WorldWideScience

Sample records for heat comfort practices

  1. Materialities shape practices and notions of comfort in everyday life

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Line Valdorff

    2018-01-01

    The development of residential energy technologies aims to ensure thermal comfort in an increasingly energy-efficient manner. This development influences everyday practices related to comfort in everyday life in dwellings. Therefore, an empirical analysis of interviews with residents in three types...... in heating systems between the housing types and shows how changes in technologies and material structures shape the practices of heating and airing. A shift in technology from radiators to underfloor heating was found to make a clear difference in both how houses are heated and thermal comfort is perceived...... of Danish detached houses, related to the building age, is used to understand how changes in technologies influence residents’ practices and notions of comfort. Detached houses are the most widespread type of housing in Denmark, constituting 44% of the housing stock. The analysis focuses on differences...

  2. Heat comfort and practice theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

    2008-01-01

      This paper has both a theoretical and a practical idea and content. The theoretical aim is to use and develop practice theory from Schatzki, Reckwitz and Warde to be more applicable in understanding everyday routines. The theoretical development will focus on how routines exist in close...... of ventilating and regulating the heat. Analysis in this paper builds on qualitative interviews with households living in identical houses, where those using the least energy for heating use one third of those using the most do. Focus is on describing similarities and differences in practices as well...

  3. Floor heating maximizes residents` comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tirkkanen, P.; Wikstroem, T.

    1996-11-01

    Storing heat in floors by using economical night-time electricity does not increase the specific consumption of heating. According to studies done by IVO, the optimum housing comfort is achieved if the room is heated mainly by means of floor heating that is evened out by window or ceiling heating, or by a combination of all three forms of heating. (orig.)

  4. Combining several thermal indices to generate a unique heat comfort assessment methodology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wissam EL Hachem

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The proposed methodology hopes to provide a systematic multi-disciplinary approach to assess the thermal environment while minimizing unneeded efforts. Design/methodology/approach: Different factors affect the perception of the human thermal experience: metabolic rate (biology, surrounding temperatures (heat balance and environmental factors and cognitive treatment (physiology.This paper proposes a combination of different multidisciplinary variables to generate a unique heat comfort assessment methodology. The variables at stake are physiological, biological, and environmental. Our own heat analysis is thoroughly presented and all relevant equations are described. Findings: Most companies are oblivious about potential dangers of heat stress accidents and thus about methods to monitor and prevent them. This methodology enables the company or the concerned individual to conduct a preliminary assessment with minimal wasted resources and time in unnecessary steps whilst providing a guideline for a detailed study with minimal error rates if needed. More so, thermal comfort is an integral part of sound ergonomics practices, which in turn are decisive for the success of any lean six sigma initiative. Research limitations/implications: This methodology requires several full implementations to finalize its design. Originality/value: Most used heat comfort models are inherently uncertain and tiresome to apply. An extensive literature review confirms the need for a uniform assessment methodology that combines the different thermal comfort models such as the Fanger comfort model (PMV, PPD and WGBT since high error rates coupled with tiresome calculations often hinder the thermal assessment process.

  5. Thermal comfort: research and practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hoof, Joost; Mazej, Mitja; Hensen, Jan L M

    2010-01-01

    Thermal comfort--the state of mind, which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment--is an important aspect of the building design process as modern man spends most of the day indoors. This paper reviews the developments in indoor thermal comfort research and practice since the second half of the 1990s, and groups these developments around two main themes; (i) thermal comfort models and standards, and (ii) advances in computerization. Within the first theme, the PMV-model (Predicted Mean Vote), created by Fanger in the late 1960s is discussed in the light of the emergence of models of adaptive thermal comfort. The adaptive models are based on adaptive opportunities of occupants and are related to options of personal control of the indoor climate and psychology and performance. Both models have been considered in the latest round of thermal comfort standard revisions. The second theme focuses on the ever increasing role played by computerization in thermal comfort research and practice, including sophisticated multi-segmental modeling and building performance simulation, transient thermal conditions and interactions, thermal manikins.

  6. 24 CFR 3280.507 - Comfort heat gain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 24 Housing and Urban Development 5 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Comfort heat gain. 3280.507 Section... gain. Information necessary to calculate the home cooling load shall be provided as specified in this part. (a) Transmission heat gains. Homes complying with this section shall meet the minimum heat loss...

  7. Thermal comfort: research and practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoof, van J.; Mazej, M.; Hensen, J.L.M.

    2010-01-01

    Thermal comfort -the state of mind, which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment- is an important aspect of the building design process as modern man spends most of the day indoors. This paper reviews the developments in indoor thermal comfort research and practice since the second half

  8. Human thermal sensation and comfort in a non-uniform environment with personalized heating.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Qihong; Wang, Runhuai; Li, Yuguo; Miao, Yufeng; Zhao, Jinping

    2017-02-01

    Thermal comfort in traditionally uniform environment is apparent and can be improved by increasing energy expenses. To save energy, non-uniform environment implemented by personalized conditioning system attracts considerable attention, but human response in such environment is unclear. To investigate regional- and whole-body thermal sensation and comfort in a cool environment with personalized heating. In total 36 subjects (17 males and 19 females) including children, adults and the elderly, were involved in our experiment. Each subject was first asked to sit on a seat in an 18°C chamber (uniform environment) for 40min and then sit on a heating seat in a 16°C chamber (non-uniform environment) for another 40min after 10min break. Subjects' regional- and whole-body thermal sensation and comfort were surveyed by questionnaire and their skin temperatures were measured by wireless sensors. We statistically analyzed subjects' thermal sensation and comfort and their skin temperatures in different age and gender groups and compared them between the uniform and non-uniform environments. Overall thermal sensation and comfort votes were respectively neutral and just comfortable in 16°C chamber with personalized heating, which were significantly higher than those in 18°C chamber without heating (pthermal sensation and comfort was consistent in subjects of different age and gender. However, adults and the females were more sensitive to the effect of personalized heating and felt cooler and less comfort than children/elderly and the males respectively. Variations of the regional thermal sensation/comfort across human body were consistent with those of skin temperature. Personalized heating significantly improved human thermal sensation and comfort in non-uniform cooler environment, probably due to the fact that it increased skin temperature. However, the link between thermal sensation/comfort and variations of skin temperature is rather complex and warrant further

  9. Everyday Comfort Practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jaffari, Svenja

    engineering praxis only, in order to address these issues. The empirical work is based on a user-driven innovation project (Indoor Climate & Quality of Life), where engineers, designers, sociologists and anthropologists met in order to exchange their different perspectives and collaboratively form new ideas...... the outdoor. This can be seen, for instance, in 'tight' low-energy buildings that host indoor climate products, which are often controlled by automated systems, to deliver optimal comfort conditions (i.e. temperature, humidity, air quality, noise, and light) to occupants. Buildings' indoor climate is designed......, engineering scientists and practitioners still seem to struggle with the kinds of alternative processes and products that are needed to achieve sustainable comfort. This dissertation applies everyday practice-oriented design ethnography to a field that has traditionally been investigated by scientific...

  10. Influence of duration of thermal comfort provision on heating behavior of buildings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bojic, Milorad; Despotovic, Milan

    2007-01-01

    Because of the permanent dilemma whether residential buildings using district heating should be heated continually or discontinuously, we evaluated how the yearly heating load and the peak heating load of a small building in Serbia depend on the duration of thermal comfort provision. Using HTB2 software, a product of the Welsh School of Architecture, it was found that an increase in the duration of thermal comfort provision in the building from 16 h to 24 h increases the yearly heating load by 20%, reduces the peak heating load by up to 40% and may increase the number of new customers served with the same heating plant by up to 40%

  11. Comfortable, high-efficiency heat pump with desiccant-coated, water-sorbing heat exchangers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tu, Y D; Wang, R Z; Ge, T S; Zheng, X

    2017-01-12

    Comfortable, efficient, and affordable heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems in buildings are highly desirable due to the demands of energy efficiency and environmental friendliness. Traditional vapor-compression air conditioners exhibit a lower coefficient of performance (COP) (typically 2.8-3.8) owing to the cooling-based dehumidification methods that handle both sensible and latent loads together. Temperature- and humidity-independent control or desiccant systems have been proposed to overcome these challenges; however, the COP of current desiccant systems is quite small and additional heat sources are usually needed. Here, we report on a desiccant-enhanced, direct expansion heat pump based on a water-sorbing heat exchanger with a desiccant coating that exhibits an ultrahigh COP value of more than 7 without sacrificing any comfort or compactness. The pump's efficiency is doubled compared to that of pumps currently used in conventional room air conditioners, which is a revolutionary HVAC breakthrough. Our proposed water-sorbing heat exchanger can independently handle sensible and latent loads at the same time. The desiccants adsorb moisture almost isothermally and can be regenerated by condensation heat. This new approach opens up the possibility of achieving ultrahigh efficiency for a broad range of temperature- and humidity-control applications.

  12. Assessment of Thermal Comfort in a Building Heated with a Tiled Fireplace with the Function of Heat Accumulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Telejko, Marek; Zender-Świercz, Ewa

    2017-10-01

    Thermal comfort determines the state of satisfaction of a person or group of people with thermal conditions of the environment in which the person or group of persons is staying. This state of satisfaction depends on the balance between the amount of heat generated by the body’s metabolism, and the dissipation of heat from the body to the surrounding environment. Due to differences in body build, metabolism, clothing etc. individuals may feel the parameters of the environment in which they are staying differently. Therefore, it is impossible to ensure the thermal comfort of all users of the room. However, properly designed building systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning) allow for creating optimal thermal conditions that will evaluated positively by the vast majority of users. Due to the fact that currently we spend even 100% of the day indoors, the subject becomes extremely important. The article presents the evaluation of thermal comfort in rooms heated with a tiled fireplace with the function of accumulation of heat using the PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) and PPD (Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied) indices. It also presents the results of studies, on the quality of the micro-climate in such spaces. The system of heating premises described in the article is not a standard solution, but is now more and more commonly used as a supplement to the heating system, or even as a primary heating system in small objects, e.g. single-family houses, seasonal homes, etc. The studies comprised the measurements and analysis of typical internal micro-climate parameters: temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration. The results obtained did not raise any major reservations. In order to fully assess the conditions of use, the evaluation of thermal comfort of the analyzed rooms was made. Therefore, additionally the temperature of radiation of the surrounding areas, and the insulation of the users’ clothing was determined. Based on the data obtained, the PPD and PMV

  13. Understanding comfort and senses in social practices: Insights from a Danish field study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Line Valdorff; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten

    2017-01-01

    Thermal comfort is central to energy consumption in housing and one of the main drivers behind worldwide GHG emissions. Research on residential energy consumption has therefore addressed comfort in relation to indoor temperatures. This paper argues that by widening the focus of comfort to include...... other aspects such as air, light and materials, more sustainable ideas of residential comfort might be developed. The paper takes a practice theoretical perspective but argues that the senses should be better incorporated into the approach to understand different aspects of comfort. The paper...... investigates how comfort can be understood as sensorial within theories of practice. This implies understanding how the senses are incorporated in embodied and routinised social practices, through which comfort is sensed and interpreted. Comfort is related to a range of everyday practices in the home...

  14. Electric heating provides a high level of home comfort - economically

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haapakoski, M.

    1997-11-01

    Research and development at IVO in the area of electric heating boasts a tradition going back almost thirty years. Research aimed at further progress is continuing. IVO and power companies launched the `Electrically heated houses of the century` project four years ago. The first results show that electric heating continues to be very competitive with other heating systems. It is an economical way of heating the home and it also increases the comfort of those living there

  15. Monitoring results and analysis of thermal comfort conditions in experimental buildings for different heating systems and ventilation regimes during heating and cooling seasons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gendelis, S.; Jakovičs, A.; Ratnieks, J.; Bandeniece, L.

    2017-10-01

    This paper focuses on the long-term monitoring of thermal comfort and discomfort parameters in five small test buildings equipped with different heating and cooling systems. Calculations of predicted percentage of dissatisfied people (PPD) index and discomfort factors are provided for the room in winter season running three different heating systems - electric heater, air-air heat pump and air-water heat pump, as well as for the summer cooling with split type air conditioning systems. It is shown that the type of heating/cooling system and its working regime has an important impact on thermal comfort conditions in observed room. Recommendations for the optimal operating regimes and choice of the heating system from the thermal comfort point of view are summarized.

  16. Experimental and numerical study of back-cooling car-seat system using embedded heat pipes to improve passenger’s comfort

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hatoum, Omar; Ghaddar, Nesreen; Ghali, Kamel; Ismail, Nagham

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: Heat pipe assembly (a) with the insulation layer (b) without the insulation layer; and (c) thermal manikin test on the heat pipe chair. - Highlights: • A new back cooling system for a car seat using embedded heat pipes was modeled numerically. • The heat-pipe seat model was experimentally validated using heated thermal manikin. • An integrated heat pipe model and bio-heat model was used to predict local thermal comfort. • The heat pipe system reduced the back skin temperature by 1 °C compared to seat without heat pipes. • The heat pipe system increased the overall thermal comfort of the passenger by 30%. - Abstract: This work develops a back-cooling system for a car seat using seat embedded heat pipes to improve passenger comfort. The heat pipe system utilizes the temperature difference between the passenger back and the car cabin air to remove heat from the human body and enhance the comfort state. The developed seat heat-pipe model was validated experimentally using a thermal manikin with controlled constant skin temperature mode in a climatic chamber. Good agreement was found between the measured and the numerically predicted values of base panel temperature. By integrating the validated heat pipe with a bio-heat model, the back segmental skin temperature as well as the overall thermal comfort was predicted and compared with the conventional seat case without the heat pipe system. The heat pipes were able to reduce the skin temperature by 1 °C and to increase the overall thermal comfort of the body by 30%. In addition, a parametric study was performed to determine the optimal number of heat pipes that ensure the thermal comfort of the passenger.

  17. Human Thermal Comfort and Heat Stress in an Outdoor Urban Arid Environment: A Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. M. Abdel-Ghany

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available To protect humans from heat stress risks, thermal comfort and heat stress potential were evaluated under arid environment, which had never been made for such climate. The thermal indices THI, WBGT, PET, and UTCI were used to evaluate thermal comfort and heat stress. RayMan software model was used to estimate the PET, and the UTCI calculator was used for UTCI. Dry and wet bulb temperatures (Td, Tw, natural wet bulb temperature (Tnw, and globe temperature (Tg were measured in a summer day to be used in the calculation. The results showed the following. (i The thermal sensation and heat stress levels can be evaluated by either the PET or UTCI scales, and both are valid for extremely high temperature in the arid environment. (ii In the comfort zone, around 75% of individuals would be satisfied with the surrounding environment and feel comfortable during the whole day. (iii Persons are exposed to strong heat stress and would feel uncomfortable most of the daytime in summer. (iv Heat fatigue is expected with prolonged exposure to sun light and activity. (v During the daytime, humans should schedule their activities according to the highest permissible values of the WBGT to avoid thermal shock.

  18. Electric radiant heating: A hot item in home comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lemieux, G. [Britech Corp., Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2003-12-01

    Electric radiant heating as a floor warming system and its growing popularity in home comfort are discussed. Price can be as low as $2.00 per square foot; cost of operation may be as little as 30 cents per square foot per year, depending on time of use and local hydro rates. The use of radiant cable heating is said to have surged in popularity; it provides the same warmth and comfort as more expensive hydronic systems. Radiant cable is simple and inexpensive to install since unlike hydronic systems, it requires no complicated mechanical system with boiler, heat exchanger, valves, pumps and extensive controls. Nevertheless, prospective end users are warned to make sure that the cable is sturdy, tough, has multiple layers of protection with a thick grounding system and conductor core. In addition to heating floors, electric heating cables can also be used for snow and ice control and for melting in driveways and gutters. In these type of installations heavy duty cables are used which are installed under asphalt, concrete or interlocking stones. Thirty watts per square foot per hour is the typical requirement for melting snow and ice. Based on average electricity prices in Ontario, melting snow on an 800 square foot driveway would cost about $2.20 per hour. Assuming five hours for the system to clear the driveway, installing a heating system under the driveway could be an economically viable solution for the home owner, providing freedom from ice, the inconvenience of shovelling snow, and saving time and money.

  19. Using a Zonal Model To Assess the Effect of a Heated Floor on Thermal Comfort Quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boukhris, Yosr; Gharbi, Leila; Ghrab-Morcos, Nadia

    2009-01-01

    People s perceptions of indoor air quality and thermal comfort are affected by air speed and temperature. We have extended the three-dimensional zonal model, ZAER, to be able to predict the temperature fields and the air distributions between and within rooms in the case of natural convection. This paper presents an application of the new zonal model dealing with the influence of a heated floor of one room upon the winter thermal comfort of an unconditioned Tunisian dwelling. Coupling ZAER with a thermal comfort model allows the assessment of the thermal quality of the dwelling through the prediction of a comfort indicator. The obtained results show that a heated floor can be a useful component to improve thermal comfort in the Tunisian context, even in another room

  20. Influence of the ventilation system on thermal comfort of the chilled panel system in heating mode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tian, Zhe; Ding, Yan; Wang, Shuo; Yin, Xinglei; Wang, Menglei [Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072 (China)

    2010-12-15

    In heating mode, fresh air is still essential for a chilled panel system in order to ensure the indoor air quality. In this paper, a chilled ceiling panel system was designed and built in a typical office room. The thermal environment and thermal comfort in the room were fully measured and evaluated by using the Fanger's PMV-PPD model and the standard of ISO 7730 respectively, when room was heated in two modes, one of which is the chilled panel heating mode and the other of which is the combined heating mode of chilled panel and supply air. The research results indicate that in the combined mode, ceiling ventilation improves the general thermal comfort and reduces the risk of local discomfort. Under the condition of same general thermal comfort, the heating supply upper limit of chilled panel can be increased by 12.3% because of air mixing effect caused by introduction of air ventilation. (author)

  1. Neural computing thermal comfort index for HVAC systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atthajariyakul, S.; Leephakpreeda, T.

    2005-01-01

    The primary purpose of a heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system within a building is to make occupants comfortable. Without real time determination of human thermal comfort, it is not feasible for the HVAC system to yield controlled conditions of the air for human comfort all the time. This paper presents a practical approach to determine human thermal comfort quantitatively via neural computing. The neural network model allows real time determination of the thermal comfort index, where it is not practical to compute the conventional predicted mean vote (PMV) index itself in real time. The feed forward neural network model is proposed as an explicit function of the relation of the PMV index to accessible variables, i.e. the air temperature, wet bulb temperature, globe temperature, air velocity, clothing insulation and human activity. An experiment in an air conditioned office room was done to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The results show good agreement between the thermal comfort index calculated from the neural network model in real time and those calculated from the conventional PMV model

  2. Psychiatrists' Comfort Using Computers and Other Electronic Devices in Clinical Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffy, Farifteh F; Fochtmann, Laura J; Clarke, Diana E; Barber, Keila; Hong, Seung-Hee; Yager, Joel; Mościcki, Eve K; Plovnick, Robert M

    2016-09-01

    This report highlights findings from the Study of Psychiatrists' Use of Informational Resources in Clinical Practice, a cross-sectional Web- and paper-based survey that examined psychiatrists' comfort using computers and other electronic devices in clinical practice. One-thousand psychiatrists were randomly selected from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile and asked to complete the survey between May and August, 2012. A total of 152 eligible psychiatrists completed the questionnaire (response rate 22.2 %). The majority of psychiatrists reported comfort using computers for educational and personal purposes. However, 26 % of psychiatrists reported not using or not being comfortable using computers for clinical functions. Psychiatrists under age 50 were more likely to report comfort using computers for all purposes than their older counterparts. Clinical tasks for which computers were reportedly used comfortably, specifically by psychiatrists younger than 50, included documenting clinical encounters, prescribing, ordering laboratory tests, accessing read-only patient information (e.g., test results), conducting internet searches for general clinical information, accessing online patient educational materials, and communicating with patients or other clinicians. Psychiatrists generally reported comfort using computers for personal and educational purposes. However, use of computers in clinical care was less common, particularly among psychiatrists 50 and older. Information and educational resources need to be available in a variety of accessible, user-friendly, computer and non-computer-based formats, to support use across all ages. Moreover, ongoing training and technical assistance with use of electronic and mobile device technologies in clinical practice is needed. Research on barriers to clinical use of computers is warranted.

  3. Psychiatrists’ Comfort Using Computers and Other Electronic Devices in Clinical Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fochtmann, Laura J.; Clarke, Diana E.; Barber, Keila; Hong, Seung-Hee; Yager, Joel; Mościcki, Eve K.; Plovnick, Robert M.

    2015-01-01

    This report highlights findings from the Study of Psychiatrists’ Use of Informational Resources in Clinical Practice, a cross-sectional Web- and paper-based survey that examined psychiatrists’ comfort using computers and other electronic devices in clinical practice. One-thousand psychiatrists were randomly selected from the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile and asked to complete the survey between May and August, 2012. A total of 152 eligible psychiatrists completed the questionnaire (response rate 22.2 %). The majority of psychiatrists reported comfort using computers for educational and personal purposes. However, 26 % of psychiatrists reported not using or not being comfortable using computers for clinical functions. Psychiatrists under age 50 were more likely to report comfort using computers for all purposes than their older counterparts. Clinical tasks for which computers were reportedly used comfortably, specifically by psychiatrists younger than 50, included documenting clinical encounters, prescribing, ordering laboratory tests, accessing read-only patient information (e.g., test results), conducting internet searches for general clinical information, accessing online patient educational materials, and communicating with patients or other clinicians. Psychiatrists generally reported comfort using computers for personal and educational purposes. However, use of computers in clinical care was less common, particularly among psychiatrists 50 and older. Information and educational resources need to be available in a variety of accessible, user-friendly, computer and non-computer-based formats, to support use across all ages. Moreover, ongoing training and technical assistance with use of electronic and mobile device technologies in clinical practice is needed. Research on barriers to clinical use of computers is warranted. PMID:26667248

  4. Adaptive thermal comfort opportunities for dwellings: Providing thermal comfort only when and where needed in dwellings in the Netherlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noortje Alders

    2016-08-01

    different approach to the comfort boundaries used in modern standards was introduced, creating insight in the spread in activity patterns and the comfort demand in the context of individual preferences and vulnerabilities. Information of sociology and thermal comfort studies were brought together creating occupancy and thermal comfort profiles for the Dutch situation. By recognizing the differences in occupancy patterns it becomes possible to design adaptive systems to be able to deliver the comfort demanded only when and where necessary in different occupancy scenarios. This is an opportunity to achieve a significantly better energy performance. Furthermore, a method for dynamic analysis of weather conditions related to the thermal comfort was proposed in order to map the opportunities and threats of weather change. This makes the system able to seize upon every reasonably to be expected situation to create an optimal dynamic filter for the outdoor to indoor thermal environment at any time and place. This preliminary study was performed by presuming a simple shelter that can create shielding from wind and solar radiation without any form of thermal storage or insulation. In this study it is emphasised that there is no need for active cooling in the residential sector of the Netherlands if the dwelling is well designed; blocking solar radiation when needed and to allow built up excess heat to be discarded. An inventory is provided of the possibilities for adaptivity for a thermal comfort system which are used in common practice and which improvements and new techniques can be implemented to increase these possibilities for adaptivity of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort System.  2. The effect of applying the detailed information and adaptive opportunities framed in step 1 on the energy saving and comfort delivery of the Thermal Comfort Systems was researched. Firstly, the most appropriate calculation methods for the research were determined comparing various levels of detail

  5. Thermal comfort

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Osburn, L

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Thermal comfort is influenced by environmental parameters as well as other influences including asymmetric heating and cooling conditions. Additionally, some aspects of thermal comfort may be exploited so as to enable a building to operate within a...

  6. Effect of the Evaporative Cooling on the Human Thermal Comfort and Heat Stress in a Greenhouse under Arid Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. M. Abdel-Ghany

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Thermal sensation and heat stress were evaluated in a plastic greenhouse, with and without evaporative cooling, under arid climatic conditions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Suitable thermal comfort and heat stress scales were selected for the evaluation. Experiments were conducted in hot sunny days to measure the required parameters (i.e., the dry and wet bulb temperatures, globe temperature, natural wet bulb temperature, and solar radiation flux in the greenhouse. The results showed that in the uncooled greenhouse, workers are exposed to strong heat stress and would feel very hot most of the day time; they are safe from heat stress risk and would feel comfortable during night. An efficient evaporative cooling is necessary during the day to reduce heat stress and to improve the comfort conditions and is not necessary at night. In the cooled greenhouse, workers can do any activity: except at around noon they should follow a proposed working schedule, in which the different types of work were scheduled along the daytimes based on the heat stress value. To avoid heat stress and to provide comfort conditions in the greenhouses, the optimum ranges of relative humidity and air temperature are 48–55% and 24–28°C, respectively.

  7. Hybrid heating systems optimization of residential environment to have thermal comfort conditions by numerical simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jahantigh, Nabi; Keshavarz, Ali; Mirzaei, Masoud

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this study is to determine optimum hybrid heating systems parameters, such as temperature, surface area of a radiant heater and vent area to have thermal comfort conditions. DOE, Factorial design method is used to determine the optimum values for input parameters. A 3D model of a virtual standing thermal manikin with real dimensions is considered in this study. Continuity, momentum, energy, species equations for turbulent flow and physiological equation for thermal comfort are numerically solved to study heat, moisture and flow field. K - ɛRNG Model is used for turbulence modeling and DO method is used for radiation effects. Numerical results have a good agreement with the experimental data reported in the literature. The effect of various combinations of inlet parameters on thermal comfort is considered. According to Pareto graph, some of these combinations that have significant effect on the thermal comfort require no more energy can be used as useful tools. A better symmetrical velocity distribution around the manikin is also presented in the hybrid system.

  8. Improving thermal comfort in office practice: biomimetic comfort profiles

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Houten, van M.A.; Boxem, G.; Noom, P.; Velden, van der J.A.J.

    2009-01-01

    In the office building of Kropman in Utrecht a number of measurements were done, by means of NEN-EN-ISO 7726, to determine thermal comfort in the office building. Also two enquiries were held to determine the thermal comfort perception of the employees. The evaluation of the measurements and

  9. Outcomes of newly practicing nurses who applied principles of holistic comfort theory during the transition from school to practice: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodwin, Miki; Candela, Lori

    2013-06-01

    The aim of this qualitative study was to explore if newly practicing nurses benefited from learning holistic comfort theory during their baccalaureate education, and to provide a conceptual framework to support the transition from school to practice. The study was conducted among graduates of an accelerated baccalaureate nursing program where holistic comfort theory was embedded as a learner-centered philosophy across the curriculum. A phenomenological process using van Manen's qualitative methodology in education involving semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis was used. The nurses recalled what holistic comfort meant to them in school, and described the lived experience of assimilating holistic comfort into their attitudes and behaviors in practice. Themes were established and a conceptual framework was developed to better understand the nurses' lived experiences. Results showed that holistic comfort was experienced as a constructive approach to transcend unavoidable difficulties during the transition from school to practice. Participants described meaningful learning and acquisition of self-strengthening behaviors using holistic comfort theory. Holistic comfort principles were credited for easing nurses into the realities of work and advocating for best patient outcomes. Patient safety and pride in patient care were incidental positive outcomes. The study offers new insights about applying holistic comfort to prepare nurses for the realities of practice. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Air Flow, Heat Transfer and Thermal Comfort in Buildings with Different Heating Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabanskis A.

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring of temperature, humidity and air flow velocity is performed in 5 experimental buildings with the inner size of 3×3×3 m3 located in Riga, Latvia. The buildings are equipped with different heating systems, such as an air-air heat pump, air-water heat pump, capillary heating mat on the ceiling and electric heater. Numerical simulation of air flow and heat transfer by convection, conduction and radiation is carried out using OpenFOAM software and compared with experimental data. Results are analysed regarding the temperature and air flow distribution as well as thermal comfort.

  11. The human thermoneutral and thermal comfort zones: Thermal comfort in your own skin blood flow.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlader, Zachary J

    2015-01-01

    Human thermoregulation is achieved via autonomic and behavioral responses. Autonomic responses involve 2 synchronous 'components'. One counteracts large thermal perturbations, eliciting robust heat loss or gain (i.e., sweating or shivering). The other fends off smaller insults, relying solely on changes in sensible heat exchange (i.e., skin blood flow). This sensible component occurs within the thermoneutral zone [i.e., the ambient temperature range in which temperature regulation is achieved only by sensible heat transfer, without regulatory increases in metabolic heat production (e.g., shivering) or evaporative heat loss (e.g., sweating)].(1) The combination of behavior and sensible heat exchange permits a range of conditions that are deemed thermally comfortable, which is defined as the thermal comfort zone.(1) Notably, we spend the majority of our lives within the thermoneutral and thermal comfort zones. It is only when we are unable to stay within these zones that deleterious health and safety outcomes can occur (i.e., hypo- or hyperthermia). Oddly, although the thermoneutral zone and thermal preference (a concept similar to the thermal comfort zone) has been extensively studied in non-human animals, our understanding of human thermoregulation within the thermoneutral and thermal comfort zones remains rather crude.

  12. Pregnancy After Bariatric Surgery: National Survey of Obstetrician's Comfort, Knowledge, and Practice Patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smid, Marcela C; Dotters-Katz, Sarah K; Mcelwain, Cora-Ann; Volckmann, Eric T; Schulkin, Jay; Stuebe, Alison M

    2017-09-01

    The objective of this study is to survey a nationally representative sample of obstetricians regarding comfort, knowledge, and practice patterns of caring for pregnant women after bariatric surgery. We conducted an online survey of US obstetricians and describe obstetrician's demographics, practice settings, and practice patterns. We assessed respondent's knowledge and recommended practices. We compared provider knowledge by years since completing residency, scope of practice (generalist or specialist), and practice setting (academic setting or other). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. A total of 106 completed the survey (response rate of 54%). Respondents had a median age of 47 and median 17 years in practice. Sixty-two percent were generalists. Nearly all of the respondents (94%) had some experience with caring for pregnant women after bariatric surgery and 83% reported feeling "very comfortable" (48%) or "somewhat comfortable" (35%) providing care for this population. Most (74%) were aware of increased risk of small for gestational age after surgery. Only 13% were able to correctly identify all recommended nutritional labs and 20% reported that they "did not know" which labs are recommended. There were no differences in comfort, experience, knowledge, and practice patterns by physician characteristics and practice settings. While most obstetricians are aware of perinatal risks after bariatric surgery, a substantial percentage of obstetricians are unaware of recommended practices regarding nutrition and nutritional monitoring. As bariatric surgery becomes increasingly prevalent among reproductive age women, educational interventions to increase obstetricians' knowledge of optimal care of pregnant women after bariatric surgery are urgently needed.

  13. Improving comfort and health with personalized ventilation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melikov, Arsen Krikor

    2004-01-01

    The thermal environment and air quality in buildings affects occupants¿ health, comfort and performance. The heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) of buildings today is designed to provide a uniform room environment. However, large individual differences exist between occupants in regard...... existing knowledge on performance of personalized ventilation (PV) and on human response to it. The airflow interaction in the vicinity of the human body is analysed and its impact on thermal comfort and inhaled air quality is discussed together with control strategies and the application of PV in practice...

  14. Energy-efficient and cost-effective use of district heating bypass for improving the thermal comfort in bathrooms in low-energy buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalla Rosa, Alessandro; Brand, Marek; Svendsen, Svend

    2012-01-01

    , in the example considered 10-35% lower than in the traditional “intermittent bypass” case; secondly, it can be used to increase the thermal comfort outside the heating-season in bathrooms through floor heating, without causing overheating. It is important that the building design foresees the use of shading......, the utilization of the bypass in bathroom floor heating is a cost-effective solution, both for the DH utilities (reduced heat loss from the DH network and higher revenues), the end-users (improved thermal comfort) and the society (reduction of greenhouse gas emissions)....... floor heating to increase the users’ comfort; its techno-economic analysis, including the modelling of the in-house space heating system; the effect of the bypass to the DH network. Some conclusions were derived. First, the “continuous bypass” guarantees low heat losses in the service pipe...

