| There is a potential to reduce residential energy consumption by harnessing “accessible and cost-
effective technologies” such as a highly efficient heating system. In this study, Computational
Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation is carried out on the baseline and modified versions of the
baseline residential building’s heating system. The results are compared to investigate
optimization opportunities. The modifications were limited to a specified room which included
changing the location of air vents, the size of the air vents and the air flow rate. Performance criteria
for the models included ASHRAE’s thermal comfort assessment, freshness of air using Simscale’s
passive scalar source tool, heating efficiency, temperature distribution and air velocity efficiency.
The results show that models with a higher air supply vents performed better particularly for
thermal comfort and air velocity efficiency while lower air supply register models performed better
for temperature distribution and heating efficiency. The models which showed better performance
for heating and temperature distribution did not meet standards for thermal comfort, but the results
provide a roadmap for innovative energy-efficient residential heating systems design.
Keywords
Forced Air circulation, Heating performance, Air distribution, Residential building, heat flow in
a room, temperature distribution, |