Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305

www.elsevier.com/locate/buildenv

Radiative cooling of buildings with ¯at-plate solar collectors

Evyatar Erell*, Yair Etzion
The Center for Desert Architecture and Urban Planning, J. Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the NegevÐ
Sede-Boqer Campus, Israel 84990
Received 20 October 1998; received in revised form 5 February 1999; accepted 25 February 1999

Abstract

Roof ponds cooled by nocturnal long wave radiation have often been proposed as a cheap and e€ective means of providing
thermal comfort in buildings in hot-arid locations. Many of the schemes incorporate ¯at-plate radiators through which the water
is circulated at night to be cooled. An analytical model originally developed for heating applications was adapted to the
description of such a nocturnal, long wave radiative cooling apparatus. The accuracy of the model was veri®ed on the basis of
experimental data from three types of radiators tested at the experimental facilities of the Center for Desert Architecture and
Urban Planning at Sede-Boqer, Israel, under a variety of operating regimes. The model allows accurate prediction of outlet
temperatures, taking into account the design characteristics of the speci®c radiator, the environmental conditions and the pattern
of operation of the system. Analysis of ¯at-plate solar collectors converted to radiative cooling of buildings suggests that under
typical environmental conditions, they may be less ecient for this type of application than radiators having no ®ns. # 2000
Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. The thermal performance of roof-mounted cooling
radiators
Roof ponds have often been proposed as a means of
providing thermal comfort in buildings in hot-arid
regions [1±6]. In a building cooled by means of a roof
pond, the water in the roof pond absorbs excess heat
through the ceiling, which should have a high thermal
conductivity. This energy is then dissipated by means
of convection, radiation or evaporation. There are sev-
eral approaches to the problems associated with the
con¯icting needs of cooling the water in the pond
(usually at night), yet preventing unwanted solar heat
gains during the day. One of the solutions proposed
has been to insulate the roof pond by means of ¯oat-
ing insulation, and to circulate the water through cool-
ing radiators placed above the pond, when
environmental conditions are favorable [4]. The per-
formance of such radiators has been modeled [7], but
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +972-7-6596875; fax: +972-7-
6596881.
E-mail address: erell@bgumail.bgu.ac.il (E. Erell).
the model was not used to provide recommendations
as to the preferred characteristics of a system designed
speci®cally for cooling buildings.
The radiators used in most previous experiments
were based on ¯at-plate solar collectors adapted to
cooling, generally by removal of the glazed cover
plate. While this may have been a convenient means of
testing the concept, closer analysis shows that the
characteristics required of a cooling radiator di€er in
several small but signi®cant ways from those of a ¯at-
plate collector designed for solar heating of water.
. First, the magnitude of the radiative heat exchange
and the properties of roof pond systems in general
preclude the possibility of initiating thermo-siphonic
circulation of water. For space cooling to be e€ec-
tive, the water in the roof pond should not be war-
mer than about 258C. Under typical environmental
conditions in the desert locations where such a sys-
tem might be practical, the temperature at the outlet
of the radiator cannot be expected to be lower than
158C, and is usually no colder than 208C. The tem-
perature di€erence between the radiator inlet and
outlet is thus not large enough to generate a thermal

0360-1323/00/$ - see front matter # 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 6 0 - 1 3 2 3 ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 1 9 - 0
298 E. Erell, Y. Etzion / Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305
force suciently strong to overcome internal friction
and to initiate water circulation. A cooling radiator
must therefore rely on a pump to circulate the cool-
ing ¯uid through it. The rate at which this ¯uid is
forced through the system a€ects cooling perform-
ance, so it becomes a key operating factor, rather
than being simply the result of the combined e€ects
of the incoming solar radiation and the hydraulic
design of the collector.
. Second, the e€ects of convection on the thermal
exchange at the surface of the radiator are not
always detrimental, as in a heating collector.
Whereas in a heating application, the temperature
of the ¯uid is assumed to be greater than that of the
surroundings, in a cooling radiator this may not
always be the case. The extent to which convection
impedes or improves the performance of the cooling
radiator depends on its operating characteristics
with regard to the environmental conditions and to
the temperature of the water in the radiator.