  15. The relationship between radiant heat, air temperature and thermal comfort at rest and exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guéritée, Julien; Tipton, Michael J

    2015-02-01

    The aims of the present work were to investigate the relationships between radiant heat load, air velocity and body temperatures with or without coincidental exercise to determine the physiological mechanisms that drive thermal comfort and thermoregulatory behaviour. Seven male volunteers wearing swimming trunks in 18°C, 22°C or 26°C air were exposed to increasing air velocities up to 3 m s(-1) and self-adjusted the intensity of the direct radiant heat received on the front of the body to just maintain overall thermal comfort, at rest or when cycling (60 W, 60 rpm). During the 30 min of the experiments, skin and rectal temperatures were continuously recorded. We hypothesized that mean body temperature should be maintained stable and the intensity of the radiant heat and the mean skin temperatures would be lower when cycling. In all conditions, mean body temperature was lower when facing winds of 3 m s(-1) than during the first 5 min, without wind. When facing winds, in all but the 26°C air, the radiant heat was statistically higher at rest than when exercising. In 26°C air mean skin temperature was lower at rest than when exercising. No other significant difference was observed. In all air temperatures, high correlation coefficients were observed between the air velocity and the radiant heat load. Other factors that we did not measure may have contributed to the constant overall thermal comfort status despite dropping mean skin and body temperatures. It is suggested that the allowance to behaviourally adjust the thermal environment increases the tolerance of cold discomfort. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. An investigation of thermal comfort inside a bus during heating period within a climatic chamber.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pala, Uzeyir; Oz, H Ridvan

    2015-05-01

    By this study, it was aimed to define a testing and calculation model for thermal comfort assessment of a bus HVAC design and to compare effects of changing parameters on passenger's thermal comfort. For this purpose, a combined theoretical and experimental work during heating period inside a coach was carried out. The bus was left under 20 °C for more than 7 h within a climatic chamber and all heat sources were started at the beginning of a standard test. To investigate effects of fast transient conditions on passengers' physiology and thermal comfort, temperatures, air humidity and air velocities were measured. Human body was considered as one complete piece composed of core and skin compartments and the Transient Energy Balance Model developed by Gagge et al. in 1971 was used to calculate changes in thermal parameters between passenger bodies and bus interior environment. Depending on the given initial and environmental conditions, the graphs of passengers Thermal Sensation and Thermal Discomfort Level were found. At the end, a general mathematical model supported with a related experimental procedure was developed for the use of automotive HVAC engineers and scientists working on thermal comfort as a human dimension. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  17. Black Versus Gray T-Shirts: Comparison of Spectrophotometric and Other Biophysical Properties of Physical Fitness Uniforms and Modeled Heat Strain and Thermal Comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-01

    PROPERTIES OF PHYSICAL FITNESS UNIFORMS AND MODELED HEAT STRAIN AND THERMAL COMFORT DISCLAIMER The opinions or assertions contained herein are the...SHIRTS: COMPARISON OF SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC AND OTHER BIOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF PHYSICAL FITNESS UNIFORMS AND MODELED HEAT STRAIN AND THERMAL COMFORT ...the impact of the environment on the wearer. To model these impacts on human thermal sensation (e.g., thermal comfort ) and thermoregulatory

  18. Association between human and animal thermal comfort indices and physiological heat stress indicators in dairy calves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovács, L; Kézér, F L; Ruff, F; Szenci, O; Jurkovich, V

    2018-06-06

    Warm summer episodes have a significant effect on the overall health and well-being of young cattle; however, it is not known which temperature measure should be used for estimating heat stress in dairy calves. In this study, generalized linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate the relationships between thermal comfort indices and animal-based heat stress indicators in sixteen Holstein bull calves that were housed in individual calf hutches. Data were collected under continental weather characteristics over a 5-day period: day 1 (lower-temperature day), days 2 and 3 (heat stress days), and a 2-day post-stress period. Relative humidity, ambient temperature, the heat index, the humidex and five different temperature-humidity indices (THI) were used as thermal indices. Physiological variables monitored included respiratory rate, rectal temperature, ear skin temperature and heart rate. The heat index and the humidex measuring human thermal comfort were more closely associated with physiological measures than were the ambient temperature or the THIs (in case of heat index: R 2 = 0.87 for respiratory rate, R 2 = 0.63 for rectal temperature, R 2 = 0.70 for ear skin temperature, and R 2 = 0.78 for heart rate, respectively; in case of humidex: R 2 = 0.85 for respiratory rate, R 2 = 0.60 for rectal temperature, R 2 = 0.68 for ear skin temperature, and R 2 = 0.75 for heart rate, respectively). Based on our results, parameters of human outdoor comfort seem better to estimate heat stress in dairy calves in a continental region than those of THIs or ambient temperature. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Use of a novel smart heating sleeping bag to improve wearers' local thermal comfort in the feet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, W F; Zhang, C J; Lai, D D; Wang, F M; Kuklane, K

    2016-01-13

    Previous studies have revealed that wearers had low skin temperatures and cold and pain sensations in the feet, when using sleeping bags under defined comfort and limit temperatures. To improve wearers' local thermal comfort in the feet, a novel heating sleeping bag (i.e., MARHT) was developed by embedding two heating pads into the traditional sleeping bag (i.e., MARCON) in this region. Seven female and seven male volunteers underwent two tests on different days. Each test lasted for three hours and was performed in a climate chamber with a setting temperature deduced from EN 13537 (2012) (for females: comfort temperature of -0.4 °C, and for males: the limit temperature of -6.4 °C). MARHT was found to be effective in maintaining the toe and feet temperatures within the thermoneutral range for both sex groups compared to the linearly decreased temperatures in MARCON during the 3-hour exposure. In addition, wearing MARHT elevated the toe blood flow significantly for most females and all males. Thermal and comfort sensations showed a large improvement in feet and a small to moderate improvement in the whole body for both sex groups in MARHT. It was concluded that MARHT is effective in improving local thermal comfort in the feet.

  20. Use of a novel smart heating sleeping bag to improve wearers’ local thermal comfort in the feet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, W. F.; Zhang, C. J.; Lai, D. D.; Wang, F. M.; Kuklane, K.

    2016-01-01

    Previous studies have revealed that wearers had low skin temperatures and cold and pain sensations in the feet, when using sleeping bags under defined comfort and limit temperatures. To improve wearers’ local thermal comfort in the feet, a novel heating sleeping bag (i.e., MARHT) was developed by embedding two heating pads into the traditional sleeping bag (i.e., MARCON) in this region. Seven female and seven male volunteers underwent two tests on different days. Each test lasted for three hours and was performed in a climate chamber with a setting temperature deduced from EN 13537 (2012) (for females: comfort temperature of -0.4 °C, and for males: the limit temperature of -6.4 °C). MARHT was found to be effective in maintaining the toe and feet temperatures within the thermoneutral range for both sex groups compared to the linearly decreased temperatures in MARCON during the 3-hour exposure. In addition, wearing MARHT elevated the toe blood flow significantly for most females and all males. Thermal and comfort sensations showed a large improvement in feet and a small to moderate improvement in the whole body for both sex groups in MARHT. It was concluded that MARHT is effective in improving local thermal comfort in the feet.

  1. Effect of thermal state and thermal comfort on cycling performance in the heat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulze, Emiel; Daanen, Hein A M; Levels, Koen; Casadio, Julia R; Plews, Daniel J; Kilding, Andrew E; Siegel, Rodney; Laursen, Paul B

    2015-07-01

    To determine the effect of thermal state and thermal comfort on cycling performance in the heat. Seven well-trained male triathletes completed 3 performance trials consisting of 60 min cycling at a fixed rating of perceived exertion (14) followed immediately by a 20-km time trial in hot (30°C) and humid (80% relative humidity) conditions. In a randomized order, cyclists either drank ambient-temperature (30°C) fluid ad libitum during exercise (CON), drank ice slurry (-1°C) ad libitum during exercise (ICE), or precooled with iced towels and ice slurry ingestion (15 g/kg) before drinking ice slurry ad libitum during exercise (PC+ICE). Power output, rectal temperature, and ratings of thermal comfort were measured. Overall mean power output was possibly higher in ICE (+1.4%±1.8% [90% confidence limit]; 0.4> smallest worthwhile change [SWC]) and likely higher PC+ICE (+2.5%±1.9%; 1.5>SWC) than in CON; however, no substantial differences were shown between PC+ICE and ICE (unclear). Time-trial performance was likely enhanced in ICE compared with CON (+2.4%±2.7%; 1.4>SWC) and PC+ICE (+2.9%±3.2%; 1.9>SWC). Differences in mean rectal temperature during exercise were unclear between trials. Ratings of thermal comfort were likely and very likely lower during exercise in ICE and PC+ICE, respectively, than in CON. While PC+ICE had a stronger effect on mean power output compared with CON than ICE did, the ICE strategy enhanced late-stage time-trial performance the most. Findings suggest that thermal comfort may be as important as thermal state for maximizing performance in the heat.

  2. Energy flow and thermal comfort in buildings: Comparison of radiant and air-based heating & cooling systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Le Dréau, Jérôme

    Heating and cooling terminals can be classified in two main categories: convective terminals (e.g air conditioning, active chilled beam, fan coil) and radiant terminals. The two terminals have different modes of heat transfer: the first one is mainly based on convection, whereas the second one...... is based on both radiation and convection. This thesis focuses on characterizing the heat transfer from the terminal towards the space and on the parameters influencing the effectiveness of terminals. Therefore the comfort conditions and energy consumption of four types of terminals (active chilled beam...... losses, and an air-based terminal might be more energy-efficient than a radiant terminal (in terms of delivered energy). Regarding comfort, a similar global level has been observed for the radiant and air-based terminals in both numerical and experimental investigations. But the different terminals did...

  3. The Comfortable Home and Energy Consumption

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Line Valdorff

    2017-01-01

    This paper investigates relations between notions of comfort and notions of home, aiming at a better understanding of residential comfort and the related energy consumption. Residential comfort is examined through a practice-theoretical lens and as something that appears in between the social...... and material structures of a home. The approach considers different elements of comfort in homemaking practices, such as the body, materials and social meanings. The paper examines how conceptions of comfort and homeliness interrelate through homemaking practices and thereby redefine comfort within a framework...... of the home and social practices. This implies focus on “the comfortable home” as made up of homemaking practices that include knowhow, sensations and social norms. The empirical basis comprises interviews and visual data from a field study on detached housing on the outskirts of a Danish city. The paper...

  4. Optimisation of Heating Energy Demand and Thermal Comfort of a Courtyard-Atrium Dwelling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Taleghani, M.; Tenpierik, M.; Dobbelsteen, A.

    2013-01-01

    In the light of energy reduction, transitional spaces are recognised as ways to receive natural light and fresh air. This paper analyses the effects of courtyard and atrium as two types of transitional spaces on heating demand and thermal comfort of a Dutch low-rise dwelling, at current and future

  5. Effect evaluation of a heated ambulance mattress-prototype on thermal comfort and patients' temperatures in prehospital emergency care - an intervention study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aléx, Jonas; Karlsson, Stig; Björnstig, Ulf; Saveman, Britt-Inger

    2015-01-01

    Background The ambulance milieu does not offer good thermal comfort to patients during the cold Swedish winters. Patients' exposure to cold temperatures combined with a cold ambulance mattress seems to be the major factor leading to an overall sensation of discomfort. There is little research on the effect of active heat delivered from underneath in ambulance care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an electrically heated ambulance mattress-prototype on thermal comfort and patients' temperatures in the prehospital emergency care. Methods A quantitative intervention study on ambulance care was conducted in the north of Sweden. The ambulance used for the intervention group (n=30) was equipped with an electrically heated mattress on the regular ambulance stretcher whereas for the control group (n=30) no active heat was provided on the stretcher. Outcome variables were measured as thermal comfort on the Cold Discomfort Scale (CDS), subjective comments on cold experiences, and finger, ear and air temperatures. Results Thermal comfort, measured by CDS, improved during the ambulance transport to the emergency department in the intervention group (p=0.001) but decreased in the control group (p=0.014). A significant higher proportion (57%) of the control group rated the stretcher as cold to lie down compared to the intervention group (3%, pthermal comfort and may prevent the negative consequences of cold stress.

  6. Effect evaluation of a heated ambulance mattress-prototype on thermal comfort and patients' temperatures in prehospital emergency care--an intervention study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aléx, Jonas; Karlsson, Stig; Björnstig, Ulf; Saveman, Britt-Inger

    2015-01-01

    The ambulance milieu does not offer good thermal comfort to patients during the cold Swedish winters. Patients' exposure to cold temperatures combined with a cold ambulance mattress seems to be the major factor leading to an overall sensation of discomfort. There is little research on the effect of active heat delivered from underneath in ambulance care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an electrically heated ambulance mattress-prototype on thermal comfort and patients' temperatures in the prehospital emergency care. A quantitative intervention study on ambulance care was conducted in the north of Sweden. The ambulance used for the intervention group (n=30) was equipped with an electrically heated mattress on the regular ambulance stretcher whereas for the control group (n=30) no active heat was provided on the stretcher. Outcome variables were measured as thermal comfort on the Cold Discomfort Scale (CDS), subjective comments on cold experiences, and finger, ear and air temperatures. Thermal comfort, measured by CDS, improved during the ambulance transport to the emergency department in the intervention group (p=0.001) but decreased in the control group (p=0.014). A significant higher proportion (57%) of the control group rated the stretcher as cold to lie down compared to the intervention group (3%, pthermal comfort and may prevent the negative consequences of cold stress.

  7. Micrometeorological simulations to predict the impacts of heat mitigation strategies on pedestrian thermal comfort in a Los Angeles neighborhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taleghani, Mohammad; Sailor, David; Ban-Weiss, George A.

    2016-02-01

    The urban heat island impacts the thermal comfort of pedestrians in cities. In this paper, the effects of four heat mitigation strategies on micrometeorology and the thermal comfort of pedestrians were simulated for a neighborhood in eastern Los Angeles County. The strategies investigated include solar reflective ‘cool roofs’, vegetative ‘green roofs’, solar reflective ‘cool pavements’, and increased street-level trees. A series of micrometeorological simulations for an extreme heat day were carried out assuming widespread adoption of each mitigation strategy. Comparing each simulation to the control simulation assuming current land cover for the neighborhood showed that additional street-trees and cool pavements reduced 1.5 m air temperature, while cool and green roofs mostly provided cooling at heights above pedestrian level. However, cool pavements increased reflected sunlight from the ground to pedestrians at a set of unshaded receptor locations. This reflected radiation intensified the mean radiant temperature and consequently increased physiological equivalent temperature (PET) by 2.2 °C during the day, reducing the thermal comfort of pedestrians. At another set of receptor locations that were on average 5 m from roadways and underneath preexisting tree cover, cool pavements caused significant reductions in surface air temperatures and small changes in mean radiant temperature during the day, leading to decreases in PET of 1.1 °C, and consequent improvements in thermal comfort. For improving thermal comfort of pedestrians during the afternoon in unshaded locations, adding street trees was found to be the most effective strategy. However, afternoon thermal comfort improvements in already shaded locations adjacent to streets were most significant for cool pavements. Green and cool roofs showed the lowest impact on the thermal comfort of pedestrians since they modify the energy balance at roof level, above the height of pedestrians.

  8. Micrometeorological simulations to predict the impacts of heat mitigation strategies on pedestrian thermal comfort in a Los Angeles neighborhood

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taleghani, Mohammad; Ban-Weiss, George A; Sailor, David

    2016-01-01

    The urban heat island impacts the thermal comfort of pedestrians in cities. In this paper, the effects of four heat mitigation strategies on micrometeorology and the thermal comfort of pedestrians were simulated for a neighborhood in eastern Los Angeles County. The strategies investigated include solar reflective ‘cool roofs’, vegetative ‘green roofs’, solar reflective ‘cool pavements’, and increased street-level trees. A series of micrometeorological simulations for an extreme heat day were carried out assuming widespread adoption of each mitigation strategy. Comparing each simulation to the control simulation assuming current land cover for the neighborhood showed that additional street-trees and cool pavements reduced 1.5 m air temperature, while cool and green roofs mostly provided cooling at heights above pedestrian level. However, cool pavements increased reflected sunlight from the ground to pedestrians at a set of unshaded receptor locations. This reflected radiation intensified the mean radiant temperature and consequently increased physiological equivalent temperature (PET) by 2.2 °C during the day, reducing the thermal comfort of pedestrians. At another set of receptor locations that were on average 5 m from roadways and underneath preexisting tree cover, cool pavements caused significant reductions in surface air temperatures and small changes in mean radiant temperature during the day, leading to decreases in PET of 1.1 °C, and consequent improvements in thermal comfort. For improving thermal comfort of pedestrians during the afternoon in unshaded locations, adding street trees was found to be the most effective strategy. However, afternoon thermal comfort improvements in already shaded locations adjacent to streets were most significant for cool pavements. Green and cool roofs showed the lowest impact on the thermal comfort of pedestrians since they modify the energy balance at roof level, above the height of pedestrians. (letter)

  9. HUMAN COMFORT AND THE MICROCLIMATIC DRIVERS ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Osondu

    mean heat stress (poor human comfort), followed by high density residential areas. A major attribute ... Key words: Heat stress, human comfort, microclimate, land use, urban, vegetation. Introduction ... defined by the meteorological Glossary as the physical state of .... which is the focus of the study is characterized by. Human ...

  10. Urban environment and vegetation: comfort and urban heat island mitigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriano Magliocco

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the outcomes of an experimental simulation on the microclimatic effects and on thermal comfort of vegetation in urban environment, conducted by means of a three-dimensional microclimate model, ENVI- met 3.1. The simulation considers a wide range of hypothetical cases of typical city areas with different characteristics related to: building density, building height, vegetation type and density. The results of the study show how different combinations of amount and type of vegetation, density and height of buildings affect the urban heat island phenomenon in Mediterranean climate.

  11. Heat transfer capability of solar radiation in colored roof and influence on room thermal comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syuhada, Ahmad; Maulana, Muhammad Ilham

    2018-02-01

    Colored zinc is the most widely used by people in Indonesia as the roof of the building. Each color has different heat absorption capability, the higher the absorption capacity of a roof will cause high room temperature. A high temperature in the room will cause the room is not thermally comfortable for activity. Lack of public knowledge about the ability of each color to absorb heat can cause errors in choosing the color of the roof of the building so that it becomes uncomfortable regarding thermal comfort. This study examined how big the ability of each color in influencing the heat absorption on the roof of the zinc. The purpose of this study is to examine which colors are the lowest to absorb radiation heat. This research used theexperimental method. Data collected by measuring the temperature of the environment above and below the colored tin roof, starting at 11:00 am until 15:00 pm. The zinc roofs tested in this study are zinc black, red zinc, green zinc, blue zinc, brown zinc, maroon zinc, orange zinc, zinc gray, zinc color chrome and zinc white color. The study results show that black and blackish colors will absorb more heat than other colors. While the color white or close to whitish color will absorb a slight heat.

  12. Supply of domestic hot Water at comfortable temperatures by low-temperature district heating without risk of Legionella

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Xiaochen

    disinfection efficacy for Legionella if supplied by LTDH, and inject no additives into the water. Thus, they can be considered as feasible sterilization solutions. In terms of the DHW system design methods, in addition to ensure the safe and hygiene DHW supply, the potential DHW systems should also...... temperature for space heating but lower than LTDH. Therefore, to meet the comfort and hygiene requirements for DHW supply, supplementary heating methods should be combined. However, one obstacle to realize the LTDH/ULTDH is the concern of the violation of the comfort and hygiene requirements of DHW supply....... According to the Danish standard, the supply for DHW should be able to reach 45 °C for the kitchen use and 40 °C for other uses for comfort. Regarding to the hygiene requirements, large DHW system with DHW storage tank and circulation has to use high temperature regime to get rid of Legionella. The storage...

  13. Annual Energy Savings and Thermal Comfort of Autonomously Heated and Cooled Office Chairs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carmichael, Scott [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Booten, Chuck [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Robertson, Joseph [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chin, Justin [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Christensen, Dane [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Pless, Jacquelyn [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Arent, Doug [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2016-07-01

    Energy use in offices buildings is largely driven by air conditioning demands. But the optimal temperature is not the same for all building occupants, leading to the infamous thermostat war. And many occupants have independently overcome building comfort weaknesses with their own space heaters or fans. NREL tested is a customized office chair that automatically heats and cools the occupant along the seat and chair back according to the occupants' personal preferences. This product is shown to deliver markedly better comfort at room temperatures well above typical office cooling setpoints. Experimental subjects reported satisfaction in these elevated air temperatures, partly because the chair's cooling effect was tuned to their own individual needs. Simulation of the chair in office buildings around the U.S. shows that energy can be saved everywhere, with impacts varying due to the climate. Total building HVAC energy savings exceeded 10% in hot-dry climate zones. Due to high product cost, simple payback for the chair we studied is beyond the expected chair life. We then understood the need to establish cost-performance targets for comfort delivery packages. NREL derived several hypothetical energy/cost/comfort targets for personal comfort product systems. In some climate regions around the U.S., these show the potential for office building HVAC energy savings in excess of 20%. This report documents this research, providing an overview of the research team's methods and results while also identifying areas for future research building upon the findings.

  14. A new 'bio-comfort' perspective for Melbourne based on heat stress, air pollution and pollen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Stephanie J; Pezza, Alexandre B; Barras, Vaughan; Bye, John

    2014-03-01

    Humans are at risk from exposure to extremes in their environment, yet there is no consistent way to fully quantify and understand the risk when considering more than just meteorological variables. An outdoor 'bio-comfort' threshold is defined for Melbourne, Australia using a combination of heat stress, air particulate concentration and grass pollen count, where comfortable conditions imply an ideal range of temperature, humidity and wind speed, acceptable levels of air particulates and a low pollen count. This is a new approach to defining the comfort of human populations. While other works have looked into the separate impacts of different variables, this is the first time that a unified bio-comfort threshold is suggested. Composite maps of surface pressure are used to illustrate the genesis and evolution of the atmospheric structures conducive to an uncomfortable day. When there is an uncomfortable day due to heat stress conditions in Melbourne, there is a high pressure anomaly to the east bringing warm air from the northern interior of Australia. This anomaly is part of a slow moving blocking high originating over the Indian Ocean. Uncomfortable days due to high particulate levels have an approaching cold front. However, for air particulate cases during the cold season there are stable atmospheric conditions enhanced by a blocking high emanating from Australia and linking with the Antarctic continent. Finally, when grass pollen levels are high, there are northerly winds carrying the pollen from rural grass lands to Melbourne, due to a stationary trough of low pressure inland. Analysis into days with multiple types of stress revealed that the atmospheric signals associated with each type of discomfort are present regardless of whether the day is uncomfortable due to one or multiple variables. Therefore, these bio-comfort results are significant because they offer a degree of predictability for future uncomfortable days in Melbourne.

  15. A new `bio-comfort' perspective for Melbourne based on heat stress, air pollution and pollen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Stephanie J.; Pezza, Alexandre B.; Barras, Vaughan; Bye, John

    2014-03-01

    Humans are at risk from exposure to extremes in their environment, yet there is no consistent way to fully quantify and understand the risk when considering more than just meteorological variables. An outdoor `bio-comfort' threshold is defined for Melbourne, Australia using a combination of heat stress, air particulate concentration and grass pollen count, where comfortable conditions imply an ideal range of temperature, humidity and wind speed, acceptable levels of air particulates and a low pollen count. This is a new approach to defining the comfort of human populations. While other works have looked into the separate impacts of different variables, this is the first time that a unified bio-comfort threshold is suggested. Composite maps of surface pressure are used to illustrate the genesis and evolution of the atmospheric structures conducive to an uncomfortable day. When there is an uncomfortable day due to heat stress conditions in Melbourne, there is a high pressure anomaly to the east bringing warm air from the northern interior of Australia. This anomaly is part of a slow moving blocking high originating over the Indian Ocean. Uncomfortable days due to high particulate levels have an approaching cold front. However, for air particulate cases during the cold season there are stable atmospheric conditions enhanced by a blocking high emanating from Australia and linking with the Antarctic continent. Finally, when grass pollen levels are high, there are northerly winds carrying the pollen from rural grass lands to Melbourne, due to a stationary trough of low pressure inland. Analysis into days with multiple types of stress revealed that the atmospheric signals associated with each type of discomfort are present regardless of whether the day is uncomfortable due to one or multiple variables. Therefore, these bio-comfort results are significant because they offer a degree of predictability for future uncomfortable days in Melbourne.

  16. Building America Case Study: Occupant Comfort from a Mini-Split Heat Pump, San Antonio, Texas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2017-03-03

    IBACOS worked with builder Imagine Homes to evaluate the performance of an occupied new construction test house following construction of the house in the hot, humid climate of San Antonio, Texas. The project measures the effectiveness of a space conditioning strategy using a multihead mini-split heat pump (MSHP) system in a reduced-load home to achieve acceptable comfort levels (temperature and humidity) and energy performance. IBACOS collected long-term data and analyzed the energy consumption and comfort conditions of the occupied house after one year of operation. Although measured results indicate that the test system provides comfort both inside and outside the ASHRAE Standard 55-2010 range, the occupants of the house claimed both adequate comfort and appreciation of the ease of use and flexibility of the installed MSHP system. IBACOS also assisted the builder to evaluate design and specification changes necessary to comply with Zero Energy Ready Home, but the builder chose to not move forward with it because of concerns about the 'solar ready' requirements of the program.

  17. Effect evaluation of a heated ambulance mattress-prototype on thermal comfort and patients’ temperatures in prehospital emergency care – an intervention study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonas Aléx

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: The ambulance milieu does not offer good thermal comfort to patients during the cold Swedish winters. Patients’ exposure to cold temperatures combined with a cold ambulance mattress seems to be the major factor leading to an overall sensation of discomfort. There is little research on the effect of active heat delivered from underneath in ambulance care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an electrically heated ambulance mattress-prototype on thermal comfort and patients’ temperatures in the prehospital emergency care. Methods: A quantitative intervention study on ambulance care was conducted in the north of Sweden. The ambulance used for the intervention group (n=30 was equipped with an electrically heated mattress on the regular ambulance stretcher whereas for the control group (n=30 no active heat was provided on the stretcher. Outcome variables were measured as thermal comfort on the Cold Discomfort Scale (CDS, subjective comments on cold experiences, and finger, ear and air temperatures. Results: Thermal comfort, measured by CDS, improved during the ambulance transport to the emergency department in the intervention group (p=0.001 but decreased in the control group (p=0.014. A significant higher proportion (57% of the control group rated the stretcher as cold to lie down compared to the intervention group (3%, p<0.001. At arrival, finger, ear and compartment air temperature showed no statistical significant difference between groups. Mean transport time was approximately 15 minutes. Conclusions: The use of active heat from underneath increases the patients’ thermal comfort and may prevent the negative consequences of cold stress.

  18. Outdoor thermal comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikolopoulou, Marialena

    2011-06-01

    A review of the various approaches in understanding outdoor thermal comfort is presented. The emphasis on field surveys from around the world, particularly across Europe, enables us to understand thermal perception and evaluate outdoor thermal comfort conditions. The consistent low correlations between objective microclimatic variables, subjective thermal sensation and comfort outdoors, internationally, suggest that thermophysiology alone does not adequate describe these relationships. Focusing on the concept of adaptation, it tries to explain how this influences outdoor comfort, enabling us to inhabit and get satisfaction from outdoor spaces throughout the year. Beyond acclimatization and behavioral adaptation, through adjustments in clothing and changes to the metabolic heat, psychological adaptation plays a critical role to ensure thermal comfort and satisfaction with the outdoor environment. Such parameters include recent experiences and expectations; personal choice and perceived control, more important than whether that control is actually exercised; and the need for positive environmental stimulation suggesting that thermal neutrality is not a pre-requisite for thermal comfort. Ultimately, enhancing environmental diversity can influence thermal perception and experience of open spaces.

  19. Numerical analysis of air flow, heat transfer, moisture transport and thermal comfort in a room heated by two-panel radiators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sevilgen, Goekhan; Kilic, Muhsin [Uludag University, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Department of Mechanical Engineering, TR-16059 Bursa (Turkey)

    2011-01-15

    A three-dimensional steady-state numerical analysis was performed in a room heated by two-panel radiators. A virtual sitting manikin with real dimensions and physiological shape was added to the model of the room, and it was assumed that the manikin surfaces were subjected to constant temperature. Two different heat transfer coefficients for the outer wall and for the window were considered. Heat interactions between the human body surfaces and the room environment, the air flow, the temperature, the humidity, and the local heat transfer characteristics of the manikin and the room surfaces were computed numerically under different environmental conditions. Comparisons of the results are presented and discussed. The results show that energy consumption can be significantly reduced while increasing the thermal comfort by using better-insulated outer wall materials and windows. (author)

  20. Energy flow and thermal comfort in buildings: Comparison of radiant and air-based heating & cooling systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Le Dréau, Jérôme

    is based on both radiation and convection. This thesis focuses on characterizing the heat transfer from the terminal towards the space and on the parameters influencing the effectiveness of terminals. Therefore the comfort conditions and energy consumption of four types of terminals (active chilled beam...... losses, and an air-based terminal might be more energy-efficient than a radiant terminal (in terms of delivered energy). Regarding comfort, a similar global level has been observed for the radiant and air-based terminals in both numerical and experimental investigations. But the different terminals did...... not achieve the same uniformity in space. The active chilled beam theoretically achieves the most uniform comfort conditions (when disregarding the risk of draught), followed by the radiant ceiling. The least uniform conditions were obtained with the cooled floor due to large differences between the sitting...

  1. Thermal comfort indices of female Murrah buffaloes reared in the Eastern Amazon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Jamile Andréa Rodrigues; de Araújo, Airton Alencar; Lourenço Júnior, José de Brito; dos Santos, Núbia de Fátima Alves; Garcia, Alexandre Rossetto; de Oliveira, Raimundo Parente

    2015-09-01

    The study aimed to develop new and more specific thermal comfort indices for buffaloes reared in the Amazon region. Twenty female Murrah buffaloes were studied for a year. The animals were fed in pasture with drinking water and mineral supplementation ad libitum. The following parameters were measured twice a week in the morning (7 AM) and afternoon (1 PM): air temperature (AT), relative air humidity (RH), dew point temperature (DPT), wet bulb temperature (WBT), black globe temperature (BGT), rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR), and body surface temperature (BST). The temperature and humidity index (THI), globe temperature and humidity index (GTHI), Benezra's comfort index (BTCI), and Ibéria's heat tolerance index (IHTI) were calculated so they could be compared to the new indices. Multivariate regression analyses were carried out using the canonical correlation model, and all indices were correlated with the physiological and climatic variables. Three pairs of indices (general, effective, and practical) were determined comprising the buffalo comfort climatic condition index (BCCCI) and the buffalo environmental comfort index (BECI). The indices were validated and a great agreement was found among the BCCCIs (general, effective, and practical), with 98.3 % between general and effective a.nd 92.6 % between general and practical. A significant correlation (P thermal stress in buffaloes reared in the Amazon.

  2. Impact of measurable physical phenomena on contact thermal comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fojtlín, Miloš; Pokorný, Jan; Fišer, Jan; Toma, Róbert; Tuhovčák, Ján

    Cabin HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air-conditioning) systems have become an essential part of personal vehicles as demands for comfortable transport are still rising. In fact, 85 % of the car trips in Europe are shorter than 18 km and last only up to 30 minutes. Under such conditions, the HVAC unit cannot often ensure desired cabin environment and passengers are prone to experience thermal stress. For this reason, additional comfort systems, such as heated or ventilated seats, are available on the market. However, there is no straightforward method to evaluate thermal comfort at the contact surfaces nowadays. The aim of this work is to summarise information about heated and ventilated seats. These technologies use electrical heating and fan driven air to contact area in order to achieve enhanced comfort. It is also expected, that such measures may contribute to lower energy consumption. Yet, in real conditions it is almost impossible to measure the airflow through the ventilated seat directly. Therefore, there is a need for an approach that would correlate measurable physical phenomena with thermal comfort. For this reason, a method that exploits a measurement of temperatures and humidity at the contact area is proposed. Preliminary results that correlate comfort with measurable physical phenomena are demonstrated.

