Clarifying Optimum Setting Temperatures for In-Flight Personal Air Conditioning System Considering Individual Thermal Sensitivity Characteristics

Abstract

The number of people who use airplanes has increased year by year. However, most passengers have a feeling of discomfort during a long-distance flight. One of the factors is the lack of temperature control in the cabin. If air conditioning control can be adjusted to each passenger’s thermal sensation, the whole comfort in the cabin would be improved. Therefore, a personal air conditioning control method is required for airplanes. In order to implement personal air conditioning adapted to individual thermal sensation, this study proposes a seat-type air conditioning system that adjusts the temperature to each part of the body and aims to clarify the appropriate temperature setting in consideration of individual thermal sensation. As a result, the appropriate degree of temperature setting change was clarified based on the thermal sensation index. It was found that changing the temperature setting by 2.5 °C per scale of the thermal sensation improved the passenger’s comfort. Furthermore, people who tend to feel cold were found to be more sensitive to temperature changes. It is concluded that personalized air conditioning is possible based on individual thermal sensitivity characteristics. For prospects, it is desirable to study a system that automatically predicts the thermal sensation taking into account individual thermal sensitivity characteristics.