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Thermal Comfort
Thermal Comfort
Thermal Comfort Variables
Thermal comfort variables
n Air temperature
n Radiant temperature
n Relative Humidity
n Air velocity
n Activity
n Clothing
Thermal comfort: Clothing
n Clothing insulation is measured in Clo units (Icl)
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n 1 clo = 0.155 m °C/W
n Lowest clo value is 0 (naked body)
n Highest practical clo value = 4 clo (Eskimo clothing, fur pants, coat,
hood, gloves etc.)
n Summer clothing ~ 0.6 clo
n Winter clothing ~ 1 clo
n Icl ~ 0.15 x weight of clothes in lbs.
n 10 lbs of clothing ~ 1.5 clo
Thermal comfort: Clothing
n 1 clo maintains sedentary man (1 met) indefinitely comfortable at
21°C, 50% RH, 0.01 m/sec.
n Wind speed effects clothing insulation
n Porosity water vapor transfer through clothing affects its insulation
value
n Permeation efficiency factor (Fpcl) ranges from 0 = completely
impermeable fabric 1 = absence of clothing
n Thickness effects insulation value
n Tog European unit of thermal insulation 1 tog = 0.645 clo
Chair Insulation (McCullough et al., 1994)
n Tested the insulation value for 7 chairs. Value ranged between 0.1 – 0.3 clo for
chairs with solid seats and backs.
Thermal comfort definitions
n That condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the
thermal environment (ISO 7330, ASHRAE 552004)
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DEA3500 © Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University, January 2010
n ASHRAE 552004
n Absence of thermal discomfort
n Conditions in which 80% or 90% of people don’t express dissatisfaction
Thermal comfort scales
n Thermal comfort and thermal sensation are not the same
n Thermal sensation depends on skin temperature (cold through
hot)
n Thermal comfort depends on the desired physiological state
(uncomfortable through comfortable)
n Users can be comfortably hot or cold!
Effective Temperature
n Effective Temperature (ET) in ASHRAE 551992) arbitrary
indices that combine into a single number the effects of drybulb
temperature, humidity and air motion on the sensation of warmth or
cold felt by the human body.
n Defined as “The temperature at which motionless saturated air
would induce, in a sedentary worker wearing ordinary indoor
clothing, the same sensation of comfort as that induced by the
actual conditions of temperature, humidity, and air movement.”
ASHRAE 551992 approach
n ASHRAE 551992:
n Assumed similar air and radiant temperatures
n Standard ET (SET) incorporates different levels of activity and clothing.
n New ET (ET*) incorporates a correction for skin wettedness. ET* is equivalent to
SET for sedentary activity (1.1 met), light clothing and low air speed.
n ET* defines a winter comfort zone and a summer comfort zone (modular
comfort envelope).
Climate Chamber Studies (Rohles)
ASHRAE 551992 zones
n Winter:
n activity 1.2 met
n clothing = 0.9 clo (sweater, long sleeve shirt, heavy pants)
n air flow = 30 fpm (0.15 m/sec)
n mean radiant temperature = air temperature
n Optimum Operative Temperature (top) = 22.7°C (71°F)
n Summer
n clothing = 0.5 clo
n air flow = 50 fpm (0.25 m/sec)
n Optimum Operative Temperature (top) = 24.4°C (76°F)
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DEA3500 © Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University, January 2010
n Minimum clothes (0.05 clo), top = 27.2°C (81°F)
Psychrometric Chart
n Dry bulb temperature
n Wet bulb temperature
n Relative humidity
n Effective temperature
n Assumes that radiant temperature = air temperature
n Different charts for different airspeeds and clothing ensembles.
ASHRAE Comfort Standard
n Standard assumes sedentary work (1.1. Met)
n Assumes clothing insulation (0.8 – 1.0 clo)
Modular Comfort Envelope
n Sedentary activity (1.1 Met)
n Clothing insulation (0.6 clo)
ASHRAE 552004 Comfort zones
Thermal comfort
n ASHRAE 552004 and ISO 7730 view thermal comfort as a specific
combination of thermal conditions that will elicit the desired
physiological state of comfortable (thermal comfort temperature).
n Also accepts the notion that 80% satisfaction is adequate.
ASHRAE 552004 approach
n Operative Temperature (top) arbitrary indices that combine
into a single number the effects of drybulb temperature, radiant
temperature and air motion on the sensation of warmth or cold felt
by the human body.
n top is equal to the temperature at which a specified hypothetical
environment would support the same heat loss from an unclothed,
reclining human body as the actual environment.
