BORANG DPP

APPLICATION FORM
DANA PELAJAR PhD (DPP)
A

TITLE OF PROPOSED RESEARCH:

NIGHT COOLED WATER FOR RADIANT COOLING

IN MALAYSIAN BUILDING

Tajuk penyelidikan yang dicadangkan :

DETAILS OF RESEARCHER / MAKLUMAT PENYELIDIK

B(i)

Name of Project Leader:

Nama Ketua Projek:
Azhaili Baharun

B(ii)

Position (Please tick ( ):

Jawatan (Sila tanda ( ):
Professor
Profesor

IC / Passport Number:
No. Kad Pengenalan/ Pasport:
670520 03 5569

Assoc. Prof. / Sen. Lect.

Prof. Madya / P. Kanan

B(iii)

Faculty/Institute/Centre/ (Please provide full address):

Fakulti/Institut /Pusat/(Sila nyatakan alamat penuh):
Faculty of Engineering

B(iv)

Office Telephone No.:

No. Telefon Pejabat:
082 583230

B(v)

E-mail Address:
Alamat e-mel:
bazhaili@feng.unimas.my

B(vi)

Date of first appointment with this University:

Tarikh mula berkhidmat dengan Universiti ini:

B(vii)

Type of Service (Please tick ( )):

Jenis Perkhidmatan (Sila tanda ( )):
Permanent
Tetap

Lecturer
Pensyarah

Handphone No.:
No. Telefon Bimbit:
0138466374

Contract (State contract expiry date):

Kontrak (Nyatakan tarikh tamat kontrak):

RESEARCH INFORMATION / MAKLUMAT PENYELIDIKAN

C(i)

Research Cluster (Please tick ( ):

Kluster Penyelidikan (Sila tanda ( ):

Pure Science (Sains Tulen)

Chemistry
(Kimia)

Physic
(Fizik)

Biology
(Biologi)

Biochemistry
(Biokimia)

Materials Science
(Sains Bahan)

Mathematics and Statistics

(Matematik dan Statistik)

Chemistry
(Kimia)

Physic
(Fizik)

Biology
(Biologi)

Mathematics and Statistics

(Matematik dan Statistik)

Biotechnology
(Bioteknologi)

Materials Science
(Sains Bahan)

B. Applied Science (Sains Gunaan)

C.

D.

E.

Technology and Engineering (Teknologi dan Kejuruteraan)

Mechanical & Manufacturing
(Mekanikal dan Pembuatan)

Electrical and Electronic

(Elektrikal dan Elektronik)

Civil and Structural

(Awam dan Struktur)

Material and Polymer

(Bahan dan Polimer)

Chemical Engineering
and Processing
(Kejuruteraan Kimia dan
Proses)

Energy and Green Technology

(Tenaga dan Teknologi Hijau)

Infrastructure and
Transportation
(Infrastruktur dan
Pengangkutan)

Construction and
Construction Materials
(Pembinaan dan Bahan
Binaan)

Aerospace
(Aeroangkasa)

Clinical and Health Sciences (Sains Kesihatan dan Klinikal)

Basic Medical Sciences
(Sains Perubatan Asas)

Pharmacy
(Farmasi)

Pharmacology
(Farmakologi)

Medical Microbiology
(Mikrobiologi Perubatan)

Parasitology
(Parasitologi)

Pathology
(Pathologi)

Community Medical Prevention

(Perubatan Pencegahan
Masyarakat)

Clinical Surgical
(Klinikal Surgikal)

Clinical Medical
(Klinikal Medikal)

Associate Health Science

(Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu)

Dental
(Pergigian)

Nursing Science
(Sains Kejururawatan)

Social Sciences (Sains Sosial)

F.

Anthropology
(Antropologi)

Psychology
(Psikologi)

Sociology
(Sosiologi)

Political Science
(Sains Politik)

Business and Management

(Pengurusan dan Perniagaan)

Geography
(Geografi)

Economic
(Ekonomi)

Human Ecology
(Ekologi Manusia)

Communication
(Komunikasi)

Arts and Applied Arts (Sastera dan Sastera Ikhtisas)

Language and Linguistic
(Bahasa dan Linguistik)

Literature
(Kesusasteraan)

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(Agama)

Philosophy
(Falsafah)

Civilization
(Tamadun)

History
(Sejarah)

Art
(Seni)

Culture
(Budaya)

Education
(Pendidikan)

Policies and Law

(Dasar dan Undang-undang)

Built Environment
(Alam BinaAspek Kemanusiaan)

Environment
(Alam SekitarAspek Kemanusiaan)

G. Natural Sciences and National Heritage (Sains Tabii dan Warisan Negara)
Environment
(Alam Sekitar)

Forestry
(Perhutanan)

Agriculture
(Pertanian)

Marine
(Marin)

Archaeology
(Arkeologi)

Geoscience
(Geosains)

Ethnography
(Etnografi)

Built Environment
(Heritage Aspect)
Alam Bina (Aspek Warisan)

Culture
(Budaya)

Biodiversity
(Kepelbagaian Biologi)
H. Information and Communication Technology (Teknologi Maklumat dan Komunikasi)
Software and Information System
(Perisian dan Sistem Maklumat)