. Finally, the outgoing radiative ¯ux on which radia-
tive cooling systems are based is relatively small in
comparison with the solar gain in heating appli-
cations. The typical ®n-and-pipe design of ¯at plate
collectors may not be the most ecient heat exchan-
ger for radiative cooling.
While the di€erences between ¯at plate collectors and
cooling radiators warrant a separate analytical study
of the performance of the latter, the similarities are
such that existing models may be adapted for this pur-
pose. The following discussion presents such a pro-
cedure.
2. Modelling a ¯at-plate cooling radiator
The temperature distribution in the ¯ow direction is
a key parameter in the design of a cooling radiator.
The calculation of the ¯uid temperature at any given
point along the cooling pipe may be derived from the
following expression, proposed by Due and
Beckman [8] for a solar heating collector:
 
Tf ÿ Ta ÿ S=UL UL nWF 0 y
ˆ exp ÿ …1†
Tfi ÿ Ta ÿ S=UL _ p
mC
where Tf is the ¯uid temperature [8C] at a distance y
[m] from the collector inlet, Ta is the ambient air tem-
perature [8C], T® is the ¯uid temperature at the collec-
tor inlet [8C], S is the absorbed solar energy [W/m2],
UL is the overall heat loss coecient of the collector
[W/m28C], n is the number of pipes, W the distance
between the pipes [m], F ' the collector eciency factor,
.
m the mass ¯ow rate through the collector [kg/s] and
Cp the speci®c heat of the ¯uid [J/kg 8C].
In a heating collector, the collector eciency factor
F ' is the ratio of the actual useful energy gain to the
useful gain that would result if the collector absorbing
surface had been at the local ¯uid temperature. It is
given by
1
0  UL 
F ˆ …2†
1 1 1
W ‡ ‡
UL ‰D ‡ …W ÿ D†F Š Cb pDi hfi
where Cb is the bond conductance between pipes and
absorber plate [W/m 8C], h® is the heat transfer
coecient between the ¯uid and the tube interior
[W/m2 8C], D is the external diameter of the pipes [m]
and Di is the internal diameter of the tubes [m]. F, the
®n eciency factor, is a convenient means of
expressing the overall geometric characteristics of the
radiator, and is given by
tanh‰m…W ÿ D†=2Š
Fˆ …3†
m…W ÿ D†=2
where F is the ®n eciency, W is the riser spacing [m],
D the pipe diameter [m], and m is given by
r
UL
mˆ …4†
kd
where UL is the overall heat loss coecient of the
radiator [W/m2 8C], k the thermal conductivity of the
®n [W/m 8C] and d the ®n thickness [m].
The adaptation of the Due and Beckman [8] ex-
pression to describe a cooling radiator requires the
replacement of the value for solar heat gain, S, with
an expression for radiative heat loss. The following lin-
earized form of the Stefan±Boltzmann Law [9], is a
convenient means of relating the environmental con-
ditions to the net radiative heat transfer at the surface
of the radiator:
Rnet ˆ 4EsT 3air …Trad ÿ Tsky † …5†
where Rnet [W/m2] is the net radiative heat loss, E is
the emissivity of the radiator surface, s is the Stefan±
Boltzmann constant [5.67  10ÿ8 W/m2 K4], Tair [K] is
the ambient air temperature, Trad [K] the radiator tem-
perature and Tsky [K] the equivalent sky temperature.
3. Application of the model
Analysis of the components of the above model,
which is presented in a general form, allows con-
clusions to be drawn regarding the design and oper-
ation of a radiator speci®cally designed for the
radiative cooling of buildings.
 E. Erell, Y. Etzion / Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305
3.1. Design characteristics of the radiator
3.1.1. Radiator heat loss coecient
The overall heat loss coecient of the radiator (UL)
is due to the e€ects of radiation and of convection.
