Looking to find innovative ways to boost employee productivity, save money and innovate business operations?
Learn how radiant heating and cooling improves the lives and productivity of employees, boosts corporate perception, and saves businesses money.
Discover real-world examples of how businesses and organizations incorporate radiant heating and cooling into their builds.
Air pollution takes the lives of over 7 million people worldwide every year. In 2012, that accounted for 1 in 8 deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Asia-Pacific region, with a dense population of over 4.2 billion people, especially struggle with the effects of air pollution.
Notably, periodic haze and smog have become a rising concern, but are people safe when inside their homes and businesses?
No is the simple answer.
In fact, exposure to dangerous pollutants may be greater indoors than anyone had previously expected.
Let’s discuss Asia’s growing indoor IAQ issues, how it’s influenced by outdoor pollution and what radiant cooling and heating systems can do about both.
Radiant cooling/heating thermostats are in a class all their own.
Compared to typical thermostats for conventional HVAC systems, there is the need for nuanced temperature controls among other functions with radiant systems.
While thermostats have become highly technical, there is a need for usability. The average person should have the ability to optimally control the thermal comfort of a space.
Ideally, radiant cooling/heating thermostats are easy to use, but sensitive enough to regulate a system to the desired temperature for the dweller.
In essence, a radiant system is only as good as its thermostat.
Today, we’re going to run through the top 5 thermostats for radiant cooling & heating systems.
When home dwellers are too hot or too cold, their health and well-being fluctuate.
The goal is stasis: feeling neither too hot nor too cold.
That is achieved through proper control of temperature, humidity and ventilation.
Each must be in balance with the other in order to find the comfortable “sweet spot.”
Even with the best HVAC or radiant cooling and heating systems in place, there is the challenge of temperature control.
Why?
Climate is variable. It’s that simple.
Therefore, internal temperatures vary.
Internal factors matter too.
A building’s structure, purpose and shape all influence the type of temperature control system needed for optimal efficiency.
Addressing issues with pollution, climate change, indoor air quality and building energy efficiency are all reasons to find better, renewable sources of energy and innovative cooling solutions.
Although improvements are being made by implementing safer, less costly energy sources, maximising energy efficiency remains a challenge for most buildings.
So, what can be done?
Recent tests in the US and Hong Kong are showing that indoor air quality is worse than air pollution on most busy roads.
That’s pretty scary stuff.
An integrated radiant cooling system is a radiant system that is embedded into the structure of the building, rather than installed post-construction. Integrated radiant systems are called thermo-active building systems (TABS), as they activate and use the thermal mass of the building structure to heat or cool the space.
Hopefully, you are already aware of the benefits radiant systems offer compared to conventional HVAC systems. These range from higher profitability, to improved energy efficiency, through to superior indoor environmental quality (IEQ).
However, in order to realise all these advantages, you have to face the design, construction, and installation of radiant systems. This is a complex process, with a lot of considerations and nuances. In fact, it is simply the familiarity with simpler, conventional HVAC systems that often leads people not to go with radiant systems. In modern society, this simply is not good enough! Contemporary technology offers a great deal, and in the building industry, radiant systems are the way forward. It is best to embrace the change, and join the community at the forefront of design and technology.
In recognition of the major benefits associated with radiant systems, building projects worldwide are adopting radiant methods of heating/cooling.