Abstract
In this study, an initial survey of clothing insulation and changes in the metabolic rate of individuals in office spaces was performed to establish the distribution of room temperatures at which individuals perceived a neutral thermal sensation. Subsequently, the indoor thermal environment in four offices was surveyed during the summer with different air-conditioning systems to determine the thermal environment stability in each case. The results revealed that for the required temperature, there was a noticeable difference between the average and most frequent values. Moreover, it was determined that the required temperature distribution is not normal, but rather, it is skewed to the low-temperature side. In addition, the radiant air-conditioning system was found to generate a narrow distribution of the equivalent temperature and hence, facilitated a more uniform thermal environment compared to a convective (multi-unit) air-conditioning system. Therefore, in buildings with convective air-conditioning systems, even if the planar average thermal environment is categorized as comfortable, it may be possible that workers who are sensitive to the cold or heat will complain of discomfort more frequently than those in buildings with radiant air-conditioning systems because the probability of workers sitting in cold- or hot-spot areas is higher in the former case.
Highlights
Conventional air-conditioning systems aim to provide indoor thermal environments of a temperature that is the average value of the group’s required temperature, the required temperature being defined as the temperature at which a person in the room perceives a neutral thermal sensation
A highly uniform indoor thermal environment such as one using a radiant airconditioning system had many workers near the thermally neutral line because the provided temperature range was narrow
Even if many workers feel comfortable with the indoor thermal environment, it may be possible that complaints of being too hot will occur more frequently than those of being too cold
Summary
Conventional air-conditioning systems aim to provide indoor thermal environments of a temperature that is the average value of the group’s required temperature, the required temperature being defined as the temperature at which a person in the room perceives a neutral thermal sensation. The perceived comfort level of occupants is affected by the overall thermal uniformity of the indoor environment, and by the difference in preferred temperature due to the variation in clothing choice and metabolic rate. In a previous study by our group, a new thermal comfort index called a P–R chart was proposed based on the concepts of a required temperature distribution such that an individual perceives a neutral thermal sensation and uniformity of the indoor thermal environment [2]. An initial survey of clothing insulation and changes in the metabolic rate of individuals in office spaces was performed to establish the distribution of room temperature at which an individual perceived a neutral thermal sensation. The differences in thermal environment acceptability between the radiant and conventional convective air-conditioning systems were evaluated using a P–R chart
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