  3. Impact of measurable physical phenomena on contact thermal comfort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fojtlín Miloš

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Cabin HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air-conditioning systems have become an essential part of personal vehicles as demands for comfortable transport are still rising. In fact, 85 % of the car trips in Europe are shorter than 18 km and last only up to 30 minutes. Under such conditions, the HVAC unit cannot often ensure desired cabin environment and passengers are prone to experience thermal stress. For this reason, additional comfort systems, such as heated or ventilated seats, are available on the market. However, there is no straightforward method to evaluate thermal comfort at the contact surfaces nowadays. The aim of this work is to summarise information about heated and ventilated seats. These technologies use electrical heating and fan driven air to contact area in order to achieve enhanced comfort. It is also expected, that such measures may contribute to lower energy consumption. Yet, in real conditions it is almost impossible to measure the airflow through the ventilated seat directly. Therefore, there is a need for an approach that would correlate measurable physical phenomena with thermal comfort. For this reason, a method that exploits a measurement of temperatures and humidity at the contact area is proposed. Preliminary results that correlate comfort with measurable physical phenomena are demonstrated.

  4. Understanding the adaptive approach to thermal comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Humphreys, M.A. [Oxford Univ. (United Kingdom). Centre for the Study of Christianity and Culture; Nicol, J.F. [Oxford Brookes Univ. (United Kingdom). School of Architecture

    1998-10-01

    This paper explains the adaptive approach to thermal comfort, and an adaptive model for thermal comfort is presented. The model is an example of a complex adaptive system (Casti 1996) whose equilibria are determined by the restrictions acting upon it. People`s adaptive actions are generally effective in securing comfort, which occurs at a wide variety of indoor temperatures. These comfort temperatures depend upon the circumstances in which people live, such as the climate and the heating or cooling regime. The temperatures may be estimated from the mean outdoor temperature and the availability of a heating or cooling plant. The evaluation of the parameters of the adaptive model requires cross-sectional surveys to establish current norms and sequential surveys (with and without intervention) to evaluate the rapidity of people`s adaptive actions. Standards for thermal comfort will need revision in the light of the adaptive approach. Implications of the adaptive model for the HVAC industry are noted.

  5. Forty years of Fanger's model of thermal comfort: comfort for all?

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hoof, J

    2008-06-01

    The predicted mean vote (PMV) model of thermal comfort, created by Fanger in the late 1960s, is used worldwide to assess thermal comfort. Fanger based his model on college-aged students for use in invariant environmental conditions in air-conditioned buildings in moderate thermal climate zones. Environmental engineering practice calls for a predictive method that is applicable to all types of people in any kind of building in every climate zone. In this publication, existing support and criticism, as well as modifications to the PMV model are discussed in light of the requirements by environmental engineering practice in the 21st century in order to move from a predicted mean vote to comfort for all. Improved prediction of thermal comfort can be achieved through improving the validity of the PMV model, better specification of the model's input parameters, and accounting for outdoor thermal conditions and special groups. The application range of the PMV model can be enlarged, for instance, by using the model to assess the effects of the thermal environment on productivity and behavior, and interactions with other indoor environmental parameters, and the use of information and communication technologies. Even with such modifications to thermal comfort evaluation, thermal comfort for all can only be achieved when occupants have effective control over their own thermal environment. The paper treats the assessment of thermal comfort using the PMV model of Fanger, and deals with the strengths and limitations of this model. Readers are made familiar to some opportunities for use in the 21st-century information society.

  6. Guide to Setting Thermal Comfort Criteria and Minimizing Energy Use in Delivering Thermal Comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Regnier, Cindy [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2012-08-01

    Historically thermal comfort in buildings has been controlled by simple dry bulb temperature settings. As we move into more sophisticated low energy building systems that make use of alternate systems such as natural ventilation, mixed mode system and radiant thermal conditioning strategies, a more complete understanding of human comfort is needed for both design and control. This guide will support building designers, owners, operators and other stakeholders in defining quantifiable thermal comfort parameters?these can be used to support design, energy analysis and the evaluation of the thermal comfort benefits of design strategies. This guide also contains information that building owners and operators will find helpful for understanding the core concepts of thermal comfort. Whether for one building, or for a portfolio of buildings, this guide will also assist owners and designers in how to identify the mechanisms of thermal comfort and space conditioning strategies most important for their building and climate, and provide guidance towards low energy design options and operations that can successfully address thermal comfort. An example of low energy design options for thermal comfort is presented in some detail for cooling, while the fundamentals to follow a similar approach for heating are presented.

  7. Beyond the classic thermoneutral zone: Including thermal comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kingma, Boris Rm; Frijns, Arjan Jh; Schellen, Lisje; van Marken Lichtenbelt, Wouter D

    2014-01-01

    The thermoneutral zone is defined as the range of ambient temperatures where the body can maintain its core temperature solely through regulating dry heat loss, i.e., skin blood flow. A living body can only maintain its core temperature when heat production and heat loss are balanced. That means that heat transport from body core to skin must equal heat transport from skin to the environment. This study focuses on what combinations of core and skin temperature satisfy the biophysical requirements of being in the thermoneutral zone for humans. Moreover, consequences are considered of changes in insulation and adding restrictions such as thermal comfort (i.e. driver for thermal behavior). A biophysical model was developed that calculates heat transport within a body, taking into account metabolic heat production, tissue insulation, and heat distribution by blood flow and equates that to heat loss to the environment, considering skin temperature, ambient temperature and other physical parameters. The biophysical analysis shows that the steady-state ambient temperature range associated with the thermoneutral zone does not guarantee that the body is in thermal balance at basal metabolic rate per se. Instead, depending on the combination of core temperature, mean skin temperature and ambient temperature, the body may require significant increases in heat production or heat loss to maintain stable core temperature. Therefore, the definition of the thermoneutral zone might need to be reformulated. Furthermore, after adding restrictions on skin temperature for thermal comfort, the ambient temperature range associated with thermal comfort is smaller than the thermoneutral zone. This, assuming animals seek thermal comfort, suggests that thermal behavior may be initiated already before the boundaries of the thermoneutral zone are reached.

  8. Design of outdoor urban spaces for thermal comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harriet J. Plumley

    1977-01-01

    Microclimates in outdoor urban spaces may be modified by controlling the wind and radiant environments in these spaces. Design guidelines were developed to specify how radiant environments may be selected or modified to provide conditions for thermal comfort. Fanger's human-thermal-comfort model was used to determine comfortable levels of radiant-heat exchange for...

  9. Radiating comfort in prestigious condo units

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barber, R.

    2001-08-01

    Advantages of the type of electric floor heating installed in an exclusive condominium development in Whistler, a winter sports resort community in British Columbia, are discussed. Quality, comfort, strict limits on the amount of available electricity, and reduced maintenance, were the principal reasons for installing this type of heating system, according to the designer of the complex. Floor heating, being a radiant heating system, eliminates wasteful stratification of heat in a given heated space, thus helping to achieve comfortable ambient temperature at a lower level than would be required with conventional heating systems, reducing the power requirements by as much as 25 per cent. The system maintains a uniform temperature without any movement of air, dust and germs, providing occupants with a clean and pleasant atmosphere. The Flexterm system can be used under a variety of floor coverings -- natural stone, ceramic, marble, carpets, vinyl tiles, or wood flooring. It can be used selectively in different rooms of a housing unit, while other parts (in this instance the bedrooms), are heated by small electric baseboard heaters.

  10. Flow patterns and thermal comfort in a room with panel, floor and wall heating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Myhren, Jonn Are; Holmberg, Sture [Fluid and Climate Technology, Department of Constructional Engineering and Design, KTH, School of Technology and Health, Marinens vaeg 30, SE-13640 Haninge-Stockholm (Sweden)

    2008-07-01

    Thermal comfort aspects in a room vary with different space heating methods. The main focus in this study was how different heating systems and their position affect the indoor climate in an exhaust-ventilated office under Swedish winter conditions. The heat emitters used were a high and a medium-high temperature radiator, a floor heating system and large wall heating surfaces at low temperature. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were used to investigate possible cold draught problems, differences in vertical temperature gradients, air speed levels and energy consumption. Two office rooms with different ventilation systems and heating needs were evaluated. Both systems had high air exchange rates and cold infiltration air. The general conclusions from this study were that low temperature heating systems may improve indoor climate, giving lower air speeds and lower temperature differences in the room than a conventional high temperature radiator system. The disadvantage with low temperature systems is a weakness in counteracting cold down-flow from ventilation supply units. For that reason the location of heat emitters and the design of ventilation systems proved to be of particular importance. Measurements performed in a test chamber were used to validate the results from the CFD simulations. (author)

  11. Regional differences in temperature sensation and thermal comfort in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Mayumi; Yoda, Tamae; Crawshaw, Larry I; Yasuhara, Saki; Saito, Yasuyo; Kasuga, Momoko; Nagashima, Kei; Kanosue, Kazuyuki

    2008-12-01

    Sensations evoked by thermal stimulation (temperature-related sensations) can be divided into two categories, "temperature sensation" and "thermal comfort." Although several studies have investigated regional differences in temperature sensation, less is known about the sensitivity differences in thermal comfort for the various body regions. In the present study, we examined regional differences in temperature-related sensations with special attention to thermal comfort. Healthy male subjects sitting in an environment of mild heat or cold were locally cooled or warmed with water-perfused stimulators. Areas stimulated were the face, chest, abdomen, and thigh. Temperature sensation and thermal comfort of the stimulated areas were reported by the subjects, as was whole body thermal comfort. During mild heat exposure, facial cooling was most comfortable and facial warming was most uncomfortable. On the other hand, during mild cold exposure, neither warming nor cooling of the face had a major effect. The chest and abdomen had characteristics opposite to those of the face. Local warming of the chest and abdomen did produce a strong comfort sensation during whole body cold exposure. The thermal comfort seen in this study suggests that if given the chance, humans would preferentially cool the head in the heat, and they would maintain the warmth of the trunk areas in the cold. The qualitative differences seen in thermal comfort for the various areas cannot be explained solely by the density or properties of the peripheral thermal receptors and thus must reflect processing mechanisms in the central nervous system.

  12. Effect of relative humidity and temperature control on in-cabin thermal comfort state: Thermodynamic and psychometric analyses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alahmer, A.; Omar, M.A.; Mayyas, A.; Dongri, Shan

    2011-01-01

    This manuscript discusses the effect of manipulating the Relative Humidity RH of in-cabin environment on the thermal comfort and human occupants' thermal sensation. The study uses thermodynamic and psychometric analyses, to incorporate the effect of changing RH along with the dry bulb temperature on human comfort. Specifically, the study computes the effect of changing the relative humidity on the amount of heat rejected from the passenger compartment and the effect of relative humidity on occupants comfort zone. A practical system implementation is also discussed in terms of an evaporative cooler design. The results show that changing the RH along with dry bulb temperature inside vehicular cabins can improve the air conditioning efficiency by reducing the heat removed while improving the Human comfort sensations as measured by the Predicted Mean Value PMV and the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied PPD indices. - Highlights: → Investigates the effect of controlling the RH and dry bulb temperature on in-cabin thermal comfort and sensation. → Conducts the thermodynamic and psychometric analyses for changing the RH and temperature for in-cabin air conditioning. → Discusses a possible system implementation through an evaporative cooler design.

  13. Thermal comfort in low-energy building. Pt. 1. Wintery conditions. Planning manual for architects and specialist planners; Thermische Behaglichkeit im Niedrigenergiehaus. T. 1. Winterliche Verhaeltnisse. Planungsleitfaden fuer Architekten und Fachplaner

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richter, Wolfgang [Technische Univ. Dresden (Germany). Inst. fuer Thermodynamik und Technische Gebaeudeausruestung; Hartmann, Thomas [ITG Institut fuer Technische Gebaeudeausruestung Dresden - Forschung und Anwendung GmbH, Dresden (Germany)

    2007-07-01

    The contribution under consideration on the thermal comfort in low-energy buildings starts with an outline of the practice of construction and modernization. The compliance with the thermal comfort is an important requirement for economic construction, optimized energy conservation or reduction of CO{sub 2} emissions and healthy benefits. The impact of thermal protection, the arrangement of the heating surfaces, the proportion of the window areas, the air exchange rate, the heating system and ventilation system on the thermal comfort are described.

  14. Heat-accumulator increases the comfort in the passenger-compartment and the driving-safety. Latentwaermespeicher erhoeht den Fahrkomfort und die Fahrsicherheit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blueher, P.

    1991-10-01

    The integration of a heat-accumulator into the coolant system can significantly increase the comfort in the passenger-compartment and contribute to an improvement of the driving-safety. The newly developed heat-accumulator provides the required amount of energy to allow for a rapid heating-up of the passenger-compartment after an engine-coldstart and to prevent misting of the windows, especially the windscreen. In developing the heat accumulator focus was especially pointed on the environmental protection by systematically using harmless and recycable materials. (orig.).

  15. Personal cooling with phase change materials to improve thermal comfort from a heat wave perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, C; Kuklane, K; Wang, F; Holmér, I

    2012-12-01

    The impact of heat waves arising from climate change on human health is predicted to be profound. It is important to be prepared with various preventive measures for such impacts on society. The objective of this study was to investigate whether personal cooling with phase change materials (PCM) could improve thermal comfort in simulated office work at 34°C. Cooling vests with PCM were measured on a thermal manikin before studies on human subjects. Eight male subjects participated in the study in a climatic chamber (T(a) = 34°C, RH = 60%, and ν(a) = 0.4 m/s). Results showed that the cooling effect on the manikin torso was 29.1 W/m(2) in the isothermal condition. The results on the manikin using a constant heating power mode reflect directly the local cooling effect on subjects. The results on the subjects showed that the torso skin temperature decreased by about 2-3°C and remained at 33.3°C. Both whole body and torso thermal sensations were improved. The findings indicate that the personal cooling with PCM can be used as an option to improve thermal comfort for office workers without air conditioning and may be used for vulnerable groups, such as elderly people, when confronted with heat waves. Wearable personal cooling integrated with phase change materials has the advantage of cooling human body's micro-environment in contrast to stationary personalized cooling and entire room or building cooling, thus providing greater mobility and helping to save energy. In places where air conditioning is not usually used, this personal cooling method can be used as a preventive measure when confronted with heat waves for office workers, vulnerable populations such as the elderly and disabled people, people with chronic diseases, and for use at home. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

  16. The Effect of Thermal Mass on Annual Heat Load and Thermal Comfort in Cold Climate Construction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stevens, Vanessa; Kotol, Martin; Grunau, Bruno

    2016-01-01

    been shown to reduce the annual heating demand. However, few studies exist regarding the effects of thermal mass in cold climates. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of high thermal mass on the annual heat demand and thermal comfort in a typical Alaskan residence using energy......Thermal mass in building construction refers to a building material's ability to absorb and release heat based on changing environmental conditions. In building design, materials with high thermal mass used in climates with a diurnal temperature swing around the interior set-point temperature have...... modeling software. The model simulations show that increased thermal mass can decrease the risk of summer overheating in Alaskan residences. They also show that increased thermal mass does not significantly decrease the annual heat load in residences located in cold climates. These results indicate...

  17. Energy and comfort in contemporary open plan and traditional personal offices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shahzad, Sally; Brennan, John; Theodossopoulos, Dimitris; Hughes, Ben; Calautit, John Kaiser

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • User satisfaction is compared in offices with high and low thermal control. • Thermal control is secondary in British and main system in Norwegian approach. • Individual thermal control in Norway improved satisfaction (35%) and comfort (20%). • The energy use is much higher in the Norwegian than British case studies. • A balance is required between energy efficiency and providing thermal comfort. - Abstract: Two office layouts with high and low levels of thermal control were compared, respectively traditional cellular and contemporary open plan offices. The traditional Norwegian practice provided every user with control over a window, blinds, door, and the ability to adjust heating and cooling. Occupants were expected to control their thermal environment to find their own comfort, while air conditioning was operating in the background to ensure the indoor air quality. In contrast, in the British open plan office, limited thermal control was provided through openable windows and blinds only for occupants seated around the perimeter of the building. Centrally operated displacement ventilation was the main thermal control system. Users’ perception of thermal environment was recorded through survey questionnaires, empirical building performance through environmental measurements and thermal control through semi-structured interviews. The Norwegian office had 35% higher user satisfaction and 20% higher user comfort compared to the British open plan office. However, the energy consumption in the British practice was within the benchmark and much lower than the Norwegian office. Overall, a balance between thermal comfort and energy efficiency is required, as either extreme poses difficulties for the other.

  18. ComfortPower - System improvements and long-term evaluation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silversand, Fredrik [Catator AB, Lund (Sweden)

    2011-11-15

    Catator has previously developed a novel heating system abbreviated ComfortPower in a RandD-programme supported by Catator, Swedish Gas Centre (SGC), Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV), Skanska, Nibe and Alfa Laval. The ComfortPower unit comprises a multi fuel reformer system tied to a high-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell (HT-PEM) and a heat pump system. Since the residual heat from the fuel cell system can be utilized in a very effective way, it is possible to reach high thermal efficiencies. Indeed, the thermal efficiency in the unit has previously been shown to reach values as high as 175 - 200 % based on the lower heating value of the fuel. In addition to heat, ComfortPower can supply comfort cooling and surplus electricity. This project phase has focused on the following elements: 1. System improvements to further enhance the efficiency with existing fuel cell (HT-PEM). 2. System simplifications (e.g. DC-compressor system) to manage issues with start-up currents. 3. Tests with biogas qualities (various levels of CO{sub 2}) and biogas/air. 4. Long-term test with biogas quality (upgraded biogas). 5. Additional tests with liquid fuels (alcohols and diesel). 6. Map the need for cooling and heating in various applications. 7. Investigate how ComfortPower can reduce the primary energy consumption and reduce the environmental impact. 8. Study the possibility with a SOFC-based system with internal reforming. It was found that the Optiformer technology can be used to derive a suitable reformate gas for the HT-PEM unit from a wide range of fuels. Even if operation with fuel gases is the natural choice in most cases, it is possible also to use alcohols and other liquid fuels (e.g. in Campus applications). The heat pump system was equipped with a 24 V DC-compressor provided by Nibe. The compressor could be directly powered by the accumulator system and start-up currents, harmful to the inverter, could be avoided. Some improvements were made on the

  19. Comfort air temperature influence on heating and cooling loads of a residential building

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanciu, C.; Șoriga, I.; Gheorghian, A. T.; Stanciu, D.

    2016-08-01

    The paper presents the thermal behavior and energy loads of a two-level residential building designed for a family of four, two adults and two students, for different inside comfort levels reflected by the interior air temperature. Results are intended to emphasize the different thermal behavior of building elements and their contribution to the building's external load. The most important contributors to the building thermal loss are determined. Daily heating and cooling loads are computed for 12 months simulation in Bucharest (44.25°N latitude) in clear sky conditions. The most important aspects regarding sizing of thermal energy systems are emphasized, such as the reference months for maximum cooling and heating loads and these loads’ values. Annual maximum loads are encountered in February and August, respectively, so these months should be taken as reference for sizing thermal building systems, in Bucharest, under clear sky conditions.

  20. Deceit and dishonesty as practice: the comfort of lying.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Melody

    2016-07-01

    Lying and deceit are instruments of power, used by social actors in the pursuit of their practices as they seek to maintain social order. All social actors, nurses included, have deceit and dishonesty within their repertoire of practice. Much of this is benign, well intentioned and a function of being sociable and necessary in the pursuit of social order in the healthcare environment. Lying and deceit from a sociological point of view, is a reflection of the different modes of domination that exist within a social space. French philosopher Pierre Bourdieu theorized about the way that symbolic power works within social space. The social structures and the agency of individual actors moving within it are interrelated and interdependent. Bourdieu's ideas will be used to theorize about real clinical experiences where acts of deceit can be identified and a case example will be presented. Nurses are actors in the social space of clinical care, and their world is complex, challenging, and often fraught with the contradictory demands and choices that reflect and influence their behaviours. An exploration of lying and deceit in nursing as an instrument in the modes of domination that persist enables us to challenge some of the assumptions that are made about the motives that cause or tempt nurses to lie as well as to understand the way on which they are sometimes lied to, according to the acts of domination that exist in the field. Lying or acting dishonestly is a powerful act that is intent on retaining stability and social order and could be seen to be a justification of lying and deceit. However, we need to pause and consider, in whose interests are we striving to create social order? Is it in the end about the comfort of patients or for the comfort of professionals? © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Creating high performance buildings: Lower energy, better comfort

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brager, Gail; Arens, Edward

    2015-01-01

    Buildings play a critical role in the challenge of mitigating and adapting to climate change. It is estimated that buildings contribute 39% of the total U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions [1] primarily due to their operational energy use, and about 80% of this building energy use is for heating, cooling, ventilating, and lighting. An important premise of this paper is about the connection between energy and comfort. They are inseparable when one talks about high performance buildings. Worldwide data suggests that we are significantly overcooling buildings in the summer, resulting in increased energy use and problems with thermal comfort. In contrast, in naturally ventilated buildings without mechanical cooling, people are comfortable in much warmer temperatures due to shifting expectations and preferences as a result of occupants having a greater degree of personal control over their thermal environment; they have also become more accustomed to variable conditions that closely reflect the natural rhythms of outdoor climate patterns. This has resulted in an adaptive comfort zone that offers significant potential for encouraging naturally ventilated buildings to improve both energy use and comfort. Research on other forms for providing individualized control through low-energy personal comfort systems (desktop fans, foot warmed, and heated and cooled chairs) have also demonstrated enormous potential for improving both energy and comfort performance. Studies have demonstrated high levels of comfort with these systems while ambient temperatures ranged from 64–84°F. Energy and indoor environmental quality are inextricably linked, and must both be important goals of a high performance building

  2. A correct enthalpy relationship as thermal comfort index for livestock.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Valéria Cristina; da Silva, Iran José Oliveira; Vieira, Frederico Márcio Corrêa; Nascimento, Sheila Tavares

    2011-05-01

    Researchers working with thermal comfort have been using enthalpy to measure thermal energy inside rural facilities, establishing indicator values for many situations of thermal comfort and heat stress. This variable turned out to be helpful in analyzing thermal exchange in livestock systems. The animals are exposed to an environment which is decisive for the thermoregulatory process, and, consequently, the reactions reflect states of thermal comfort or heat stress, the last being responsable for problems of sanity, behavior and productivity. There are researchers using enthalpy as a qualitative indicator of thermal environment of livestock such as poultry, cattle and hogs in tropical regions. This preliminary work intends to check different enthalpy equations using information from classical thermodynamics, and proposes a direct equation as thermal comfort index for livestock systems.

  3. Comfort drawing during investigative interviews: evidence of the safety of a popular practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poole, Debra Ann; Dickinson, Jason J

    2014-02-01

    This study evaluated the impact of comfort drawing (allowing children to draw during interviews) on the quality of children's eyewitness reports. Children (N=219, 5 to 12 years) who had participated in an earlier memory study returned 1 or 2 years later, experienced a new event, and described these events during phased, investigative-style interviews. Interviewers delivered the same prompts to children in the no drawing and drawing conditions but provided paper and markers in the drawing condition, invited these children to draw, and periodically asked if they would like to make another picture. Most children in the drawing condition were interested in using the materials, and measures of eyewitness performance were sensitive to differences in cognitive ability (i.e., age) and task difficulty (i.e., delay between the remote event and interview). Comfort drawing had no overall impact as evidenced by nonsignificant main effects of condition across 20 performance measures, although more of the younger children reported experienced touching in the drawing than no drawing condition. The children successfully divided attention between voluntary drawing and conversations about past events. Importantly, comfort drawing did not impair the amount of information recalled, the accuracy of children's answers, or even the extent to which interviewers needed to prompt for answers. Due to the large number of analyses, the benefit of drawing for younger, touched children requires replication. Comfort drawing poses no documented risks for typically-developing school-aged children, but the practice remains untested for younger children and those with cognitive impairments. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Hygrothermal response of a dwelling house. Thermal comfort criteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adrian IACOB

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The use of local natural materials in order to reduce the environmental negative impact of buildings has become common practice in recent years; such buildings are to be found in all regions of the planet. The high level of thermal protection provided by the envelope elements made from natural materials such as straw bale insulation, hemp insulation or sheep wool, and their lack of thermal massiveness require a more complex analysis on their ability to keep interior comfort without accentuated variations. This paper proposes a comparative analysis between different solutions for a residential building located near a Romanian city, Cluj-Napoca. The elements of the building envelope are designed in three alternative solutions, using as substitute to classical solutions (concrete and polystyrene, masonry and polystyrene, straw bales and rammed earth for enclosing elements. For this purpose there are conducted numerical simulations of heat and mass transfer, using a mathematical model that allows the analysis of indoor comfort, by comparing both objective factors (air temperature, operative temperature and relative humidity and subjective factors, which are needed to define interior thermal comfort indices PPD and PMV. Finally, a set of conclusions are presented and future research directions are drawn.

  5. Experimental investigation of radiation effect on human thermal comfort by Taguchi method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arslanoglu, Nurullah; Yigit, Abdulvahap

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Radiation heat flux from lighting lamps on human thermal comfort is studied. • The effect of posture position on thermal comfort is investigated. • The effect of clothing color on thermal comfort is examined. • Radiation heat flux from halogen reflector lamp increase skin temperature more. • Posture position effect on thermal comfort is less than the other parameters. - Abstract: In this study, the effect of radiation heat flux of lighting lamps on human thermal comfort was investigated by using Taguchi method. In addition, at indoor conditions, clothing color and posture position under the radiation effect on thermal comfort were also investigated. For this purpose, experiments were performed in an air conditioned laboratory room in summer and autumn seasons. The amount of temperature rise on the back was considered as performance parameter. An L8 orthogonal array was selected as an experimental plan for the third parameters mentioned above for summer and autumn seasons. The results were analyzed for the optimum conditions using signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and ANOVA method. The optimum results were found to be clear halogen lamp as lighting lamp, white as t-shirt color, standing as posture position, in summer season. The optimum levels of the lighting lamp, t-shirt color and posture position were found to be clear halogen lamp, white, sitting in autumn season, respectively.

  6. Thermodynamical analysis of human thermal comfort

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prek, Matjaz

    2006-01-01

    Traditional methods of human thermal comfort analysis are based on the first law of thermodynamics. These methods use an energy balance of the human body to determine heat transfer between the body and its environment. By contrast, the second law of thermodynamics introduces the useful concept of exergy. It enables the determination of the exergy consumption within the human body dependent on human and environmental factors. Human body exergy consumption varies with the combination of environmental (room) conditions. This process is related to human thermal comfort in connection with temperature, heat, and mass transfer. In this paper a thermodynamic analysis of human heat and mass transfer based on the 2nd law of thermodynamics in presented. It is shown that the human body's exergy consumption in relation to selected human parameters exhibits a minimal value at certain combinations of environmental parameters. The expected thermal sensation also shows that there is a correlation between exergy consumption and thermal sensation. Thus, our analysis represents an improvement in human thermal modelling and gives more information about the environmental impact on expected human thermal sensation

  7. Climate installations, comfort, health and productivity; Klimaatinstallaties, comfort, gezondheid en productiviteit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boerstra, A.C.; Haans, L. [BBA Boerstra Binnenmilieu Advies, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

    2004-08-01

    Sometimes engineers lose sight of why both the private and business sectors are willing to spend so much money on heating and ventilation systems. The main drive for the average Dutch person's day-to-day investment in his or her indoor environment resides in the trinity of comfort, health and productivity. This article present an update on current ideas about the three unique selling points of HVAC systems. [Dutch] Soms wordt uit het oog verloren waarom zowel de particuliere als de zakelijke markt zoveel geld over heeft voor installaties. De grootste drijfveer die de gemiddelde Nederlander heeft voor zijn of haar dagelijkse binnenmilieu-investering, is te vinden in de drie-eenheid: comfort, gezondheid en productiviteit. In dit artikel wordt een overzicht gegeven van de laatste inzichten waar het deze drie aspecten van klimaatinstallaties betreft.

  8. Air humidity requirements for human comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toftum, Jørn; Fanger, Povl Ole

    1999-01-01

    level near 100% rh. For respiratory comfort are the requirements much more stringent and results in lower permissible indoor air humidities. Compared with the upper humidity limit specified in existing thermal comfort standards, e.g. ASHRAE Addendum 55a, the humidity limit based on skin humidity......Upper humidity limits for the comfort zone determined from two recently presented models for predicting discomfort due to skin humidity and insufficient respiratory cooling are proposed. The proposed limits are compared with the maximum permissible humidity level prescribed in existing standards...... for the thermal indoor environment. The skin humidity model predicts discomfort as a function of the relative humidity of the skin, which is determined by existing models for human heat and moisture transfer based on environmental parameters, clothing characteristics and activity level. The respiratory model...

  9. Approaches to Outdoor Thermal Comfort Thresholds through Public Space Design: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andre Santos Nouri

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Based on the Köppen Geiger (KG classification system, this review article examines existing studies and projects that have endeavoured to address local outdoor thermal comfort thresholds through Public Space Design (PSD. The review is divided into two sequential stages, whereby (1 overall existing approaches to pedestrian thermal comfort thresholds are reviewed within both quantitative and qualitative spectrums; and (2 the different techniques and measures are reviewed and framed into four Measure Review Frameworks (MRFs, in which each type of PSD measure is presented alongside its respective local scale urban specificities/conditions and their resulting thermal attenuation outcomes. The result of this review article is the assessment of how current practices of PSD within three specific subcategories of the KG ‘Temperate’ group have addressed microclimatic aggravations such as elevated urban temperatures and Urban Heat Island (UHI effects. Based upon a bottom-up approach, the interdisciplinary practice of PSD is hence approached as a means to address existing and future thermal risk factors within the urban public realm in an era of potential climate change.

  10. ComfortPower. Design, construction and evaluation of a combined fuel-cell and heat pump system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silversand, Fredrik (Catator AB, Lund (Sweden))

    2010-12-15

    Catator AB has constructed, commissioned and evaluated a combined fuel-cell and heat-pump system (ComfortPower). The basic idea behind the project was to demonstrate the possibility to achieve ultrahigh thermal efficiencies when combining fuel-cell technologies and heat pumps. Moreover, the system should provide a great flexibility with respect to the fuel mix and should in addition to heat provide surplus electricity and cooling. The system was built on a HT-PEM platform (high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cell from Serenergy a/s), which was operated by Catators proprietary Optiformer technology. The power generator was combined with a heat pump module (F1145-5, 230 V), supplied by Nibe. The system was packaged into a cabinet (1.65 x 0.6 x 0.6 m) comprising the power module, the heat pump, all necessary balance-of-plant components and the control system. The power output from the fuel-cell system was around 1.35 kW, which enabled operation of the heat pump compressor. By utilizing surplus heat energy from the fuel cell it was possible to achieve a favourable operation point in the heat pump system, resulting in a high overall COP (coefficient of performance). The heat output from the system was as high as 10 kW whereas 6 kW cooling could be provided. The thermal efficiencies measured in experiments were normally around 200%, calculated on the lower heating value of the fuel. A number of fuels have been investigated in the fuel cell system, including both gaseous (natural gas/LPG) and liquid fuels (alcohols and kerosene). Indeed, the system has a wide fuel flexibility, which opens up for a variety of applications in campus villages and buildings. This study has demonstrated the possibility to reduce the carbon dioxide footprint by a factor of 2 over conventional boilers in heating applications. In addition the unit can be operated on a variety of fuels and can produce cooling and electricity in addition to heat. A fully working system has been designed

  11. Potential effects of urbanization on urban thermal comfort, a case study of Nairobi city, Kenya: A review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ongoma Victor

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This study reviews the effect of urbanization on human thermal comfort over Nairobi city in Kenya. Urbanization alters urban center's land use and land cover, modifying the climate of the urban setting. The modification in climate affects human comfort and the environment at large. This study focuses on the recent studies conducted in Nairobi city and many other cities globally to examine modification of wind, temperature and humidity over Nairobi. There was observed reduction in wind speed and relative humidity over the city, posing threat to human and animal comfort and the environment at large. The city of Nairobi, just like other cities globally is observed to experience urban heat island (UHI. The observed increase in minimum temperature as compared to maximum temperature signifies overall warming. A combination of all these changes reduces human comfort. Borrowing lessons from developed cities, increasing the urban forest cover is thus suggested as one of the practical and effective measures that can help prevent further modification of weather and urban climates. The study recommends further research involving multi-sectoral urban stake holders, on forcing driving urban thermal comfort. In the short term, design and construction of appropriate structures can help minimize energy consumption and emissions, thus enhancing comfort.