The contribution of the components of a typical radia-
torÐtop (Ut), back (Ub) and edge (Uc), are calculated
separately, to account for the di€erences in the heat
exchange processes occurring at each of them, then
combined.
Most of the heat loss from a radiator occurs at the
top surface. For the sake of convenience, the radiative
component of the heat loss may be expressed as the
product of the temperature di€erence between the
radiator surface and the sky, with the linearized radia-
tive heat transfer coecient hr, which is derived from
Eq. (5):
hr ˆ 4Erad sT 3air …6†
where hr [W/m2 8C] is the radiative heat exchange
coecient, s is the Stefan±Boltzmann constant
(5.67  10ÿ8 W/m2 8C), Erad is the emissivity of the
radiator, and Tair is the ambient air temperature [K].
In applications involving the radiative cooling of
buildings, the temperature of an exposed, non-glazed
radiator may be expected to be between 15 and 308C
(278±293 K). Therefore, the range of values which this
coecient can have in practice is quite limitedÐabout
4.4±5.1 W/m2 8C (Fig. 1).
If the radiator is not glazed, a signi®cant proportion
of the heat dissipated may be due to convection. The
e€ects of convection are accounted for in the model by
the convective heat exchange coecient (hc).
Numerous experiments have been carried out to evalu-
ate this quantity, which is related to the relative tem-
perature of the radiator and the ambient air, and to
Fig. 1. The e€ect of ambient air temperature on hr, the radiative
heat loss coecient of an exposed (non-glazed) radiator with an
emissivity of 0.9.
299
the wind velocity. Clark and Berdahl [10] di€erentiated
between three situations (units converted to SI):
1. The radiator is colder than ambient air, and wind
speed is low enough (v < 0.076 m/s) to allow free con-
vection, i.e. the ¯ow is laminar:
hc ˆ 0:8 ‰W=m2 8CŠ …7†
2. The radiator is warmer than ambient air, and there
is free convection (v < 0.45 m/s):
hc ˆ 3:5 ‰W=m2 8CŠ …8†
3. Turbulent ¯ow, regardless of the radiator tempera-
ture (v is greater than the values noted above for the
relevant radiator temperatures):
k…0:054Re0:8 Pr0:33 †
hc ˆ …9†
L
where k is the thermal conductivity of the air
[W/m2 8C], Re the Reynolds number and Pr the
Prandtl number. L, the characteristic length of the ra-
diator, is taken to be about 6.1 m. Clark and Berdahl
[10] note that the coecient applied to the Reynolds
number, 0.054, was increased above the smooth sur-
face value (0.036), to account for surface roughness.
They also suggest that the following simpli®cation
of the relationship for turbulent ¯ow is appropriate for
wind speeds (v ) of 1.35±4.5 m/s:
hc ˆ 1:8 ‡ 3:8n ‰W=m2 8CŠ …10†
Where wind speeds are lower than 1.35 m/s, this ex-
pression overestimates the e€ects of convection.
If the back of the radiator is not exposed, the back
losses are due to conduction through the insulation.
The back loss coecient is approximately
k
Ub ˆ …11†
L
where k and L are the thermal conductivity [W/m 8C]
and thickness [m] of the insulation, respectively. If the
radiator is not insulated, so as to increase convective
heat exchange, the back losses due to conduction are
calculated in the same manner as the top losses, allow-
ing for the di€erences in the convective heat exchange
coecient (hc) due to the e€ects of thermal forces and
to possible di€erences in the exposure to the air¯ow.
The edge losses in a non-glazed radiator are negli-
gible (less than 5%), unless the radiator is very small.
In summary, the overall heat loss coecient of an
exposed, non-glazed radiator may vary from about
6 W/m2 8C, if the air is still, to 30 W/m2 8C or more if
there is a signi®cant breeze. While the e€ects of con-
vection on the overall performance of a particular
radiator may be signi®cant, their calculation requires a
knowledge of the wind conditions typical of the instal-
300 E. Erell, Y. Etzion / Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305
lation site. The empirical relationships set out above
allow a fairly accurate estimate of the range of values
the heat loss coecient of a radiator may have.