Soft Computing
(Pengkomputeran Lembut)

Computer Networking
(Rangkaian Komputer)

Information Security
(Keselamatan Maklumat)

Multimedia
(Multimedia)

Computer Engineering
( Kejuruteraan Komputer)

Computer Science
(Sains Komputer)

C(ii)

Location of Research:
Tempat penyelidikan dijalankan:
UNIMAS

C(iii)

Duration of this research (Maximum 36 months):

Tempoh masa penyelidikan ini (Maksimum 36 bulan):
Duration: 36 month
Tempoh :
From
Dari

: November 2014
:

To
: October 2017
Hingga :
Other Researchers:
Ahli-ahli penyelidik yang lain:
(Please include maximum 5 pages of curriculum vitae for each researcher)
IC / Passport
Number:
No. Kad Pengenalan/
Pasport:

Faculty/ School/
Centre/ Unit
Fakulti/
P.Pengajian/
Pusat/Unit

Academic
Qualification/
Designation
Tahap Kelayakan
Akademik/Jawatan

730509 13 5122

Engineering

PhD

Dr Siti Halipah bt
Ibrahim

800102 13 5607

Engineering

Masters

Ir Muhammad Syukri
Imran

Bil

Name
Nama

Signatu
re
Tandata
ngan

C(iv)

C(v)

Research projects that have been completed or ongoing by project leader for the last three years.
Please provide title of research, grants name, position, duration, year commence and year ending.
Sila sediakan maklumat termasuk termasuk tajuk, nama geran, peranan, tempoh, tahun mula dan tahun
tamat bagi penyelidikan yang sedang/telah dijalankan oleh ketua penyelidik dalam tempoh tiga tahun
terakhir.
Title of Research
Tajuk penyelidikan

Grants Name
Nama Geran

Position / Role
Jawatan /
Peranan

Duration
Tempoh

Start Date
Tarikh mula

End
Date
Tarikh
tamat

C(vi)

Please provide information on academic publications that has been published by the project leader
for the last five (5) years. (Example: Journals, Books, Chapters in books, etc)
Sila kemukakan maklumat berkaitan penerbitan akademik yang telah diterbitkan oleh ketua penyelidik
dalam tempoh lima (5) tahun terakhir. (Contoh: Jurnal, buku, bab dalam buku, dll)
Title of publication
Tajuk penerbitan

Towards Implementation and

Achievement of Construction
and Environmental Quality in
the Malaysian Construction
Industry.

EnergyPlus building
simulation software: Which
Ground Temperature to
use?

Progress in the Energy

Efficient Home Cooling
System Design ,

"Sarawak General Hospital

Main Block Building Retrofit
Features For Energy
Efficiency",

Name of journals/books
Nama jurnal/buku

Year published
Tahun diterbitkan

Journal of Civil Engineering(MJCE)

2014

International Conference on Civil and

Environmental Engineering for
Sustainability. Johore Baru, Malaysia

2012

Proceedings of EnCon2012 5th

Engineering Conference Kuching,
Sarawak, Malaysia, July

2012

2nd International Conference on

Energy and Environment: Role of
Energy Resources in Sustainability of
Environment, Quaid e Awam University of
Engineering, Science and Technology
Nawabshah,

2011

C(vii)

Executive Summary of Research Proposal (maximum 300 words)

(Please
include the problem statement, objectives, research methodology,
output/outcomes/implication, and significance of output from the research project)

expected

Ringkasan Cadangan Eksekutif Penyelidikan (maksimum 300 patah perkataan)

(Meliputi pernyataan masalah, objektif, kaedah penyelidikan, jangkaan hasil penyelidikan/implikasi dan
kepentingan output projek penyelidikan)
The building different types of operation or usage influence the degree of cooling that the building requires
for example 20C or lower is required for an operation theatre in a hospital or a temperature of 24C-26C
for a typical office building. Sometime building occupants tend to demand more indoor cooling as a result of
high people load, more equipment, extremes in weather and could also be due to the architectural or the
building envelope which is not design to provide passive cooling. The use of hydronic radiator panel
activated with natural heat sink source is very rare in this region but a study done through dynamic thermal
modelling shows that the hydronic radiator panel can keep the indoor operative temperature below 30C
when the outdoor temperature are exceeded (Baharun et al. 2011) In hot and humid climate the upper limit
for thermal comfort is 30C (Baharun , Ooi , & Chen, 2009)The objective of this study is to design and
develop an eco-friendly device prototype such as hydronic radiator in a test room and activated with natural
heat sink source. Cooling water for the device is to be generated during night time by radiative cooling from
metal roofing with minimal pumping power. The possibility of combining other passive cooling strategies
with this device will also be considered. Study will cover all factors affecting the design and provide an
optimum operating condition to enable the device to work successfully. The device if workable may have a
high potential of being applied to buildings as well as meeting the green building criteria as a result from
less energy consumption, provide approved indoor environmental quality as well as innovation.