  12. Effects of climate change process on comfort climate of Shiraz station

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shakoor, A.; Roshan, G.R.; Khoshakhlagh, F.; Hejazizadeh, Z. [Islamic Azad Univ., Larestan (Iran)

    2008-09-30

    Dwelling in cities and city development together with quick increase of population and development of industrial activites with unplanned consumption of fossil fuels have intensively increased pollution with consequences whcih will cause different diseases in short periods, and will lead to some climatic oscillations and its environmental effects such as the change of desirable periods in view of comfort climate in long period. The objective point of view of this reasearch was to study the climate in Shiraz and its effect on comfort conditions for human physiology. In this research, using 55-year cliamtic data (1952-2006), the relative humidity and temperature through the application of Guni comfort climatic model, the desirable months for the comfort of human physiology have been determined in the five 11-year periods and the linear process of these changes have been estimated for the next 11 years. The results of this research show that the temperature trend in Shiraz station is increasing and most months have heating process in a way that it is expected in the future the cold months will have more favorable conditions for physiological comfort of residents and correspondingly in the warm months, heating tension will have remarkable increase.

  13. CFD Modeling of Thermal Manikin Heat Loss in a Comfort Evaluation Benchmark Test

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nilsson, Håkan O.; Brohus, Henrik; Nielsen, Peter V.

    2007-01-01

    for comfort evaluation. The main idea is to focus on people. It is the comfort requirements of occupants that decide what thermal climate that will prevail. It is therefore important to use comfort simulation methods that originate from people, not just temperatures on surfaces and air.......Computer simulated persons (CSPs) today are different in many ways, reflecting various software possibilities and limitations as well as different research interest. Unfortunately, too few of the theories behind thermal manikin simulations are available in the public domain. Many researchers...

  14. Thermal comfort and building energy consumption implications – A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Liu; Yan, Haiyan; Lam, Joseph C.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We review studies of thermal comfort and discuss building energy use implications. • Adaptive comfort models tend to have a wider comfort temperature range. • Higher indoor temperatures would lead to fewer cooling systems and less energy use. • Socio-economic study and post-occupancy evaluation of built environment is desirable. • Important to consider future climate scenarios in heating, cooling and power schemes. - Abstract: Buildings account for about 40% of the global energy consumption and contribute over 30% of the CO 2 emissions. A large proportion of this energy is used for thermal comfort in buildings. This paper reviews thermal comfort research work and discusses the implications for building energy efficiency. Predicted mean vote works well in air-conditioned spaces but not naturally ventilated buildings, whereas adaptive models tend to have a broader comfort temperature ranges. Higher indoor temperatures in summertime conditions would lead to less prevalence of cooling systems as well as less cooling requirements. Raising summer set point temperature has good energy saving potential, in that it can be applied to both new and existing buildings. Further research and development work conducive to a better understanding of thermal comfort and energy conservation in buildings have been identified and discussed. These include (i) social-economic and cultural studies in general and post-occupancy evaluation of the built environment and the corresponding energy use in particular, and (ii) consideration of future climate scenarios in the analysis of co- and tri-generation schemes for HVAC applications, fuel mix and the associated energy planning/distribution systems in response to the expected changes in heating and cooling requirements due to climate change

  15. Fuzzy Logic Based Controller for Maintaining Human Comfort within Intelligent Building System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nasrodin .T. Mustapha, Momoh J. E. Salami, Nazim and M. Nasiri

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an intelligent control approach for air handling unit (AHU which is an integral part of heat, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC system. In the past years various control design for HVAC have been proposed as this system remarkably consumes very high energy. But most of the proposed designs were focused on the control flow of heat-transfer medium such as chilled or heated water while the importance of the efficient mixture of outdoor and indoor enthalpies is sometimes ignored. These enthalpies invariably determine the best strategy to overcome thermal load in a controlled environment to satisfy human comfort, hence a control design strategy must be able to efficiently regulate the flow and mixture of outdoor and indoor enthalpies by a proper control of AHU dampers and fans. This approach requires sensors to measure temperature and relative humidity of both outdoor and indoor environments. However, unpredictable level of disturbances coming from many sources including heat generated by occupants, electrical items and air leaking and the continuous changes of outdoor enthalpy makes it difficult to model the process. Consequently, conventional controllers are not suitable, hence the use of fuzzy logic controller (FLC is proposed in this paper. This proposed controller operates in a master and slave control loop so as to control the AHU dampers and fans with adjustable output membership function whilst at the same time a scaling-factor method is used to drive the master operation. To implement the proposed system, a small scale prototype has been designed and fabricated. This prototype is an AHU model which consists of ductwork, temperature and humidity sensors, dampers, air cooling and heating systems. A small box is used as a conditioning space in which a room temperature is measured. The control algorithm is programmed using National Instrument (NI LabVIEW and executed using NI FieldPoint. Experimental results reveal that

  16. The issue of thermal comfort of medical clothing in the operating room

    OpenAIRE

    Abreu, Isabel; Ribeiro, Patrícia; Abreu, Maria José

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Medical clothes have the primary function of protection. However this function must be correlated with a good comfort experience to the user. The comfort is a very important issue, since professionals are exposed to stress situations that can influence, negatively, their performance work. More specific, thermal comfort plays a crucial role for the best performance of OR medical clothing, involving heat regulation and mass transfer between a clothed body and the environment, once clot...

  17. [Comfort and discomfort: the role of emotions in GPs' prescription practices].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henriksen, Kristin; Hansen, Ebba Holme

    2005-12-05

    The role of emotions in GPs' prescribing has been ignored. The present article describes 20 GPs' reflections about what precedes comfort and discomfort in prescribing situations. In-depth interviews were done with 20 GPs who contributed with examples on an open comfort-discomfort scale. Analysis of the data was inspired by grounded theory. The GPs experienced a broad spectrum of emotions when prescribing. In every prescribing situation, conditions could pull towards both comfort and discomfort. Comfort appeared when the indication was correct and the patient's condition was serious, when the patient experienced the problem as serious, when the situation was acute and the medicine effective, and when the GP experienced himself as competent. Medicines were placed between comfort and discomfort when prescribing was perceived as indifferent, unproblematic and easy, when the GP was concerned about inflicting a sick role on the patients, and when patients were not convinced about the appropriateness of the medication. Discomfort appeared when there was a great risk of dependence, when GPs experienced and gave in to pressure, when they had to convince patients, and when they prescribed addictive medicine regularly. The totality of conditions in the situation determined the emotional state in the prescribing situation. The GPs' emotions reflected how they evaluated the appropriateness of their prescribing. This should be taken advantage of in rational pharmacotherapy. Future interventions should address both the rationality of GPs and their emotions.

  18. Understanding and Evaluating Human Thermal Comfort at Tertiary Level Using a Computer-Based Laboratory Teaching Tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pellegrini, Marco

    2014-01-01

    Phase changes in water are experienced in everyday life but students often struggle to understand mechanisms that regulate them. Human thermal comfort is closely related to humidity, evaporative heat loss and heat transfer. The purpose of the present study is to assist students in the evaluation of human thermal comfort. Such a goal is achievable…

  19. A comfort-based, energy-aware HVAC agent and its applications in the smart grid

    OpenAIRE

    Auffenberg, Frederik

    2017-01-01

    In this thesis, we introduce a novel heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) agent that maintains a comfortable thermal environmant for its users while minimising energy consumption of the HVAC system and incorporating demand side management (DSM) signals to shift HVAC loads towards achieving more desirable overall load profiles. To do so, the agent needs to be able to accurately predict user comfort, for example by using a thermal comfort model. Existing thermal comfort models are u...

  20. Thermal Comfort and Optimum Humidity Part 1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. V. Jokl

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The hydrothermal microclimate is the main component in indoor comfort. The optimum hydrothermal level can be ensured by suitable changes in the sources of heat and water vapor within the building, changes in the environment (the interior of the building and in the people exposed to the conditions inside the building. A change in the heat source and the source of water vapor involves improving the heat - insulating properties and the air permeability of the peripheral walls and especially of the windows. The change in the environment will bring human bodies into balance with the environment. This can be expressed in terms of an optimum or at least an acceptable globe temperature, an adequate proportion of radiant heat within the total amount of heat from the environment (defined by the difference between air and wall temperature, uniform cooling of the human body by the environment, defined a by the acceptable temperature difference between head and ankles, b by acceptable temperature variations during a shift (location unchanged, or during movement from one location to another without a change of clothing. Finally, a moisture balance between man and the environment is necessary (defined by acceptable relative air humidity. A change for human beings means a change of clothes which, of course, is limited by social acceptance in summer and by inconvenient heaviness in winter. The principles of optimum heating and cooling, humidification and dehumidification are presented in this paper.Hydrothermal comfort in an environment depends on heat and humidity flows (heat and water vapors, occurring in a given space in a building interior and affecting the total state of the human organism.

  1. Thermal Comfort and Optimum Humidity Part 2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. V. Jokl

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The hydrothermal microclimate is the main component in indoor comfort. The optimum hydrothermal level can be ensured by suitable changes in the sources of heat and water vapor within the building, changes in the environment (the interior of the building and in the people exposed to the conditions inside the building. A change in the heat source and the source of water vapor involves improving the heat - insulating properties and the air permeability of the peripheral walls and especially of the windows. The change in the environment will bring human bodies into balance with the environment. This can be expressed in terms of an optimum or at least an acceptable globe temperature, an adequate proportion of radiant heat within the total amount of heat from the environment (defined by the difference between air and wall temperature, uniform cooling of the human body by the environment, defined a by the acceptable temperature difference between head and ankles, b by acceptable temperature variations during a shift (location unchanged, or during movement from one location to another without a change of clothing. Finally, a moisture balance between man and the environment is necessary (defined by acceptable relative air humidity. A change for human beings means a change of clothes which, of course, is limited by social acceptance in summer and by inconvenient heaviness in winter. The principles of optimum heating and cooling, humidification and dehumidification are presented in this paper.Hydrothermal comfort in an environment depends on heat and humidity flows (heat and water vapors, occurring in a given space in a building interior and affecting the total state of the human organism.

  2. Assessing Thermal Comfort Due to a Ventilated Double Window

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlos, Jorge S.; Corvacho, Helena

    2017-10-01

    Building design and its components are the result of a complex process, which should provide pleasant conditions to its inhabitants. Therefore, indoor acceptable comfort is influenced by the architectural design. ISO and ASHRAE standards define thermal comfort as the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment. The energy demand for heating, beside the building’s physical properties, also depend on human behaviour, like opening or closing windows. Generally, windows are the weakest façade element concerning to thermal performance. A lower thermal resistance allows higher thermal conduction through it. When a window is very hot or cold, and the occupant is very close to it, it may result in thermal discomfort. The functionality of a ventilated double window introduces new physical considerations to a traditional window. In consequence, it is necessary to study the local effect on human comfort in function of the boundary conditions. Wind, solar availability, air temperature and therefore heating and indoor air quality conditions will affect the relationship between this passive system and the indoor environment. In the present paper, the influence of thermal performance and ventilation on human comfort resulting from the construction and geometry solutions is shown, helping to choose the best solution. The presented approach shows that in order to save energy it is possible to reduce the air changes of a room to the minimum, without compromising air quality, enhancing simultaneously local thermal performance and comfort. The results of the study on the effect of two parallel windows with a ventilated channel in the same fenestration on comfort conditions for several different room dimensions, are also presented. As the room dimensions’ rate changes so does the window to floor rate; therefore, under the same climatic conditions and same construction solution, different results are obtained.

  3. Autonomy and Proximity in Household Heating Practices: the Case of Wood-Burning Stoves

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lars Kjerulf

    2008-01-01

    alter infrastructural conditions in order to pursue personal strategies for domestic heating and comfort, personal strategies that may have their root in economic considerations or may regard the construction of homeliness and sensuous pleasure - referring in turn to broader socio-cultural values...

  4. Thermal Comfort-CFD maps for Architectural Interior Design

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Naboni, Emanuele; Lee, Daniel Sang-Hoon; Fabbri, Kristian

    2017-01-01

    opportunities of movable interior partitions (operated by the users) could be estimated, providing a new layer of information to the designer. The applicability of the thermal maps within an architectural design process is discussed adopting standard energy simulation comfort outputs as a reference......Within the context of nearly Zero-Energy Buildings, it is debated that the energy-centred notion of design, proposed by regulatory frames, needs to be combined with a further focus toward users’ comfort and delight. Accordingly, the underlying theory of the research is that designers should take...... responsibility for understanding the heat flows through the building parts and its spaces. A design, which is sensible to the micro-thermal conditions coexisting in a space, allows the inhabitants to control the building to their needs and desires: for instance, maximising the benefits of heat gain from the sun...

  5. Thermal Comfort: An Index for Hot, Humid Asia. Educational Building Digest 12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Bangkok (Thailand). Regional Office for Education in Asia and Oceania.

    The sensation of thermal comfort is determined by a combination of air temperature, humidity of the air, rate of movement of the air, and radiant heat. This digest is intended to assist architects to design educational facilities that are as thermally comfortable as is possible without recourse to mechanical air conditioning. A nomogram is…

  6. Thermal comfort study of plastics manufacturing industry in converting process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sugiono Sugiono

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Thermal comfort is one of ergonomics factors that can create a significant impact to workers performance. For a better thermal comfort, several environment factors (air temperature, wind speed and relative humidity should be considered in this research. The object of the study is a building for converting process of plastics manufacturing industry located in Malang, Indonesia. The maximum air temperature inside the building can reach as high as 36°C. The result of this study shows that heat stress is dominantly caused by heat source from machine and wall building. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD simulation is used to show the air characteristic through inside the building. By using the CFD simulation, some scenarios of solution are successfully presented. Employees thermal comfort was investigated based on predicted mean vote model (PMV and predicted percentage of dissatisfied model (PPD. Existing condition gives PMV in range from 1.83 to 2.82 and PPD in range from 68.9 to 98%. Meanwhile, modification of ventilation and replacing ceiling material from clear glass into reflective clear glass gave significant impact to reduce PMV into range from 1.63 to 2.18 and PPD into range from 58.2 to 84.2%. In sort, new design converting building process has more comfortable for workers.

  7. Measuring comfort in caregivers and patients during late end-of-life care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novak, B; Kolcaba, K; Steiner, R; Dowd, T

    2001-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to test several formats of end-of-life comfort instruments for patients and closely involved caregivers. Kolcaba's Comfort Theory was the theoretical framework utilized. Different response formats for two end-of-life (EOL) comfort questionnaires (for patients and caregivers, respectively), and horizontal and vertical visual analog scales for total comfort (TC) lines were compared in two phases. Evaluable data were collected from both members of 38 patient-caregiver dyads in each phase. Suitable dyads were recruited from two hospice agencies in northeastern Ohio. Cronbach's alpha for the EOL comfort questionnaire (six response Likert-type format) tested during phase I for patients was .98 and for caregivers was .97. Test-retest reliability for the vertical TC line tested during phase I for patients was .64 and for caregivers was .79. The implications of this study for nursing practice and research are derived from the American Nursing Association (ANA) position statement about EOL care, which states that comfort is the goal of nursing for this population. These instruments will be useful for assessing comfort in actively dying patients and comfort of their caregivers as well as for developing evidence-based practice for this population.

  8. Design for thermal sensation and comfort states in vehicles cabins

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alahmer, Ali; Abdelhamid, Mahmoud; Omar, Mohammed

    2012-01-01

    This manuscript investigates the analysis and modeling of vehicular thermal comfort parameters using a set of designed experiments aided by thermography measurements. The experiments are conducted using a full size climatic chamber to host the test vehicle, to accurately assess the transient and steady state temperature distributions of the test vehicle cabin. Further investigate the thermal sensation (overall and local) and the human comfort states under artificially created relative humidity scenarios. The thermal images are calibrated through a thermocouples network, while the outside temperature and relative humidity are manipulated through the climatic environmental chamber with controlled soaking periods to guarantee the steady state conditions for each test scenario. The relative humidity inside the passenger cabin is controlled using a Total Humidity Controller (THC). The simulation uses the experimentally extracted boundary conditions via a 3-D Berkeley model that is set to be fully transient to account for the interactions in the velocity and temperature fields in the passenger compartment, which included interactions from turbulent flow, thermal buoyancy and the three modes of heat transfer conduction, convection and radiation. The model investigates the human comfort by analyzing the effect of the in-cabin relative humidity from two specific perspectives; firstly its effect on the body temporal variation of temperature within the cabin. Secondly, the Local Sensation (LS) and Comfort (LC) are analyzed for the different body segments in addition to the Overall Sensation (OS) and the Overall Comfort (OC). Furthermore, the human sensation is computed using the Fanger model in terms of the Predicted Mean Value (PMV) and the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) indices. The experimental and simulation results show that controlling the RH levels during the heating and the cooling processes (winter and summer conditions respectively) aid the A/C system to

  9. Study on thermal comfort, air quality and energy savings using bioenergy via gasification/combustion for space heating of a broiler house

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Silva, Jadir Nogueira da; Zanatta, Fabio Luiz; Tinoco, Ilda de Fatima F.; Martin, Samuel [Universidade Federal de Vicosa (DEA/UFV), MG (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Agricola], E-mail: jadir@ufv.br; Scholz, Volkhard [Leibniz Institut fuer Agrartechnik- ATB, Potsdam (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    The annual production of chicken meat is increasing throughout the world and Brazil is the world leader regarding exportation, a prediction indicates about 2.7 millions tons to be exported in 2007. A key to this performance is the low production costs, however, the costs of space heating necessary during the first 3 weeks of the chick's life and is increasing significantly. For this reason, it is always necessary to search for most efficient systems for this purpose. In addition to that, the use of bioenergy is gaining importance since it is renewable and ecologically correct. A close coupled gasification/combustion system, using eucalyptus firewood (Eucalyptus grandis and/or Eucalyptus urophylla) as fuel, was tested with the objective of providing thermal comfort for the birds during their first 3 weeks after birth. An experiment was set up for this purpose in an industrial scale production facility. The results indicated that the gasification/combustion system is viable for space heating for chicks, does not alters significantly the air quality, regarding CO, CO{sub 2} and NH{sub 3} concentration inside poultry house, provides the best thermal comfort as compared to indirect fired furnaces and accounts for a 35% energy savings, leading to lower production costs. (author)

  10. Affordable comfort 95 - investing in our energy future

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-12-31

    This report describes the topics from the conference on Affordable Comfort, held March 26-31, 1995. Topics are concerned with energy efficiency in homes, retrofitting, weatherization, and monitoring of appliances, heating, and air conditioning systems for performance, as well as topics on electric utilities.

  11. Thermal comfort study of hospital workers in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yau, Y H; Chew, B T

    2009-12-01

    This article presents findings of the thermal comfort study in hospitals. A field survey was conducted to investigate the temperature range for thermal comfort in hospitals in the tropics. Thermal acceptability assessment was conducted to examine whether the hospitals in the tropics met the ASHRAE Standard-55 80% acceptability criteria. A total of 114 occupants in four hospitals were involved in the study. The results of the field study revealed that only 44% of the examined locations met the comfort criteria specified in ASHRAE Standard 55. The survey also examined the predicted percentage of dissatisfied in the hospitals. The results showed that 49% of the occupants were satisfied with the thermal environments in the hospitals. The field survey analysis revealed that the neutral temperature for Malaysian hospitals was 26.4 degrees C. The comfort temperature range that satisfied 90% of the occupants in the space was in the range of 25.3-28.2 degrees C. The results from the field study suggested that a higher comfort temperature was required for Malaysians in hospital environments compared with the temperature criteria specified in ASHRAE Standard (2003). In addition, the significant deviation between actual mean vote and predicted mean vote (PMV) strongly implied that PMV could not be applied without errors in hospitals in the tropics. The new findings on thermal comfort temperature range in hospitals in the tropics could be used as an important guide for building services engineers and researchers who are intending to minimize energy usage in heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems in hospitals operating in the tropics with acceptable thermal comfort level and to improve the performance and well-being of its workers.

  12. Comfort-box controls individual level of comfort. Domotica home network for indoor climate management; Comfort-box regelt individueel comfort-niveau. Domotica-huisnetwerk voor beheer binnenklimaat

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamphuis, I.G; Warmer, C.J.; Bakker, E.J. [ECN Duurzame Energie in de Gebouwde Omgeving DEGO, Petten (Netherlands)

    2005-03-01

    The Comfort-Box (or C-Box) project is an automatic and continuous control system for energy efficient and cost-effective thermal comfort in houses. In this article detailed information is given of the design and performance of the C-Box. [Dutch] De huidige regelsystemen voor het binnenklimaat in woningen zijn voor verbetering vatbaar. Met het Comfort-boxconcept is een regeling ontwikkeld die automatisch en continu het individuele comfortniveau regelt in woningen, waarbij afwegingen worden gemaakt tussen kosten en comfort. De Comfort-box blijkt in staat te zijn het binnencomfort op energie- en kostenefficiente wijze te beheren.

  13. The electric comfort; Le confort electrique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-07-01

    In the framework of the public information on the electric power utilization in the household, Electricite De France presented on april-may at Paris Meeting, the possibilities and the advantages of the electric comfort. The concerned domains are: the electric cheating, the air-conditioning, the hot water, the lighting and the electric household appliances. Information on prices and statistical data on electric heating are also provided. (A.L.B.)

  14. Energy usage while maintaining thermal comfort: A case study of a UNT dormitory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gambrell, Dusten

    Campus dormitories for the University of North Texas house over 5500 students per year; each one of them requires certain comfortable living conditions while they live there. There is an inherit amount of money required in order to achieve minimal comfort levels; the cost is mostly natural gas for water and room heating and electricity for cooling, lighting and peripherals. The US Department of Energy has developed several programs to aid in performing energy simulations to help those interested design more cost effective building designs. Energy-10 is such a program that allows users to conduct whole house evaluations by reviewing and altering a few parameters such as building materials, solar heating, energy efficient windows etc. The idea of this project was to recreate a campus dormitory and try to emulate existent energy consumption then try to find ways of lowering that usage while maintaining a high level of personal comfort.

  15. Natural gas, the comfort stamina; Le gaz nerf du confort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Le Bail, L. [Gaz de France (GDF), 75 - Paris (France)

    1997-09-01

    According to consumers and thermal engineers opinion, natural gas is the most performing and the less expensive energy source for domestic uses. In this optimistic context, the customers expectations for more performing, economical and aesthetic appliances and systems is growing up. This paper gives a general overview of the recent improvements of natural gas heating systems and appliances: high efficiency heating plants, mural and airtight central heating plants, condensation heating plants, heaters, mono- or dual-pipe heating installations, heating floors etc.. All these products have a significant effect on the thermal comfort of residential buildings and on the reduction of energy costs. (J.S.)

  16. Thermal (dis)comfort experienced from physiological movements across indoor, transitional and outdoor spaces in Singapore: A pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li Heng, Su; Chow, Winston

    2017-04-01

    Human thermal comfort research is important as climate discomfort can adversely affect both health and work productivity in cities; however, such biometeorological work in low-latitude urban areas is still relatively unstudied hitherto. In the tropical metropolis of Singapore, a suite of policies have been implemented aimed at improving environmental sustainability via increasing car-free commutes and pedestrian movement during work/school journeys, with the consequence that individuals will likely have increased personal exposure through a variety of spaces (and climates) during typical daily activities. As such, research into exploring the thermal (dis)comfort experienced during pedestrian movements across these indoor, outdoor and transitional (semi-outdoor) spaces would yield interesting applied biometerological insights. This pilot study thus investigates how pedestrian thermal comfort varies spatially across a university campus, and how the physical intensity of pedestrian travel affects thermal comfort across these spaces. Over a 10-week period, we profiled six students for both their objective and subjective pedestrian thermal comfort during traverses across different spaces. Data were obtained through use of (a.) of a heat stress sensor, (b.) a fitness tracker, and (b.) a questionnaire survey to record traverse measurements of the microclimate, their physiological data, and their perceived microclimate comfort respectively. Measured climate and physiological data were used to derive commonly-used thermal comfort indices like wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and physiological equivalent temperature (PET). Further, interviews were conducted with all six subjects at the end of the fieldwork period to ascertain details on individual acclimatization behavior and adaptation strategies. The results indicate that (a.) more than 50% of the microclimatic conditions within each indoor, semi-outdoor, and outdoor space exceeded heat stress thresholds of both PET and

  17. Thermal comfort. Individual and time-dependent?; Thermisch comfort. Individueel en tijdafhankelijk?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noom, P.; Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G. [Unit Building Physics and Systems, Faculteit Bouwkunde, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven TUE, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Haan, J.F.B.C.; Van der Velden, J. [Kropman Installatietechniek, Rijswijk (Netherlands)

    2010-11-15

    With respect to the perceived thermal comfort there are large individual differences, which also change during daytime. Therefore is worthwhile to determine the individual thermal comfort profiles during the day. The perceived thermal comfort level follows an individual day profile. By using these profiles as a leading principal to control the indoor temperatures an improvement of the perceived comfort is possible while at the same time it can reduce energy consumption. [Dutch] Nieuwe optimalisatiemogelijkheden voor energiegebruik voor het comfort zijn mogelijk door vanuit de actuele en toekomstige individuele behoefte aan comfort van de gebruiker de installatie optimaal aan te sturen. Dit artikel geeft inzicht in de efficiente afstemming van vraag en aanbod van energie voor thermisch comfort. In een kantoorgebouw zijn metingen gedaan, conform NEN-EN-ISO 7726 (Ergonomics of the thermal environment. Instruments for measuring physical quantities), en er is een enquete gehouden om het thermisch comfort individueel te kunnen bepalen gedurende de werkdag. Het doel van de metingen was de verschillen tussen de individuele beleving en de werkelijke klimaat omstandigheden te kunnen bepalen.

  18. Air-to-air heat pumps in real-life use

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten; Christensen, Toke Haunstrup; Petersen, Poul Erik

    2012-01-01

    This paper deals with individual air-to-air heat pumps in Danish dwellings and summerhouses and the question of to what extent they actually deliver savings of energy consumption. Results show that 20% of the expected reduction of electricity consumption is converted into increased comfort...... in the homes, including extended heating areas, keeping a higher temperature and a longer heating season and using the heat pump for air conditioning. Data include electricity consumption in 185 households before and after installation of heat pumps together with survey results of 480 households. Furthermore...... heating practices. These results have to be taken into account when making long-term energy planning for a sustainable energy system....

  19. Automatic control of human thermal comfort with a liquid-cooled garment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuznetz, L. H.

    1977-01-01

    Water cooling in a liquid-cooled garment is used to maintain the thermal comfort of crewmembers during extravehicular activity. The feasibility of a simple control that will operate automatically to maintain the thermal comfort is established. Data on three test subjects are included to support the conclusion that heat balance can be maintained well within allowable medical limits. The controller concept was also successfully demonstrated for ground-based applications and shows potential for any tasks involving the use of liquid-cooled garments.

  20. Double face : Adjustable translucent system to improve thermal comfort

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Turrin, M.; Tenpierik, M.J.; De Ruiter, P.; Van der Spoel, W.H.; Chang Lara, C.; Heinzelmann, F.; Teuffel, P.; Van Bommel, W.

    2015-01-01

    The DoubleFace project aims at developing a new product that passively improves thermal comfort of indoor and semi-indoor spaces by means of lightweight materials for latent heat storage, while simultaneously allowing daylight to pass through as much as possible. Specifically, the project aims at

  1. Entropy generation method to quantify thermal comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boregowda, S. C.; Tiwari, S. N.; Chaturvedi, S. K.

    2001-01-01

    The present paper presents a thermodynamic approach to assess the quality of human-thermal environment interaction and quantify thermal comfort. The approach involves development of entropy generation term by applying second law of thermodynamics to the combined human-environment system. The entropy generation term combines both human thermal physiological responses and thermal environmental variables to provide an objective measure of thermal comfort. The original concepts and definitions form the basis for establishing the mathematical relationship between thermal comfort and entropy generation term. As a result of logic and deterministic approach, an Objective Thermal Comfort Index (OTCI) is defined and established as a function of entropy generation. In order to verify the entropy-based thermal comfort model, human thermal physiological responses due to changes in ambient conditions are simulated using a well established and validated human thermal model developed at the Institute of Environmental Research of Kansas State University (KSU). The finite element based KSU human thermal computer model is being utilized as a "Computational Environmental Chamber" to conduct series of simulations to examine the human thermal responses to different environmental conditions. The output from the simulation, which include human thermal responses and input data consisting of environmental conditions are fed into the thermal comfort model. Continuous monitoring of thermal comfort in comfortable and extreme environmental conditions is demonstrated. The Objective Thermal Comfort values obtained from the entropy-based model are validated against regression based Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) values. Using the corresponding air temperatures and vapor pressures that were used in the computer simulation in the regression equation generates the PMV values. The preliminary results indicate that the OTCI and PMV values correlate well under ideal conditions. However, an experimental study

  2. Guidelines on Thermal Comfort of Air Conditioned Indoor Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miura, Toyohiko

    The thermal comfort of air conditioned indoor environment for workers depended, of course, on metabolic rate of work, race, sex, age, clothing, climate of the district and state of acclimatization. The attention of the author was directed to the seasonal variation and the sexual difference of comfortable temperature and a survey through a year was conducted on the thermal comfort, and health conditions of workers engaged in light work in a precision machine factory, in some office workers. Besides, a series of experiments were conducted for purpose of determinning the optimum temperature of cooling in summer time in relation to the outdoor temperature. It seemed that many of workers at present would prefer somewhat higher temperature than those before the World War II. Forty years ago the average homes and offices were not so well heated as today, and clothing worn on the average was considerably heavier.

  3. Human Thermal Comfort and Heat Removal Efficiency for Ventilation Variants in Passenger Cars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saboora Khatoon

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The realization of a comfortable thermal environment with low energy consumption and improved ventilation in a car has become the aim of manufacturers in recent decades. Novel ventilation concepts with more flexible cabin usage and layouts are appealing owing to their potential for improving passenger comfort and driving power. In this study, three variant ventilation concepts are investigated and their performance is compared with respect to energy efficiency and human comfort of the driver and passenger in front and a child in the rear compartment. FLUENT 16.0, a commercial three-dimensional (3D software, are used for the simulation. A surface-to-surface radiation model is applied under transient conditions for a car parked in summer conditions with its engine in the running condition. The results for the standard Fanger’s model and modified Fanger’s model are analyzed, discussed, and compared for the driver, passenger, and child. The modified Fanger’s model determines the thermal sensation on the basis of mean arterial pressure.

  4. Retrofitted green roofs and walls and improvements in thermal comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feitosa, Renato Castiglia; Wilkinson, Sara

    2017-06-01

    Increased urbanization has led to a worsening in the quality of life for many people living in large cities in respect of the urban heat island effect and increases of indoor temperatures in housing and other buildings. A solution may be to retrofit existing environments to their former conditions, with a combination of green infrastructures applied to existing walls and rooftops. Retrofitted green roofs may attenuate housing temperature. However, with tall buildings, facade areas are much larger compared to rooftop areas, the role of green walls in mitigating extreme temperatures is more pronounced. Thus, the combination of green roofs and green walls is expected to promote a better thermal performance in the building envelope. For this purpose, a modular vegetated system is adopted for covering both walls and rooftops. Rather than temperature itself, the heat index, which comprises the combined effect of temperature and relative humidity is used in the evaluation of thermal comfort in small scale experiments performed in Sydney - Australia, where identical timber framed structures prototypes (vegetated and non-vegetated) are compared. The results have shown a different understanding of thermal comfort improvement regarding heat index rather than temperature itself. The combination of green roof and walls has a valid role to play in heat index attenuation.

