameters such as the
time, the latitude, the exposition, the location of the window and
the effective room dimensions are not requested. The adopted
hypothesis is respected in the cases of air conditioned environ-
ments equipped with diffusing glass or for overcast sky conditions.
Furthermore, transmitted solar radiation uniformly diffuse occurs
with external shading devices, solution widely used in summer to
reduce the solar heat gain, without modifying the optical charac-
teristics of the air-conditioning environment.
4.2. Detailed approach
To verify the difference between the results provided by the
simplied model and a more rigorous procedure, that takes into
account the real view factors and the real distribution of solar radi-
ation in the cavity, further simulations in TRNSYS environment
(9) varying the geometry of the cavity and the mean absorption coef-
cient dened by Eq. (10) have been carried out. The comparison
between the obtained results highlights a maximum deviation of
3% between the F values evaluated by Eq. (14) and the results of
the detailed model (see Table 1). The detailed model provides an
augment of the solar radiation absorbed by the ceiling that prevails
slightly on the simultaneous increase of solar radiation absorbed by
(10) by the simplied model are always precautionary as they provide
lower F values than the detailed model. Table 1 lists the values of F,
of the solar radiation absorbed from the ceiling (Qsol,ceil ) and from
the cavities (Qsol,in Qsol,out ) as a function of the mean absorption
ratio  , for both simplied and detailed models. When the real view
factors have been determined with the detailed model, a position
of the window perfectly centred in the opaque walls has been con-
sidered. The type of glazing system has not been varied since it
affects the amount of solar radiation transmitted in the cavity. The
results of Table 1 refer to the three geometries of an air conditioned
environment assuming an external incident net solar radiation of
(12) 500 W m2 , and a glazed area varying between 4.5 m2 and 18 m2 .
Furthermore, three different optical congurations, obtained vary-
ing the values of the mean absorption coefcient of the cavity m ,
have been investigated: ceiling absorption coefcient ceil = 0.5 and
walls absorption coefcient w = 0.2, w = ceil = 0.3 and, nally,
w = ceil = 0.7. The rst value of the mean absorption coefcient
of the cavity, although lower than the other, allows to obtain an
higher value of the fraction F, because the more limited values of the
 N. Arcuri et al. / Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237 233

Table 1
Values of solar fraction F absorbed by the radiant ceiling, solar radiation absorbed by the chilled ceiling and solar radiation reected outside in detailed and simplied model,
varying the optical and geometrical cavity parameters.

Simplied Detailed F []

Agl [m2 ]  [] m [] F [] Qsol,ceil [W] Qsol,in F [] Qsol,ceil [W] Qsol,in

Qsol,out [W] Qsol,out [W]

0.263 0.387 464 1201 0.417 516 1236 0.030

4.5 0.0526 0.300 0.210 254 1216 0.220 274 1245 0.010
0.700 0.210 270 1285 0.235 311 1322 0.025
0.267 0.389 843 2167 0.418 952 2277 0.029
Indoor environment
9 0.1111 0.300 0.219 484 2211 0.226 523 2316 0.007
with depth of 3 m
0.700 0.221 542 2453 0.236 614 2601 0.015
0.275 0.393 1413 3591 0.421 1648 3915 0.027
18 0.25 0.300 0.242 903 3732 0.243 987 4069 0.001
0.700 0.240 1072 4467 0.243 1225 5051 0.003
0.277 0.321 402 1253 0.351 449 1279 0.030
4.5 0.0323 0.300 0.257 324 1262 0.271 348 1283 0.014
0.700 0.258 337 1307 0.283 377 1332 0.025
0.280 0.461 1085 2354 0.487 1190 2443 0.026
Indoor environment
9 0.0667 0.300 0.263 624 2373 0.274 672 2453 0.011
with depth of 6 m
0.700 0.265 673 2540 0.290 766 2638 0.025
0.286 0.456 1894 4151 0.480 2130 4433 0.024
18 0.1429 0.300 0.278 1181 4285 0.282 1272 4513 0.004
0.700 0.282 1353 4802 0.288 1495 5184 0.006
0.284 0.489 626 1280 0.519 674 1298 0.030
4.5 0.0233 0.300 0.277 356 1284 0.292 379 1300 0.015
0.700 0.283 366 1293 0.313 417 1335 0.030
0.286 0.485 1185 2443 0.511 1324 2590 0.026
Indoor environment
9 0.0476 0.300 0.282 693 2453 0.293 736 2595 0.011
with depth of 9 m
0.700 0.284 734 2580 0.308 818 2652 0.024
0.290 0.492 2182 4437 0.514 2398 4669 0.022
18 0.1 0.300 0.293 1324 4514 0.297 1272 4730 0.004
0.700 0.296 1469 4957 0.304 1495 5238 0.008

