Performance analysis of a radiant cooling system connected to a cooling tower in comparison to a fan-coil system in different climatic conditions of Iran

The major part of energy consumption in buildings is related to air conditioning systems. Since selection of a suitable air conditioning  system in any climatic zone has a major impact on reducing energy consumption as well as preparing thermal comfort conditions, in this study, the performance of the fan coil system with radiant chilled ceiling system with pipes embedded in concrete is compared and evaluated. In the radiant cooling system, the cooling tower is used as the sole source of cold water supply required, and since the effective operation of the cooling tower depends on environmental conditions, the performance of the cooling system in different climatic conditions has been studied. For thermal comfort assessment and performance analysis of two mentioned systems, Energy Plus software has been used. The performance of these systems has been compared in the cities of Ahvaz, Tehran and Tabriz. The cities of Ahvaz, Tehran and Tabriz represent hot and semi-humid, hot and dry, temperate and dry climates, respectively. The results show that the radiant chilled ceiling system integrated to cooling tower is capable to provide thermal comfort conditions in Tehran and Tabriz climatic conditions. Furthermore, the energy consumption of cited cooling system is significantly lower than a Fan coil system. The simulation results confirmed that the radiant cooling consumed 50-65% less energy in comparison to a benchmark fan coil system in Tabriz and Tehran, respectively.