Both developed and developing countries are striving to reduce building energy consumption. Heating still accounts for an important share of the total energy used in buildings. Many studies compare different heating modes, but few take into account that, first of all, in heated rooms, similar operative temperatures should be provided. In this study, operative temperatures in different locations of a heated room have been analysed, assuming two different heating systems. In addition, the operative temperature distribution can be further disturbed by the room geometry (one or more external walls, or family house) and the room’s position in the building (ground floor, intermediate floor, or top floor). The operative temperature distribution was analysed at nine locations across 525 different room models for radiator and floor heating. The conducted research proved that, at the p = 0.05 significance level, the differences in operative temperatures across locations in a radiator-heated room are significant. Differences in operative temperatures across locations in a floor-heated room are significant and the number of external walls (one, two, or three) also have a significant effect on operative temperatures in a heated room. The differences in operative temperatures at the same location in a heated room with different dimensions can be significant. The differences between the mean operative temperatures in a room (radiator-heated or floor-heated) are not significant if the room has different positions in a multilevel building (ground floor, intermediate level, or top level). To compare two heating systems energetically, a complex analysis should be conducted, and efforts should be made to ensure similar operative temperatures at the most critical locations.
Kalmár et al. (Thu,) studied this question.