Energy Performance Analysis of the Testing Shed Equipped with Hydronic and Electric Baseboard Heating Systems

Project Description:

The project investigates the energy performance of a 100 sq.ft. real-scale test shed constructed by Building Science students. The test shed is equipped with an in-floor heating hydronic system using Uponor PEX piping that is designed to be powered by a vacuum tube collector with an opportunity for the future addition of the geothermal loop through connection with a three-way valve.

The in-floor hydronic heating system was installed as a part of the Uponor – Algonquin College project that aimed to investigate the performance of Uponor PEX piping application at the radiant heating systems. The industrial partner (Uponor Ltd.) has a particular interest in assessing energy efficiency, thermal comfort, usage efficiency, regulatory compliance, and ease of installation and maintenance of their product. The main aim of the hydronic part of the project is to help the industrial partner demonstrate and market the superiority of its PEX products and solutions by providing Uponor Ltd. with a detailed analysis of the results from future system testing.
In addition to the hydronic heating system, there is an electric baseboard installed in the shed, which provides an opportunity to conduct a comparative analysis of both systems. Thus, the focus of the presented part of the project was to evaluate the shed’s energy performance by conducting a series of tests (heating and cool-down) using the installed 2000 W electric baseboard heater. The instrumentation included the data logger with three temperature sensors installed throughout the height of the shed. The “heating” tests aimed to investigate how fast the indoor temperature of the shed reaches the user’s comfort setpoint of 20 ᵒC. While the “cool-down” tests involved observation on the temperature decrease after the heater was turned off and till the temperature balance with outdoor temperature archived. The tests were performed under different weather conditions have shown that the average time for heating the shed’s upper space was between three and five hours, depending on the outside temperature. While the cooling of the shed occurred within 14 to 20 hours, which is respectively dependent on the temperature outside. The findings of those tests provide the experimental results of the shed’s energy performance, establish the setpoint for further hydronic system testing, and show that to archive the better performance hydronic system should provide power higher than 2000 W.

In addition to this and to ensure the further safe use of the shed without damaging the installed in-floor hydronic system, the removable floor finish was designed and installed. The design of the floor includes a radiant barrier to prevent excessive heat losses through the ground, as well as allows application of different thermal mass concepts by filling the space between pipes with different materials. Moreover, the test shed itself is equipped with panels designed to facilitate testing the effect of different details and composition of wall assembly on the building envelope performance.
The further steps and opportunities of the project include conducting a comparative analysis with the hydronic system, separate and connected to the solar source and potentially. Moreover, the testing opportunities that this equipped shed provides will enable college students and professors to perform a regular range of repeatable applied research activities to test, analyze, and benchmark the performance and effectiveness of the systems used in this project as well as to connect them with the building envelope performance.

The project is sponsored and made possible by the Office of Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Uponor Ltd (PEX), and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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