C(viii)

Detailed proposal of research project:

Cadangan maklumat penyelidikan secara terperinci:
(a) Research background including Problem Statement, Hypothesis/Research Questions, Literature
Reviews, Related References and Relevance to Goverment Policy, if any.
Keterangan latar belakang penyelidikan termasuk Pernyataan Masalah, Hipotesis/Persoalan
Penyelidikan, Kajian Literatur, Rujukan Berkaitan dan Perkaitan dengan Dasar Kerajaan, jika
berkenaan.
The effect of climate change as well as energy conservation has an impact on the way we use
energy globally and locally. Malaysian government have adapt a policy to reduce its carbon footprint
through more intensified energy efficiency measures in industrial, transport, commercial sectors as well as
government buildings. (Department of Environment, 2006) In view of this and the promise made by our
Prime Minister of Malaysia in United Nation Climate Change Conference (Copenhagen 2009) to reduce
carbon footprint or emissions by 40% by 2020 compared to 2005 levels, the energy efficiency initiative
in Malaysia have become ever more crucial and critical. Prime Minister of Malaysia has made green
technology a mainstream ministerial portfolio in 2009 and followed with the launching of National Green
Technology Policy 2009 to be spearheaded by Ministry Of Energy, Green Technology and Water (KeTTHA)
through Green Tech Malaysia. Green Tech is to lead in the implementation of projects and activities under
this new green policy. Since then the government have been promoting the use of renewable energy and
adoption of energy efficiency in sustainable development including granting attractive incentives. Under the
National Green Policy short term plan (incorporated in 10th Malaysia Plan) includes more Foreign Direct
Investment (FDIs) and Domestic Direct Investment (DDIs) in green technology manufacturing and services
sector, expansion of Green Technology research, development, innovation and commercialization (RDIC)
activities by local research and higher learning institutions as well as certification and labelling of
green technology product, services, equipment and systems among others. The energy, building,
transportation and water sector have been given importance to further improvement and development in
this regard. For the long term (in the 11th and 12th Malaysia Plan) again RDIC on green technology has
been given importance under the policy to move forward to include collaboration with the local industries as
well as multinational companies in the future. Green Technology simply refers to product, equipment or
system satisfies criteria such as, low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, conserve the use of energy and
natural resources as well as promote the use of renewable resources. Green Technology has been set by
the government as a National Key Indicator to measure the success of the Green Technology and its

initiatives in Malaysia. (Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water Malaysia, 2009)
The development of eco-friendly building retrofit which is to be covered in this research is aimed at
reducing the dependency on air conditioning thus less electrical load and improving the thermal
comfort of the building occupants. This research will look into the feasibility of using indoor radiant cooling
in building that is being fed with night cooled water as a free cooling source to improve the mean radiant
temperature (MRT) of building. Mean radiant temperature (MRT) and air temperature have equal influence
on the thermal comfort of a person in a room where the average of both temperatures defines the room
operative temperature. Room operative temperature is an indicator to measure thermal comfort in a
building. An outdoor radiator to produce night cooled water is to be developed in this study to see how it will
perform in this region and the cooled water will be circulated in the indoor hydronic radiator. It is expected
that at night or after rainy day the water temperature could drop even further and the radiator can take
advantage of this night chill water supply. The indoor radiator will also have to be developed to produce the
required cooling effect.
Radiant system is defined as a system where at least 50% of the heat transfer takes place by
radiation (Ashrae, 2008). The temperature on the surface is controlled to allow heat exchange between
the surface and the surrounding environment through convention and radiation. Radiant system is used to
condition space to produce a selected air temperature much like a traditional convection system or air
system does. The objective is to save energy or to overcome adverse local comfort condition (Watson
& Chapman, 2002). In this system, building surface is converted to radiant heat transfer panel.
Some benefits of radiant system are as follow:
a) Air system need to circulate more amount of air thus may increase the noise level in a space and
increase risk of complaints related to draft. Air system could be downsized in duct size and air
velocity when part of the sensible heating or cooling load is taken care of by water based radiant
system.
b) Reduce operating and maintenance cost. Smaller forced air system made possible by radiant
cooling system translate to lower capital and operating cost (reduces fan powers,smaller filtration,
smaller dehumidification equipment) (Uponor Inc, 2013).
c) More effective control of ventilation where in traditional forces air system, the air flow is
designed to provide cooling and ventilation functions as required by the space and occupants it is
serving. In some cases the forced air system works by cycling on and off to satisfy the cooling
demand and ignores the continuous demand for ventilation. In radiant system these two functions
are decoupled and allows for exact ventilation control (Uponor Inc, 2013).
d) Radiant cooling system reduces energy consumption due to lower transport energy usage, more
efficient operating modes, higher room set points and lower transmission loss (Uponor Inc, 2013).
e) Water has a much higher heat transfer capacity compare to air. Radiant system using water
circulator in place of a fan to move air use less energy and still give the same amount of heat
transfer (Uponor Inc, 2013).
f) Efficient operating modes by allowing chiller to operate at a higher temperature and lower overall
energy use. 12.7C to 17.2C is the typical temperature for a radiant cooling system therefore allow
chiller to operate in efficient range. There is potential alternative source for chilled water which
may include fluid coolers, geothermal heat pumps or lake water (Uponor Inc, 2013).
g) Comparable comfort can be achieved when using radiant system at higher room
temperature/room set points than using forced air system at a lower room temperature. Radiant
cooling system coupled with smaller forced air system (for ventilation, latent loads, supplemental
sensible loads) can reduce building total energy at higher operating set points (Uponor Inc, 2013).
h) Energy conservation of building using a radiant cooling system are on the order of 17%-53%
below ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2010 (Uponor Inc, 2013).
With the promising benefit outline above it is no wonder that more and more buildings are being cooled or
heated with radiant system especially in the developed world country. The system also have a good
potential to be activated via a natural heat sinks such as the ground, ground water or the cool night air
since the radiant surface are only cooled a few degrees below the desired air temperature (Pfafferontt &
Kalz, 2007).The following literature shows some evidence that night sky cooling is one source of a natural
heat sink that could be used to provide some cooling power for the radiant system.