Fig. 4. Sketch plan of the simulated chilled ceiling.

detailed model. Moreover, the gap between detailed and simplied

models decreases with window surfaces augment.

4.3. DWL evaluation in a reference room

Fig. 3. Trend of the effective fraction F of solar radiation absorbed by the radiant ceil-
ing varying the geometry of the cavity and the ratio  . Average absorption coefcient
of the opaque walls m of 0.3.
absorption coefcient of the other walls allows to reect a greater
amount of solar radiation on the ceiling. In this optical congura-
tion, an absorbed solar radiation removed directly by DWL greater
than 50% has been determined (detailed model). It is interesting to
observe, moreover, that for a xed geometry the gap between the
fractions F calculated with the simplied and the detailed model
decreases with the augment of the glazed surface. For indoor envi-
ronments with large glazed surface and with the same values of
the mean absorption coefcient, the gap between of the fraction F
is less than 0.5% for reective environments, and in any case less
than 1% for absorbent environments. Fig. 3 illustrates the trend of
F for the considered reference rooms, varying the ratio  and for a
xed mean absorption coefcient m = 0.3.
Fig. 3 suggests that a smaller ceiling surface, results in a more
limited gap between fractions F calculated with the simplied and
To highlight the removal of the thermal load in an air condi-
tioned environment cooled by a radiant ceiling with low thermal
inertia, a reference room with particular geometrical and opti-
cal characteristics has been considered. The indoor environment
is equipped with an only dispersing wall with a double glass
window west-facing ( d = 0.59). Different values of solar absorp-
tion coefcients for oor, vertical walls and ceiling have been
considered, ranging from 0.20 (white smooth plaster) to 0.80
(dark grey rough paint) [22]. To evaluate the inuence of the
total glazed surface to total opaque surface ratio, three different
geometries of the reference room have been considered vary-
ing the depth of the cavity with constant height and width. In
particular, depth values of 3 m, 6 m and 9 m have been inves-
tigated. The suspended metallic chilled ceiling has a specic
cooling capacity of 85 W m2 and it is supplied by a network of
pipes located on the top side and connected in parallel, shown
in Fig. 4. To improve the radiant thermal exchange and ther-
mal comfort conditions, the whole ceiling surface was used [3].
The inlet temperature of the water ow rate has been dynam-
ically varied using an appropriate control strategy to regulate
234 N. Arcuri et al. / Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237
Fig. 5. Trend of the parameters cav , F*, F and (1 F) as a function of the chilled
ceiling solar absorption coefcient. Reference room with depth of 6 m, glazed surface
of 9 m2 and w = 0.2.
Table 2
Values of the main parameters for the analyzed cases.
ceil m  cav F*
Case a 0.20 0.200 0.100 0.786 0.300
Case b 0.60 0.320 0.100 0.849 0.563
Case c 0.60 0.314 0.045 0.922 0.546
the internal air temperature to 26 0.5 C. The relative humidity
control in the reference room was not implemented, but the sur-
face temperature of the radiant ceiling has been continuously
monitored.
For the reference room with depth of 6 m, absorption coefcient
w of 0.2 and glazed surface area of 9 m2 , Fig. 5 reports the trend
of F*, cav , F and (1 F) as a function of the ceiling absorption coef-
cient ceil when the simplied approach is used. The augment of
ceil from 0.20 to 0.80 results in a modest increase of cav (+8%),
but provides a signicant increase (140%) of the parameter F*. The
effective fraction of solar radiation absorbed directly by the radiant
ceiling F increases by 160% whereas the fraction of solar radiation
absorbed by other opaque walls (1 F) decreases by 35%. The dif-
ference between fraction F* determined with the assumption of
black cavity to solar radiation and the effective absorbed fraction
F is between 3 and 5 percentage points, whereas the difference
with the real fraction absorbed by other opaque components of the
cavity undergoes changes ranging from 4 to 13 percentage points.
The difference tends to decrease with the increase of the ceiling
