Journal of Korean Institute of Architectural Sustainable Environment and Building Systems ISSN:1976-6483(Print) 2586-0666(Online) 한국건축친환경설비학회논문집

A light shelf can be used for space cooling when its surfaces are thermally activated by chilled water. The cooling effect of thermally activated light shelf (TALS) was demonstrated by a previous study; however, its performance was evaluated without the consideration of spatial temperature distribution, air flow distribution, and main cooling system such as fan coil unit (FCU). In this context, this study was conducted to evaluate the TALS system under the condition that FCU system is implemented as main cooling system, whereas the TALS system serves as auxiliary cooling system for perimeter zone. A CFD simulation model was developed to investigate the spatial and surface temperature of the room equipped with FCU and TALS system. The developed model was validated against the mock-up test results, which yielded the discrepancy of 0.1~-0.7℃ in the vertical air temperature distribution. The validated model was used to compare the thermal environment for the cases with FCU and FCU+TALS. Compared to the FCU case, the FCU+TALS system could reduce the air temperature, radiant temperature, and PMV by 0.6℃, 1.2℃, and 0.26, respectively, which implies that the TALS can be successfully utilized to enhance the thermal environment in the perimeter zone.