However, unlike glazed collectors used for heating, it
is not possible to assign an unglazed cooling radiator a
single overall heat loss coecient valid for all (or even
most) wind conditions.
3.1.2. Fin eciency factor
The eciency of a typical ¯at plate collector with
pipes and absorber plate is determined by its geometry,
the materials it is constructed of and the quality of the
glazing cover, which a€ects both the solar heat gain
and the heat loss from the absorber plate. The relative
importance of some of these factors is somewhat chan-
ged in a cooling application.
The primary geometric parameters describing ¯at
plate collectors are the diameter of the risers and their
spacing. In heating collectors, the use of an absorber
plate allows a concentration of solar energy resulting
in higher water temperatures. This is because su-
ciently thick copper plates (up to 1 mm thick) in good
thermal contact with the pipes lose little energy to the
surroundings even if the collector cover consists of a
single glazing.
The design of radiators for cooling must address
other considerations. Windscreens, in the form of
glazed covers or otherwise (honeycomb structures are
one alternative), are required if it is the intention to
cool the radiator surface well below the ambient air
temperature. This may not always be desirable, since
convection may increase heat dissipation if the ambient
air temperature is low enough. However, even assum-
ing that environmental conditions are such that it is
desirable to reduce convective heat exchange while
Fig. 2. The e€ect of the overall heat loss coecient (UL) of an
exposed, non-glazed tube-and-®n radiator on ®n eciency (F ), for
several widths of ®n.
maximizing radiative heat loss, there is no practical
means of doing so on the scale required to cool a
building. The most common approachÐusing infra-
red transparent glazing such as very thin polyethylene
sheets [11]Ðdoes not deal with the problems caused
by the deposition of dust and the accumulation of con-
densation on the cold surface of a wind screen. Erell
and Etzion [4] have pointed out the futility of this
approach from a practical point of view, even assum-
ing that a relatively cheap, durable infra-red transpar-
ent glazing were available. Radiators exposed to the
atmosphere on building roof tops are therefore not
glazed, and the e€ects of convection at the surface of
the absorber (or rather, emitter) plate become domi-
nant.
The e€ects of convection on the ®n eciency factor
are expressed in Eqs. 3 and 4. Fig. 2, derived from
these equations, illustrates the e€ect of increasing con-
vective heat exchange, and thus the overall heat loss
coecient (UL), on the ®n eciency of a typical rec-
tangular ®n. (The calculations were carried out for a
typical collector design, with a steel absorber plate
0.5 mm thick, and risers 10 mm in diameter in good
thermal contact with it, for several values of W, the
spacing of the risers.)
It is evident from Fig. 2 that an increase in the con-
vective heat loss coecient of the radiator (which may
result, for instance, from increased wind speed), causes
a reduction of the ®n eciency (F ). This e€ect is
noticeable for the whole range of ®n widths, but
becomes dominant when the tube spacing is large.
When the tube spacing is smallÐ5 cm or less in this
caseÐthe reduction in ®n eciency is less than 10%
even for fairly high heat loss coecients. (A heat loss
coecient of 20 W/m2 8C, for example, may be
measured if the radiator surface is exposed, i.e.
unglazed, and if the wind speed is about 5 m/s).
The e€ect of changes in the ®n eciency on the
overall performance of a cooling radiator are complex,
and depend on the relationship between the ambient
air temperature and the temperature of the radiator
surface:
. If Ta < Tr, convection increases the rate of heat dis-
sipation, reinforcing the e€ects of radiation. In this
case, a higher ®n eciency (F ), which in turn leads
to a higher collector eciency (F '), results in
improved radiator performance both in radiation
and in convection.
. If Ta > Tr, convection leads to heat transfer from
the air to the radiator, counter-acting the e€ects of
radiation. In this case, a higher ®n eciency still
leads to improved heat dissipation through radi-
ation, but also results in increased convective gains.