absorption coefcient ceil due to the augment of the absorption
coefcient of the cavity cav . It follows that DWL involves substan-
tially variations also in the liminar heat exchange of the radiant
ceiling.
With reference to a clear day of July in Cosenza (south Italy, lat.
39.3 N), for the reference room with depth of 9 m and equipped
with a window of 18 m2 , the effect of the variation of the solar
absorption coefcient of the chilled ceiling on the thermal loads
removal was evaluated considering two congurations: the rst
assuming ceil = 0.20 (case a) and the second with ceil = 0.60 (case
b). The solar absorption coefcient of the other walls was set to 0.2.
To investigate the inuence of the ratio  on the results, a third case,
employing a glazed surface window of 9 m2 in the same reference
room with ceil = 0.6, has been considered (case c). In Table 2 the
numerical values of the optical and geometrical parameters used
in these case studies are reported.
Fig. 6 shows the hourly average heat uxes involved in case a.
Thermal loads related to endogenous sources have not been consid-
ered, as well as the thermal power transmitted through the room
shell and ventilation stream, imposing the indoor air temperature
Fig. 6. Hourly trend of the average thermal heat uxes involved in the indoor envi-
ronment on a clear day in July in Cosenza. Cavity with  = 0.1 and chilled ceiling
with ceil = 0.20.
F equal to the outdoor air temperature. HG is representative only
0.236
of the solar radiation absorbed by the walls and it has been
0.478 determined as the product of the transmitted solar radiation and
0.503 the absorption coefcient of the cavity. HG reaches the maximum
value of 146 W m2 at 17:14, whereas DWL, represented in the
gure with dashed area, is in phase with HG and it reaches the
maximum value of 40 W m2 at the same time. CLW is the sum
of DWL and SL and reaches the maximum value of 101 W m2 at
17:56, with a time lag of 40 min compared to maximum recorded
value of HG. SL represents the heat ux absorbed from the radiant
ceiling by convection and infrared exchange and it can be evaluated
by the relation:
SL = h (Tceil Tia ) (15)
reaching the maximum value of 66.5 W m2
at 18:15. During
the operation of the chilled ceiling an average surface temperature
of 19 C was recorded, obtaining a value of the total heat transfer
coefcient of 9.5 W m2 K1 .
In the presence of solar radiation, Fig. 6 shows that the maximum
value of thermal ux removed from the chilled ow rate, equal
to 98 W m2 , is higher than the maximum heat ux removed by
liminar exchange, owing to the presence of DWL. The value of RL is
obtainable by adding SL to CLA (constant) and it is affected by the
cavity storage properties, and at 18:00 it is equal to 70.5 W m2 . At
the same time, the heat ux transferred by convection and infrared
radiation, due to the cavity solar radiation absorption, is HGROOM
(1 F* ) and it assumes approximately the value of 99 W m2 . Fig. 6
clearly shows that the cavity generates an attenuation and a phase
shift of the thermal load. Moreover, the presence of DWL involves
a CLW peak that is reached earlier than maximum of SL. The greater
the DWL contribution, the more in phase it is with HGROOM and the
less the plant is affected by the thermal inertia of the cavity.
Fig. 7 reports the results of case b highlighting that cav increases
by 7%, F* is almost doubles, providing an augment of F of 111% (see
Table 2). The comparison with case a shows that HG increases due
to the growth of cav , such as DWL increases as a consequence of
the augment of ceil . During the hours of sunlight, lower SL values
than that recorded in case a are obtained: in particular at 18:15, SL
is 28.5 W m2 and reaches the maximum value of 46.5 W m2 few
minutes before 20:00. The augment of ceil does not produce sig-
nicant variation in CLW but the maximum values of SL and RL are
recorded with a delay of almost 3 h than the maximum of HGROOM .
In this room conguration, the highest CLW peak is obtained earlier
than the SL peak and, when solar radiation assumes the maximum
values, the DWL contribution is greater than SL.
 N. Arcuri et al. / Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237 235

