scholarly journals Thermal Comfort Assessment at Parcel and Logistic Industry: A Field Study in Malaysia

2011 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Rasdan Ismail ◽  
Norfadzilah Jusoh ◽  
Mohd nizam ab. rahman Ab. rahman ◽  
Rozli Zulkifli ◽  
Kumaran Kardigama
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Energy Research ◽  
Iso Standard ◽  
Environment Factors ◽  
Solar Energy Research Institute

This paper presents the workers thermal sensation votes and perception of the thermal environment in air conditioning at one of the workspace in Malaysian parcel and logistic industry. The environment factors examined was the relative humidity (%), wind speed (m/s), air temperature (C) and CO2 (ppm) of the surrounding workstation area. These factors were measured using custom integrated thermal comfort apparatus namely as Thermal Comfort Equipment developed by Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, which is capable of measuring various environmental factors. The time series data of fluctuating level of environment factors were plotted to identify the significant changes and patterns among the factors. Then the thermal comfort of the workers was assessed by using ISO Standard 7730 and thermal sensation scale by using Predicted Mean Vote (PMV). Further Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) is used to estimate the thermal comfort satisfaction of the occupant. Finally the PMV and PPD were plotted to present the thermal comfort scenario of workers involved in related workspace. The results revealed that the thermal comfort at the particular workplace was warming followed by thermal sensation and likely to be dissatisfied by dominant of occupants. The results also indicated that the CO2and index of clothing (clo) dominated the parameters of comfort to the occupants.

scholarly journals Experimental Study and Analysis of Thermal Comfort in a University Campus Building in Tropical Climate

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 8886
Author(s):  
Milen Balbis-Morejón ◽  
Javier M. Rey-Hernández ◽  
Carlos Amaris-Castilla ◽  
Eloy Velasco-Gómez ◽  
Julio F. San José-Alonso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Thermal Sensitivity ◽  
Tropical Climate ◽  
Air Conditioning System ◽  
Humidity Measurements ◽  
Air Conditioning Systems ◽  
Thermal Preferences

This study presents the evaluation of the performance and acceptability of thermal comfort by students in the classrooms of a university building with minisplit-type air-conditioning systems, in a tropical climate. To carry out the study, temperature and humidity measurements were recorded, both outside and inside the selected classrooms, while the students were asked to complete thermal surveys on site. The survey model is based on the template proposed by Fanger and it was applied to a total number of 584 students. In each classroom, the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) were estimated according to Fanger’s methodology, as well as the Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) and the Actual Percentage Dissatisfied (APD), which were obtained from the measurements and the surveys. The results of this study showed that the PMV values, although they may vary with the insulation of the clothing, do not affect the TSV. Furthermore, comparing PMV vs. TSV scores, a 2 °C to 3 °C difference in operating temperature was found, whereby the thermal sensitivity for TSV was colder, so it could be assumed that the PMV model overestimates the thermal sensitivity of students in low-temperature conditions. In addition, an acceptability by 90% with thermal preferences between 23 °C and 24 °C were also found. These results indicate that it is possible to increase the temperature set point in minisplit-type air-conditioning system from 4 °C to 7 °C with respect to the currently set temperatures, without affecting the acceptability of the thermal environment to the students in the building.

Evaluation of Human Thermal Comfort Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiichi Watanuki ◽  
Lei Hou ◽  
Yuuki Kondou
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Indoor Temperature ◽  
Prefrontal Area ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
Conditioning Control