  5. Heat Transfer Basics and Practice

    CERN Document Server

    Böckh, Peter

    2012-01-01

    The book provides an easy way to understand the fundamentals of heat transfer. The reader will acquire the ability to design and analyze heat exchangers. Without extensive derivation of the fundamentals, the latest correlations for heat transfer coefficients and their application are discussed. The following topics are presented - Steady state and transient heat conduction - Free and forced convection - Finned surfaces - Condensation and boiling - Radiation - Heat exchanger design - Problem-solving After introducing the basic terminology, the reader is made familiar with the different mechanisms of heat transfer. Their practical application is demonstrated in examples, which are available in the Internet as MathCad files for further use. Tables of material properties and formulas for their use in programs are included in the appendix. This book will serve as a valuable resource for both students and engineers in the industry. The author’s experience indicates that students, after 40 lectures and exercises ...

  6. Joint energy demand and thermal comfort optimization in photovoltaic-equipped interconnected microgrids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baldi, Simone; Karagevrekis, Athanasios; Michailidis, Iakovos T.; Kosmatopoulos, Elias B.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Energy efficient operation of photovoltaic-equipped interconnected microgrids. • Optimized energy demand for a block of heterogeneous buildings with different sizes. • Multiobjective optimization: matching demand and supply taking into account thermal comfort. • Intelligent control mechanism for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning units. • Optimization of energy consumption and thermal comfort at the aggregate microgrid level. - Abstract: Electrical smart microgrids equipped with small-scale renewable-energy generation systems are emerging progressively as an alternative or an enhancement to the central electrical grid: due to the intermittent nature of the renewable energy sources, appropriate algorithms are required to integrate these two typologies of grids and, in particular, to perform efficiently dynamic energy demand and distributed generation management, while guaranteeing satisfactory thermal comfort for the occupants. This paper presents a novel control algorithm for joint energy demand and thermal comfort optimization in photovoltaic-equipped interconnected microgrids. Energy demand shaping is achieved via an intelligent control mechanism for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning units. The intelligent control mechanism takes into account the available solar energy, the building dynamics and the thermal comfort of the buildings’ occupants. The control design is accomplished in a simulation-based fashion using an energy simulation model, developed in EnergyPlus, of an interconnected microgrid. Rather than focusing only on how each building behaves individually, the optimization algorithm employs a central controller that allows interaction among the buildings of the microgrid. The control objective is to optimize the aggregate microgrid performance. Simulation results demonstrate that the optimization algorithm efficiently integrates the microgrid with the photovoltaic system that provides free electric energy: in

  7. Influence of humidification on comfort during noninvasive ventilation with a helmet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ueta, Kazuyoshi; Tomita, Toshiji; Uchiyama, Akinori; Ohta, Noriyuki; Iguchi, Naoya; Goto, Yukiko; Fujino, Yuji

    2013-05-01

    To evaluate optimal humidifier water temperature when using a helmet for noninvasive ventilation. Twenty-eight healthy individuals underwent 8 cm H2O CPAP ventilation with FIO2 of 0.21 and 0.5. Each was sequentially tested in the following order: using the helmet without humidification at ambient temperature; with humidification with unheated chamber water; and with humidification with the chamber water at 31°C, 34°C, and 37°C. At each setting, after a 20 min stabilization period, measurements were taken. Comfort level at each setting was evaluated using a visual analog scale rated zero (least comfortable) to 10 (most comfortable). Temperature and relative and absolute humidity inside the helmet increased; however, the comfort scores significantly decreased as the humidification chamber water temperature increased. Regardless of the FIO2, statistically significantly highest comfort scores were obtained when humidification water, with and without active humidification, was at ambient temperature. Unacceptable absolute humidity was obtained only without humidification at room temperature when FIO2 was 0.5. With the clinical use of a helmet, for patient comfort and mucosal humidification during CPAP, the most desirable conditions are likely to be obtained by humidifying without heating, that is by leaving the water in the humidifier chamber at room temperature.

  8. Design of intelligent comfort control system with human learning and minimum power control strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang, J.; Du, R.

    2008-01-01

    This paper presents the design of an intelligent comfort control system by combining the human learning and minimum power control strategies for the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system. In the system, the predicted mean vote (PMV) is adopted as the control objective to improve indoor comfort level by considering six comfort related variables, whilst a direct neural network controller is designed to overcome the nonlinear feature of the PMV calculation for better performance. To achieve the highest comfort level for the specific user, a human learning strategy is designed to tune the user's comfort zone, and then, a VAV and minimum power control strategy is proposed to minimize the energy consumption further. In order to validate the system design, a series of computer simulations are performed based on a derived HVAC and thermal space model. The simulation results confirm the design of the intelligent comfort control system. In comparison to the conventional temperature controller, this system can provide a higher comfort level and better system performance, so it has great potential for HVAC applications in the future

  9. Selecting HVAC Systems to Achieve Comfortable and Cost-effective Residential Net-Zero Energy Buildings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Wei; Skye, Harrison M; Domanski, Piotr A

    2018-02-15

    HVAC is responsible for the largest share of energy use in residential buildings and plays an important role in broader implementation of net-zero energy building (NZEB). This study investigated the energy, comfort and economic performance of commercially-available HVAC technologies for a residential NZEB. An experimentally-validated model was used to evaluate ventilation, dehumidification, and heat pump options for the NZEB in the mixed-humid climate zone. Ventilation options were compared to mechanical ventilation without recovery; a heat recovery ventilator (HRV) and energy recovery ventilator (ERV) respectively reduced the HVAC energy by 13.5 % and 17.4 % and reduced the building energy by 7.5 % and 9.7 %. There was no significant difference in thermal comfort between the ventilation options. Dehumidification options were compared to an air-source heat pump (ASHP) with a separate dehumidifier; the ASHP with dedicated dehumidification reduced the HVAC energy by 7.3 % and the building energy by 3.9 %. The ASHP-only option (without dedicated dehumidification) reduced the initial investment but provided the worst comfort due to high humidity levels. Finally, ground-source heat pump (GSHP) alternatives were compared to the ASHP; the GSHP with two and three boreholes reduced the HVAC energy by 26.0 % and 29.2 % and the building energy by 13.1 % and 14.7 %. The economics of each HVAC configuration was analyzed using installation cost data and two electricity price structures. The GSHPs with the ERV and dedicated dehumidification provided the highest energy savings and good comfort, but were the most expensive. The ASHP with dedicated dehumidification and the ERV (or HRV) provided reasonable payback periods.

  10. Experimental investigation and feasibility analysis on a capillary radiant heating system based on solar and air source heat pump dual heat source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, M.; Gu, Z.L.; Kang, W.B.; Liu, X.; Zhang, L.Y.; Jin, L.W.; Zhang, Q.L.

    2017-01-01

    Graphical abstract: (a) Vertical temperature gradient in Case 3, (b) PMV and PPD of the test room in Case 3, (c) operating time of SPCTS and ASHP systems in Case 3 and (d) the proportion of SPCTS operating time. - Highlights: • A capillary heating system based on solar and air source heat pump was developed. • Influence of supply water temperature on solar energy saving rate was investigated. • Heating performance and thermal comfort of capillary heating system were analyzed. • Low temperature heating with capillary is suitable for solar heating system. - Abstract: Due to sustainable development, solar energy has drawn much attention and been widely applied in buildings. However, the application of solar energy is limited because of its instability, intermittency and low energy density in winter. In order to use low density and instable solar energy source for heating and improve the utilization efficiency of solar energy, a solar phase change thermal storage (SPCTS) heating system using a radiant-capillary-terminal (RCT) to effectively match the low temperature hot water, a phase change thermal storage (PCTS) to store and continuously utilize the solar energy, and an air source heat pump (ASHP) as an alternate energy, was proposed and set up in this research. Series of experiments were conducted to obtain the relation between the solar radiation utilization rate and the heating supply temperatures, and to evaluate the performance of the RCT module and the indoor thermal environment of the system for its practical application in a residential building in the north-western City of Xi’an, China. The results show that energy saving of the solar heating system can be significantly improved by reducing the supplied water temperature, and the supplied water temperature of the RCT would be no more than 35 °C. The capillary radiation heating can adopt a lower water temperature and create a good thermal comfort environment as well. These results may lead to the

  11. Preliminary research on virtual thermal comfort of automobile occupants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horobet, Tiberiu; Danca, Paul; Nastase, Ilinca; Bode, Florin

    2018-02-01

    Numerical simulation of climate conditions in automotive industry for the study of thermal comfort had become more and more prominent in the last years compared with the classical approach which consists in wind tunnel measurements and field testing, the main advantages being the reduction of vehicle development time and costs. The study presented in this paper is a part of a project intended to evaluate different strategies of cabin ventilation for improving the thermal comfort inside vehicles. A virtual thermal manikin consisting of 24 parts was introduced on the driver seat in a vehicle. A heat load calculated for summer condition in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Romania was imposed as boundary condition. The purpose of this study was to elaborate a virtual thermal manikin suitable for our research, introduction of the manikin inside the vehicle and to examine his influence inside the automobile. The thermal comfort of the virtual manikin was evaluated in terms of temperature and air velocity.

  12. Thermal comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    d’Ambrosio Alfano, Francesca Romana; Olesen, Bjarne W.; Palella, Boris Igor

    2014-01-01

    Thermal comfort is one of the most important aspects of the indoor environmental quality due to its effects on well-being, people's performance and building energy requirements. Its attainment is not an easy task requiring advanced design and operation of building and HVAC systems, taking...... into account all parameters involved. Even though thermal comfort fundamentals are consolidated topics for more than forty years, often designers seem to ignore or apply them in a wrong way. Design input values from standards are often considered as universal values rather than recommended values to be used...... under specific conditions. At operation level, only few variables are taken into account with unpredictable effects on the assessment of comfort indices. In this paper, the main criteria for the design and assessment of thermal comfort are discussed in order to help building and HVAC systems designers...

  13. Users of electric heating rewarded

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haapakoski, M. [ed.

    1998-07-01

    When the building industry plunged into the deep recession of the early 1990s this did not paralyse research and development work on electric heating. In fact, IVO and power companies launched the `Electrically Heated Homes in the New Millennium` project in 1992. Its purpose was to verify the efficiency, energy economy and residential comfort of model systems using state-of-the-art electric heating technology. The research project launched six years ago is now nearing completion. Its findings indicate that electricity brings ever more unparalleled benefits when it is used for heating. These benefits involve residential comfort, ease of use and economy

  14. Urban Physics: Effect of the micro-climate on comfort, health and energy demand

    OpenAIRE

    Moonen, Peter; Defraeye, Thijs; Dorer, Viktor; Blocken, Bert; Carmeliet, Jan

    2012-01-01

    The global trend towards urbanisation explains the growing interest in the study of the modification of the urban climate due to the heat island effect and global warming, and its impact on energy use of buildings. Also urban comfort, health and durability, referring respectively to pedestrian wind/thermal comfort, pollutant dispersion and wind-driven rain are of interest. Urban Physics is a well-established discipline, incorporating relevant branches of physics, environmental chemistry, aero...

  15. A review of human thermal comfort experiments in controlled and semi-controlled environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Craenendonck, Van Stijn; Lauriks, Leen; Vuye, Cedric; Kampen, Jarl

    2018-01-01

    There are three main methods to improve thermal comfort in existing buildings: modeling, experiments and measurements. Regarding experiments, no standardized procedure exists. This article provides an answer to the question: “What is the most common practice for human thermal comfort experiments in

  16. Comfort measures: a concept analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Irene

    2013-01-01

    Reference to the concept of comfort measures is growing in the nursing and medical literature; however, the concept of comfort measures is rarely defined. For the comfort work of nurses to be recognized, nurses must be able to identify and delineate the key attributes of comfort measures. A concept analysis using Rodgers' evolutionary method (2000) was undertaken with the goal of identifying the core attributes of comfort measures and thereby clarifying this concept. Health care literature was accessed from the CINAHL and PubMed databases. No restrictions were placed on publication dates. Four main themes of attributes for comfort measures were identified during the analysis. Comfort measures involve an active, strategic process including elements of "stepping in" and "stepping back," are both simple and complex, move from a physical to a holistic perspective and are a part of supportive care. The antecedents to comfort measures are comfort needs and the most common consequence of comfort measures is enhanced comfort. Although the concept of comfort measures is often associated with end-of-life care, this analysis suggests that comfort measures are appropriate for nursing care in all settings and should be increasingly considered in the clinical management of patients who are living with multiple, chronic comorbidities.

  17. THERMAL COMFORT STUDY OF AN AIR-CONDITIONED DESIGN STUDIO IN TROPICAL SURABAYA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agus Dwi Hariyanto

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper evaluates the current thermal comfort condition in an air-conditioned design studio using objective measurement and subjective assessment. Objective measurement is mainly to quantify the air temperature, MRT, relative humidity, and air velocity. Subjective assessment is conducted using a questionnaire to determine the occupants thermal comfort sensations and investigate their perception of the thermal comfort level. A design studio in an academic institution in Surabaya was chosen for the study. Results show that more than 80% of the occupants accepted the indoor thermal conditions even though both the environmental and comfort indices exceeded the limit of the standard (ASHRAE Standard 55 and ISO 7730. In addition, non-uniformity of spatial temperature was present in this studio. Some practical recommendations were made to improve the thermal comfort in the design studio.

  18. Individual thermal comfort. Measurements versus perceived level; Thermisch individueel comfort. Metingen versus beleving

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noom, P.; Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G. [Unit Building Physics and Systems, Faculteit Bouwkunde, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven TUE, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Haan, J.F.B.C.; Van der Velden, J. [Kropman Installatietechniek, Rijswijk (Netherlands)

    2010-11-15

    In a normal office building measurements according to NEN-EN-ISO 7726 (Ergonomics of the thermal environment. Instruments for measuring physical quantities) have been carried out and a survey was held to determine the perceived thermal comfort of individuals. A comparison between the objective determined thermal comfort and the perceived thermal comfort shows quite a difference. This result was also reached in earlier research by others in laboratories. Therefore it is necessary to take care of the differences when designing a specific comfort level and try to determine the perceived comfort level of the individual occupants. [Dutch] Nieuwe optimalisatiemogelijkheden voor energiegebruik voor het comfort zijn mogelijk door vanuit de actuele en toekomstige individuele behoefte aan comfort van de gebruiker de installatie optimaal aan te sturen. Dit artikel geeft inzicht in de efficiente afstemming van vraag en aanbod van energie voor thermisch comfort. In een kantoorgebouw zijn metingen gedaan, conform NEN-EN-ISO 7726 (Ergonomics of the thermal environment. Instruments for measuring physical quantities), en er is een enquete gehouden om het thermisch comfort individueel te kunnen bepalen gedurende de werkdag. Het doel van de metingen was de verschillen tussen de individuele beleving en de werkelijke klimaat omstandigheden te kunnen bepalen.

  19. The effect of human-mattress interface's temperature on perceived thermal comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Califano, R; Naddeo, A; Vink, P

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, methods that allow for an objective evaluation of perceived comfort, in terms of postural, physiological, cognitive and environmental comfort, have received a great deal of attention from researchers. This paper focuses on one of the factors that influences physiological comfort perception: the temperature difference between users and the objects with which they interact. The first aim is to create a measuring system that does not affect the perceived comfort during the temperatures' acquisition. The main aim is to evaluate how the temperature at the human-mattress interface can affect the level of perceived comfort. A foam mattress has been used for testing in order to take into account the entire back part of the human body. The temperature at the interface was registered by fourteen 100 Ohm Platinum RTDs (Resistance Temperature Detectors) placed on the mattress under the trunk, the shoulders, the buttocks, the legs, the thighs, the arms and the forearms of the test subject. 29 subjects participated in a comfort test in a humidity controlled environment. The test protocol involved: dress-code, anthropometric-based positioning on mattress, environment temperature measuring and an acclimatization time before the test. At the end of each test, each of the test subject's thermal sensations and the level of comfort perception were evaluated using the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) scale. The data analyses concerned, in the first instance, correlations between the temperature at the interface and comfort levels of the different parts of the body. Then the same analyses were performed independently of the body parts being considered. The results demonstrated that there was no strong correlation among the studied variables and that the total increase of temperature at interface is associated with a reduction in comfort. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Causes of Potential Urban Heat Island Space Using Heat flux Budget Under Urban Canopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwon, Y. J.; Lee, D. K.

    2017-12-01

    Raised concerns about possible contribution from urban heat island to global warming is about 30 percent. Therefore, mitigating urban heat island became one of major issues to solve among urban planners, urban designers, landscape architects, urban affair decision makers and etc. Urban heat island effect on a micro-scale is influenced by factors such as wind, water vapor and solar radiation. Urban heat island effect on a microscale is influenced by factors like wind, water vapor and solar radiation. These microscopic climates are also altered by factors affecting the heat content in space, like SVF and aspect ratio depending on the structural characteristics of various urban canyon components. Indicators of heat mitigation in urban design stage allows us to create a spatial structure considering the heat balance budget. The spatial characteristics affect thermal change by varying heat storage, emitting or absorbing the heat. The research defines characteristics of the space composed of the factors affecting the heat flux change as the potential urban heat island space. Potential urban heat island spaces are that having higher heat flux than periphery space. The study is to know the spatial characteristics that affects the subsequent temperature rise by the heat flux. As a research method, four types of potential heat island space regions were analyzed. I categorized the spatial types by comparing parameters' value of energy balance in day and night: 1) day severe areas, 2) day comfort areas, 3) night severe areas, 4) night comfort areas. I have looked at these four types of potential urban heat island areas from a microscopic perspective and investigated how various forms of heat influences on higher heat flux areas. This research was designed to investigate the heat indicators to be reflected in the design of urban canyon for heat mitigation. As a result, severe areas in daytime have high SVF rate, sensible heat is generated. Day comfort areas have shadow effect

  1. Thermal Comfort Level Assessment in Urban Area of Petrolina-PE County, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro Vieira de Azevedo

    Full Text Available Abstract This study evaluated the thermal conditions of urban areas in Petrolina-PE, from continuous data collected in urban and rural areas for the year of 2012. The results characterized urban heat islands (UHI with varying intensity in urban areas, especially UHI = 5.3 °C (high intensity occurred on April 28, 2012. It was evident that the constituent elements of urban areas contribute to the formation and expansion of UHI bringing thermal discomfort for its inhabitants. An adaptation to Thom’s equation for calculating the Thermal Discomfort Index (DIT, was used to obtain the maximum (DITx and minimum (DITm thermal discomfort. In the urban area, the DITm indicated thermal comfort in 23.0% of the days and partial comfort in 77.0% of days surveyed. Already, the DITx characterized 71.6% of days with partial comfort and 28.4% of days with thermal discomfort. In the rural area, The DITm indicated that 41.5% of days were thermally comfortable and 58.5% of days had partial comfort. However, the DITx pointed 87.7% of the days of this environment with partial thermal comfort and 12.3% of thermally uncomfortable days. Finally, the results showed that afforestation of urban area constitutes to an effective and efficient way to mitigate thermal discomfort.

  2. Human Thermal Comfort In Residential House Buildings Of Jimma Town Southwest Ethiopia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chali Yadeta

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Indoor human thermal comfort is an important factor in indoor air quality assessment. Thermal comfort affects human health work efficiency and overall wellbeing. Thermal discomfort in indoors lowers the emotional and physical health of the occupants. This paper targets to explore human thermal comfort in residential house buildings of Jimma town and state some possible mechanisms to improve the existing thermal discomfort in large number the houses. For the study 303 structured questionnaires were distributed to the residential houses in thirteen places of the town based on predetermined criteria. The study reveals that human thermal discomfort in residential houses Jimma town are mainly from poor architectural design and improper use of heat generating appliances in indoors. The uses architectural design that suites the present climatic conditions and use of materials that facilitates ventilations will enhance the realization of the required human thermal comfort in residential houses of the study area.

  3. Simulator with integrated HW and SW for prediction of thermal comfort to provide feedback to the climate control system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokorný, Jan; Kopečková, Barbora; Fišer, Jan; JÍcha, Miroslav

    2018-06-01

    The aim of the paper is to assemble a simulator for evaluation of thermal comfort in car cabins in order to give a feedback to the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system. The HW (hardware) part of simulator is formed by thermal manikin Newton and RH (relative humidity), velocity and temperature probes. The SW (software) part consists of the Thermal Comfort Analyser (using ISO 14505-2) and Virtual Testing Stand of Car Cabin defining the heat loads of car cabin. Simulator can provide recommendation for the climate control how to improve thermal comfort in cabin by distribution and directing of air flow, and also by amount of ventilation power to keep optimal temperature inside a cabin. The methods of evaluation of thermal comfort were verified by tests with 10 test subjects for summer (summer clothing, ambient air temperature 30 °C, HVAC setup: +24 °C auto) and winter conditions (winter clothing, ambient air temperature -5 °C, HVAC setup: +18 °C auto). The tests confirmed the validity of the thermal comfort evaluation using the thermal manikin and ISO 14505-2.

  4. Far-Infrared Emission Characteristics and Wear Comfort Property of ZrC-Imbedded Heat Storage Knitted Fabrics for Emotional Garments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kim Hyun Ah

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This study examined the far-infrared emission characteristics and wear comfort properties of ZrC-imbedded heat storage knitted fabrics. For this purpose, ZrC-imbedded, heat storage PET (polyethylene terephthalate was spun from high-viscosity PET with imbedded ZrC powder on the core part and low-viscosity PET on the sheath part using a conjugated spinning method. ZrC-imbedded PET knitted fabric was also prepared and its physical properties were measured and compared with those of regular PET knitted fabric. In addition, ingredient analysis and the far-infrared emission characteristics of the ZrC-imbedded knitted fabrics were analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The thermal properties, moisture absorption, and drying properties of the ZrC-imbedded PET knitted fabric were measured and compared with those of the regular PET knitted fabric. The mechanical properties using the FAST (fabric assurance by simple testing system and the dye affinity of the ZrC-imbedded knitted fabric were also measured and compared with those of regular PET knitted fabric.

  5. Thermal comfort in office buildings: Two case studies commented

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hens, Hugo S.L.C. [Laboratory of Building Physics, Department of Civil Engineering, K.U. Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 40, B-3001 Leuven (Heverlee) (Belgium)

    2009-07-15

    Air conditioning in offices has become a current practice in North Western Europe. The main reasons for that are high internal loads, solar gains and increased comfort expectations. Hence, the move away from the naturally ventilated cellular office increased thermal comfort complaints. The paper presents two cases. In both the results of a comfort enquiry are compared with measurements. The enquiries gave numbers of dissatisfied at a PMV zero that were much higher than the standard PMV/PPD curve does. Measurements instead showed that in one of the two offices only comfort complaints could be expected in summer. But even then, the enquired severity of complaints could not be related to the measured data. Several hypotheses are forwarded to explain the results. Individuals interpret the -3 to +3 scale for thermal sensation differently, which has a direct impact on the number of dissatisfied. The standard curve further-on is a most significant mean of thousands of steady state comfort votes under well-controlled conditions while an on site enquiry involves much smaller numbers of people. These have a clear expectation: an improvement of comfort condition, thanks to the study. For that reason they may exaggerate their complaints when enquired. And finally, an alternative PMV versus PPD curve, published in literature, shows more people complaining at a given PMV than the standard curve forwards. (author)

  6. Simulation of global warming effect on outdoor thermal comfort conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roshan, G.R.; Ranjbar, F. [Univ. of Tehran (IR). Dept. of Physical Geography; Orosa, J.A. [Univ. of A Coruna (Spain). Dept. of Energy

    2010-07-01

    In the coming decades, global warming and increase in temperature, in different regions of the world, may change indoor and outdoor thermal comfort conditions and human health. The aim of this research was to study the effects of global warming on thermal comfort conditions in indoor ambiences in Iran. To study the increase in temperature, model for assessment of greenhouse-gas induced climate change scenario generator compound model has been used together with four scenarios and to estimate thermal comfort conditions, adaptive model of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has been used. In this study, Iran was divided into 30 zones, outdoor conditions were obtained using meteorological data of 80 climatological stations and changes in neutral comfort conditions in 2025, 2050, 2075 and 2100 were predicted. In accordance with each scenario, findings from this study showed that temperature in the 30 zones will increase by 2100 to between 3.4 C and 5.6 C. In the coming decades and in the 30 studied zones, neutral comfort temperature will increase and be higher and more intense in the central and desert zones of Iran. The low increase in this temperature will be connected to the coastal areas of the Caspian and Oman Sea in southeast Iran. This increase in temperature will be followed by a change in thermal comfort and indoor energy consumption from 8.6 % to 13.1 % in air conditioning systems. As a result, passive methods as thermal inertia are proposed as a possible solution.

  7. Investigation of Different Configurations of a Ventilated Window to Optimize Both Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Mingzhe; Heiselberg, Per; Larsen, Olena Kalyanova

    2017-01-01

    on thermal comfort. Hourly simulations of the heat balances of the windows are conducted on four days representing different typical weather conditions according to the method described in EN ISO 13790. Uand g values used in the calculation method are calculated in European software tool (WIS......) for the calculation of the thermal and solar properties of commercial and innovative window systems. Additionally, comfort performance is evaluated by inlet air temperature and internal surface temperature of the windows calculated by WIS software. The results of the study show the energy and comfort performance...... the energy consumption or optimizing the thermal comfort. The provided optimal window typologies can be used in residential and commercial buildings for both new constructions and renovations....

  8. NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF HEAT STORAGE OF SOLAR HEAT IN FLOOR CONSTRUCTION

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitzmann, Peter; Holck, Ole; Svendsen, Svend

    2003-01-01

    with the highest energy con-sumption. The reduction depends on the solar collector area, distribution of the insulation thickness, heat-ing demand and control strategy, but not on pipe spacing and layer thickness and material. Finally, it is shown that the system can also be used for comfort heating of tiled...

  9. Economize while improving comfort. It's possible... with natural gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prescott, G.

    1998-01-01

    Increasing the amount of exterior air coming into a building, combined with a natural gas heating source has proven to be profitable. A study in a residence for handicapped people showed that doubling the amount of exterior air coming into the building actually improved the comfort level for the occupants while reducing the total electric energy bill by 21 per cent

  10. Short Duration Heat Acclimation in Australian Football Players

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monica Kelly, Paul B. Gastin, Daniel B Dwyer, Simon Sostaric, Rodney J. Snow

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This study examined if five sessions of short duration (27 min, high intensity, interval training (HIIT in the heat over a nine day period would induce heat acclimation in Australian football (AF players. Fourteen professional AF players were matched for VO2peak (mL·kg-1·min-1 and randomly allocated into either a heat acclimation (Acc (n = 7 or Control (Con group (n = 7. The Acc completed five cycle ergometer HIIT sessions within a nine day period on a cycle ergometer in the heat (38.7 ± 0.5 °C; 34.4 ± 1.3 % RH, whereas Con trained in thermo-neutral conditions (22.3 ± 0.2 °C; 35.8 ± 0. % RH. Four days prior and two days post HIIT participants undertook a 30 min constant load cycling test at 60% VO2peak in the heat (37.9 ± 0.1 °C; 28.5 ± 0.7 % RH during which VO2, blood lactate concentration ([Lac-], heart rate (HR, rating of perceived exertion (RPE, thermal comfort, core and skin temperatures were measured. Heat acclimation resulted in reduced RPE, thermal comfort and [Lac-] (all p < 0.05 during the submaximal exercise test in the heat. Heart rate was lower (p = 0.007 after HIIT, in both groups. Heat acclimation did not influence any other measured variables. In conclusion, five short duration HIIT sessions in hot dry conditions induced limited heat acclimation responses in AF players during the in-season competition phase. In practice, the heat acclimation protocol can be implemented in a professional team environment; however the physiological adaptations resulting from such a protocol were limited.

  11. BETTER DUCT SYSTEMS FOR HOME HEATING AND COOLING.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    ANDREWS,J.

    2001-01-01

    This is a series of six guides intended to provide a working knowledge of residential heating and cooling duct systems, an understanding of the major issues concerning efficiency, comfort, health, and safety, and practical tips on installation and repair of duct systems. These guides are intended for use by contractors, system designers, advanced technicians, and other HVAC professionals. The first two guides are also intended to be accessible to the general reader.

  12. Computational Fluid Dynamic Analysis of Enhancing Passenger Cabin Comfort Using PCM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purusothaman, M.; Valarmathi, T. N.; Dada Mohammad, S. K.

    2016-09-01

    The main purpose of this study is to determine a cost effective way to enhance passenger cabin comfort by analyzing the effect of solar radiation of a open parked vehicle, which is exposed to constant solar radiation on a hot and sunny day. Maximum heat accumulation occurs in the car cabin due to the solar radiation. By means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, a simulation process is conducted for the thermal regulation of the passenger cabin using a layer of phase change material (PCM) on the roof structure of a stationary car when exposed to ambient temperature on a hot sunny day. The heat energy accumulated in the passenger cabin is absorbed by a layer of PCM for phase change process. The installation of a ventilation system which uses an exhaust fan to create a natural convection scenario in the cabin is also considered to enhance passenger comfort along with PCM.

  13. Electric heating guidelines: power smart home; 2. ed.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1994-12-31

    Guidelines, for use by B. C. Hydro, were established for proper planning and design of an electric heating system for residential buildings. The guidebook is divided into five sections: (1) comfort and electric heating systems, (2) contractors` guide to heat loss calculation, (3) imperial heat loss factors, (4) metric heat loss factors, and (5) installation guidelines for electric heating systems. Individual topics discussed include heat loss and the human body, heating systems and comfort, heat loss design, air leakage, and soil conductivity factors. Design considerations and equipment standards were described for the following electric heating systems: electric resistance baseboard systems, forced flow unitary heaters, electric radiant cable in-floor systems, radiant ceiling systems, forced warm air heating systems, furnaces, and heat pumps. 68 tabs., 29 figs.

  14. 2-component heating systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Radtke, W

    1987-03-01

    The knowledge accumulated only recently of the damage to buildings and the hazards of formaldehyde, radon and hydrocarbons has been inducing louder calls for ventilation, which, on their part, account for the fact that increasing importance is being attached to the controlled ventilation of buildings. Two-component heating systems provide for fresh air and thermal comfort in one. While the first component uses fresh air blown directly and controllably into the rooms, the second component is similar to the Roman hypocaustic heating systems, meaning that heated outer air is circulating under the floor, thus providing for hot surfaces and thermal comfort. Details concerning the two-component heating system are presented along with systems diagrams, diagrams of the heating system and tables identifying the respective costs. Descriptions are given of the two systems components, the fast heat-up, the two-component made, the change of air, heat recovery and control systems. Comparative evaluations determine the differences between two-component heating systems and other heating systems. Conclusive remarks are dedicated to energy conservation and comparative evaluations of costs. (HWJ).

  15. Thermal comfort in residential buildings: Comfort values and scales for building energy simulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Peeters, L.F.R.; Dear, de R.; Hensen, J.L.M.; D'Haeseleer, W.