Table 3
Indirect thermal exchange coefcient qi and direct transmission coefcient for beam
solar radiation  b,n for different glazed systems.

Single glass Double glass Triple glass

qi 0.027 0.068 0.081

 b,n 0.830 0.693 0.624

endogenous loads Qin , to guarantee the indoor set point tempera-

ture the following equation has to be respected:

Qsol + Qin = DWL + SL (16)

In these evaluations, the thermal load produced by the temper-

ature difference between the indoor and outdoor air is assumed to
be extracted by CLA , whereas the load provided by articial lighting
system has been considered negligible. If Eq. (16) is divided by Qsol ,
and the formulations of F and SL are used, the following relation
Fig. 7. Hourly trend of the average thermal heat uxes involved in the indoor envi-
can be obtained:
ronment on a clear day in July in Cosenza. Cavity with  = 0.1 and chilled ceiling Qin h Aceil (26 Tceil )
with ceil = 0.60. 1+ =F+ (17)
Qsol Qsol
from which is possible to determine a further F formulation:
Finally, the results of case c are shown in Fig. 8, characterized by
 ratio of 0.0476 and a solar absorption coefcient of the chilled Qin h Aceil (26 Tceil )
F =1+ (18)
ceiling of 0.6. The trends of the studied heat uxes are similar to Qsol Qsol
the trends seen in previous Fig. 6. The evident differences are the
Eq. (18) is valid if the following condition is respected:
lowest heat ux values obtained due to the lowest solar radiation
that enters in the cavity. Comparing the results with the case b, cav Qin h Aceil (26 Tceil )
1 0 (19)
increases by 8.6% while F* slightly decreases by 0.3%. This reduction Qsol Qsol
is justied by the augment of solar radiation absorbed by the other The following cases have to be considered:
walls. The F value increases due the cav growth. Despite the glazed
surface causes a reduction of the mean solar absorption coefcient Qin hAceil (26Tceil )
(a) = giving F = 1; the optical component of solar
of the cavity m , the DWL value increases by 5% highlighting the Qsol Qsol

importance of considering the optical and geometrical character-
istics of the cavity in the evaluation of the chilled ceiling thermal
performances.
5. The effect of geometrical and optical characteristics of
the cavity in sizing procedure
radiation is directly and entirely absorbed by the chilled ceiling
assuming, for example, a unitary reection coefcient for the
other walls of the cavity. In this manner, the chilled ceiling is
able to remove the endogenous loads and the secondary load
provided by the glazed surface using only SL. Eq. (19), assuming
an indoor set point temperature of 26 C, allows evaluation of
the required ceiling surface temperature:

In the hypothesis of using the whole ceiling surface, in order to Qin

Tceil = 26 (20)
improve the thermal radiative exchange, the cooling load has to h Aceil
balance the solar and endogenous loads in the cavity. Considering
Qin is evaluable by Eq. (21) using the standards UNI EN ISO
separately the optical solar load (Qsol = Qsol,inc ) and the sec-
13790 for endogenous loads [23], assuming thermal uxes
ondary internal heat transfer factor qi directly incorporated in the
int,oc supplied by occupants and int,A supplied by internal
equipment. UNI EN ISO 410 allows the evaluation of the sec-
ondary heat transfer factor qi of the glazed surface [24]. Finally
the incident solar ux sol and the glazed area Agl are required.

