Advanced Modeling and Control for Energy-Efficient Radiant Floor Systems

This thesis develops a comprehensive modeling framework to investigate the performance of radiant floor systems under a wide range of operational conditions. The work integrates a detailed physical representation of the radiant floor with consistent modeling of the building, hydronic loop, and heat pump, allowing a realistic simulation of system dynamics and control interaction. Three supervisory control strategies are compared: a standard weather-compensation law, a PID feedback controller, and an autoregressive (AR) forecast-based approach with self-learning capability. Results confirm the high efficiency and comfort potential of radiant floors in heating operation. Across most climates, the system maintains satisfactory comfort while achieving high seasonal efficiencies, particularly when coupled with controls able to minimize supply temperature. Climate proves to be the dominant factor: performance remains favorable in mild and warm regions but decreases in colder contexts, where heating demand exceeds system capacity. In cooling mode, performance is more limited and strongly climate-dependent. The low convective exchange and the dew-point constraint imposed to prevent condensation substantially reduce the available cooling capacity. Acceptable comfort levels are reached mainly in cold or mild-dry climates, while in warm or humid scenarios radiant cooling alone cannot ensure adequate comfort. Control strategies affect operation but only within the limits imposed by external conditions and system physics. In heating applications, all control strategies provide satisfactory comfort. PID offers slightly better operational stability, while AR delivers higher efficiency and reduced overheating, particularly in mild conditions. In cooling, similar tendencies are observed, with PID ensuring better comfort at the cost of higher energy use. The AR strategy, requiring no calibration and able to adapt automatically to system behavior, represents a practical solution for residential applications where tuning effort is limited. Additional analyses explore auxiliary integrations. Coupling with standalone dehumidifiers improves humidity control only marginally and at high energy cost, whereas mechanical ventilation offers a more balanced and efficient complement, though its impact on cooling performance in warm or humid climates remains limited. The thesis clarifies the potential and limitations of radiant floor systems and their controls. It demonstrates that radiant floors remain a highly efficient and reliable solution for heating and, under favorable conditions, a viable contributor to cooling when appropriately integrated with humidity-control or hybrid systems. The developed framework provides a solid methodological basis for future research on predictive, adaptive, and hybrid control approaches aimed at more energy-efficient and comfort-oriented building systems.