Assessing a thermoelectric radiative cooling partition as a personalised comfort system using empirical experiments enhanced by digital shadow visualisation

Abstract

The thermoelectric cooling partition–named Thecla–is a novel hardware setup for individual cooling through radiation exchange with the user's body. In this research, the results of experiments on Thecla as a personalised comfort system (PCS) are investigated to evaluate the cooling effect of Thecla and its impact on thermal comfort. The experiments took place in a controlled-environment climate chamber using a thermal manikin. Furthermore, visualisation as a virtual reality technology was integrated in a digital shadow using the sensors' readings to enhance visualising the thermal impact of Thecla.Comparing the measurements at 28 °C and 30 °C; the higher the temperature, the better the effect of Thecla is on the body parts of the manikin. The results of Thecla as a cooling PCS in 30 °C presented a reduction of local skin temperature by up to 0.5 K. In addition, a reduction was observed in local thermal sensation of 0.12–0.38 points of the 9-point scale; as well as an increase in the body heat dissipation by about 10%. The digital shadow was built on the data of empirical measurements to resemble an interface to monitor thermal changes to improve users' perception of the thermal variations in the ambiance of Thecla. Thus, an easy-to-understand observation of the results allows further control of Thecla based on the visualisation and consequently enhances thermal comfort. This study enables further future investigation aided by visualisation of the thermal effect of PCS on human subjects to analyse individual thermal perceptions and preferences.