The influence of a local heating system on the indoor climate of a large room

In this research, a study is being performed on a local radiant heating system which purpose is to avoid damage to the monumental building and its interior, while creating a local thermal comfort zone for the people who are seated in large spaces / buildings. This purpose is met by radiating heat to the people directly, thus creating a comfortable climate zone around the people, instead of heating the whole (large) room. This way, the overall indoor climate is not influenced greatly by the heating system. As a result, the building and its interior objects are not exposed to abrupt changes in indoor climate (temperature and relative humidity) which can cause great damage to them. Apart from reducing the risk on damaging the monumental objects and increasing the human thermal comfort, the local radiant heating system should also reduce the energy consumption. This research is performed within the European project Friendly Heating . A case study within this project is the application of the local radiant heating system in the St. Maria Maddalena church in Rocca Pietore (Italian Dolomites). The indoor climate in the church in the Dolomites is quite cold for European standards. Since a lot of problems (concerning the conservation of historical objects, the thermal comfort of people, and high energy costs) occur due to heating the whole church during winter, this situation is investigated in the European project. To find a solution for all these problems, within the European project a local bench heating system is being designed. The goal of this heating system is to provide the heat only in the benches, where it is needed for creating a comfortable local climate for the people. The system consists of 3 heating elements, based on radiant heating foil and placed under the seat, in the back and under the kneeler pad of the church benches. These elements radiate the heat to the people directly instead of heating the air first