Influence of building insulation performance and heating systems on thermal environment and energy performance

Thermal comfort in a heated room is much affected by the characteristics of envelop, especially its thermal insulation properties and the heating system. Coupled convection-radiation simulation is conducted to estimate heat release from a floor heating system or a wall-mounted air-conditioning unit under the same equivalent temperature with simulated human body under five building insulation levels including three levels of Japanese energy conservation standards for residential building. A human body model is placed on the floor in a seated posture and controlled by comfort regulation of thermal manikin. In computations, sensible heat release from the human body is matched for different heating systems by properly controlling temperature of the heating panels under the floor or hot air from the air-conditioner. When heat loss from the bottom of the heating panels is neglected, heat release from the floor heating system is smaller than that from the air-conditioning unit.