    2009-01-01

    Building Energy Simulation (BES) programmes often use conventional thermal comfort theories to make decisions, whilst recent research in the field of thermal comfort clearly shows that important effects are not incorporated. The conventional theories of thermal comfort were set up based on steady

  16. Short Duration Heat Acclimation in Australian Football Players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Monica; Gastin, Paul B; Dwyer, Daniel B; Sostaric, Simon; Snow, Rodney J

    2016-03-01

    This study examined if five sessions of short duration (27 min), high intensity, interval training (HIIT) in the heat over a nine day period would induce heat acclimation in Australian football (AF) players. Fourteen professional AF players were matched for VO2peak (mL·kg(-1)·min(-1)) and randomly allocated into either a heat acclimation (Acc) (n = 7) or Control (Con) group (n = 7). The Acc completed five cycle ergometer HIIT sessions within a nine day period on a cycle ergometer in the heat (38.7 ± 0.5 °C; 34.4 ± 1.3 % RH), whereas Con trained in thermo-neutral conditions (22.3 ± 0.2 °C; 35.8 ± 0. % RH). Four days prior and two days post HIIT participants undertook a 30 min constant load cycling test at 60% V̇O2peak in the heat (37.9 ± 0.1 °C; 28.5 ± 0.7 % RH) during which VO2, blood lactate concentration ([Lac(-)]), heart rate (HR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE), thermal comfort, core and skin temperatures were measured. Heat acclimation resulted in reduced RPE, thermal comfort and [Lac(-)] (all p competition phase. In practice, the heat acclimation protocol can be implemented in a professional team environment; however the physiological adaptations resulting from such a protocol were limited. Key pointsSome minor heat acclimation adaptations can be induced in professional AF players with five 27 min non-consecutive, short duration HIIT sessions in the heat.The heat acclimation protocol employed in this study was able to be implemented in a professional team sport environment during an actual competitive season.Elevating and maintaining a high core temperature sufficient for heat acclimation likely requires a longer heat training session or some pre-heating prior to exercise.

  17. Thermal Analysis--Human Comfort--Indoor Environments. NBS Special Publication 491.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangum, Billy W., Ed.; Hill, James E., Ed.

    Included in these proceedings are 11 formal papers presented by leading researchers in the field of thermal comfort and heat stress at a symposium held for the purpose of exploring new aspects of indoor thermal environments, caused primarily by the impact of energy conservation in new and existing buildings. The contributed papers were from…

  18. Thermal comfort in residential buildings: Comfort values and scales for building energy simulation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peeters, Leen; D' haeseleer, William [Division of Applied Mechanics and Energy Conversion, University of Leuven (K.U.Leuven), Celestijnenlaan 300 A, B-3001 Leuven (Belgium); Dear, Richard de [Division of Environmental and Life Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney (Australia); Hensen, Jan [Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven, Vertigo 6.18, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven (Netherlands)

    2009-05-15

    Building Energy Simulation (BES) programmes often use conventional thermal comfort theories to make decisions, whilst recent research in the field of thermal comfort clearly shows that important effects are not incorporated. The conventional theories of thermal comfort were set up based on steady state laboratory experiments. This, however, is not representing the real situation in buildings, especially not when focusing on residential buildings. Therefore, in present analysis, recent reviews and adaptations are considered to extract acceptable temperature ranges and comfort scales. They will be defined in an algorithm, easily implementable in any BES code. The focus is on comfortable temperature levels in the room, more than on the detailed temperature distribution within that room. (author)

  19. Smart grid for comfort; Smart grid voor comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeiler, W.; Van der Velden, J.A.J. [Kropman, Rijswijk (Netherlands); Vissers, D.R.; Maaijen, H.N. [Faculteit Bouwkunde, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven TUE, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Kling, W.L. [Faculteit Electrical Engineering, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven TUE, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Larsen, J.P. [Sense Observation Systems, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

    2012-04-15

    A new control strategy was developed based on the application of wireless sensor network with the connection to a smart grid to investigate if it is possible to save energy on the level of the user under the condition of maintaining the same or even improved level of individual comfort. By using different scenarios, for individual comfort and energy consumption, agents provide the steering of the process control This forms the basis of a new approach to optimize the energy consumption, after which the effect of it can be used on the level of residential building to optimize the interaction with the electrical infrastructure, the smart grid. [Dutch] Er vindt onderzoek plaats naar een nieuwe regelstrategie gebaseerd op de toepassing van een draadloos sensor netwerk dat is gekoppeld aan het smart grid. Doel van deze regelstrategie is om op gebruikersniveau energie te kunnen besparen met behoud of zelfs verbetering van het individueel comfort. Er zijn verschillende scenario's voor individueel comfort en energiegebruik van apparatuur met behulp van agents die voor de aansturing kunnen zorgen. Zo wordt de kern van de energievraag geoptimaliseerd. De doorwerking hiervan tot op het niveau van woninggebouw en de koppeling met het externe elektriciteitsnet kan vervolgens worden geoptimaliseerd.

  20. Using renewable energy to create comfort in the first Romanian passive house suited for offices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Gabriel

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Using renewable energy is becoming more profitable nowadays because of applying advanced technology. The paper, presented by the authors, analyses the case of using solar and geothermal energy to create comfort in homes with low energy consumption. In this situation, the performance of the systems that take energy from low-heat renewable sources and convert it into useful energy is growing. The characteristics of the buildings with low power consumption, of passive houses in particular, can cause the development of a new generation of devices to create comfort. The energy used to create comfort in the first passive house built in Romania, which was designed for offices, analyzed by the authors, is using both geothermal and solar power. The authors present the energy performance of the building correlated with the performance of the air-conditioning system that uses ground-water heat pumps. The thermodynamic analysis presented, highlights how the performance of geothermal energy systems increased, their variation depending on the climate zone variation parameter values. The authors make a detailed analysis, in the presented paper, about the influence of the working conditions of the installation elements, on the heat pump energy consumption and the methods adopted to reduce losses and increase system performance.

  1. Adaptive principles for thermal comfort in dwellings: From comfort temperatures to avoiding discomfort

    OpenAIRE

    Alders, E.E.; Kurvers, S.R.; Van den Ham, E.R.

    2011-01-01

    Many theories on thermal comfort exist and there are many ways to deliver this in an energy efficient way. Both aspects are often studied in a static way and most of these studies only regard one of the aspects, seldom investigating what influence the way of delivering thermal comfort has on the actual perceived thermal comfort. This paper analyses the knowledge of the different disciplines and integrates it to get a holistic image of comfort and its delivery systems as well as opportunities ...

  2. Nurses' comfort with touch and workplace well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pedrazza, Monica; Minuzzo, Stefania; Berlanda, Sabrina; Trifiletti, Elena

    2015-06-01

    Touch is an essential part of caregiving and has been proved to be useful to reduce pain. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to nurses' perceptions of touch. The aim of this article was to examine the relationship between nurses' feelings of comfort with touch and their well-being at work. A sample of 241 nurses attending a pain management training course completed a questionnaire, including the following measures: Comfort with Touch (CT) scale (task-oriented contact, touch promoting physical comfort, touch providing emotional containment), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI; emotional exhaustion, cynicism), and Job Satisfaction. Results of structural equation models showed that touch providing emotional containment was the main predictor of emotional exhaustion. Emotional exhaustion, in turn, was positively related to cynicism and negatively related to job satisfaction. In addition, the direct path from touch providing emotional containment to cynicism was significant. Practical implications of the findings are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

  3. GPs' communication skills - a study into women's comfort to disclose intimate partner violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Eleanor; O'Doherty, Lorna; Hegarty, Kelsey

    2012-07-01

    Quantitative research investigating the effects of general practitioner communication on a patient's comfort to disclose intimate partner violence is lacking. We explored the association between GPs' communication and patients' comfort to discuss fear of an intimate partner. A health/lifestyle survey mailed to 14 031 women (aged 16-50 years) who attended the participating GPs of 40 Victorian general practices during the previous year. There was a 32% response rate (n=4467). The results showed that female GPs were perceived as having better communication; an association between female GPs and comfort to disclose was not apparent in multivariate analyses. Time, caring, involving the patient in decisions and putting the patient at ease maintained associations with comfort to discuss, as did language, lower education, age >25 years and current fear. This study advocates increasing communication competence to allow for greater disclosure of sensitive issues such as intimate partner violence in the primary care context. However, it also signals a need in research and practice to focus on marginalised groups and intimate partner violence.

  4. Investigation of Different Configurations of a Ventilated Window to Optimize Both Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Mingzhe; Heiselberg, Per; Larsen, Olena Kalyanova

    2017-01-01

    on thermal comfort. Hourly simulations of the heat balances of the windows are conducted on four days representing different typical weather conditions according to the method described in EN ISO 13790. U and g values used in the calculation method are calculated in European software tool (WIS......) for the calculation of the thermal and solar properties of commercial and innovative window systems. Additionally, comfort performance is evaluated by inlet air temperature and internal surface temperature of the windows calculated by WIS software. The results of the study show the energy and comfort performance...... the energy consumption or optimizing the thermal comfort. The provided optimal window typologies can be used in residential and commercial buildings for both new constructions and renovations....

  5. Simulator with integrated HW and SW for prediction of thermal comfort to provide feedback to the climate control system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pokorný Jan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to assemble a simulator for evaluation of thermal comfort in car cabins in order to give a feedback to the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The HW (hardware part of simulator is formed by thermal manikin Newton and RH (relative humidity, velocity and temperature probes. The SW (software part consists of the Thermal Comfort Analyser (using ISO 14505-2 and Virtual Testing Stand of Car Cabin defining the heat loads of car cabin. Simulator can provide recommendation for the climate control how to improve thermal comfort in cabin by distribution and directing of air flow, and also by amount of ventilation power to keep optimal temperature inside a cabin. The methods of evaluation of thermal comfort were verified by tests with 10 test subjects for summer (summer clothing, ambient air temperature 30 °C, HVAC setup: +24 °C auto and winter conditions (winter clothing, ambient air temperature -5 °C, HVAC setup: +18 °C auto. The tests confirmed the validity of the thermal comfort evaluation using the thermal manikin and ISO 14505-2.

  6. Thermal comfort following immersion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guéritée, Julien; Redortier, Bernard; House, James R; Tipton, Michael J

    2015-02-01

    Unlike thermal comfort in air, little research has been undertaken exploring thermal comfort around water sports. We investigated the impact of swimming and cooling in air after swimming on thermal comfort. After 10 min of swimming-and-resting cycles in 28°C water, volunteers wearing two types of garments or in swim briefs, faced winds in 24°C air, at rest or when stepping. Thermal comfort was significantly higher during swimming than resting. Post-immersion, following maximum discomfort, in 45 of 65 tests thermal comfort improved although mean skin temperature was still cooling (0.26 [SD 0.19] °C·min(-1) - max was 0.89°C·min(-1)). When thermal comfort was re-established mean skin temperature was lower than at maximal discomfort in 39 of 54 tests (0.81 [SD 0.58] °C - max difference was 2.68°C). The reduction in thermal discomfort in this scenario could be due to the adaptation of thermoreceptors, or to reductions in cooling rates to levels where discomfort was less stimulated. The relief from the recent discomfort may explain why, later, thermal comfort returned to initial levels in spite of poorer thermal profiles. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. DoubleFace: Adjustable translucent system to improve thermal comfort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michela Turrin

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The DoubleFace project aims at developing a new product that passively improves thermal comfort of indoor and semi-indoor spaces by means of lightweight materials for latent heat storage, while simultaneously allowing daylight to pass through as much as possible. Specifically, the project aims at designing and prototyping an adjustable translucent modular system featuring thermal insulation and thermal absorption in a calibrated manner, which is adjustable according to different heat loads during summer- and wintertime. The output consists of a proof of concept, a series of performance simulations and measurement and a prototype of an adjustable thermal mass system based on lightweight and translucent materials: phase-changing materials (PCM for latent heat storage and translucent aerogel particles for thermal insulation.

  8. Dynamic indoor thermal comfort model identification based on neural computing PMV index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahari, K S Mohamed; Jalal, M F Abdul; Homod, R Z; Eng, Y K

    2013-01-01

    This paper focuses on modelling and simulation of building dynamic thermal comfort control for non-linear HVAC system. Thermal comfort in general refers to temperature and also humidity. However in reality, temperature or humidity is just one of the factors affecting the thermal comfort but not the main measures. Besides, as HVAC control system has the characteristic of time delay, large inertia, and highly nonlinear behaviour, it is difficult to determine the thermal comfort sensation accurately if we use traditional Fanger's PMV index. Hence, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been introduced due to its ability to approximate any nonlinear mapping. Using ANN to train, we can get the input-output mapping of HVAC control system or in other word; we can propose a practical approach to identify thermal comfort of a building. Simulations were carried out to validate and verify the proposed method. Results show that the proposed ANN method can track down the desired thermal sensation for a specified condition space.

  9. The Influence of Knitting Structure on Heating and Cooling Dynamic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daiva MIKUČIONIENĖ

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The comfort provided by clothing depends on several factors, one of them being thermal comfort. Human thermal comfort depends on a combination of clothing, climate, and physical activity. It is known, the fibre type, yarn properties, fabric structure, finishing are the main factors affecting thermo-physiological comfort. The thermal property of knitted fabric is very important not only for its thermal comfort but also for protection against cross weather conditions. Most of the studies carried out have been devoted to measure static thermal properties. But it is very important not only amount of the heat released to the environment but also the dynamics of the heat transmission. The main goal of this work was to investigate the dynamic of the heat and cool transfer through the fabrics with different knitting pattern and different type of the yarns. Three different types of knitted fabrics were developed for this experimental work.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ms.19.2.4434

  10. The myth of comfort food.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Heather Scherschel; Ahlstrom, Britt; Redden, Joseph P; Vickers, Zata; Mann, Traci

    2014-12-01

    People seek out their own idiosyncratic comfort foods when in negative moods, and they believe that these foods rapidly improve their mood. The purpose of these studies is to investigate whether comfort foods actually provide psychological benefits, and if so, whether they improve mood better than comparison foods or no food. Participants first completed an online questionnaire to indicate their comfort foods and a variety of comparison foods. During two lab sessions a week apart from each other (and at least a week after the online questionnaire, counterbalanced in order), participants watched films that induced negative affect. In one session, participants were then served their comfort food. In the other, participants were served an equally liked noncomfort food (Study 1), a neutral food (Study 2), or no food (Studies 3 and 4). Short-term mood changes were measured so that we could seek out psychological effects of these foods, rather than biochemical effects on mood from particular food components (e.g., sugars or vitamins). Comfort foods led to significant improvements in mood, but no more than other foods or no food. Although people believe that comfort foods provide them with mood benefits, comfort foods do not provide comfort beyond that of other foods (or no food). These results are likely not due to a floor effect because participants' moods did not return to baseline levels. Individuals may be giving comfort food "credit" for mood effects that would have occurred even in the absence of the comfort food.

  11. System and method of providing quick thermal comfort with reduced energy by using directed spot conditioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Mingyu; Kadle, Prasad S.; Ghosh, Debashis; Zima, Mark J.; Wolfe, IV, Edward; Craig, Timothy D

    2016-10-04

    A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system and a method of controlling a HVAC system that is configured to provide a perceived comfortable ambient environment to an occupant seated in a vehicle cabin. The system includes a nozzle configured to direct an air stream from the HVAC system to the location of a thermally sensitive portion of the body of the occupant. The system also includes a controller configured to determine an air stream temperature and an air stream flow rate necessary to establish the desired heat supply rate for the sensitive portion and provide a comfortable thermal environment by thermally isolating the occupant from the ambient vehicle cabin temperature. The system may include a sensor to determine the location of the sensitive portion. The nozzle may include a thermoelectric device to heat or cool the air stream.

  12. Acoustic comfort in eating establishments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svensson, David; Jeong, Cheol-Ho; Brunskog, Jonas

    2014-01-01

    The subjective concept of acoustic comfort in eating establishments has been investigated in this study. The goal was to develop a predictive model for the acoustic comfort, by means of simple objective parameters, while also examining which other subjective acoustic parameters could help explain...... the feeling of acoustic comfort. Through several layers of anal ysis, acoustic comfort was found to be rather complex, and could not be explained entirely by common subjective parameters such as annoyance, intelligibility or privacy. A predictive model for the mean acoustic comfort for an eating establishment...

  13. PID temperature controller in pig nursery: improvements in performance, thermal comfort, and electricity use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Souza Granja Barros, Juliana; Rossi, Luiz Antonio; Sartor, Karina

    2016-08-01

    The use of smarter temperature control technologies in heating systems can optimize the use of electric power and performance of piglets. Two control technologies of a resistive heating system were assessed in a pig nursery: a PID (proportional, integral, and derivative) controller and a thermostat. The systems were evaluated regarding thermal environment, piglet performance, and use of electric power for 99 days. The heating system with PID controller improved the thermal environment conditions and was significantly (P PID-controlled heating system is more efficient in electricity use and provides better conditions for thermal comfort and animal performance than heating with thermostat.

  14. Evaluating local and overall thermal comfort in buildings using thermal manikins

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foda, E.

    2012-07-01

    Evaluation methods of human thermal comfort that are based on whole-body heat balance with its surroundings may not be adequate for evaluations in non-uniform thermal conditions. Under these conditions, the human body's segments may experience a wide range of room physical parameters and the evaluation of the local (segmental) thermal comfort becomes necessary. In this work, subjective measurements of skin temperature were carried out to investigate the human body's local responses due to a step change in the room temperature; and the variability in the body's local temperatures under different indoor conditions and exposures as well as the physiological steady state local temperatures. Then, a multi-segmental model of human thermoregulation was developed based on these findings to predict the local skin temperatures of individuals' body segments with a good accuracy. The model predictability of skin temperature was verified for steady state and dynamic conditions using measured data at uniform neutral, cold and warm as well as different asymmetric thermal conditions. The model showed very good predictability with average absolute deviation ranged from 0.3-0.8 K. The model was then implemented onto the control system of the thermal manikin 'THERMINATOR' to adjust the segmental skin temperature set-points based on the indoor conditions. This new control for the manikin was experimentally validated for the prediction of local and overall thermal comfort using the equivalent temperature measure. THERMINATOR with the new control mode was then employed in the evaluation of localized floor-heating system variants towards maximum energy efficiency. This aimed at illustrating a design strategy using the thermal manikin to find the optimum geometry and surface area of a floor-heater for a single seated person. Furthermore, a psychological comfort model that is based on local skin temperature was adapted for the use with the model of human

  15. A Direct Heat Exchanger Unit used for Domestic Hot Water Supply in a Single-family House Supplied by Low Energy District Heating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brand, Marek; Thorsen, Jan Eric; Svendsen, Svend

    2010-01-01

    The increasing number of new and renovated buildings with reduced heating requirements will soon make traditional District Heating (DH) systems uneconomic. To keep DH competitive in the future, the heat loss in DH networks needs to be reduced. One option is to reduce the supply temperature of DH...... as much as possible. This requires a review of the behaviour of the whole domestic hot water (DHW) supply system with focus on the user comfort and overall costs. This paper describes some practical approaches to the implementation of this Low Energy District Heating (LEDH) concept. It reports...... on the testing of the dynamic behaviour of an Instantaneous Heat Exchanger Unit(IHEU) designed for DHW heating and space heating in detached family houses supplied by LEDH ensuring an entry-to-substation temperature of 51 °C. We measured the time it takes for the IHEU to produce DHW with a temperature of 42 °C...

  16. Comparison of different cooling regimes within a shortened liquid cooling/warming garment on physiological and psychological comfort during exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leon, Gloria R.; Koscheyev, Victor S.; Coca, Aitor; List, Nathan

    2004-01-01

    The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of different cooling regime intensities to maintain physiological and subjective comfort during physical exertion levels comparable to that engaged in during extravehicular activities (EVA) in space. We studied eight subjects (six males, two females) donned in our newly developed physiologically based shortened liquid cooling/warming garment (SLCWG). Rigorous (condition 1) and mild (condition 2) water temperature cooling regimes were compared at physical exertion levels comparable to that performed during EVA to ascertain the effectiveness of a lesser intensity of cooling in maintaining thermal comfort, thus reducing energy consumption in the portable life support system. Exercise intensity was varied across stages of the session. Finger temperature, rectal temperature, and subjective perception of overall body and hand comfort were assessed. Finger temperature was significantly higher in the rigorous cooling condition and showed a consistent increase across exercise stages, likely due to the restriction of heat extraction because of the intensive cold. In the mild cooling condition, finger temperature exhibited an overall decline with cooling, indicating greater heat extraction from the body. Rectal temperature was not significantly different between conditions, and showed a steady increase over exercise stages in both rigorous and mild cooling conditions. Ratings of overall comfort were 30% higher (more positive) and more stable in mild cooling (p<0.001). The mild cooling regime was more effective than rigorous cooling in allowing the process of heat exchange to occur, thus maintaining thermal homeostasis and subjective comfort during physical exertion.

  17. Effect of wind speed on human thermal sensation and thermal comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Yuhan

    2018-06-01

    In this experiment, a method of questionnaire survey was adopted. By changing the air flow rate under the indoor and outdoor natural conditions, the subjective Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) and the Thermal Comfort Vote (TCV) were recorded. The draft sensation can reduce the thermal sensation, but the draft sensation can cause discomfort, and the thermal comfort in a windy environment is lower than in a windless environment. When the temperature rises or the level of human metabolism increases, the person feels heat, the demand for draft sensation increases, and the uncomfortable feeling caused by the draft sensation may be reduced. Increasing the air flow within a certain range can be used to compensate for the increase in temperature.

  18. Thermal comfort in urban transitional spaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chungyoon Chun [Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea). College of Human Ecology, Department of Housing and Interior Design; Tamura, A. [Yokohama National University (Japan). Department of Architecture and Building Science

    2005-05-15

    This paper deals with thermal comfort in urban transitional spaces. This topic investigates thermal comfort during walking activities through transitional spaces-urban corridors, shopping streets, and open-ended passageways. The study involves a field study and a laboratory study with a sequenced walk through an environmental control chamber. Subjects in both studies wore the same clothing ensembles, walked the same speed, and evaluated their thermal comfort at 20 designated point in the field and in specific rooms in the control chamber. Air temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity were measured concurrently as the thermal comfort votes completed. Findings revealed that the previously experienced temperatures determined thermal comfort at the following point in the sequence. Because thermal comfort at a point can be influenced widely by relative placement of temperatures in sequence, thermal comfort in transitional spaces can be adapted very widely compared to comfort inside of buildings. Thermal comfort along the experimental courses was evaluated by averaging the temperature of a course. (author)

  19. Numerical modelling and experimental measurements for a low-temperature district heating substation for instantaneous preparation of DHW with respect to service pipes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brand, Marek; Thorsen, Jan Eric; Svendsen, Svend

    2012-01-01

    Traditional district heating (DH) systems are becoming uneconomic as the number of new and renovated buildings with reduced heating requirements increases. To keep DH competitive in the future, heat losses in DH networks need to be reduced. One option is to reduce the supply temperature of DH as much as possible. This requires a review and improvement of a DH network, in-house substations, and the whole domestic hot water (DHW) supply system, with the focus on user comfort, hygiene, overall cost and energy efficiency. This paper describes some practical approaches to the implementation of low-temperature district heating (LTDH) with an entry-to-substation temperature around 50 °C. To this end we developed a numerical model for an instantaneous LTDH substation that takes into consideration the effect of service pipes. The model has been verified and can be used for the further optimization of the whole concept as well for individual components. The results show that the way that the service pipe is operated has a significant effect on waiting time for DHW, heat loss, and overall cost. Furthermore, the service pipe should be kept warm by using a bypass in order to fulfil the comfort requirements for DHW instantaneously prepared. -- Highlights: ► Describes and justifies concept of low-temperature district heating with supply temperature of 50 °C. ► Focuses on DHW preparation in low-temperature district heating in-house substations, considering comfort and Legionella. ► Verified numerical model reports on dynamic performance of an in-house substation, considering operation of service pipes. ► Bypass is needed for instantaneous type of district heating substations to fulfil comfort requirements of users. ► The model developed can be used for future optimization of low-temperature substations and whole district heating networks.

  20. Evaluation of Bus Vibration Comfort Based on Passenger Crowdsourcing Mode

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Zhao

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Vibration comfort is an important factor affecting the quality of service (QoS of bus. In order to make people involved in supervising bus’s vibration comfort and improve passengers’ riding experience, a novel mode of passenger crowdsourcing is introduced. In this paper, comfort degree of bus vibration is calculated from bus’s vibration signals collected by passengers’ smartphones and sent through WiFi to the Boa web server which shows the vibration comfort on the LCD deployed in bus and maybe trigger alarm lamp when the vibration is beyond the threshold. Three challenges here have been overcome: firstly, space coordinate transformation algorithm is used to solve the constant drift of signals collected; secondly, a low-pass filter is designed to isolate gravity from signals real-timely via limited computing resources; thirdly, an embedded evaluation system is developed according to the calculation procedure specified by criterion ISO 2631-1997. Meanwhile, the model proposed is tested in a practical running environment, the vibration data in whole travel are recorded and analyzed offline. The results show that comfort degree of vibration obtained from the experimental system is identical with the truth, and this mode is proved to be effective.

  1. Assessment of the Performance of a Ventilated Window Coupled with a Heat Recovery Unit through the Co-Heating Test

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ludovico Danza

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the article is to describe the results of an experimental campaign based on the assessment of a heat recovery unit coupled with a dynamic window. Two fully monitored and calibrated outdoor test cells are used, in order to evaluate the energy performance and the related thermal comfort. The former presents a traditional window with double-glazing, aluminum frame and indoor blind and a centrifugal extractor for the air circulation. The latter is equipped with a dynamic window with ventilated and blinded double-glazing provided with a heat exchanger. The connection of the dynamic window and heat recovery unit provides different actions: heat recovery; heat transfer reduction; pre-heating before the exchanger. Different operating configurations allowed the trends of the dynamic system to be assessed in different seasons in terms of energy saving, thermal comfort behavior and energy efficiency. The results showed an overall lower consumption of the innovative system, both in winter and summer, with 20% and 15% energy saving, respectively. In general, the dynamic system provided the best comfort conditions, even if it involves a worse behavior than expected, in the summer season.

  2. Effect of warm air supplied facially on occupants' comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kaczmarczyk, J.; Melikov, Arsen Krikor; Sliva,, D.

    2010-01-01

    was supplied with a constant velocity of 0.4 m/s by means of personalized ventilation towards the face of the subjects. The airflow at 21 °C decreased the subjects' thermal sensation and increased draught discomfort, but improved slightly the perceived air quality. Heating of the supplied air by 6 K...... (temperature increase by 4 K at the target area) above the room air temperature decreased the draught discomfort, improved subjects' thermal comfort and only slightly decreased the perceived air quality. Elevated velocity and temperature of the localized airflow caused an increase of nose dryness intensity...... and number of eye irritation reports. Results suggest that increasing the temperature of the air locally supplied to the breathing zone by only a few degrees above the room air temperature will improve occupants' thermal comfort and will diminish draught discomfort. This strategy will extend...

  3. Simulating Physiological Response with a Passive Sensor Manikin and an Adaptive Thermal Manikin to Predict Thermal Sensation and Comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rugh, John P [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Chaney, Larry [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Hepokoski, Mark [ThermoAnalytics Inc.; Curran, Allen [ThermoAnalytics Inc.; Burke, Richard [Measurement Technology NW; Maranville, Clay [Ford Motor Company

    2015-04-14

    Reliable assessment of occupant thermal comfort can be difficult to obtain within automotive environments, especially under transient and asymmetric heating and cooling scenarios. Evaluation of HVAC system performance in terms of comfort commonly requires human subject testing, which may involve multiple repetitions, as well as multiple test subjects. Instrumentation (typically comprised of an array of temperature sensors) is usually only sparsely applied across the human body, significantly reducing the spatial resolution of available test data. Further, since comfort is highly subjective in nature, a single test protocol can yield a wide variation in results which can only be overcome by increasing the number of test replications and subjects. In light of these difficulties, various types of manikins are finding use in automotive testing scenarios. These manikins can act as human surrogates from which local skin and core temperatures can be obtained, which are necessary for accurately predicting local and whole body thermal sensation and comfort using a physiology-based comfort model (e.g., the Berkeley Comfort Model). This paper evaluates two different types of manikins, i) an adaptive sweating thermal manikin, which is coupled with a human thermoregulation model, running in real-time, to obtain realistic skin temperatures; and, ii) a passive sensor manikin, which is used to measure boundary conditions as they would act on a human, from which skin and core temperatures can be predicted using a thermophysiological model. The simulated physiological responses and comfort obtained from both of these manikin-model coupling schemes are compared to those of a human subject within a vehicle cabin compartment transient heat-up scenario.

  4. Forty years of Fanger's model of thermal comfort: Comfort for all?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoof, van J.

    2008-01-01

    The predicted mean vote (PMV) model of thermal comfort, created by Fanger in the late 1960s, is used worldwide to assess thermal comfort. Fanger based his model on college-aged students for use in invariant environmental conditions in air-conditioned buildings in moderate thermal climate zones.

  5. Comfort in times if climatic change; Comfort in tijden van klimaatverandering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Imsirovic, F.; Molenaar, R. [Techniplan Adviseurs, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

    2011-10-15

    A study with calculation software Vabi 114 shows that choosing a different climate year and comfort level requirements according to the Dutch standard NEN 5060 can lead to an increased cooling capacity of over 60%. When determining the climate year and comfort level in the program of requirements, it will have to be weighed if the increasing cost at the expense of the additional cooling capacity outweighs the increased level in comfort. [Dutch] Het is de laatste jaren een trend om andere klimaatjaren of andere comforteisen te hanteren. Het oude klimaatjaar1964-1965 wordt steeds vaker vervangen door jaren zoals 1995,1998 of nieuwe klimaatreferentiejaren conform de NEN 5060:2008. Ook de comforteisen veranderen. De eis van 150 gewogen overschrijdingsuren die de Rijksgebouwendienst jarenlang hanteerde, wordt steeds vaker vervangen door een eis met een maximale binnentemperatuur van 25C of adaptieve temperatuurgrenswaarden (ATG), zoals omschreven in ISSO-publicatie 74. Wat is de invloed van gewijzigde klimaatjaren en comforteisen op het comfort en het op te stellen koelvermogen?.

  6. Thermo-active building systems and sound absorbers: Thermal comfort under real operation conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Köhler, Benjamin; Rage, Nils; Chigot, Pierre

    2018-01-01

    Radiant systems are established today and have a high ecological potential in buildings while ensuring thermal comfort. Free-hanging sound absorbers are commonly used for room acoustic control, but can reduce the heat exchange when suspended under an active slab. The aim of this study...... is to evaluate the impact on thermal comfort of horizontal and vertical free-hanging porous sound absorbers placed in rooms of a building cooled by Thermo-Active Building System (TABS), under real operation conditions. A design comparing five different ceiling coverage ratios and two room types has been...... implemented during three measurement periods. A clear correlation between increase of ceiling coverage ratio and reduction of thermal comfort could not be derived systematically for each measurement period and room type, contrarily to what was expected from literature. In the first two monitoring periods...

  7. Numerical modelling and experimental measurements for a low-temperature district heating substation for instantaneous preparation of DHW with respect to service pipes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brand, Marek; Thorsen, Jan Eric; Svendsen, Svend

    2012-01-01

    Traditional district heating (DH) systems are becoming uneconomic as the number of new and renovated buildings with reduced heating requirements increases. To keep DH competitive in the future, heat losses in DH networks need to be reduced. One option is to reduce the supply temperature of DH...... as much as possible. This requires a review and improvement of a DH network, in-house substations, and the whole domestic hot water (DHW) supply system, with the focus on user comfort, hygiene, overall cost and energy efficiency. This paper describes some practical approaches to the implementation of low...... concept as well for individual components. The results show that the way that the service pipe is operated has a significant effect on waiting time for DHW, heat loss, and overall cost. Furthermore, the service pipe should be kept warm by using a bypass in order to fulfil the comfort requirements for DHW...

  8. Review of the physiology of human thermal comfort while exercising in urban landscapes and implications for bioclimatic design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanos, Jennifer K.; Warland, Jon S.; Gillespie, Terry J.; Kenny, Natasha A.

    2010-07-01

    This review comprehensively examines scientific literature pertaining to human physiology during exercise, including mechanisms of heat formation and dissipation, heat stress on the body, the importance of skin temperature monitoring, the effects of clothing, and microclimatic measurements. This provides a critical foundation for microclimatologists and biometeorologists in the understanding of experiments involving human physiology. The importance of the psychological aspects of how an individual perceives an outdoor environment are also reviewed, emphasizing many factors that can indirectly affect thermal comfort (TC). Past and current efforts to develop accurate human comfort models are described, as well as how these models can be used to develop resilient and comfortable outdoor spaces for physical activity. Lack of suitable spaces plays a large role in the deterioration of human health due to physical inactivity, leading to higher rates of illness, heart disease, obesity and heat-related casualties. This trend will continue if urban designers do not make use of current knowledge of bioclimatic urban design, which must be synthesized with physiology, psychology and microclimatology. Increased research is required for furthering our knowledge on the outdoor human energy balance concept and bioclimatic design for health and well-being in urban areas.