Air-conditioning equipment is used in various places such as houses, office buildings, and public facilities and is indispensable in modern-day life. Therefore, the energy consumption of air-conditioning equipment accounts for a large percentage of the total energy consumption in the average household. Specifically, it accounts for 26% of the annual energy consumption in ordinary homes and 27% in industry, according to the Annual Energy Report for Japan, which was presented by the Ministry of the Economy, Trade, and Industry, and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in 2010. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce energy consumption by reducing the air-conditioning load. The Ministry of the Environment recommends a constant preset temperature of 28°C in summer to decrease energy consumption. However, many people feel uncomfortable in such a thermal environment. Thus, an air-conditioning control to simultaneously suppress energy consumption and maintain human thermal comfort is desired. To develop such a control, an index to accurately evaluate human thermal comfort is needed. When a person feels comfortable or uncomfortable, their prefrontal area, which is involved in thinking and the feeling of emotions, is activated. It is presumed that the measurement of the brain activation reaction of a person will reveal whether the person feels comfortable or uncomfortable in the thermal environment. The evaluation of thermal comfort by means of brain activation reactions will allow one to develop the optimum air-conditioning control to maintain human thermal comfort. This paper proposes a method to evaluate thermal comfort via brain signals and ultimately aims to develop an air-conditioning control system utilizing this evaluation method. This paper will describe the measurement procedure of brain activation reactions to indoor-temperature change by using near-infrared spectroscopy and the relationship between thermal comfort and brain activation reaction. This study also investigated the changes in oxyHb levels together with indoor-temperature changes, measured with the NIRS. We measured the changes in the oxyHb levels of the prefrontal area when the temperature increased and decreased. As a result, the oxyHb level in the prefrontal area correlated with the indoor-temperature change, the PMV, and the subjects’ declaration of thermal sensation. Conversely, the change in the oxyHb level with the inclusion of wind and a constant indoor temperature significantly differed with that with a varying indoor temperature. Furthermore, the oxyHb change correlated with the PMV and the subject’s declaration of thermal sensation. Therefore, the measured oxyHb change may represent the thermal comfort of a person.

scholarly journals An Interactive Task Conditioning System Featuring Personal Comfort Models and Non-Intrusive Sensing Techniques: A Field Study in Shanghai

Technologies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Siliang Lu ◽  
Erica Cochran Hameen
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Field Study ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Dynamic Task ◽  
Current Task ◽  
Open Plan

Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems play a key role in shaping office environments. However, open-plan office buildings nowadays are also faced with problems like unnecessary energy waste and an unsatisfactory shared indoor thermal environment. Therefore, it is significant to develop a new paradigm of an HVAC system framework so that everyone could work under their preferred thermal environment and the system can achieve higher energy efficiency such as task ambient conditioning system (TAC). However, current task conditioning systems are not responsive to personal thermal comfort dynamically. Hence, this research aims to develop a dynamic task conditioning system featuring personal thermal comfort models with machine learning and the wireless non-intrusive sensing system. In order to evaluate the proposed task conditioning system performance, a field study was conducted in a shared office space in Shanghai from July to August. As a result, personal thermal comfort models with indoor air temperature, relative humidity and cheek (side face) skin temperature have better performances than baseline models with indoor air temperature only. Moreover, compared to personal thermal satisfaction predictions, 90% of subjects have better performances in thermal sensation predictions. Therefore, personal thermal comfort models could be further implemented into the task conditioning control of TAC systems.

Analysis of the influence of cooling jets on the wind and thermal environment in football stadiums in hot climates

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 561-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fangliang Zhong ◽  
John K Calautit ◽  
Ben R Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Optimized Design ◽  
Outdoor Temperature ◽  
World Cup ◽  
Wind Environment ◽  
The Spectator