ASHRAE 552004 approach
n Operative Temperature (top)
n When the difference between radiant and air temperatures is
<4°C then
n ta = air temperature
n tr = radiant temperature
n A is:
n A = 0.5 (<0.2 m/s; <40 fpm)
n A = 0.6 (0.20.6 m/s; 40120 fpm)
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DEA3500 © Professor Alan Hedge, Cornell University, January 2010
n A = 0.7 (0.61 m/s; 120200 fpm)
ISO (Fanger’s) approach
n Equation containing following variables:
n environment air temperature, radiant temperature, air velocity, water vapor
pressure
n activity metabolic heat, metabolic free energy
n clothing insulation, clothed area/nude area
n Predicted mean vote (PMV)
n Mean vote on ASHRAE scale (Hot; Warm; Slightly warm; Neutral; Slightly
cool, Cool; Cold) by a group of people
n Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD)
n Based on PMV can predict the % of the group that will report thermal
discomfort
n Comfort temperature ~25.6°C (~78.1°F)
PMV and PPD
Thermal Comfort ISO 7730
n Radiant temperature asymmetry:
n cold windows, walls, ceiling (< 10°C)
n warm walls (no limit)
n heated ceiling (< 5°C asymmetry 0.6 m above floor)
n Air velocity (draft):
n < 0.15 m/sec (winter)
n < 0.25 m/sec (summer)
n Vertical air temperature difference (< 3°C from feet to head when
sitting 0.1m 1.1 m, or standing 0.1 m 1.7 m)
n Floor temperature (between 19°C and 29°C)
n PMV and PPD values for <20% dissatisfied
Climate Chamber Studies (Fanger)
Fanger’s Thermal comfort equation
n Estimated by taking a weighted sum of the various temperatures
and other relevant variables.
n Thermal comfort meter.
n Computer models used to calculate comfort predictions.
n For many indoor settings, the predicted temperature is around
25.6°C.
Thermal Comfort Meter
n Thermographic image of a standing and seated person.
n Thermographic image of the thermal comfort probe.
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Thermal Comfort Factors
n Age effects nonsignificant any age effect relates to activity and
clothing)
n Ethnicity nonsignificant
n Gender mainly nonsignificant, some short term effects, depends
on clothing and activity
n Timeofday effects mostly nonsignificant
n Ventilation system variability in acceptable temperatures (Osland,
1998):
n airconditioned: winter = 2.6°C, summer = 2.4°C
n naturally ventilated: winter = 4.9°C, summer = 3.9°C
Radiant Asymmetry
Draft Dissatisfaction
n The percentage of people predicted to be dissatisfied because of a draft may be calculated by
using the following equation:
DR=(34ta)(va – 0.05) 0.62 (37*SD+3.14)
n where:
DR Draft Rating [%]
ta Air Temperature [°C]
va Local Mean Air Velocity [m/s]
SD Standard Deviation of air velocity [m/s]
n To describe how fluctuating the air velocity is, we often use the term "Turbulence Intensity"
which is defined as:
Tu=100 * SD/ va %
Air Velocity (Wigo & Knez, 2005, Ergonomics, 48, 1086)
n 2 exps. tested the effects of 2 velocity conditions in a classroom during an 80
min. exposure:
n V1 constant low velocity
n V2 variations of low and high velocity
n Exp. 1: air temperature was increased from 21°C to 24°C
n Exp. 2: air temperature was increased from 25°C to 27°C
n 24 Ss (12 females; 12 males), aged 16 to 18 years
n No significant effects on attention, longterm memory or problem solving.
n In both experiments Ss in V2 said the air temperature decreased (while it
increased).
n In Exp. 2, V2, Ss reported more pleasant conditions
n Air velocity variations induce a perceived cooling effect, and improve the
perceived pleasantness of higher room temperatures.
Air Velocity (Wigo & Knez, 2005, Ergonomics, 48, 1086)
Thermal Comfort Software (ASHRAE)
Thermal Comfort Software
Adaptation and Context Effects
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n Thermal comfort testing (Abdulshukor, 1993) shows evidence of
context effects:
n Chinese subjects in a Malaysian climate chamber preferred a temperature
of 28°C
n Malay subjects in a Malaysian climate chamber preferred a temperature of
28.7°C
n Malay subjects in a London climate chamber preferred a temperature of
25.7°C
Adaptive Model (Auliciems,1981)
Adaptive Models
n Best fit model to thermal sensation data (Auliciems,1981):
n Tn = 9.22 + 0.48Ta + 0.14 Tmmo
Tn = neutral temperature
Ta = air temperature
Tmmo = mean monthly outdoor temperature
n Best fit model to thermal sensation data for climate controlled and
nonclimate controlled buildings (Humphreys,1994):
n
Tn = 23.9 + 0.295(Tmmo – 22)
e [(Tmmo22)/24SQRT(2)]2
Adaptation and Context Effects
Adaptation and Context Effects
Evaluating Adaptive Models (de Gear et al., 1997)
n Modeled 21,000 datasets on thermal conditions in 160 buildings
n Found that PMV can be useful in climate controlled buildings, and
for 90% acceptability:
Winter: Top = 22.5 ± 1.2K
Summer: Top = 23.5 ± 1.2K
n PMV leads to substantial errors in nonclimate controlled buildings.
Here, for 90% acceptability:
Top = 18.9 + 0.255*(outdoor mean ET*) ± 1.2K
Color, Noise and Thermal Comfort
n Subjects sat in red or blue light conditions of low or high noise (noise stress).
n Color did not interact with noise.
n Subjects preferred lower ambient temperature in red light than in blue light
(Fanger et al. Ergonomics. 1977 20(1):11)
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Field Study of Fanger’s Equation
n Howell et al. (1979, Human Factors, 21(2), 229) studied 521 adults in a
variety of buildings and compared predicted comfort with actual
rated comfort.
n Results showed that Fanger’s equation accounted for only 6% of
the variance in thermal judgments.
n Demographic variables (age, sex) were insignificant.
n Psychological variables (e.g. perceptions of being warm or cold
natured may have much more potent effects.
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