Radiant heat is as old as the sun and is probably not much better understood than the origin of the sun. Yet, radiant heat transfer is the most efficient form of heat transfer.Through the ages, buildings have been designed using a variety of strategies employing radiant heating in one form or another.The comfort that radiant heating produces is the objective of all heating system performance designs.Yet, the resurgence of radiant heating at the close of the twentieth century owes its growth to the emergence of safe, long-life plastic tubing that removed the legacy of concern traced to the failure of metal conduit used in the post–World War II building boom.

The Handbook of Radiant Heating and Cooling covers in considerable detail theory and design information necessary to help the reader better understand how radiant heating or cooling systems work. The systems and equipment are reviewed in order to gain perspective on the broad range of radiant heating and cooling design options. The diverse mix of technologies that may be used to achieve the overall design goals makes radiant heating and cooling system selection and design a complex but rewarding task.

It is the ever-widening base of knowledge that those interested in radiant heating must have that stamps this Handbook with its special character. No other single reference work offers the in-depth coverage of the broad field of radiant heating and cooling. Experts in heat generation equipment may be woefully lacking in radiant heating and cooling system design or control savvy, and vice versa, yet an understanding of both areas is essential. In this book, the concentration is on developing an understanding of radiant heating and cooling system fundamentals and their overall interaction to provide human thermal comfort in the built environment.

The Handbook is designed to appeal to engineers involved in all types of commercial, industrial, institutional, and residential buildings, plus energy management and consulting personnel. These pages should also appeal to architects, builders, engineering students, and vendors and service companies catering to building owners, managers, and developers. Energy and environmental officials and agencies at all levels of state, local, and national government will find the handbook information useful. Consumers and users will find the Handbook to be a good source of information to assist in their planning.

Handbook architecture starts with the basics, “Fundamentals of Heat Transfer and Thermodynamics,” and ends with the leading edge, “Engineering Design Tools to Assist in Heater/Cooler Sizing.” The eight sections embrace “Introduction to Radiant Systems” (Sec. 1), “Fundamentals of Heat Transfer and Thermodynamics” (Sec. 2), “Thermal comfort” (Sec. 3), “Sizing and Load Estimation” (Sec. 4), “Radiant Heating Systems” (Sec. 5), “Control of Radiant Heating Systems” (Sec. 6), “Combination Radiant Heating and Cooling Systems” (Sec. 7), and “Engineering Design Tools to Assist in Heater/Cooler Sizing” (Sec. 8). The chapters within these sections describe the important principles involved in radiant heating and cooling, along with system description, comparison, and characteristics. The focus throughout the Handbook is on providing state-of-the-art information including leadingedge control technologies, operative temperature, and dynamic thermal comfort and energy design tools.