After winning the bid of the FIFA’s World Cup 2022, Qatar is facing the greatest challenges in terms of minimizing substantial energy consumptions for air-conditioning of stadiums and maintaining aero-thermal comfort for both players and spectators inside stadiums. This paper presents the results of temperature distributions and wind environment of the original stadium under the hot-humid climate and improvements on them for optimized scenarios of cooling jets. A combined computational fluid dynamics and building energy simulation approach was used to analyse the cooling performance and energy consumption per match of cooling air jets for 10 scenarios with different supply velocities, supply temperatures and locations of jets. The optimal scenario is to employ vertical jets above the upper tiers at supply temperature of 20°C and velocities of 2–12 m/s, integrated with horizontal jets of the same temperature at the lower tiers with 4 m/s and around the pitch with 7 m/s. This scenario can maintain the spectator tiers at an average temperature of 22°C and reduce the maximum predicted percentage of dissatisfied of thermal comfort from the original 100% to 63% for the pitch and 19% for the tiers, respectively. In terms of the energy consumption for the air-conditioning system per match, compared with one of the 2010 South Africa World Cup stadiums Royal Bafokeng stadium which consumed approximately 22.8 MWh energy for air-conditioning in winter (highest outdoor temperature 24.4°C), the maximum energy consumption of the optimal scenario in November (highest outdoor temperature 34.2°C) can reach 108 MWh. In addition, the spectator zones with scenario 8 have the potential to be resilient to the seasonal change of outdoor temperature if slight modifications of the supply velocities and precise temperature control on the spectator zones are applied. Moreover, the configurations presented in this paper can be used as a foundation of jets arrangement for future stadium retrofits in the hot climates. Practical application: This study assesses the aero-thermal conditions of a case study stadium under the hot climate of Qatar and explores the potential of applying cooling jets with different supply velocities, supply temperatures and their locations on the enhancement of both thermal and wind environment of spectator tiers and pitch. The assessment of the original stadium indicates that the ascending curved roof structure impedes the fresh air entering into the stadium and results in an asymmetric temperature distribution on the spectator tiers. The optimized design suggests a combination of vertical jets under the roof and both three arrays of horizontal jets at lower tiers and around pitch for future stadium optimizations in hot climates. It also recommends enhancing the thermal conditions on the pitch by optimizing the velocity of horizontal jets around the pitch. Moreover, the future design of the exact stadiums to be resilient to the seasonal changing outdoor temperature can be implemented based on scenario 8.

scholarly journals Determination of Thermal Comfort in Indoor Sport Facilities Located in Moderate Environments: An Overview

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 769 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Fantozzi ◽  
Giulia Lamberti
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Indoor Environmental Quality ◽  
Indoor Environments ◽  
Major Question ◽  
Sport Practice ◽  
Sport Facilities

In previous years, providing comfort in indoor environments has become a major question for researchers. Thus, indoor environmental quality (IEQ)—concerning the aspects of air quality, thermal comfort, visual and acoustical quality—assumed a crucial role. Considering sport facilities, the evaluation of the thermal environment is one of the main issues that should be faced, as it may interfere with athletes’ performance and health. Thus, the necessity of a review comprehending the existing knowledge regarding the evaluation of the thermal environment and its application to sport facilities becomes increasingly relevant. This paper has the purpose to consolidate the aspects related to thermal comfort and their application to sport practice, through a deep study concerning the engineering, physiological, and psychological approaches to thermal comfort, a review of the main standards on the topic and an analysis of the methodologies and the models used by researchers to determine the thermal sensation of sport facilities’ occupants. Therefore, this review provides the basis for future research on the determination of thermal comfort in indoor sport facilities located in moderate environments.

scholarly journals Outdoor Thermal Comfort at a University Campus: Studies from Personal and Long-Term Thermal History Perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9284
Author(s):  
Jiao Xue ◽  
Xiao Hu ◽  
Shu Nuke Sani ◽  
Yuanyuan Wu ◽  
Xinyu Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Thermal History ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Cold Climate ◽  
Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Winter Climate

Thermally comfortable outdoor spaces have contributed to high-quality urban living. In order to provide a further understanding of the influences of gender and long-term thermal history on outdoor thermal comfort, this study conducted field surveys at a university campus in Shanghai, China by carrying out microclimatic monitoring and subjective questionnaires from May to October, 2019. The analysis of collected data found that, during our survey, 57% of the occupants felt comfortable overall and 40–60% of them perceived the microclimate variables (air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed) as “neutral”. The universal thermal climate index (UTCI) provided a better correlation with occupant thermal sensation than the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET). Females were more sensitive to the outdoor thermal environment than males. Older age led to lower thermal sensation, but the thermal sensitivities for age groups of <20, 20–50, and >50 were similar. Occupants who had resided in Shanghai for a longer period showed higher overall comfort rating and lower thermal sensation. Interviewees who came from hot summer and cold winter climate regions were less effected by the change of UTCI than those from severe cold or cold climate regions.

