Radiant ceiling panels have been used extensively in Europe for the last 15 years, and there has been an emergence of radiant ceiling panel applications in the US during the last 5-10 years. There have been some very successful applications, such as stores in Sandy, Utah, and San Francisco that have been operating for more than five years. Presently there are many projects on the drawing board or under construction. Los Angeles Valley College, Westminster Cultural Center, and Cooper Union have the latest designs and applications.

When designing radiant ceiling systems for heating, very few issues are encountered; however, when designing for cooling, temperature differentials and condensation mitigation have to be taken into consideration. To obtain the maximum performance when cooling a space, the surface temperature of the panels should be controlled to the lowest possible temperature in order to provide the largest possible temperature differential between panel surface and space temperature. The major limiting factor on this concept is maintaining the panel surface temperature at a higher temperature than the space dew-point temperature. This paper shows the concepts used when designing radiant ceiling systems for cooling and how condensation can be prevented.

Units: I-P