The net balance of these opposite forces depends on
the properties of the speci®c radiator, on the en-
 E. Erell, Y. Etzion / Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305
vironmental conditions and on the ¯uid inlet tem-
perature and ¯ow rate.
Fig. 3 shows the e€ect of the ®n eciency factor (F ')
on changes in the ¯uid temperature of a hypothetical
radiator exposed to di€erent ambient air temperatures.
The radiator is 1 m wide by 2.5 m long; ¯uid inlet tem-
perature is 238C; mass ¯ow rate is 0.03 kg/s; UL=15
W/m2 8C; and the sky temperature depression is 158C.
Under these conditions, there is a net cooling e€ect
(indicated by a negative change in the ¯uid tempera-
ture) until the ambient air temperature rises to 38C
above the radiator temperature. At this point, radia-
tors with di€erent ®n eciencies (but identical in other
respects) would have a similar, neutral, energy balance.
The optimal design of a cooling radiator therefore
depends on an understanding of the environmental
conditions it is likely to operate in. In general, if air
temperatures are very high, the net cooling output of a
radiator would probably be too low to justify installa-
tion, assuming that convection cannot be suppressed
entirely. If ambient air temperatures are equal to or
lower than the ¯uid inlet temperature for most of the
operating period, then a high ®n eciency is preferred.
3.2. Environmental conditions
The proposed model, Eq. (1), incorporates two
measures of the environmental conditions which have
a direct e€ect on the cooling output of a radiator
exposed to the night skyÐambient air temperature
(Ta), which a€ects convective heat exchange, and the
Fig. 3. The e€ect of the ®n eciency factor (F ') on changes in the
¯uid outlet temperature of a hypothetical radiator exposed to di€er-
ent ambient air temperatures. (The radiator is 1 m wide by 2.5 m
long; ¯uid inlet temperature is 238C; mass ¯ow rate is 0.03 kg/s;
UL=15 W/m2 8C; and the sky temperature depression is 158C.
301
sky temperature, which determines the potential for
radiative cooling, Eq. (5). The e€ect of wind speed is
accounted for in the value assigned to the collector
heat loss coecient, UL, as described previously.
While the ambient air temperature is obtained easily,
the so-called `sky temperature', de®ned as the tempera-
ture of a black body radiator emitting the same
amount of radiative power as the sky, is dicult to
measure. As data are not available for most locations,
it may be more convenient to calculate approximate
values of the sky temperature, based on ambient air
temperature and relative humidity data. Sky tempera-
ture is given by the following expression [10]:
Tsky ˆ E1=4
sky Tair …12†
where Tsky and Tair are given in K. The sky emissivity
may be calculated as a function of the dew point tem-
perature, using the following empiric relationship:
Esky ˆ 0:006Tdp ‡ 0:74 …13†
where the dew point temperature is given in 8C.
3.3. Operating characteristics
The proposed model allows evaluation of the e€ects
of two factors associated with the operation of the sys-
.
tem. The mass ¯ow rate (m ) is the primary means of
controlling the output temperature of the radiator.
The inlet temperature ( fi) is not under the direct con-
trol of the designer, since it is equal to the temperature
of the roof pond. However, the overall design of the
system should be such that the temperature of the
water in the roof pond ¯uctuates within a fairly
narrow, predetermined range, if it is to be useful as a
cooling system.
The e€ect of altering the operating parametersÐthe
Fig. 4. The e€ect of changes in the mass ¯ow rate on the longitudi-
nal temperature pro®le of a hypothetical cooling radiator.
302 E. Erell, Y. Etzion / Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305
inlet temperature and the mass ¯ow rateÐis illustrated
by applying the proposed model to a hypothetical
radiator 1 m wide, with an overall eciency (F ') of
0.8. The environmental conditions were assumed to be:
ambient air temperature of 248C, sky temperature
depression of 15 K, and little wind. Under these
conditions, an unglazed, exposed radiator would
have a convective heat loss coecient (Uc) of about
10 W/m2 K.
Fig. 4 shows the e€ect of altering the ¯ow rate on
the longitudinal temperature pro®le of a hypothetical
radiator. The trade-o€ between ¯ow rate and radiator
length is self evident: for a speci®c radiator length, any
desired outlet temperature may be attained, within the
constraints of the environmental conditions, by manip-
ulating the ¯ow rate.