First of all findings from other research have shown that radiant cooling device is possible in hot and
humid climate to improve the thermal comfort condition between 0.5 to -0.25 PMV by utilizing water at
24C supplied to the cooling panel Vangtook & Chirarattananon, (2006). Chilled water temperature
was set to 24C to avoid condensation and therefore the cooling power provided by the cooling panel
was limited to 40W/m2. Figure 1 shows a diagram of the experimental room fitted with cooling panel
operated at night that was fed by chilled water to achieve thermal comfort at night time.

Fig. 1: Experimental room with radiat cooling

panel (Vangtook & Chirarattananon, 2006)
However to improve the performance of cooling panel in the rooms, the panels can be integrated
with a dehumidifier to dry the air. Result from an experiment shows an improved PMV between 0 and -0.5
(Nutprasert & Chaiwiwatworakul, 2014 ) . Dessicant dehumidification is another mean to improve the
performance of radiant cooling panel in hot and humid climate ( Binghooth & Zainal, 2012) . Chilled water
used in this set up was between 21C and 25C. For both studies mechanical chillers were used to
supply chilled water and the water temperature were regulated due to concern in condensation on the
cooling panel. Ideal water temperature to be used in this region is in the range of 21C to 25C (due to
dewpoint and condensation restriction) and in Malaysian climate the yearly minimum temperature
(recorded at night) as shown in Figure 2 could provide such cooling source.

Fig.2. DBT Temperature for 2010-2014 Malaysia (www.noaa.gov/)

The chill water for indoor cooling panel proposed in this study is to be cooled from roof top that
functions as radiator to reject heat at night. Numerical study have shown that using roof top as
cooling radiator at night will give an average of 44 W/m 2 of cooling capacity with higher cooling power
can be achieved when the sky is clear coupled with ambient and sky temperature difference of 10.5 C.
(Hanif et al, 2014) Predicted values were based on climatic data obtained from Malaysia Meterological
Department. The same study also demonstrated that combining roof for night cooling with mechanical air
cooling can contribute about 11 percent of energy saving. Another variant of night cooling device was
used to generate cooling water to be used as coolant for cooling panel in a test building in Thailand.
(Figure 3)The device however uses thermo syphon heat pipe to extract heat from a water storage tank and
rejects the heat off from a radiator roof. This concept however was introduced to cater for some of the
cooling load in an air conditioning building thus saves energy. (Chotivisarut, Nuntaphan, & Kiatsiriroat,

2012).

Fig. 3. Heat pipe radiator for nocturnal cooling

(Chotivisarut, Nuntaphan, & Kiatsiriroat, 2012)
Regarding night sky cooling, a flat plate radiators consisting of twin wall sheet made from polymer
resin material filled with ceramic granulates have been tested on roof top to cool water down to a
significant amount before the water could be used for indoor cooling through ceiling and floor hydronic
radiator. Depending on the climatic season of the year the cooling energy in the water was sufficient to
maintain an indoor temperature between 24C-26C (Mier, Rekstad, & Lovvik, 2002). In some other
research, water was being cooled with rooftop radiator and was stored in a water tank. The night
cooled water was made to flow through a cooling coil to precool the air before being directed to a direct
evaporative cooling unit. This hybrid system was able to maintain indoor temperature in the region of 22C
when the outdoor temperature was over 35C mid day (Heidarinejad, Farahani, & Delfani, 2010 ). One
classical experiment was done in the early 90s (Figure 4) to demonstrate how water can be cooled down
lower than the ambient dry bulb temperature with cooling power of about 45W/m2 at a certain flowrate
of water passing through a night cooled radiator units exposed to night sky (Ali, Taha, & Ismail, 1995). Even
a stagnant water stored in tank that is being exposed openly at night to be cooled down by sky radiation,
convection and evaporation can cool down to 18C in climate like Egypt. From calculations, the cool
water in turn can be used during the day during working hours in a building to maintain an indoor
temperature of 26C. (Ali A. H., 2007)

Fig. 4. Schematic drawing of open loop night sky radiation cooling unit
(Ali, Taha, & Ismail, 1995)

