Analysis of draught discomfort prediction models
Abstract One of the common local thermal discomforts that happen in an indoor environment is draught. Because of the importance of draught, many studies have been carried out to develop equations to calculate the draught rate. But because these equations are obtained from experimental tests in narrow experimental windows, their accuracy under wider environmental conditions should be analyzed. In this paper, the accuracy of equations obtained from the literature were investigated. Each equation predicted the draught rate with high accuracy and mean error of 5.3, 6.8, and 2.2% under the thermal conditions in which the equation was obtained. When applying the equations to different thermal conditions, the mean and maximum errors significantly increased and showed errors in predicting the draught rate with a maximum deviation of 63.5, 51.6, and 49.7%. These equations in some cases, even could not predict the draught rate of the reported draught discomfort percentage. Based on the results, each equation had its limitations and none of the studied equations could accurately predict the draught rate in all experimental conditions. An index that considers all relevant parameters in predicting draught discomfort can lead to a better draught rate prediction.