[esp-r] Re: Documentation and examples of slab-on-grade plant component use?

[Jon Hand]

Alex and others in the ESP-r community...

I have been looking at the radiant floor heating model in the
tester models (rhc-plant.cfg). I am wanting to get up to speed with floor
heating models (they do a lot of this in Korea). The plant
components used in this model is a start but it is difficult
to extrapolate several issues from this model:

a) the model only includes a plant network and there is no
   control file so I am not sure if the non-condensing 
   boiler & aquastat control; 2 node IEA Annex X and the 
   Slab-on-grade hydronic floor can be controlled or if one
   would only attempt to control the pump;

b) the tester.pl model seems to use a one hour timestep and
   that is rather different from most models with plant. Are
   these components suitable for running at such a long timestep?

c) injections of heat into ground facing surfaces tend to work
   but, typically injections into structural slabs have caused
   strange control behavior in the past (the adjacent zone
   does not know about the injection). 

   So - does anyone know if
   the slab-on-grade component can be used with a surface which
   is a structural slabe between between two thermal zones?  Is
   there another way to do this other than the thin-zone approach?

Are there some good examples of the use of floor heating
models that someone might wish to contribute to the exemplars
so that others will have an idea how to use and implement
such facilities?

Regards, Jon Hand