As for the use of indoor radiant cooling system, this system is still not common in Malaysia with
only a few government owned building have been constructed in Malaysia as a showcase project. However
the indoor radiant cooling system used in these building is being circulated with chilled water from an
electric chiller which also supplies chilled water to supplementary air system in the same building. The
major difference in the study is the use of alternative source of cool water which is basically free such as
the night cooled water. Since no such combination has ever been attempted in this region, the study
will look into the feasibility of this system in simpler and low rise building. To maximize the impact of the
proposed system on the operative temperature, other passive cooling method meant to improve the air
temperature will also be considered such as earth tube technology. As mentioned earlier that both the air
temperature and the mean radiant temperature (MRT) have equal influence in the thermal comfort of a

person therefore this study will work to improve both surface radiant and air temperature to achieve in
general two objectives which is energy efficient building and thermally comfortable building.
A previous study through computer simulation by (Baharun, Ibrahim, Abdullah, & Koon, 2011) who
studied on the application of night cooled water with indoor radiant cooling in a naturally ventilated low
cost house (4 unit house with 41m 2 build up area for each unit) showed that the peak indoor temperature
could be lowered theoretically as shown in Figure 5. The effect was rather small as the radiant panel
was applied only onto wall surface (1 out of 4 side of wall) and half the wall height. The cooling panel
with an area of 11.25 m2 consists of 10 lengths of 7.5m long 13mm diameter tubes mounted on insulated
wall and covered with a metal plate. Night cooled water was delivered when the indoor temperature
exceeds 29.5C during the day. With a tank volume of 0.3m 3 and flowrate of 0.08 l/s, the peak indoor
temperature of 30.7C was lowered to 30.2C (a 0.5C drop). The model was further tested with bigger
tank capacity of 1.3m3 and higher flow rate of 0.32 l/s but was not able to give a significant lowering of
indoor operative temperature. The area of the cooling panel was also fixed during all simulation process.
No further tests were carried out on the effect of increase cooling panel surface and its limitation at this
stage. Point worth mentioning here is that the computer building model were given retrofit such as window
shading to reduce direct solar beam radiation through the window which reduce the indoor temperature
from 31.1C to 30.5C. This model was then used as a baseline prior to simulating with radiant cooling
panel.

Fig. 5. Effect of radiator on the operative temperature of hottest end unit, UNIT1W (Baharun et al., 2011)
A few question needs to be addresses here which include
a) How much in term of area of radiant cooling panel is required in a naturally ventilated building to
further bring down the operative temperature and what is the cooling capacity limit?
b) What is the corresponding outdoor night cooling radiator sizing, water tank size, cooling pipe
length, water flow rate, for a given floor area of building in order to achieved the above?
c) What will be the range of operative temperature from single storey to a double storey building and
up to 4 storey high (low rise building) when applying this system?
d) If the system could provide satisfactory thermal condition to replace air conditioning building, how
much saving in kWh energy is expected?
e) If there is a limitation in improving the thermal comfort with this system what other passive cooling
strategies are there?
f)

If hybrid system was chosen such as Earth Tube and Radiant cooling, what would be overall

impact?

The preliminary literature review above shows that night cooling radiator and indoor radiant
cooling system to be used in building situated in tropical climate like Malaysia is promising and should
be explored more with improvements made to suit local condition to achieved thermally acceptable indoor
condition. This study should also serve as catalyst to radically change the landscape of building technology
in Malaysia not only to support the current green policies of the government but also to improve condition of
living.
References.
1. Ashrae. (2008). Chapter 06 Panel Heating and Cooling. ASHRAE HandbookHVAC Systems and
Equipment (SI), 136
2. Binghooth, A., & Zainal, Z. (2012). Performance of desiccant dehumidication with hydronic radiant
cooling system in. Energy and Buildings 51, 1-5.
3. Ali, A. H. (2007). Passive cooling of water at night in uninsulated open tank in hot arid areas. Energy
Conversion and Management 48, 93100.
4. Ali, H., Taha, I., & Ismail, I. (1995). Cooling of water flowing through a night sky radiator. Solar Energy
Vol 55 No 4, 235-253.
5. Anwar, Taib, S., Abdul, M., & Salah, W. (2009). Analysis of energy sectoral in Malaysia. Energy, 733739.
6. Baharun , A., Ooi , K., & Chen, D. (2009). Thermal Comfort and Occupant Behaviors in Accurate, a
Software Assessing the Thermal Performance of Residential Buildings in Australia. 5th International
Workshop on Energy and Environment of Residential Buildings and the 3rd International Conference
on Built Environment and Public Health (EERB-BEPH2009),.
7. Baharun, A., Halipah, I. S., Omar, A. M., & Ooi, K. B. (2011). A Passive Malaysian Residential Building
With A Hydronic Radiator. Special Issue Of Internatioanl Journal of Research and Reviews in Applied
Science.
8. Chotivisarut, N., Nuntaphan, A., & Kiatsiriroat, T. (2012). Seasonal cooling load reduction of building
by thermosyphon heat pipe radiator in different climate areas. Renewable Energy 38, 188-194.
9. Chua, S. C., & Oh, T. H. (2010). Review on Malaysias national energy developments: Key
policies,agencies,programmes and international involvements. Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews.
10. DOE, M. (2006). Energy Information Administration Energy Information Administration. Retrieved
2010,
from
energy-related
emissions
data
and
environmental
analyses:
http://www.eia.doe.gov/environment.html.
11. Hanif, M., Mahlia, T., Zare, A., Saksahdan, T., & Metselaar, H. (2014). Potential energy savings by
radiative cooling system for a building in tropical climate. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
32 , 642650.
12. Heidarinejad, G., Farahani, M. F., & Delfani, S. (2010 ). Investigation of a hybrid system of nocturnal
radiative cooling and direct evaporative cooling. Building and Environment 45, 15211528.
13. Mier, M., Rekstad, J., & Lovvik, O. (2002). A STUDY OF A POLYMER-BASED RADIATIVE COOLING
SYSTEM. Solar Energy Vol. 73 No. 6,, pp. 403417,.
14. Ministry of Energy Green Technology and Water Malaysia. (2009). National Green Technology Policy
15. Nigel, & Lucas. (2008). Malaysian industrial energy efficiency improvement project: midterm.
Retrieved from http://www.ptm.org.
16. Nutprasert, N., & Chaiwiwatworakul, P. (2014 ). Radiant Cooling with Dehumidified Air Ventilation for
Thermal Comfort in Buildings in Tropical Climate. Energy Procedia 52 , 250 259.
17. Pfafferontt, J., & Kalz, D. (2007). Thermo-active building systems. Bine (Vol. 1).
18. Santamouris, M., Dascalaki, E., Balaras, C., Argiriou, A., & Gagli, A. (1994). Energy Performance and
Energy Conservation in Healthcare Buildings in Hellas. Energy Conservation Management, 293-305.
19. Uponor Inc. (2013). UPONOR Radiant Cooling Design Manual.
20. Vangtook , P., & Chirarattananon, S. ((2006)). An experimental investigation of application of radiant
cooling in hot humid climate. Energy and Buildings 38, 273285.
21. Watson, R. D., & Chapman, K. S. (2002). Radiant Heating and Cooling handbook