Quantitative investigations on setting parameters of air conditioning (air-supply speed and temperature) in ventilated cooling rooms

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haofu Chen ◽  
Zhuangbo Feng ◽  
Shi-Jie Cao
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Inertial Force ◽  
Index Formula ◽  
Design Parameters ◽  
Dimensionless Number ◽  
Indoor Thermal Environment ◽  
Indoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Supply

Rational and scientific design of indoor air conditioning is essential. In the design of Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning system, air-supply speed (ventilation rate) and air-supply temperature are the two most important parameters. In the current study, numerical simulations and experimental measurements were adopted to investigate the influences of ventilation mode, air-supply velocity and air-supply temperature on indoor thermal comfort as well as building energy consumption in summer. Different ventilation modes (up supply and down exit, ceiling supply and ceiling exit) were considered in modelling. Based on the simulation and experimental results, dimensionless index [Formula: see text] is proposed, which represents the ratio of buoyancy weighting force to inertial force. This index can be used as a pre-evaluation index of indoor thermal comfort in preliminary design of air conditioning. It is an indicator to judge the working conditions in cooling-ventilated rooms. When [Formula: see text], the settlement and diffusion effects of indoor airflow reach a good level, which means that the parameter setting could provide a comfortable indoor thermal environment. The dimensionless number [Formula: see text] is a theoretically based tool in the pre-evaluation of indoor thermal environment, providing guidance for setting of ventilation design parameters.

Thermal Comfort of the Elderly in Public Health Service Buildings of Thailand

2018 ◽  
Vol 878 ◽  
pp. 173-178
Author(s):  
Chorpech Panraluk ◽  
Atch Sreshthaputra
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Public Health Service ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
The Metabolic Syndrome

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Thermal comfort of the Thai elderly in air-conditioned space. The quantitative evaluation was conducted using 163 senior participants while recording their expressed satisfaction within the thermal environment in four public health service buildings in Phitsanulok Province, Thailand. It revealed that for the Thai elderly, the Predicted Mean Vote could not be used to identify the Thermal Sensation Vote. In addition, the results of this study indicated that personal factors, such as gender, age, and underlying disease correlating affect their Thermal Sensation Vote. Perhaps most significantly, a coincidental finding was that the thermal sensation of the Thai elderly was strongly dependent upon the condition of the occupant’s metabolic syndrome, which belonged to the Non-Communicable Disease group. This study assumed that in the elderly, the metabolic syndrome might have an effect on their metabolic rate (as one of the six factors of thermal comfort). In terms of the environmental factors, the on-site environmental data was collected via field works. It found that the air-conditioned spaces had mean radiant temperatures of 23.20-31.40 °C, this condition would make seniors feel comfortable if the thermal environment in the study areas were controlled: air temperature 23.00-27.80 °C, relative humidity 54.00-73.00% and air velocity 0.08-0.72 m/s. However, some elderly wanted to change this thermal environment to either cooler (10.68%) or warmer (4.85%). Therefore, it should be further study to find the proper thermal environment for covering the most of the seniors in Thailand.

Climatic Strategies of Indoor Thermal Environment for Residential Buildings in Yangtze River Region, China

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Baizhan Li ◽  
Wei Yu ◽  
Meng Liu ◽  
Nan Li
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
River Region ◽  
Climatic Adaptability

Yangtze River Valley is situated within the Hot Summer and Cold Winter zone, and residents in this region of China would require HVAC system to alleviate thermal comfort conditions, although this is tempered by the Design Code (DBJ50-071-2007) for energy efficiency. A 1-year survey of about 200 residential homes was carried out in eight cities covering the breadth of the region. The acceptable temperature range for the residents in this area was 16.3—28.1°C and the thermal neutral temperature was found to be 27.6°C in summers and 17.5°C in winters. People in different area can vary in their adaptability and comfortableness. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the national comfort parameter introduced in the Code for Design of Heating and Ventilation and Air Conditioning (GB50019-2003). The results found that if air-conditioning system was set to 27.5°C instead of 26°C as required by GBJ19-87: Design Standard of Heating and Ventilation and Air Conditioning, a 16.5% saving of energy consumption could be achieved. The findings demonstrated the role of natural ventilation in the expansion of the thermal comfort zone for the residents, especially during the summer seasons. A climatic adaptability model has been established by this study to contribute to the passive climatic design strategies for a better economic and energy efficiency of buildings.

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