  9. Comfort of the patient's family in an Intensive Care Unit related to welcoming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana de Almeida Moraes Gibaut

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to identify the level of comfort of families of patients in a critical health condition related to the welcoming practices performed by the hospital staff. Interviews were conducted with 250 relatives in hospitals of the state Bahia, using a Likert scale. Data were analyzed as percentages and quartiles. For nine of the 12 statements of the scale, most relatives scored their comfort level between very and totally comfortable, median of 4,revealing kindness, tranquility and friendly communication with family members. More than half of the sample scored its level as not at all to more or less comfortable, median of 3, for statements about demonstration of interest towards the relative by the staff and flexible visiting of the patient. The necessity of greater interest of the team in the condition and needs of the family was observed. Promoting comfort from the dimension of welcoming demands interdisciplinary actions grounded in humanistic philosophy, in which the nurse has an important role to play.

  10. Evaluating Thermal Comfort in a Naturally Conditioned Office in a Temperate Climate Zone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Gallardo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to determine the optimal approach for evaluating thermal comfort in an office that uses natural ventilation as the main conditioning strategy; the office is located in Quito-Ecuador. The performance of the adaptive model included in CEN Standard EN15251 and the traditional PMV model are compared with reports of thermal environment satisfaction surveys presented simultaneously to all occupants of the office to determine which of the two comfort models is most suitable to evaluate the thermal environment. The results indicate that office occupants have developed some degree of adaptation to the climatic conditions of the city where the office is located (which only demands heating operation, and tend to accept and even prefer lower operative temperatures than those considered optimum by applying the PMV model. This is an indication that occupants of naturally conditioned buildings are usually able to match their comfort temperature to their normal environment. Therefore, the application of the adaptive model included in CEN Standard EN15251 seems like the optimal approach for evaluating thermal comfort in naturally conditioned buildings, because it takes into consideration the adaptive principle that indicates that if a change occurs such as to produce discomfort, people tend to react in ways which restore their comfort.

  11. Exertional Heat Illnesses and Environmental Conditions During High School Football Practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripp, Brady L; Eberman, Lindsey E; Smith, Michael Seth

    2015-10-01

    Guidelines for preventing exertional heat illnesses (EHIs) during extreme heat stress should be specific to regional environments, age, and sport and should be based on evidence of reducing the risk. Each year in the United States, over 1 million high school football players practice in the August heat; however, no published data describe the incidence of EHIs in these athletes. To describe the environmental conditions and incidence of EHIs during high school football practices over a 3-month period. Descriptive epidemiology study. For a 3-month period (August-October), athletic trainers at 12 high schools in North Central Florida recorded the practice time and length, environmental conditions (wet-bulb globe temperature), and incidences of EHIs in varsity football athletes. Athletes suffered 57 total EHIs during 29,759 athlete-exposures (AEs) for the 3-month data collection period (rate = 1.92/1000 AEs). August accounted for the majority of all EHIs, with 82.5% (47/57) and the highest rate (4.35/1000 AEs). Of total heat illnesses, heat cramps accounted for 70.2% (40/57), heat exhaustion 22.8% (13/57), and heat syncope 7.0% (4/57). The odds ratio indicated that athletes in August practices that lasted longer than the recommended 3 hours were 9.84 times more likely to suffer a heat illness than those in practices lasting ≤3 hours. The highest rate of EHIs was during August. Practices in August that exceeded the recommended 3 hours were associated with a greater risk of heat illnesses. The overall rate of EHIs was lower for the high school football athletes observed in the study compared with that reported for collegiate football athletes in the region. The low rates of EHIs recorded suggest that the prevention guidelines employed by sports medicine teams are appropriate for the region and population. Team physicians and athletic trainers should employ evidence-based, region- and population-specific EHI prevention guidelines. Sports medicine teams, coaches, and

  12. Room air conditioner load control under summer comfort constraint

    OpenAIRE

    Da Silva , David; Brancaccio , M; Duplessis , Bruno; Adnot , J

    2010-01-01

    International audience; Load control options interest is growing because it can represent a response to future network investments and to congestion problems. In this frame, the present paper gives a methodology to quantify the value of load control for heat pumps (room air conditioners), in small tertiary and residential buildings, considering the occupant's comfort and the electrical grid needs for load shift. This methodology was applied to a small office building where simulations were ma...

  13. Building America Best Practices Series Volume 14 - HVAC. A Guide for Contractors to Share with Homeowners

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baechler, Michael C. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Gilbride, Theresa L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hefty, Marye G. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hand, James R. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Love, Pat M. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2011-08-01

    This guide, which is part of a series of Best Practices guides produced by DOE’s Building America program, describes ways homeowners can reduce their energy costs and improve the comfort, health, and safety of their homes by upgrading their heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment.

  14. Strategies for Sustainable Comfort in Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nørgaard, Jørgen

    1997-01-01

    these goals include phasing out all use of electricity for space heating and for hot water supply. Furthermore building codes should require new buildings to be very well insulated, 30-40 cm mineral wool, for instance, and low energy windows. Similar codes, although not always as strict, should be applied......It is possible within some decades to achieve environmental sustainability in the building sector and at the same time provide a comfortable and healthy life for all Europeans as well as leaving that option open for other people in the world.Buildings are charcterized by having the longest lifetime...... of all capital in our societies, often more than a hundred years. For that reason they should never be designed on the bases of just present cheap energy supply and energy system, but with the long term outlook and risks in mind. New buildings can be designed to require essentially no space heating...

  15. Urban physics : effect of the micro-climate on comfort, health and energy demand

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Moonen, P.; Defraeye, T.W.J.; Dorer, V.; Blocken, B.J.E.; Carmeliet, J.E.

    2012-01-01

    The global trend towards urbanization explains the growing interest in the study of the modification of the urban climate due to the heat island effect and global warming, and its impact on energy use of buildings. Also urban comfort, health and durability, referring respectively to pedestrian

  16. An assessment tool to help producers improve cow comfort on their farms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasseur, E; Gibbons, J; Rushen, J; Pellerin, D; Pajor, E; Lefebvre, D; de Passillé, A M

    2015-01-01

    Effective management and an appropriate environment are essential for dairy cattle health and welfare. Codes of practice provide dairy producers with best practice guidance for the care and handling of their cattle. New Canadian recommendations have been established for the dairy industry. The objectives of this study were to develop an on-farm assessment tool that helps producers assess how well they are meeting their code of practice and that identifies management and environment modifications that could improve dairy cow comfort on their farms. The assessment tool addressed critical areas of dairy cow comfort, including accommodation and housing (stall design, space allowance, stall management, pen management, milking parlor, and transfer alleys), feed and water (body condition scoring, nutrition), and health and welfare (lameness, claw health, and hoof-trimming). Targets of good practices were identified from the requirements and recommendations of the code of practice. Each farm received a score for each target, ranging from 0 (target not reached) to 100 (target reached). One hundred tiestall and 110 freestall farms were surveyed in 3 provinces of Canada (Quebec, Ontario, and Alberta). The duration of the assessment, in 2 visits lasting, on average, 8 and 9h (range between freestall and tiestall farms) and 4 and 4.1h, was beyond the targeted 3 to 4h due mainly to the animal-based measures; strategies to reduce the duration of the assessment were discussed. Standard operating procedures were developed to ensure consistency in measuring and recording data. Periodical checks were conducted by trainers to ensure all 15 assessors remained above target agreement of weighted kappa ≥0.6. Average scores for all critical areas ranged from 25 to 89% for freestall farms and from 48 to 95% for tiestall farms. These scores need to be considered with caution when comparing farms because scores could not always be calculated the same way between housing systems. An

  17. Analysis and Choice of Optimal Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning System for a Teaching Unit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina Verdeş

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Under the conditions of present society in which providing an optimum interior comfort is confronted with the necessity of the energy consumption reduction, solving this problem depends on the factors which contribute to the achievements of this comfort. Modern buildings -- implicitly teaching unit -- may be equipped with installations which have low energy consumption, respective a heating, cooling and ventilating integrated system with heat pumps system which can assure all the required comfort conditions. This paper underlines the necessity to use the heat pump in heating system for a teaching unit, energetic and economic guides and the possibility to increase them when using cooling and heating mixed. The solution of heat pumps for heating of the teaching unit and the energetic and economic advantages of the system is made in study.

  18. Evaluation of the thermal comfort of ceramic floor tiles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmeane Effting

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available In places where people are bare feet, the thermal sensation of cold or hot depends on the environmental conditions and material properties including its microstructure and crustiness surface. The uncomforting can be characterized by heated floor surfaces in external environments which are exposed to sun radiation (swimming polls areas or by cold floor surfaces in internal environments (bed rooms, path rooms. The property named thermal effusivity which defines the interface temperature when two semi-infinite solids are putted in perfect contact. The introduction of the crustiness surface on the ceramic tiles interferes in the contact temperature and also it can be a strategy to obtain ceramic tiles more comfortable. Materials with low conductivities and densities can be obtained by porous inclusion are due particularly to the processing conditions usually employed. However, the presence of pores generally involves low mechanical strength. This work has the objective to evaluate the thermal comfort of ceramics floor obtained by incorporation of refractory raw materials (residue of the polishing of the porcelanato in industrial atomized ceramic powder, through the thermal and mechanical properties. The theoretical and experimental results show that the porosity and crustiness surface increases; there is sensitive improvement in the comfort by contact.

  19. Honeywell: Comfort and economy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lukaszewski, J.

    1995-12-31

    The presentation of the Company starts with having it ranked among the ones operating on the customers` market or those acting on the professional market. But it is not so. Honeywell is beyond such simple criteria. We are a company supplying products, systems and services related with generally conceived automatic control engineering, yet the operational range does comprise so many apparently diversified fields, for instance automatic control in aeronautics, heavy power engineering, building of apartment buildings, detached houses, heat engineering and some others. Nevertheless, our targets are always the same: maximum increase in efficiency and reliability of the process lines controlled by our systems as well as securing the best comfort of work and rest for people who stay in the buildings controlled by our devices. Simultaneously, the utilization of energy sources and the natural environment resources must be as sensible as possible.

  20. Nurses' comfort level with spiritual assessment: a study among nurses working in diverse healthcare settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cone, Pamela H; Giske, Tove

    2017-10-01

    To gain knowledge about nurses' comfort level in assessing spiritual matters and to learn what questions nurses use in practice related to spiritual assessment. Spirituality is important in holistic nursing care; however, nurses report feeling uncomfortable and ill-prepared to address this domain with patients. Education is reported to impact nurses' ability to engage in spiritual care. This cross-sectional exploratory survey reports on a mixed-method study examining how comfortable nurses are with spiritual assessment. In 2014, a 21-item survey with 10 demographic variables and three open-ended questions were distributed to Norwegian nurses working in diverse care settings with 172 nurse responses (72 % response rate). SPSS was used to analyse quantitative data; thematic analysis examined the open-ended questions. Norwegian nurses reported a high level of comfort with most questions even though spirituality is seen as private. Nurses with some preparation or experience in spiritual care were most comfortable assessing spirituality. Statistically significant correlations were found between the nurses' comfort level with spiritual assessment and their preparedness and sense of the importance of spiritual assessment. How well-prepared nurses felt was related to years of experience, degree of spirituality and religiosity, and importance of spiritual assessment. Many nurses are poorly prepared for spiritual assessment and care among patients in diverse care settings; educational preparation increases their comfort level with facilitating such care. Nurses who feel well prepared with spirituality feel more comfortable with the spiritual domain. By fostering a culture where patients' spirituality is discussed and reflected upon in everyday practice and in continued education, nurses' sense of preparedness, and thus their level of comfort, can increase. Clinical supervision and interprofessional collaboration with hospital chaplains and/or other spiritual leaders can

  1. Analysis of thermal comfort and indoor air quality in a mechanically ventilated theatre

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kavgic, M.; Mumovic, D.; Young, A. [The Bartlett School of Graduate Studies, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, England (United Kingdom); Stevanovic, Z. [Institute of Nuclear Sciences - Vinca, P.O. Box 522, 11001 Belgrade (RS)

    2008-07-01

    Theatres are the most complex of all auditorium structures environmentally. They usually have high heat loads, which are of a transient nature as audiences come and go, and from lighting which changes from scene to scene, and they generally have full or nearly full occupancy. Theatres also need to perform well acoustically, both for the spoken word and for music, and as sound amplification is less used than in other auditoria, background noise control is critically important. All these factors place constraints on the ventilation design, and if this is poor, it can lead to the deterioration of indoor air quality and thermal comfort. To analyse the level of indoor air quality and thermal comfort in a typical medium-sized mechanically ventilated theatre, and to identify where improvements could typically be made, a comprehensive post-occupancy evaluation study was carried out on a theatre in Belgrade. The evaluation, based on the results of monitoring (temperature, relative humidity, CO{sub 2}, air speed and heat flux) and modelling (CFD), as well as the assessment of comfort and health as perceived by occupants, has shown that for most of the monitored period the environmental parameters were within the standard limits of thermal comfort and IAQ. However, two important issues were identified, which should be borne in mind by theatre designers in the future. First, the calculated ventilation rates showed that the theatre was over-ventilated, which will have serious consequences for its energy consumption, and secondly, the displacement ventilation arrangement employed led to higher than expected complaints of cold discomfort, probably due to cold draughts around the occupants' feet. (author)

  2. Relative importance of different surface regions for thermal comfort in humans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Mayumi; Yoda, Tamae; Crawshaw, Larry I; Kasuga, Momoko; Uchida, Yuki; Tokizawa, Ken; Nagashima, Kei; Kanosue, Kazuyuki

    2013-01-01

    In a previous study, we investigated the contribution of the surface of the face, chest, abdomen, and thigh to thermal comfort by applying local temperature stimulation during whole-body exposure to mild heat or cold. In hot conditions, humans prefer a cool face, and in cold they prefer a warm abdomen. In this study, we extended investigation of regional differences in thermal comfort to the neck, hand, soles, abdomen (Experiment 1), the upper and lower back, upper arm, and abdomen (Experiment 2). The methodology was similar to that used in the previous study. To compare the results of each experiment, we utilized the abdomen as the reference area in these experiments. Thermal comfort feelings were not particularly strong for the limbs and extremities, in spite of the fact that changes in skin temperature induced by local temperature stimulation of the limbs and extremities were always larger than changes that were induced in the more proximal body parts. For the trunk areas, a significant difference in thermal comfort was not observed among the abdomen, and upper and lower back. An exception involved local cooling during whole-body mild cold exposure, wherein the most dominant preference was for a warmer temperature of the abdomen. As for the neck and abdomen, clear differences were observed during local cooling, while no significant difference was observed during local warming. We combined the results for the current and the previous study, and characterized regional differences in thermal comfort and thermal preference for the whole-body surface.

  3. Sensitivity analysis for daily building operation from the energy and thermal comfort standpoint

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignjatović Marko G.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Improving energy performance of buildings is one of the most important tasks for reaching sustainability. Assessing building energy consumption is performed more often with specialized simulation tools. Sensitivity analysis proved to be a valuable tool for creating more reliable and realistic building energy models and better buildings. This paper briefly describes the methodology for running global sensitivity analysis and tools that can be used, and presents the results of such an analysis conducted for winter period, daily, on input variables covering a real building's operation, control and occupant related parameters that affect both thermal comfort and heating energy consumption. Two sets of inputs were created. The only difference between these sets is an addition of clothing insulation and occupant heat gain as input variables. The reference building was simulated for three distinctive winter weeks. Two additional input variables have an effect especially on thermal comfort, but they do not disturb the relative order of other influential input variables. The common influential variables for both energy consumption and thermal comfort were identified and are: air handling unit sup-ply temperature and airflow rate and control system related parameters. This can help in future research into implementing the simulation-assisted optimized operation in real buildings. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR-33051: The concept of sustainable energy supply of settlements with energy efficient buildings

  4. On the Climate Variability and Energy Demands for Indoor Human Comfort Levels in Tropical Urban Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokhrel, R.; Ortiz, L. E.; González, J. E.; Ramírez-Beltran, N. D.

    2017-12-01

    The main objective of this study is to identify how climate variability influences human comfort levels in tropical urban environments. San Juan Metropolitan Area (SJMA) of the island of Puerto Rico was chosen as a reference point. A new human discomfort index (HDI) based on environmental enthalpy is defined. This index is expanded to determine the energy required to maintain indoor human comfort levels and was compared to Total Electricity consumption for the Island of Puerto Rico. Regression analysis shows that both Temperature and HDI are good indictor to predict total electrical energy consumption. Results showed that over the past 35 years the average enthalpy have increased and have mostly been above thresholds for human comfort for SJMA. The weather stations data further shows a clear indication of urbanization biases ramping up the index considered. From the trend analysis local scale (weather station) data shows a decreasing rate of maximum cooling at -11.41 kW-h/years, and minimum is increasing at 10.64 kW-h/years. To compare human comfort levels under extreme heat wave events conditions, an event of 2014 in the San Juan area was identified. The analysis for this extreme heat event is complemented by data from the National Center for environmental Prediction (NCEP) at 250km spatial resolution, North American Re-Analysis (NARR) at 32 km spatial resolution, by simulations of the Weather Forecasting System (WRF) at a resolution of 2 km, and by weather station data for San Juan. WRF simulation's results showed an improvement for both temperature and relative humidity from the input NCEP data. It also shows that difference in Energy per Capita (EPC) in urban area during a heat wave event can increase to 16% over a non-urban area. Sensitivity analysis was done by modifying the urban land cover to the most common rural references of evergreen broadleaf forest and cropland to investigate the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect on HDI. UHI is seen to be maximum during

  5. Improving comfort levels in a traditional high altitude Nepali house

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fuller, R.J. [School of Architecture and Building, Deakin University, Geelong, Vic. 3217 (Australia); Zahnd, A.; Thakuri, S. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kathmandu University and RIDS-Nepal (Nepal)

    2009-03-15

    Humla Province is a remote mountainous region of northwest Nepal. The climate is harsh and the local people are extremely poor. Most people endure a subsistence culture, living in traditional housing. Energy for cooking and heating comes from fuelwood, supplies of which are diminishing. In order to improve the indoor environment and reduce fuelwood use, smokeless stoves are being introduced to replace the open fire in Humli homes. There is some concern, however, that comfort levels may not be as acceptable with these stoves. The aim of this research was therefore to investigate ways in which the comfort levels in traditional Humli housing might be improved using simple and low cost strategies. Temperature data was recorded in four rooms of a traditional Humli home over a 12-day period and used with fuelwood data to validate a TRNSYS simulation model of the house. This model was then used to evaluate the impact on comfort levels in the house of various energy conservation strategies using PMV and PPD indicators. As a single strategy, it was found that reducing infiltration of outside air was likely to be more effective than increasing the insulation level in the ceilings. The most successful strategy, however, was the creation of sunspaces at the entrances to the living rooms. This strategy increased average internal temperatures by 1.7 and 2.3 C. In combination with increased insulation levels, the sunspaces reduced comfort dissatisfaction levels by over 50%. (author)

  6. Real-Time Monitoring of Occupants’ Thermal Comfort through Infrared Imaging: A Preliminary Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boris Pavlin

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Thermally comfortable indoor environments are of great importance, as modern lifestyles often require people to spend more than 20 h per day indoors. Since most of the thermal comfort models use a variety of different environmental and personal factors that need to be measured or estimated, real-time and continuous assessment of thermal comfort is often not practically feasible. This work presents a cheap and non-invasive approach based on infrared imaging for monitoring the occupants’ thermal sensation and comfort in real time. Thanks to a mechatronic device developed by the authors, the imaging is performed on the forehead skin, selected because it is always exposed to the environment and, thus, facilitating the monitoring activity in a non-invasive manner. Tests have been performed in controlled conditions on ten subjects to assess the hypothesis that the forehead temperature is correlated with subjects’ thermal sensation. This allows the exploitation of this quantity as a base for a simple monitoring of thermal comfort, which could later be tuned with an extensive experimental campaign.

  7. Sky View Factors from Synthetic Fisheye Photos for Thermal Comfort Routing—A Case Study in Phoenix, Arizona

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariane Middel

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The Sky View Factor (SVF is a dimension-reduced representation of urban form and one of the major variables in radiation models that estimate outdoor thermal comfort. Common ways of retrieving SVFs in urban environments include capturing fisheye photographs or creating a digital 3D city or elevation model of the environment. Such techniques have previously been limited due to a lack of imagery or lack of full scale detailed models of urban areas. We developed a web based tool that automatically generates synthetic hemispherical fisheye views from Google Earth at arbitrary spatial resolution and calculates the corresponding SVFs through equiangular projection. SVF results were validated using Google Maps Street View and compared to results from other SVF calculation tools. We generated 5-meter resolution SVF maps for two neighborhoods in Phoenix, Arizona to illustrate fine-scale variations of intra-urban horizon limitations due to urban form and vegetation. To demonstrate the utility of our synthetic fisheye approach for heat stress applications, we automated a radiation model to generate outdoor thermal comfort maps for Arizona State University’s Tempe campus for a hot summer day using synthetic fisheye photos and on-site meteorological data. Model output was tested against mobile transect measurements of the six-directional radiant flux density. Based on the thermal comfort maps, we implemented a pedestrian routing algorithm that is optimized for distance and thermal comfort preferences. Our synthetic fisheye approach can help planners assess urban design and tree planting strategies to maximize thermal comfort outcomes and can support heat hazard mitigation in urban areas.

  8. Monitoring and assessment of the outdoor thermal comfort in Bucharest (Romania)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheval, Sorin; Ciobotaru, Ana-Maria; Andronache, Ion; Dumitrescu, Alexandru

    2017-04-01

    Bucharest is one of the European cities most at risk of being affected by meteorological hazards. Heat or cold waves, extreme temperature events, heavy rains or prolonged precipitation deficits are all-season phenomena, triggering damages, discomfort or even casualties. Temperature hazards may occur annually and challenge equally the public, local business and administration to find adequate solutions for securing the thermal comfort in the outdoor environment of the city. The accurate and fine resolution monitoring of the air temperature pledges for the comprehensive assessment of the thermal comfort in order to capture as much as possible the urban influence. This study uses sub-hourly temperature data (10-min temporal resolution) retrieved over the period November 2014 - November 2016 collected from nine sensors placed either in plain urban conditions or within the three meteorological stations of the national network which are currently monitoring the climate of Bucharest (Băneasa, Filaret, Afumați). The relative humidity was estimated based on the data available at the three stations placed in WMO standard conditions, and the 10-min values of 8 Thermal Comfort Indices were computed, namely: Heat Index, Humidex, Relative Strain Index, Scharlau, Summer Simmer Index, Physiological Equivalent Index, Temperature-Humidity Index, Thom Discomfort Index. The indices were analysed statistically, both individually and combined. Despite the short range of the available data, this study emphasizes clear spatial differentiations of the thermal comfort, in a very good agreement with the land cover and built zones of the city, while important variations were found in the temporal regime, due to large variations of the temperature values (e.g. >4 centigrade between consecutive hours or >15 centigrade between consecutive days). Ultimately, this study has revealed that the continuous monitoring of the urban climate, at fine temporal and spatial resolution, may deliver

  9. Urban Climate Design: Improving thermal comfort in Dutch neighbourhoods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Kleerekoper

    2017-11-01

    , materials and colour. Simulations and measurements Contextual aspects and combinations of measures can seriously influence the effects of measures. To get a grip on such effects and their co-occurrence (interrelations, possible adaptations to an existing rural configuration were modelled and their effects on the microclimate were simulated using the numerical program ENVI-met. It is demonstrated that, for instance, trees combined with highly reflective façades do often not provide cooling, whereas trees combined with moderate façade colouring does. To assess the effects of a single measure, independent of its context, single parameter simulations of thermal comfort (PET were performed. This is the first time that such a comparative study was undertaken in The Netherlands. The complexity of the situations was increased gradually from an empty field with only pavement or only grass, to pavement with grass and a single building, moving up to a building with a few trees to many trees, multiple buildings and built forms.  During this study it became clear that airflow has a significant influence on the comfort temperature. However, cooling by means of creating drafts on a mesoscale is difficult to manage and control. The low wind speed, which is typical for Dutch heat waves, provides ventilation through thermal stratification. Airflow between warm and cool spaces only occurs with sufficient temperature differences and low wind speed. This principle was investigated on the side towards new measures because little is known about the effects of generating airflow as a result of façade colour. Measurements were performed first in a small-scale experiment in a controlled area and when results seemed promising this was extended to a full-scale situation on an average Summer’s day.  Research design In current practice, urban design pays little or no attention to the urban microclimate and urban-heat stress. Designers indicate that they have insufficient knowledge and evaluation

  10. The Relationship between Thermal Comfort and Light Intensity with Sleep Quality and Eye Tiredness in Shift Work Nurses

    OpenAIRE

    Azmoon, Hiva; Dehghan, Habibollah; Akbari, Jafar; Souri, Shiva

    2013-01-01

    Environmental conditions such as lighting and thermal comfort are influencing factors on sleep quality and visual tiredness. The purpose of this study was the determination of the relationship between thermal comfort and light intensity with the sleep quality and eye fatigue in shift nurses. Method. This cross-sectional research was conducted on 82 shift-work personnel of 18 nursing workstations in Isfahan Al-Zahra Hospital, Iran, in 2012. Heat stress monitoring (WBGT) and photometer (Hagner ...

  11. Energy Requirement and Comfort of Gas- and Electric-powered Hot-water Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luedemann, B.; Schmitz, G.

    1999-01-01

    In view of the continuous reduction in the specific heating energy demand of new buildings the power demand for hot-water supply increasingly dominates the heating supply of residential buildings. Furthermore, the German energy-savings-regulation 2000 (ESVO) is intended to evaluate the techniques installed such as domestic heating or hot-water supply within an overall energetic view of the building. Planning advice for domestic heating, ventilation and hot-water systems in gas-heated, low-energy buildings has therefore been developed in a common research project of the Technical University of Hamburg Harburg (TUHH) and four energy supply companies. In this article different gas-or electricity-based hot-water systems in one family houses and multiple family houses are compared with one another with regard to the aspects of comfort and power requirements considering the user's behaviour. (author)

  12. Affect asymmetry and comfort food consumption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubé, Laurette; LeBel, Jordan L; Lu, Ji

    2005-11-15

    It is proposed that the emotional triggers of comfort food consumption can reliably be predicted by factors tied to affect asymmetry whereby negative affects dominate one's experience, decision making and behaviors in some instances while positive emotions prevail in others. Specifically, we relate three of these factors (age, gender, and culture) to differences in the emotional triggers of comfort food consumption and we further explore the possibility that the type of food eaten during comfort-seeking episodes can also be tied to affect asymmetry. Two hundred and seventy-seven participants completed a web-based survey conducted to assess the emotional antecedents and consequences of comfort food consumption. Consistent with expectations, results indicate that men's comfort food consumption was motivated by positive emotions whereas women's consumption was triggered by negative affects. Consumption of comfort foods alleviated women's negative emotions but also produced guilt. Positive affect was a particularly powerful trigger of comfort food consumption for older participants and for participants with French cultural background. Younger participants and participants with English background reported more intense negative emotions prior to consuming comfort foods. Foods high in sugar and fat content were more efficient in alleviating negative affects whereas low-calorie foods were more efficient in increasing positive emotions.

  13. Investigation of the Indoor Environment in a Passive House Apartment Building Heated by Ventilation Air

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lysholt Hansen, MathiasYoung Bok; Koulani, Chrysanthi Sofia; Peuhkuri, Ruut Hannele

    2014-01-01

    comfort and the performance of the air heating system and solar shading. Thermal comfort category B according to ISO 7730 was obtained in the building during field measurements, indicating that the air heating system was able to maintain comfort conditions in winter, when the outdoor temperature had been...... building project finished medio 2012. The design challenge was met with a concept of air heating that is individually controlled in every room. It also applies external solar shading. This study used indoor climate measurements and dynamic simulations in one of these apartment buildings to evaluate thermal...... unusual low for a longer period. The dynamic simulations also indicated that air heating during winter can provide a comfortable thermal environment. Dynamic simulations also demonstrated that during summer, apartments with automatic external solar screens had no serious overheating, whereas in apartments...

  14. Solar Heating System with Building-Integrated Heat Storage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heller, Alfred

    1996-01-01

    Traditional solar heating systems cover between 5 and 10% of the heat demand fordomestic hot water and comfort heating. By applying storage capacity this share can beincreased much. The Danish producer of solar heating systems, Aidt-Miljø, markets such a system including storage of dry sand heated...... by PP-pipe heat exchanger. Heat demand is reduced due to direct solar heating, and due to storage. Heat demand is reduced due to direct solar heating, due to storage and due to lower heat losses through the ground. In theory, by running the system flow backwards through the sand storage, active heating...... can be achieved.The objective of the report is to present results from measured system evaluation andcalculations and to give guidelines for the design of such solar heating systems with building integrated sand storage. The report is aimed to non-technicians. In another report R-006 the main results...

  15. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process to Prioritize and Select Phase Change Materials for Comfort Application in Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Socaciu Lavinia Gabriela

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Phase change materials (PCMs selection and prioritization for comfort application in buildings have a significant contribution to the improvement of latent heat storage systems. PCMs have a relatively large thermal energy storage capacity in a temperature range close to their switch point. PCMs absorb energy during the heating process as phase change takes place and release energy to the environment in the phase change range during a reverse cooling process. Thermal energy storage systems using PCMs as storage medium offer advantages such as: high heat storage capacity and store/release thermal energy at a nearly constant temperature, relative low weight, small unit size and isothermal behaviour during charging and discharging when compared to the sensible thermal energy storage. PCMs are valuable only in the range of temperature close to their phase change point, since their main thermal energy storage capacity depend on their mass and on their latent heat of fusion. Selection of the proper PCMs is a challenging task because there are lots of different materials with different characteristics. In this research paper the principles and techniques of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP are presented, discussed and applied in order to prioritize and select the proper PCMs for comfort application in buildings. The AHP method is used for solving complex decisional problems and allows the decision maker to take the most suitable decisions for the problem studied. The results obtained reveal that the AHP method can be successfully applied when we want to choose a PCM for comfort application in buildings.

  16. Thermal comfort analysis of a low temperature waste energy recovery system. SIECHP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herrero Martin, R. [Departamento de Ingenieria Termica y de Fluidos, Universidad Politecnica de Cartagena, C/Dr. Fleming, s/n (Campus Muralla), 30202 Cartagena, Murcia (Spain); Rey Martinez, F.J.; Velasco Gomez, E. [Departamento de Ingenieria Energetica y Fluidomecanica, ETSII, Universidad de Valladolid, Paseo del Cauce s/n, 47011 Valladolid (Spain)

    2008-07-01

    The use of a recovery device is justified in terms of energy savings and environmental concerns. But it is clear that the use of a recovery system also has to lead to controlling indoor environmental quality, nowadays a priority concern. In this article, experimental research has been carried out whose aim is to study the thermal comfort provided by a combined recovery equipment (SIECHP), consisting of a ceramic semi-indirect evaporative cooler (SIEC) and a heat pipe device (HP) to recover energy at low temperature in air-conditioning systems. To characterize this device empirically in terms of thermal comfort (TC), Fanger's predicted mean vote (PMV), draught rate, and vertical air temperature difference were used in this study as the TC criteria. (author)

  17. Wearable Sweat Rate Sensors for Human Thermal Comfort Monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sim, Jai Kyoung; Yoon, Sunghyun; Cho, Young-Ho

    2018-01-19

    We propose watch-type sweat rate sensors capable of automatic natural ventilation by integrating miniaturized thermo-pneumatic actuators, and experimentally verify their performances and applicability. Previous sensors using natural ventilation require manual ventilation process or high-power bulky thermo-pneumatic actuators to lift sweat rate detection chambers above skin for continuous measurement. The proposed watch-type sweat rate sensors reduce operation power by minimizing expansion fluid volume to 0.4 ml through heat circuit modeling. The proposed sensors reduce operation power to 12.8% and weight to 47.6% compared to previous portable sensors, operating for 4 hours at 6 V batteries. Human experiment for thermal comfort monitoring is performed by using the proposed sensors having sensitivity of 0.039 (pF/s)/(g/m 2 h) and linearity of 97.9% in human sweat rate range. Average sweat rate difference for each thermal status measured in three subjects shows (32.06 ± 27.19) g/m 2 h in thermal statuses including 'comfortable', 'slightly warm', 'warm', and 'hot'. The proposed sensors thereby can discriminate and compare four stages of thermal status. Sweat rate measurement error of the proposed sensors is less than 10% under air velocity of 1.5 m/s corresponding to human walking speed. The proposed sensors are applicable for wearable and portable use, having potentials for daily thermal comfort monitoring applications.