(b) Objective (s) of the Research

Objektif Penyelidikan

This study attempts to design and develop a hydronic radiator panel prototype for a low rise building (up to
4 storeys high) and determine the best configuration and set up that will provide optimum amount of cooling
as well as thermal comfort.
The objectives are:
a) To conduct literature review to search all possible design and configuration for both night cooling
radiator device as well as indoor radiant cooling system
b) To produce a prototype and to be tested in sample room/building according to the concept design
or an alternate design
c) To carry out computer simulation and validation using building thermal modelling software (Energy
Plus) to justify the use of prototype in buildings in term of thermal comfort and energy savings.
d) To study the combination of prototype with other passive cooling strategies and the effect to
thermal comfort and energy savings.

(c)

Methodology
Kaedah penyelidikan
Please state in the form / Sila nyatakan di borang ini
1. Description of Methodology

Step 1: Literature review

-

Prior study/researches from journals and other resource describing the potential of radiant cooling
in building in tropical climate
Establish the design and configuration for hydronic radiator as well as night cooling device.
Other variant of hydronic radiator and source of cooling in hot and humid climate to be studied and
applied to design
Study on justification of material selection.
Study of other passive cooling strategies in tropical climate buildings to achieve thermal comfort to
be used in combination of the hydronic radiator
Study of ground temperature of various type and location in sarawak to determine the cooling
potential depth that will be used as hybrid with indoor radiant cooling. Use of temperature probes
and information from various government agencies to provide the information.

Step 2: Experimental work (Refer to Figure 5)

-

Preparation of construction material such as PolyUrethene wall panel, radiant ceiling panel, under
roofing, insulated water tank, water make up tanks, pumps and pipings, cooper pipes and
aluminum plates for wall radiant panel.
Construct a night cooling radiative device and well insulated storage tank to store the cool water.
Construct a hydronic radiator panel suited for residential building and determine the optimum sizing
as well as capacity.
Retrofit test room with PU panel, night cooling device and hydronic radiator panel to study the
extent of impact on indoor temperature.
Retrofit test room/building with other passive cooling device such as radiative cooling ceiling,
bituminous base under roofing technology, earth tunnel technology and others to establish a
baseline test room that meets the minimum OTTV and RTTV requirement in MS1525.
Series of underground piping will be constructed and blowers to force ventilation air through pipe
into test room.
Test room will be fitted with temperature data logger to monitor the surface and room temperature
as well as relative humidity.

This prototype will be tested in a selected test room size with retrofits to determine the cooling
effect it can contribute.
The test will also be used to validate the simulation results given by Energy Plus.

Fig. 5. Schematic of night cooling water to be circulated to indoor cooling panel

Step 3: Simulation with Energy Plus Software
-

Use of Energy Plus (EP) for building energy simulation (EP is a building energy simulation software
developed by US Department of Energy and readily available from their website for free) In this
study EP will be used to simulate the different configuration and setup of the prototype hydronic
radiator to be used in different sizes and volume of buildings and see the effect on energy
reductions as well as thermal comfort.
Program validation will be carried out to provide an acceptable degree of confidence on the results
predicted by the program.
The simulation result will also serve to provide best configuration for the prototype.