Fig. 5 shows the e€ect of altering the ¯ow rate on
the cooling output at several inlet temperatures.
Increasing the mass ¯ow rate reduces the temperature
di€erence between radiator inlet and outlet, resulting
in an increase in the mean surface temperature of the
radiator. This in turn results in increased radiative
cooling, under all environmental conditions. When the
radiator is warmer than the ambient air, increasing the
¯ow rate also increases the cooling output due to con-
vection; if the radiator is colder than ambient dry bulb
temperature (DBT), then convective heat exchange
tends to counteract the e€ects of radiation.
Increasing the ¯uid ¯ow rate does, however, have
diminishing returns. As the ¯ow rate increases, the sur-
face temperature of the radiator approaches that of
the ¯uid at the inlet. The practical limit is a much
lower ¯ow rate, which takes into account the power
required to operate the pump as well as the heat trans-
fer processes occurring at the radiator surface.
Fig. 5. The e€ect of changes in the mass ¯ow rate on the net cooling
power of a hypothetical radiator at di€erent temperatures of the
¯uid at the radiator inlet.
4. Experimental setup
The accuracy of the model described above was
assessed with regard to experimental data assembled in
previous years [12], in which three types of ¯at-plate
solar heating panels were adapted to nocturnal radia-
tive cooling.
4.1. Properties of the radiators
Three types of radiators were used in the exper-
iment:
1. (A) A Lordan LSC-F collector, measuring 2.18 m
long by 1.27 m wide, and consisting of 12 copper
risers 58 00 in diameter, 10 cm on center and con-
nected to each other by means of a copper manifold
of 1 18 00 in diameter at each end. Each riser is
installed at the center of a thin stainless steel absor-
ber plate running along the long axis of the collec-
tor (Fig. 6). The lower surface of the collector was
encased in 25 mm polyurethane foam insulation
coated with a re¯ective aluminum foil. The upper
surface, which is usually glazed in this type of col-
lector, had the glass removed and was exposed to
the ambient air.
2. (B) A Lordan LSC-F collector like the ®rst one, dif-
fering only in that the polyurethane insulation was
removed from the bottom side. This collector was
thus exposed to convective and radiative heat
exchange on both its upper and lower surfaces.
3. (C) A Chromagen CR-12 collector similar to the
LSC-F collector, except that instead of having thin
metal absorber plates running parallel to the risers,
it had specially contoured aluminum ®ns perpen-
dicular to them (like an automobile radiator). This
too had both the lower insulation and the upper
glazing removed to maximize convective heat
exchange.
4.2. The cooling system
The system consisted of a shallow roof pond, 10±
15 cm deep, on a reinforced concrete roof. The water
was contained in a waterproof PVC membrane lining,
Fig. 6. Axonometric section of radiator type `A'.
 E. Erell, Y. Etzion / Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305
and was covered by ¯oating polystyrene insulation
10 cm thick. The purpose of the insulation was to
reduce unwanted heat gain from the ambient air, par-
ticularly during the daytime, when both air tempera-
ture is high and the internal cooling load greatest.
Water contained in this roof pond was circulated at
night through radiators ®xed to a frame above the
roof, and was cooled by long wave radiation and by
convection.
4.3. Data acquisition and performance monitoring
Fluid temperature was measured using PT-100 sen-
sors (in waterproof casings), calibrated individually so
that the di€erential error of measurement was less
than 0.18C. Each temperature record was the average
of two sensors placed adjacent to each other and mon-
itored separately. Water ¯ow rate was recorded elec-
tronically using electro-magnetic pulse inducers with a
resolution of 1 liter.
The environmental conditions were monitored on-
site. The properties measured included ambient air dry
bulb temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and
direction, global radiation on a horizontal surface and
net radiation in the range 0.25±60 mm. The data collec-
tion system installed was based on a Campbell 21
data logger. The data were retrieved for processing on
a PC computer.