Qin = (int,oc + int,A ) Aceil + sol,inc Agl qi (21)

Table 3 reports a list of values of qi for clear glasses:

Qin hA (26Tceil )
(b) Qsol
ceil Q = 1 giving F = 0; the whole load provided
sol
by solar radiation is absorbed by SL assuming, for example, a
ceiling absorption solar coefcient equal to zero. From Eq. (19),
is possible to obtain a new value of the ceiling surface:

Qsol + Qin
Tceil = 26 (22)
h Aceil
that represents the required temperature to extract the thermal
loads assuming a zero DWL. Entering in Eq. (22) the value of
cav , to remove the hypothesis of black cavity to the transmitted
solar radiation, and the Qin value obtained by Eq. (21), Eq. (22)
can be rewritten in the following way:
Fig. 8. Hourly trend of the average thermal heat uxes involved in the indoor envi-
cav Qsol
ronment on a clear day in July in Cosenza. Cavity with  = 0.047 and chilled ceiling Tceil = Tceil (23)
with ceil = 0.60. h Aceil
236 N. Arcuri et al. / Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237

walls, in order to leave the cavity mean absorption coefcient m

unchanged (see Eq. (10)).
if T < Tdp and if Eqs. (13) and (10) provide absorption
ceil
coefcients not applicable, the chilled ceiling is not able to
remove entirely the thermal load, so an integrative cooling sys-
tem is requested.

5.1. Calculation example

If the previously described procedure is applied to the reference

environment with depth of 6 m and with 9 m2 of glazed surface
with double clear glasses equipped with external shading device,
imposing the following set parameters:

- sol = 550 W m2 ;
- int,Oc + int,A = 20 W m2 ; (EN ISO 13790)
- qi = 0.068; (EN ISO 410)
-  b,n = 0.693
Fig. 9. Ceiling surface temperature trend in function of incident solar radiation on - m = 0.35
external side of the glazed surface.
- = 0.0667
-  d = 0.590
where in set conditions, Qsol can be written as: - Tdp = 15.5 C (26 C and 60% respectively for indoor air tempera-
ture and relative humidity)
Qsol = sol Agl b,n (24)

with  b,n values listed in Table 3 for three different types of some important considerations can be deduced. Initially apply-
glazed surface. Eq. (23) suggests that, for an internal cavity with ing Eq. (12) the three coefcients for the cav evaluation are
particular optical and geometric characteristics, the required determined:
ceiling surface temperature can be assumed as a linear function
of the incident solar radiation on the external glazed surface - a = 1.855
(Fig. 9), supposing that the liminar heat transfer coefcient, - b = 1.726
with little temperature difference between the ceiling surface - c = 0.322
temperature and the indoor air temperature, is slightly variable
near the value of 10 W m2 K1 [12]. and from Eq. (9) the cav value is evaluated:

Imposing in Eq. (23) the ceiling surface temperature equal to the - cav = 0.902
indoor dew point temperature Tdp , a critical solar heat ux * sol
value, beyond which it is requested to remove the load by DWL, Eq. (21) with a ceiling surface area of 36 m2 and Eq. (24) with a
can be determined: glazed surface of 9 m2 provide:
T )hA
(Tceil dp ceil
sol = (25) - Qin = 1060 W
cav b,n Agl - Qsol = 3430 W
Alternatively, xing the incident solar ux on external glazed
surface, a critical cavity absorption coefcient and a correspondent so, by using of Eqs. (20) and (23), it is possible to obtain:
mean absorption coefcient of the opaque walls, can be evaluate:
= 23 C
- Tceil
T )hA
(Tceil = 14.4 C
cav =
dp ceil
(26) - Tceil
sol b,n Agl
Supposing to verify the capacity of the chilled ceiling by Eq. (26),
from which:
the critical value of cav is:
 1/c
ln(1 cav /a)
m =  (27) - cav = 0.787
b