2. Flow Chart of Research Activities ( Please enclose in the Appendix)

As enclosed in appendix
3. Gantt Chart of Research Activities (Please enclose in the Appendix)
As enclosed in appendix
4. Milestones and Dates
As enclosed in appendix

(d)

Expected Results/Benefit
Jangkaan Hasil Penyelidikan
1. Novel theories/New findings/Knowledge
Data collected from the test model is aimed at providing local building design with self sustaining
indoor radiant cooling
Area of radiant cooling panel required for different category of building such as low cost house,

double storey to 4 storey office building and its corressponding operative temperature
Area of outdoor radiant roof for night cooling and its corresponding volume of chill water
Cost versus benefit ratio of radiant cooling by category of building
Performance evaluation of radiant cooling system such as range of operative temperature, pump
running time and energy consumption
Performance evaluation of hybrid radiant with earth tube system

2. Research Publications
About 3 Journals and research paper are expected to be produced.
3. Specific or Potential Applications
Successful design and application of night cooled hydronic radiator could be patented and
adopted in local building design. Local manufacturer could be approached to mass produce the
product as well as gain green product incentives given by the government. The product could be
applied across a wide range of building categories as another way to improve living and working
condition in building especially in Sarawak as well as the country.
4. Human Capital
5. Impact on Society, Economy and Nation
Expected impact are as follows:
-

Improvement in term of thermal comfort for buildings with adverse thermal condition aspecially for
low cost house in urban area as well as rural folks
Improvement in thermal conditions in government buildings such as rural clinics and klinik desa as
well as residential building in the rural area where electricity still not available to run any sort of
mechanical cooling system.
Reduce dependency on mechanical cooling such as air conditoning
Reduce the nations carbon footprint and energy demand.
Create local businesses in simple green technology field where device can be constructed using
local material and create demand from downstream vendor and supplier.
Sustainable indoor environmental quality
Contribute to energy efficient move by the governement.
Home retrofitted with EE device will improve marketing and gain more popularity among
consumers.
Business incentives for manufactures of green products.

ACCESS TO EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL / KEMUDAHAN SEDIA ADA UNTUK KEGUNAAN

BAGI PENYELIDIKAN INI

Equipment
Peralatan

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)
m)
n)
o)
p)

Location
Tempat

Datalogger
Air flow meter
Infrared camera
Type K Thermocouple wire rolls
CF card with adapter for dataloger
Foldable Ladder 12
Rivetting device
Copper pipe soldering tool and wires
Copper pipe bending and cutting tool
HDPE pipe clamp and coupling tool
Electrical Extension wires with multiple sockets
Wall Drilling set
Tool box set
Flow meter
Water Pressure gauge
Macintosh Probe Set

UNIMAS

BUDGET /BELANJAWAN
Please indicate your estimated budget for this research and details of expenditure according to the
guidelines attached.
Sila nyatakan anggaran bajet bagi cadangan penyelidikan ini dan berikan butir butir perbelanjaan
lengkap dengan berpandukan kepada garis panduan yang dilampirkan.
Budget details
Butiran belanjawan

Amount requested by applicant

Jumlah yang dipohon
oleh pemohon
Year 1
Tahun 1
(RM)

E(i)

Vote 11000 Salary and wages

Upah dan Elaun
Untuk Pembantu
Penyelidik Siswazah
(GRA)
Please specify
Sila nyatakan secara
lengkap dengan
pecahannya sekali.

Year 2
Tahun 2
(RM)

Year 3
Tahun 3
(RM)

Total
Jumlah
(RM)

Amount approved by
VC/Dep.VC
(R&D)/Director of RMC
Jumlah yang diluluskan oleh
Naib Canselor/ TNC
(P&I)/Pengarah RMC

Please Indicate the overall

Budget
Sila nyatakan bajet secara
keseluruhan

Budget details
Butiran belanjawan

Amount requested by applicant

Jumlah yang dipohon
oleh pemohon
Year 1
Tahun 1
(RM)

E(ii)

Vote 21000 Travelling

Transportation/
Perjalanan
Pengangkutan

Year 2
Tahun 2
(RM)

Year 3
Tahun 3
(RM)

Total
Jumlah
(RM)

Amount approved by
VC/Dep.VC
(R&D)/Director of RMC
Jumlah yang diluluskan oleh
Naib Canselor/ TNC
(P&I)/Pengarah RMC

Please Indicate the overall

Budget
Sila nyatakan bajet secara
keseluruhan

and
dan

Please specify
Sila nyatakan secara
lengkap dengan
pecahannya sekali.
a) Energy plus
traning session

E(iii)

800

800

800

Vote 24000 Rental

Sewaan
Please specify
Sila nyatakan secara
lengkap dengan
pecahannya sekali.
a) Design builders
Software
(Student
Licence)

E(iv)

800

800

Vote 27000 Research Materials &

Supplies
Bekalan
dan
Bahan
Penyelidikan
Please specify
Sila nyatakan secara
lengkap dengan
pecahannya sekali.
Test room retrofits
a) Radiative ceiling
panels
b) Isoline Under
roofing panels
c) Blowers
d) Flexible ducting
e) UPVC pipes 4
f) Window
Shading

