Radiation from cold or warm windows: computer model development and experimental validation

Abstract

This paper presents the development and validation of a computer model, designed as a practical tool, for the evaluation of the impact of radiation from windows on people's thermal sensation. The following tasks were undertaken: (1) the development of a pre-processor; (2) the implementation of a procedure to evaluate the mean radiant temperature (MRT) between a person and the surrounding surfaces; (3) the implementation of a procedure to calculate the predicted mean vote (PMV) index; and (4) the experimental validation of the computer model. The simulated MRT and PMV were compared with measurements in an environmental chamber, in which two electric heating panels were installed on one wall to simulate warm windows, and the results indicated good agreement.