Eq. (23) analysis suggests the following cases: and the correspondent value of m is:

if T > Tdp the optical and geometrical characteristics of the cav-
ceil
ity do not modify the mechanisms of extraction of the thermal
loads, because the chilled ceiling cooling power can be provided
only by SL. In these circumstances, sol < sol and cav < cav ;
if T < Tdp it is necessary to set a ceiling surface temperature
ceil
greater than Tdp , for example 1 C to have an appropriate safety
margin, and use this value in Eq. (18) to determine a new F value.
The latter F value is evaluated by using of Eqs. (13) and (14)
with proper value of ceil , imposing an initial m value requested
for cav evaluation. The ceiling absorption coefcient change
involves a variation also in the absorption coefcients of the other
- m = 0.135
The latter value is the requested cavity mean absorption coef-
cient to remove the thermal loads by using SL only, but it is not
equal to the set value and, moreover, it is not achievable; so, a frac-
tion of solar load extracted by DWL is requested, also because the
is lower than the indoor air dew point tem-
obtained value of Tceil
= 16 C, from Eq. (18) the fraction F of solar
perature. Imposing Tceil
thermal load extracted by DWL can be determined:
- F = 0.259
 N. Arcuri et al. / Energy and Buildings 88 (2015) 229237
while, in the hypothesis of black cavity at the entering solar
radiation (Eq. (14)):
- F* = 0.287
Finally, from Eq. (13) the requested value of ceiling absorption
coefcient can be obtained:
- ceil = 0.38
and the other internal walls, to maintain the cavity mean absorp-
tion coefcient of 0.35, the new value of their solar absorption
coefcient has to be imposed:
- W = 0.34
Concluding, on the whole a thermal load of 4490 W in the cav-
ity, 1170 W (26%) is absorbed instantly by DWL and the remaining
3320 W can be extracted later by SL with plausible ceiling surface
temperature.
The latter consideration is much important in buildings with
different thermal zones that exploits chilled ceiling systems: the
cooling machine, in fact, has to be sized as a function of the max-
imum contemporary thermal load, and the presence of DWL can
affect strongly the machine size and, therefore, the primary energy
requirements.
6. Conclusions
A correct sizing of chilled ceiling systems must necessarily sep-
arate DWL, provided by solar radiation and by articial lighting
plants, from SL, representing the thermal load extracted by liminar
exchange. The DWL evaluation allows evaluation of the real cool-
ing capacity of the radiant panel because it is instantly removed
by the cooled surface and it does not become a thermal load for
the indoor environment. Simulations carried out by TRNSYS code
have highlighted that the DWL contribution is determined by the
cavity dimensions, the absorption coefcients of the opaque walls
and by the percentage of glazed surface. The correct evaluation
of DWL requires the calculation of the effective solar radiation
absorbed by the cavity by using the absorption coefcient cav .
The latter coefcient, supposing that the entering solar radiation
is uniformly diffused, is function of the cavity mean absorption
coefcient, of the ratio between the global glazed surface to the
global opaque surface and of the diffuse coefcient transmission
of the glass. The analysis highlighted that the augment of the
ceiling solar absorption coefcient and the reduction of the ver-
tical wall absorption coefcient allow an increase in the fraction
of DWL, with a consequent reduction of the thermal load in the
cavity.
The cooling capacity of the chilled ceiling, per surface unit, is the
sum of DWL/Aceil and SL/Aceil but the latter contribution is limited
by the ceiling surface temperature to prevent water vapor conden-
sation phenomena; therefore, a high value of DWL is preferable.
High DWL values allow one to obtain a further margin of cooling
power to deliver for the extraction of other convective or radiative
thermal loads.
The development of a case study considering a clear day high-
lighted that the maximum value of DWL is in phase with the solar
load, while the maximum value of SL is delayed and attenuated as a
function of the thermal inertia of the cavity. This behaviour is more
accentuated by using a chilled ceiling with high solar absorption
coefcient. The procedure is generalizable because the results are
237
not affected by the entity of the solar load or by the presence of
other delivered thermal loads to the cavity.
The dynamic behaviour of a reference room and the following
parametric study in order to determine the DWL contribution as a
function of the optical and geometrical characteristics of the indoor
environment, have allowed formulation of a calculation procedure
to determine the real performance of the building-plant system in
cooling applications. The DWL evaluation allows the correct eval-
uation of SL and the correct size of the cooling machine in the case
of buildings with different thermal zones.
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