500

500

720
100
200
200
250

720
100
200
200
250

Test room retrofits

2470

(bamboo
curtain)
g) PU walls

500

500

Night cooling component

Night cooling
components
h) Water
submersible
pumps (Variable
capacity) 1050W
i) PVC Gutter
complete with
outlet pipe and
connector
j) Steel water
storage tank
(1000litre) with
polyethelene
insulation and
float valve
complete with
connectors
k) Flexible hose
and connectors
l) 1/2 Valves
m) HDPE make up
(500litre) water
tank with float
valve complete
with connector
n) HDPE pipe,
connectors and
brackets
o) UPVC pipe
for water
drainage
p) Electrical wire,
conduits,
bracket and
connectors

3550
200
200

300

300

1800
1800

100

100

50
500

50
500

250

250

50

50

300

300

Hydronic radiator
components
q) HDPE pipes
and brackets
r) Polyethelene
sheet rool
s) Copper pipe
and connectors
t) Aluminum angle
and frame
u) Aluminum metal
sheet
v) Silicon sealant

Hydronic radiator
components
250

250

350

350

1000

1000

250

250

450

450

80

80

2380

Budget details
Butiran belanjawan

Amount requested by applicant

Jumlah yang dipohon
oleh pemohon
Year 1
Tahun 1
(RM)

E(v)

Vote 28000 Maintenance and Minor

Repair Services
Baik pulih kecil dan
ubahsuai

Year 2
Tahun 2
(RM)

Year 3
Tahun 3
(RM)

Total
Jumlah
(RM)

Amount approved by
VC/Dep.VC
(R&D)/Director of RMC
Jumlah yang diluluskan oleh
Naib Canselor/ TNC
(P&I)/Pengarah RMC

Please Indicate the overall

Budget
Sila nyatakan bajet secara
keseluruhan

Please specify
Sila nyatakan secara
lengkap dengan
pecahannya sekali.

E(vi)

Vote 29000 Professional Services

Perkhidmatan Ikhtisas
Please specify
Sila nyatakan secara
lengkap dengan
pecahannya sekali.

E(vii)

Vote 35000 Accessories

and
Equipment
Aksesori dan Peralatan
Please specify
Sila nyatakan secara
lengkap dengan
pecahannya sekali.

TOTAL AMOUNT
JUMLAH BESAR

10,000

Declaration by applicant / Akuan Pemohon

(Please tick ( )): / (Sila tanda ( )):

I hereby declare that:

Saya dengan ini mengaku bahawa:
All information stated here are accurate, RIMC has right to reject or to cancel the offer
without prior notice if there is any inaccurate information given.
Semua maklumat yang diisi adalah benar, RIMC berhak menolak permohonan atau membatalkan
tawaran pada bila-bila masa sekiranya keterangan yang dikemukakan adalah tidak benar.

Date :
Tarikh :
___________________________

Applicants Signature :
Tandatangan Pemohon :

Endorsement by Dean/Director F/I/P:

Pengesahan Dekan/Pengarah F/I/P:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Name:
Nama:

Date:
Tarikh

Signature:
Tandatangan:

Recommendation by Director, Research & Innovation Management Centre

Perakuan oleh Pengarah, Pusat Pengurusan Penyelidikan & Inovasi

Please tick ( )
Sila tandakan ( )

Recommended
Disokong
Not Recommended
Tidak Disokong

Comments:
Ulasan:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Name:
Nama:

Date:
Tarikh:

Signature:
Tandatangan:

Approval by Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation)

Kelulusan Timbalan Naib Canselor (P & I)

Approved
Setuju
Not Approved
Tidak setuju

Comments:
Ulasan:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Name:
Nama:

Signature:
Tandatangan:

Date:
Tarikh:

Note: APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED WILL BE TREATED IN FULL CONFIDENCE. ENDORSEMENT WILL BE MADE
AT RIMC LEVEL AND SUBJECT TO APPROVAL BY DVC (RESEARCH AND INNOVATION).

Carta Alir Permohonan Dana Pelajar PhD (DPP)

Permohona
n tidak
lengkap
dikembalika
n kepada
pemohon

Staf akademik
kemukakan borang
permohonan kepada
Dekan/Pengarah F/P/I

Tidak

Dekan/Pengarah F/P/I
mengesahkan
permohonan dan hantar
ke RIMC
Ya

TNC (P&I) lulus /

tolak
permohonan
ikut kelayakan
kategori
SSK/S&T

Pengarah RIMC
menyemak dan menilai
permohonan dan
majukan cadangan
kepada TNC (P&I) untuk
kelulusan

Ya

RIMC maklumkan
kelulusan kepada
pemohon dan disalin
kepada Dekan/Pengarah
F/I/P

Tida
k

Memaklumkan kelulusan
ke Mesyuarat J/K
Penyelidikan & Khidmat
untuk pengesahan/rekod

RIMC majukan dokumen

ke Pejabat Bendahari
untuk bayaran

RIMC simpan rekod

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