Modernized Ondol Targets International Market

An ondol-heated room in a traditional Korean house. (image: Seoul Metropolitan Government)

SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) – The international standardization of heating and cooling systems making use of a modernized version of ondol, a traditional Korean floor heating system, is under development.

The Korea Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), operating under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, has been holding a five-day general meeting with a technical committee on insulation performance and architectural environment design under the International Organization for Standardization in Seoul since Monday.

About 150 experts from 25 countries around the world will focus on 50 topics, including 10 international standards proposed and led by South Korea, including five revisions to international standards for modern ondol heating and cooling systems.

Modern ondol heating and cooling systems were created based on traditional ondol.

Modern variants cool a room through radiator heat exchange inside the building, and can control the surface temperature of a radiator by supplying cold water.

This method can result in energy savings of 8 to 10 percent compared to conventional methods that use air convection.

Based on the advanced ondol technology, South Korea has led the enactment of 12 international standards related to modern ondol heating and cooling systems, including ondol heating system design, technology standards, testing methods, control and operation and energy cost calculation.

Among them, five international standard revisions proposed by South Korea with cooperation from Germany, Denmark, Italy, the United States and Japan will be discussed at the meeting.

The KATS expected that if international standards are established smoothly, inefficiency problems caused by different performance evaluation methods for different insulation manufacturers will be resolved as well as the overseas expansion of domestic technologies and products.

“At the meeting, South Korea will further solidify its lead in international standardization in the field of modern ondol heating and cooling systems and insulation performance of buildings,” KATS Administrator Lee Seung-woo said.

D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)