Efficient local personal cooling with fluctuating airflows
conference paper
Overheating in buildings is an increasingly important issue. Various studies show that local personalized cooling can substantially improve comfort levels while saving energy. Airflows are an efficient approach for local cooling. Fluctuating airflows seem more effective and are potentially perceived more comfortable compared to continuous airflows. A pilot study was carried out monitoring the user satisfaction of personalized cooling with fluctuating airflows, continuous airflows and without airflows. The airflows, consisting of recirculated room air, were directed from the ceiling to the upper part of the body. Test subjects were able to control the intensity of the air flows with a user interface. The study was performed in an experimental office space with an controlled air temperature of 28°C. During the experiments skin temperatures, airflows and air temperatures were measured. The thermal comfort was evaluated by questionnaires. The measurements indicate that personalized cooling using an airflow directed to the upper part of the body will improve the thermal comfort significantly. However further research is required to support the hypothesis that fluctuating airflows are more efficient and appreciated compared to continuous airflows. Computations with dynamic building simulation models show that increasing the active cooling set point to 28°C result in cooling energy savings of up to 50%.
TNO Identifier
526184
Publisher
TNO
Source title
Healthy Buildings Europe 2015, 18-20 May, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Collation
7 p.
Place of publication
Delft
Pages
1-7
Files
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