5. Veri®cation of analytical model
The radiative cooling experiment had been con-
ducted in several phases, allowing an evaluation of the
Fig. 7. Outlet temperature of radiator type `A', on a typical night at Sede-Boqer, 28 July 1991.
303
model under di€erent environmental conditions, and
taking into consideration the e€ect of various mass
¯ow rates.
UL, the overall heat loss coecient of the collector,
was calculated separately for each of the radiators, using
actual wind data on a typical night. The mean wind
velocity for the simulation period was approximately
1.5 m/s. The radiative component of the top loss coe-
cient was taken to be 5 W/m2 8C, while the convective
heat exchange coecient was calculated using Eq. (10).
The overall heat loss coecients thus derived for
radiator types `A', `B' were approximately 13 and 18
W/m2 8C, respectively. The e€ect of the vertical alumi-
num ®ns in radiator type `C' could not be calculated:
the increased aerodynamic roughness and the much
greater surface area were estimated to double the con-
vective heat transfer coecient, resulting in an overall
heat loss coecient for this radiator of 32 W/m2 8C.
The sky temperature, required for the calculation of
the radiative heat loss, was derived from the net radio-
meter measurements on site. The value used for the
radiator temperature in these calculations was the
average between radiator inlet and outlet. Since the
di€erence between the inlet and outlet temperature of
the ¯uid was in the range of 0.5±2.58C, depending on
the ¯ow rate, the error involved in using such a rela-
tively crude measure was in fact quite small. The other
required inputsÐambient air temperature, mass ¯ow
rate and ¯uid inlet temperature were measured
directly.
The model calculations were compared with exper-
imental results for all three radiator types, operating
under a variety of ¯ow regimes. The calculated outlet
temperature is in very close agreement with the exper-
304 E. Erell, Y. Etzion / Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305

Fig. 8. Outlet temperature of radiator type `B' on a typical night at Sede-Boqer, 28 July 1991.

imental value, under all conditions, and is demon-
strated for the night of 28 July 1991 (Figs. 7±9).
An increase in the outlet temperature measured
during this particular night between 01:00 and 01:30 h,
apparent in all three radiators, gives an added insight
as to their properties. This temperature increase, fol-
lowing a monotonic decline from 22:30 h, was due to
an increase in ambient air temperature of 1.58C in this
interval. This change was accompanied by, and was
probably the result of, an increase in wind speed from
about 2 m/s to over 5 m/s. The sky temperature de-
pression during this interval increased by about 0.68C,
re¯ecting (in part) the increase in ambient air tempera-
ture. After 01:30 h, the environmental conditions
returned to normal. The e€ect on each of the three
radiators was slightly di€erent, re¯ecting their ex-
posure to convective heat exchange. Radiator type `A'
(with back insulation) was the least a€ected, as the
¯uid outlet temperature increased by only 0.058C. In
radiator `B', with no back insulation, the temperature
increase was 0.278C, and in radiator type `C', with the
highest exposure to convection it was 0.398C. In each
case, the model allowed accurate prediction of the
¯uid outlet temperature.
6. Conclusion
The application of nocturnal radiative cooling to the
provision of thermal comfort in buildings requires

Fig. 9. Outlet temperature of radiator type `C' on a typical night at Sede-Boqer, 28 July 1991.
 E. Erell, Y. Etzion / Building and Environment 35 (2000) 297±305
improved radiator designs. An analytical model was
adapted for the study of such radiators, and veri®ed
against experimental data for three types of cooling
radiators. Analysis of the desired properties for cooling
radiators suggests that under some environmental con-
ditions, the ®ns used in typical ¯at plate solar collec-
tors are less ecient for cooling applications, and a
radiator consisting entirely of pipes may be more
appropriate for this purpose. The model presented
here may also be used to optimize the length of such a
radiator or the hydraulic speci®cations of the pump, to
allow for maximum utilization of the fairly limited po-
tential of radiative cooling.
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