  18. How "Does" the Comforting Process Work? An Empirical Test of an Appraisal-Based Model of Comforting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Susanne M.; Wirtz, John G.

    2006-01-01

    Burleson and Goldsmith's (1998) comforting model suggests an appraisal-based mechanism through which comforting messages can bring about a positive change in emotional states. This study is a first empirical test of three causal linkages implied by the appraisal-based comforting model. Participants (N=258) talked about an upsetting event with a…

  19. Heat-Related Illness among Oregon Farmworkers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey W. Bethel

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Farmworkers are particularly vulnerable to climate-sensitive health outcomes such as heat-related illness (HRI given their tasks involve heavy exertion in an outdoor setting. The objectives of the study were to: (1 describe symptoms of HRI experienced by farmworkers and (2 explore factors associated with heat knowledge, level of concern regarding HRI, and comfort level taking breaks at work. Bilingual research staff conducted personal interviews of 100 farmworkers during July and August 2013. Data collected included demographics, work history and current work practices, trainings received, HRI symptoms experienced, health status, and health behaviors. Nearly 30% of participants reported experiencing ≥2 HRI symptoms during the previous work. Few participants had high level of heat knowledge (21.0% and 15.6% of participants reported being “very concerned” about the health effects of working in hot conditions. Participants who were paid by the piece were more likely to have a high heat knowledge score and be “very concerned” about HRI but less likely to be “very comfortable” taking a break compared to workers paid by the hour than those who had not received HRI training. Results suggest several areas in which employers and agencies conducting outreach and education to the workers about HRI can change their practices including providing cooling measures and HRI training about risk factors for HRI.

  20. Numerical investigations of buoyancy-driven natural ventilation in a simple three-storey atrium building and thermal comfort evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hussain, Shafqat; Oosthuizen, Patrick H.

    2013-01-01

    The numerical investigations of buoyancy-driven natural ventilation and thermal comfort evaluation in a simple three-storey atrium building as a part of the passive ventilation strategy was undertaken using a validated Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model. The Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) modeling approach with the SST-k–ω turbulence model and the discrete transfer radiation model (DTRM) was used for the numerical investigations. The steady-state governing equations were solved using a commercial solver FLUENT©. Various flow situations of the buoyancy-driven natural ventilation in the building during day and night time were examined. The numerical results obtained for the airflow rates, airflow patterns and temperature distributions inside the building are presented in this paper. Using the numerical results, the well-known thermal comfort indices PMV (predicted mean vote) and PPD (predicted percentage of dissatisfied) were calculated for the evaluation of the thermal comfort conditions in the occupied regions of the building. It was noticed that thermal conditions prevailing in the occupied areas of the building as a result of using the buoyancy-driven ventilation were mostly in comfort zone. From the study of the night time ventilation, it was found that hot water (80 °C) circulation (heated by solar collectors during daytime) along the chimney walls during night time and heat sources present in the building can be useful in inducing night ventilation airflows in the building as a part of the passive ventilation strategy. -- Highlights: • A simple three-storey atrium building. • Numerical modeling of buoyancy-driven ventilation flow in the building. • Effect of solar intensity and geographical location on ventilation. • CFD predictions were used to calculate thermal comfort indices. • Evaluation of thermal comfort conditions for the occupants

  1. End users heat energy savings using thermostat regulation valves radiators, v. 16(64)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakimovska, Emilija Misheva; Potsev, Eftim

    2008-01-01

    Billing the used heat energy offers the opportunity to motivate end users to use the heat energy rationally and to save the energy. Installing the thermostat valves on the radiators it is possible frequently to regulate the room temperature and to use the heat gains, obtaining comfortable climate in the apartments and saving the energy. Thermostat valves give the possibility to use the heat energy rationally and save the energy, and these way and users can regulate the heat energy consumption according to their own level of thermal comfort. (Author)

  2. End users heat energy savings using thermostat regulation valves radiators, v. 16(63)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jakimovska, Emilija Misheva; Potsev, Eftim

    2008-01-01

    Billing the used heat energy offers the opportunity to motivate end users to use the heat energy rationally and to save the energy. Installing the thermostat valves on the radiators it is possible frequently to regulate the room temperature and to use the heat gains, obtaining comfortable climate in the apartments and saving the energy. Thermostat valves give the possibility to use the heat energy rationally and save the energy, and these way and users can regulate the heat energy consumption according to their own level of thermal comfort. (Author)

  3. Space heating with ultra-low-temperature district heating - a case study of four single-family houses from the 1980s

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Østergaard, Dorte Skaarup; Svendsen, Svend

    2017-01-01

    . These benefits can be maximized if district heating temperatures are lowered as much as possible. In this paper we report on a project where 18 Danish single-family houses from the 1980s were supplied by ultra-low temperature district heating with a supply temperature as low as 45 degrees C for the main part...... of the year. The houses were heated by the existing hydraulic radiator systems, while domestic hot water was prepared by use of district heating and electric boosting. This paper evaluated the heating system temperatures that were necessary in order to maintain thermal comfort in four of the houses. First...... the four houses were modelled in the building simulation tool IDA ICE. The simulation models included the actual radiator sizes and the models were used to simulate the expected thermal comfort in the houses and resulting district heating return temperatures. Secondly measurements of the actual district...

  4. Field study of thermal comfort in non-air-conditioned buildings in a tropical island climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Shilei; Pang, Bo; Qi, Yunfang; Fang, Kun

    2018-01-01

    The unique geographical location of Hainan makes its climate characteristics different from inland areas in China. The thermal comfort of Hainan also owes its uniqueness to its tropical island climate. In the past decades, there have been very few studies on thermal comfort of the residents in tropical island areas in China. A thermal environment test for different types of buildings in Hainan and a thermal comfort field investigation of 1944 subjects were conducted over a period of about two months. The results of the survey data show that a high humidity environment did not have a significant impact on human comfort. The neutral temperature for the residents in tropical island areas was 26.1 °C, and the acceptable temperature range of thermal comfort was from 23.1 °C to 29.1 °C. Residents living in tropical island areas showed higher heat resistance capacity, but lower cold tolerance than predicted. The neutral temperature for females (26.3 °C) was higher than for males (25.8 °C). Additionally, females were more sensitive to air temperature than males. The research conclusions can play a guiding role in the thermal environment design of green buildings in Hainan Province. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Neural computing thermal comfort index PMV for the indoor environment intelligent control system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chang; Chen, Yifei

    2013-03-01

    Providing indoor thermal comfort and saving energy are two main goals of indoor environmental control system. An intelligent comfort control system by combining the intelligent control and minimum power control strategies for the indoor environment is presented in this paper. In the system, for realizing the comfort control, the predicted mean vote (PMV) is designed as the control goal, and with chastening formulas of PMV, it is controlled to optimize for improving indoor comfort lever by considering six comfort related variables. On the other hand, a RBF neural network based on genetic algorithm is designed to calculate PMV for better performance and overcoming the nonlinear feature of the PMV calculation better. The formulas given in the paper are presented for calculating the expected output values basing on the input samples, and the RBF network model is trained depending on input samples and the expected output values. The simulation result is proved that the design of the intelligent calculation method is valid. Moreover, this method has a lot of advancements such as high precision, fast dynamic response and good system performance are reached, it can be used in practice with requested calculating error.

  6. Advanced air distribution: Improving health and comfort while reducing energy use

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Melikov, Arsen Krikor

    2015-01-01

    -quality indoor environments at the same time as low-energy consumption. Advanced air distribution, designed to supply clean air where, when, and as much as needed, makes it possible to efficiently achieve thermal comfort, control exposure to contaminants, provide high-quality air for breathing and minimizing......Indoor environment affects the health, comfort, and performance of building occupants. The energy used for heating, cooling, ventilating, and air conditioning of buildings is substantial. Ventilation based on total volume air distribution in spaces is not always an efficient way to provide high...... the risk of airborne cross-infection while reducing energy use. This study justifies the need for improving the present air distribution design in occupied spaces, and in general the need for a paradigm shift from the design of collective environments to the design of individually controlled environments...

  7. Contribution of Portuguese Vernacular Building Strategies to Indoor Thermal Comfort and Occupants’ Perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Fernandes

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Solar passive strategies that have been developed in vernacular architecture from different regions are a response to specific climate effects. These strategies are usually simple, low-tech and have low potential environmental impact. For this reason, several studies highlight them as having potential to reduce the demands of non-renewable energy for buildings operation. In this paper, the climatic contrast between northern and southern parts of mainland Portugal is presented, namely the regions of Beira Alta and Alentejo. Additionally, it discusses the contribution of different climate-responsive strategies developed in vernacular architecture from both regions to assure thermal comfort conditions. In Beira Alta, the use of glazed balconies as a strategy to capture solar gains is usual, while in Alentejo the focus is on passive cooling strategies. To understand the effectiveness of these strategies, thermal performances and comfort conditions of two case studies were evaluated based on the adaptive comfort model. Field tests included measurement of hygrothermal parameters and surveys on occupants’ thermal sensation. From the results, it has been found that the case studies have shown a good thermal performance by passive means alone and that the occupants feel comfortable, except during winter where there is the need to use simple heating systems.

  8. Radiant Ceiling Panels Combined with Localized Methods for Improved Thermal Comfort of Both Patient and Medical Staff in Patient Room

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mori, Sakura; Barova, Mariya; Bolashikov, Zhecho Dimitrov

    2012-01-01

    The objectives were to identify whether ceiling installed radiant heating panels can provide thermal comfort to the occupants in a patient room, and to determine a method for optimal thermal environment to both patient and medical staff simultaneously. The experiments were performed in a climate...... mattress were used to provide local heating for the patient. The effects of the methods were identified by comparing the manikin based equivalent temperatures. The optimal thermal comfort level for both patient and medical staff would obtained when two conventional cotton blankets were used with extra...... chamber resembling a single-bed patient room under convective air conditioning alone or combined with the ceiling installed radiant heating panels. Two thermal manikins simulated a patient lying in the bed and a doctor standing next to the patient. Conventional cotton blanket, electric blanket, electric...

  9. Attention for users improves the results. Performances and comfort differ from the design of a building; Aandacht voor gebruikers verbetert resultaat. Prestaties en comfort wijken af van gebouwontwerp

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeiler, W.; Boxem, G.; Van Houten, R.; Vissers, D.; Maaijen, R. [Faculteit Bouwkunde, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven TUE, Eindhoven (Netherlands); Van der Velden, J.; Noom, P.; Haan, J.F.; Wortel, W.; Dubbeldam, J.W. [Kropman Installatietechniek, Nijmegen (Netherlands)

    2011-10-15

    The comfort and energy performance of a building design in practice often not met. This results in more energy, higher absenteeism and reduced performance of the users. A huge energy savings is possible, but only with new energy management systems that also consider the role of the user. [Dutch] Het comfort en de energetische prestaties van een gebouwontwerp worden in de praktijk vaak niet gehaald. Dit resulteert in meer energiegebruik, een hoger ziekteverzuim en een geringere prestatie van de gebruikers. Een enorme energiebesparing is mogelijk, maar dan alleen met nieuwe energiemanagementsystemen die ook oog hebben voor de rol van de gebruiker.

  10. Reducing Urban Heat Island Effect with Thermal Comfort Housing and Honeycomb Townships

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Davis, Mohd. Peter; Reimann, Gregers Peter; Ghazali, Mazlin

    2005-01-01

    Putra Malaysia can achieve almost passive thermal comfort without air-conditioning, even on the hottest days of the year. ‘Honeycomb townships’, a recent architectural invention by one of the authors, is a new method of subdividing land which saves greatly on roads, thereby permitting larger gardens...... consequences of urbanisation and can be corrected in Malaysia and avoided by other developing countries with a sensible application of the technologies outlined in this paper which prevent the thermal mass of houses and roads from absorbing solar radiation. ‘Cool House’ technology, developed at Universiti...

  11. Outdoor thermal comfort characteristics in the hot and humid region from a gender perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, Chien-Hung; Chen, Chen-Peng; Tsai, Kang-Ting; Kántor, Noémi; Hwang, Ruey-Lung; Matzarakis, Andreas; Lin, Tzu-Ping

    2014-11-01

    Thermal comfort is a subjective psychological perception of people based also on physiological thermoregulation mechanisms when the human body is exposed to a combination of various environmental factors including air temperature, air humidity, wind speed, and radiation conditions. Due to the importance of gender in the issue of outdoor thermal comfort, this study compared and examined the thermal comfort-related differences between male and female subjects using previous data from Taiwanese questionnaire survey. Compared with males, the results indicated that females in Taiwan are less tolerant to hot conditions and intensely protect themselves from sun exposure. Our analytical results are inconsistent with the findings of previous physiological studies concerning thermal comfort indicating that females have superior thermal physiological tolerance than males. On the contrary, our findings can be interpreted on psychological level. Environmental behavioral learning theory was adopted in this study to elucidate this observed contradiction between the autonomic thermal physiological and psychological-behavioral aspects. Women might desire for a light skin tone through social learning processes, such as observation and education, which is subsequently reflected in their psychological perceptions (fears of heat and sun exposure) and behavioral adjustments (carrying umbrellas or searching for shade). Hence, these unique psychological and behavioral phenomena cannot be directly explained by autonomic physiological thermoregulation mechanisms. The findings of this study serve as a reference for designing spaces that accommodates gender-specific thermal comfort characteristics. Recommendations include providing additional suitable sheltered areas in open areas, such as city squares and parks, to satisfy the thermal comfort needs of females.

  12. Adaptive principles for thermal comfort in dwellings : From comfort temperatures to avoiding discomfort

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alders, E.E.; Kurvers, S.R.; Van den Ham, E.R.

    2011-01-01

    Many theories on thermal comfort exist and there are many ways to deliver this in an energy efficient way. Both aspects are often studied in a static way and most of these studies only regard one of the aspects, seldom investigating what influence the way of delivering thermal comfort has on the

  13. Evaluation of ceiling lifts: transfer time, patient comfort and staff perceptions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alamgir, Hasanat; Li, Olivia Wei; Yu, Shicheng; Gorman, Erin; Fast, Catherine; Kidd, Catherine

    2009-09-01

    Mechanical lifting devices have been developed to reduce healthcare worker injuries related to patient handling. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ceiling lifts in comparison to floor lifts based on transfer time, patient comfort and staff perceptions in three long-term care facilities with varying ceiling lift coverage. The time required to transfer or reposition patients along with patient comfort levels were recorded for 119 transfers. Transfers performed with ceiling lifts required on average less time (bed to chair transfers: 156.9 seconds for ceiling lift, 273.6 seconds for floor lift) and were found to be more comfortable for patients. In the three facilities, 143 healthcare workers were surveyed on their perceptions of patient handling tasks and equipment. For both transferring and repositioning tasks, staff preferred to use ceiling lifts and also found them to be less physically demanding. Further investigation is needed on repositioning tasks to ensure safe practice.

  14. Investigation on thermal environment improvement by waste heat recovery in the underground station in Qingdao metro

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jianwei; Liu, Jiaquan; Wang, Fengyin; Wang, Cuiping

    2018-03-01

    The thermal environment parameters, like the temperature and air velocity, are measured to investigate the heat comfort status of metro staff working area in winter in Qingdao. The temperature is affected obviously by the piston wind from the train and waiting hall in the lower Hall, and the temperature is not satisfied with the least heat comfort temperature of 16 °C. At the same time, the heat produced by the electrical and control equipments is brought by the cooling air to atmosphere for the equipment safety. Utilizing the water-circulating heat pump, it is feasible to transfer the emission heat to the staff working area to improve the thermal environment. Analyzed the feasibility from the technique and economy when using the heat pump, the water-circulating heat pump could be the best way to realize the waste heat recovery and to help the heat comfort of staff working area in winter in the underground metro station in north China.

  15. PRINCIPLES OF HEAT STERILIZATION IN DENTAL PRACTICE

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PRINCIPLES OF HEAT STERILIZATION. IN DENTAL PRACTICE. W.H. van Palenstein Helderman. Department of Community and Preventive Dentistry,. Faculty of Dentistry, Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences,. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Introduction. Sterilization is defined as the destruction of all forms of life ...

  16. Experimental investigation into the interaction between the human body and room airflow and its effect on thermal comfort under stratum ventilation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Y; Lin, Z

    2016-04-01

    Room occupants' comfort and health are affected by the airflow. Nevertheless, they themselves also play an important role in indoor air distribution. This study investigated the interaction between the human body and room airflow under stratum ventilation. Simplified thermal manikin was employed to effectively resemble the human body as a flow obstacle and/or free convective heat source. Unheated and heated manikins were designed to fully evaluate the impact of the manikin at various airflow rates. Additionally, subjective human tests were conducted to evaluate thermal comfort for the occupants in two rows. The findings show that the manikin formed a local blockage effect, but the supply airflow could flow over it. With the body heat from the manikin, the air jet penetrated farther compared with that for the unheated manikin. The temperature downstream of the manikin was also higher because of the convective effect. Elevating the supply airflow rate from 7 to 15 air changes per hour varied the downstream airflow pattern dramatically, from an uprising flow induced by body heat to a jet-dominated flow. Subjective assessments indicated that stratum ventilation provided thermal comfort for the occupants in both rows. Therefore, stratum ventilation could be applied in rooms with occupants in multiple rows. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Numerical Investigation of Floor Heating Systems in Low Energy Houses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Weitzmann, Peter; Kragh, Jesper; Jensen, Claus Franceos

    2002-01-01

    In this paper an investigation of floor heating systems is performed with respect to heating demand and room temperature. Presently (2001) no commercially available building simulation programs that can be used to evaluate heating demand and thermal comfort in buildings with building integrated....... The model calculates heating demand, room temperatures, and thermal comfort parameters for a person in the room. The model is based on a numerical Finite Control Volume (FCV) method for the heat transfer in walls, ceiling, windows and floor. The model uses both convective and radiative heat transfer...... to the room air and between the room surfaces. The simulation model has been used to calculate heating demand and room temperature in a typical well insulated Danish single-family house with a heating demand of approximately 6000 kWh per year, for a 130 m² house. Two different types of floor heating systems...

  18. Thermal comfort in sun spaces: To what extend can energy collectors and seasonal energy storages provide thermal comfort in sun space?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christian Wiegel

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Preparation for fossil fuel substitution in the building sector persists as an essential subject in architectural engineering. Since the building sector still remains as one of the three major global end energy consumer – climate change is closely related to construction and design. We have developed the archetype sun space to what it is today : a simple but effective predominant naturally ventilated sun trap and as well as living space enlargement. With the invention of industrial glass orangery’s more and more changed from frost protecting envelopes to living spaces from which we meantime expect thermal comfort in high quality. But what level of thermal comfort provide sun spaces? And to what extend may sun spaces manage autarkic operation profiting from passive solar gains and, beyond that, surplus energy generation for energy neutral conditioning of aligned spaces? We deliver detailed information for this detected gap of knowledge. We know about limited thermal comfort in sun spaces winter times. This reasons the inspection of manifold collector technologies, which enable to be embedded in facades and specifically in sun space envelopes. Nonetheless, effective façade integrated collectors are ineffective in seasons with poor irradiation. Hence, the mismatch of offer and demand we have experienced with renewable energies ignites thinking about appropriate seasonal energy storages, which enlarges the research scope of this work. This PhD thesis project investigates on both, a yearly empirical test set up analysis and a virtual simulation of different oriented and located sun spaces abroad Germany. Both empirical and theoretical evaluation result in a holistic research focusing on a preferred occupation time in terms of cumulative frequencies of operational temperature and decided local discomfort, of potential autarkic sun space operation and prospective surplus exergy for alternative heating of aligned buildings. The results are mapped

  19. Effect of urban design on microclimate and thermal comfort outdoors in warm-humid Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yahia, Moohammed Wasim; Johansson, Erik; Thorsson, Sofia; Lindberg, Fredrik; Rasmussen, Maria Isabel

    2018-03-01

    Due to the complexity of built environment, urban design patterns considerably affect the microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort in a given urban morphology. Variables such as building heights and orientations, spaces between buildings, plot coverage alter solar access, wind speed and direction at street level. To improve microclimate and comfort conditions urban design elements including vegetation and shading devices can be used. In warm-humid Dar es Salaam, the climate consideration in urban design has received little attention although the urban planning authorities try to develop the quality of planning and design. The main aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between urban design, urban microclimate, and outdoor comfort in four built-up areas with different morphologies including low-, medium-, and high-rise buildings. The study mainly concentrates on the warm season but a comparison with the thermal comfort conditions in the cool season is made for one of the areas. Air temperature, wind speed, mean radiant temperature (MRT), and the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) are simulated using ENVI-met to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the existing urban design. An analysis of the distribution of MRT in the areas showed that the area with low-rise buildings had the highest frequency of high MRTs and the lowest frequency of low MRTs. The study illustrates that areas with low-rise buildings lead to more stressful urban spaces than areas with high-rise buildings. It is also shown that the use of dense trees helps to enhance the thermal comfort conditions, i.e., reduce heat stress. However, vegetation might negatively affect the wind ventilation. Nevertheless, a sensitivity analysis shows that the provision of shade is a more efficient way to reduce PET than increases in wind speed, given the prevailing sun and wind conditions in Dar es Salaam. To mitigate heat stress in Dar es Salaam, a set of recommendations and guidelines on

  20. Make the heat hotter. - marketing district heating to households in detached houses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sernhed, Kerstin; Pyrko, Jurek

    2008-09-15

    For district heating (DH) companies, to expand in low heat density areas such as detached houses, it is essential to obtain a high rate of connections to the district-heating network in order to enhance the cost effectiveness. Marketing district heating to house owners is, however, a fairly different matter from selling it to customers in industrial, commercial, and multi-family buildings. Suitable market strategies need to be developed and the need for information about potential customers' preferences and attitudes are of great importance since the house-owners often constitute a heterogeneous group where different households have different requirements. This paper investigates a case of one Swedish district heating company's marketing activities and expansion strategies in a single family house area where the customers were offered conversion of their direct resistive electric heating (DEH) into district heating (DH). 88 out of 111 houses were converted in 2002. Four years later, interviews were carried out with 23 of the households in the area, both with those who had accept-ed the district heating offer and those who had not. The study shows that apart from the economic aspects, thermal comfort, aesthetics and practicalities also affected the buying decision. Since the different economic aspects of the offer were complex, it was very difficult for the households to make a strictly rational economical decision. Statistical analysis confirmed that variables such as age, type of household and energy use level could, to some extent, be related to the decision to convert from electric heating to district heating. Timing, low prices and the total solutions presented to the households were crucial factors in the success of the marketing strategy.

  1. Investigation on Solar Heating System with Building-Integrated Heat Storage

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heller, Alfred

    1996-01-01

    Traditional solar heating systems cover between 5 and 10% of the heat demand fordomestic hot water and comfort heating. By applying storage capacity this share can beincreased much. The Danish producer of solar heating systems, Aidt-Miljø, markets such a system including storage of dry sand heated...... by PP-pipe heat exchanger. Heat demand is reduced due to direct solar heating and due to storage. The storage affects the heat demand passively due to higher temperatures. Hence heat loss is reduced and passive heating is optioned. In theory, by running the system flow backwards, active heating can...... solar collector area of the system, was achieved. Active heating from the sand storage was not observed. The pay-back time for the system can be estimated to be similar to solar heated domestic hot water systems in general. A number of minor improvements on the system could be pointed out....

  2. Investigation of Different Configurations of a Ventilated Window to Optimize Both Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Mingzhe; Heiselberg, Per; Larsen, Olena Kalyanova

    2017-01-01

    The study in this article investigates 15 ventilated window typologies with different pane configurations and glazing types in climates of four European countries (United Kingdom, Denmark, France and Germany) in order to identify the optimum typology with regard to their energy balance and impact...... on thermal comfort. Hourly simulations of the heat balances of the windows are conducted on four days representing different typical weather conditions according to the method described in EN ISO 13790. U and g values used in the calculation method are calculated in European software tool (WIS......) for the calculation of the thermal and solar properties of commercial and innovative window systems. Additionally, comfort performance is evaluated by inlet air temperature and internal surface temperature of the windows calculated by WIS software. The results of the study show the energy and comfort performance...

  3. A Heat Dynamic Model for Intelligent Heating of Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thavlov, Anders; Bindner, Henrik W.

    2015-01-01

    This article presents a heat dynamic model for prediction of the indoor temperature in an office building. The model has been used in several flexible load applications, where the indoor temperature is allowed to vary around a given reference to provide power system services by shifting the heating...... of the building in time. This way the thermal mass of the building can be used to absorb energy from renewable energy source when available and postpone heating in periods with lack of renewable energy generation. The model is used in a model predictive controller to ensure the residential comfort over a given...

  4. Improving the comfort of garments

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Hunter, L

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available refers to the human body’s ability to maintain life. Psychological comfort refers to the mind’s ability to keep functioning satisfactorily without external help. Physical comfort refers to the effects of the external environment on the body’s...

  5. Understanding of Danish passive houses based on pilot project Comfort Houses

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brunsgaard, C.

    2010-12-15

    live up to a comfortable indoor environment? And how do the occupants of the Comfort Houses experience the indoor environment and the adjustment of it? The investigations have resulted in a list of recommendations that are important when designing future passive houses in Denmark. The study indicates that the integrated design process is a beneficial approach for designing passive houses. Regarding the everyday life of the occupants, some have undergone changes after moving into the Comfort House e.g. curtain and/or blinds have become a part of the everyday practice of creating privacy in the house. And most occupants needed to get an awareness of the thermal environment and the use of curtains or blinds actively. Additionally, natural ventilation has become a permanent part of the everyday practices in the summer period to reduce excess temperatures. The indoor environment is fairly comfortable in the houses, but there is still room for improvement. Especially according to the thermal indoor environment in the summer period and the reverberation time where the occupants experience discomfort, which is both a result of ''poor'' design and ''wrong'' user behaviour. (LN)

  6. Computation of thermal comfort inside a passenger car compartment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mezrhab, A.; Bouzidi, M.

    2006-01-01

    This paper describes a numerical model to study the behaviour of thermal comfort inside the passenger car compartment according to climatic conditions and materials that compose the vehicle. The specifically developed numerical model is based on the nodal method and the finite difference method. Its specificities are: (i) the transient mode, (ii) the taking into account of the combined convection, conduction and radiation heat transfer, (iii) the coupling of two spectral bands (short-wave and long-wave radiation) and two solar fluxes (beam and diffuse). The compartment is subdivided in several solid nodes (materials constituting the compartment) and fluid nodes (volumes of air inside the compartment). The establishment of the heat balance for each node gives the evolution of its temperature. Effects of solar radiation, types of glazing, car colour and radiative properties of materials constituting the compartment are investigated

  7. Building envelope regulations on thermal comfort in glass facade buildings and energy-saving potential for PMV-based comfort control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hwang, Ruey-Lung; Shu, Shiu-Ya [Department of Architecture, National United University, 1, Lien-Da, Kung-Ching Li, Miaoli, 36003 (China)

    2011-04-15

    This paper presents an investigation of the effect of building envelope regulation on thermal comfort and on the energy-saving potential for PMV-based comfort control in glass facade buildings. Occurrences and severity of overheating, based on the PMV-PPD model contained in ISO 7730, were used for the thermal comfort assessment. Parametric study simulations for an actual building with a large glass facade were carried out to predict the changes in thermal comfort levels in a space due to different glazing types, depths of overhang and glazing areas, which are the key parameters of the building envelope regulation index, named ENVLOAD, in Taiwan. The result demonstrates that the ENVLOAD has significant effect on thermal comfort. Additionally, comparative simulations between PMV-based comfort control and conventional thermostatic control were performed to investigate the changes in the energy-saving potential of a thermal comfort-controlled space due to changes of its ENVLOAD. The results demonstrate that the energy-saving potential in a PMV-based controlled space increases with low ENVLOAD conditions. (author)

  8. Assessment of monitored energy use and thermal comfort conditions in mosques in hot-humid climates

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Homoud, Mohammad S.; Abdou, Adel A.; Budaiwi, Ismail M. [Architectural Engineering Department, KFUPM, Dhahran 31261 (Saudi Arabia)

    2009-06-15

    In harsh climatic regions, buildings require air-conditioning in order to provide an acceptable level of thermal comfort. In many situations buildings are over cooled or the HVAC system is kept running for a much longer time than needed. In some other situations thermal comfort is not achieved due to improper operation practices coupled with poor maintenance and even lack it, and consequently inefficient air-conditioning systems. Mosques represent one type of building that is characterized by their unique intermittent operating schedule determined by prayer times, which vary continuously according to the local solar time. This paper presents the results of a study designed to monitor energy use and thermal comfort conditions of a number of mosques in a hot-humid climate so that both energy efficiency and the quality of thermal comfort conditions especially during occupancy periods in such intermittently operated buildings can be assessed accurately. (author)

  9. Impact of façade window design on energy, daylighting and thermal comfort in nearly zero-energy houses

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vanhoutteghem, Lies; Skarning, Gunnlaug Cecilie Jensen; Hviid, Christian Anker

    2015-01-01

    a solution space defined by targets for daylighting and thermal comfort. In contrast with existing guidelines, the results show an upper limit for energy savings and utilisation of solar gains in south-oriented rooms. Instead, low U-values are needed in both north- and south oriented rooms before large......Appropriate window solutions are decisive for the design of 'nearly zero-energy' buildings with healthy and comfortable indoor environment. This paper focuses on the relationship between size, orientation and glazing properties of façade windows for different side-lit room geometries in Danish...... 'nearly zero-energy' houses. The effect of these parameters on space heating demand, daylighting and thermal environment is evaluated by means of EnergyPlus and DAYSIM and presented in charts illustrating how combinations of design parameters with minimum space heating demand can be selected within...

  10. Using instrumented probe bicycles to develop bicycle safety and comfort prediction models.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lee, A. Dias, L. Mohanty, S. Carvalho, T. Commandeur, J. & Lovegrove, G.

    2014-01-01

    Common deterrents to cycling in North America are the real and/or perceived concerns on the safety, comfort, and practicality of choosing cycling over other modes of transportation, concerns that may be addressed by improved cycling facilities. The challenge lies in effectively quantifying the

  11. Practical model for economic optimization of a heat recovery plate heat exchanger and its examination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lepach, T.; Marttila, E.; Hammo, S.

    1997-12-31

    This report presents a practical model for designers whose job it is to dimension a plate heat exchanger used especially in heat recovery systems for ventilation. Special attention was given to the economic optimization of such a unit. The first part of the report presents the most important types of heat exchangers and then goes on to present those that are normally used in ventilation systems for heat recovery. The second part discusses the operating costs, investments required and the savings in costs that can be achieved through heat recovery. The third part takes a look at the theory of heat transfer and the characteristics of heat exchanger. In the finally part, a utilization of this model is presented. The results from this are discussed in the following. The developed equations have been calculated and plotted by the use of the numeric software MATLAB. The code used for calculation with MATLAB is listed in the appendix. (orig.) 16 refs.

  12. Energy efficient heating and ventilation of large halls

    CERN Document Server

    Hojer, Ondrej; Kabele, Karel; Kotrbaty, Miroslav; Sommer, Klaus; Petras, Dusan

    2011-01-01

    This guidebook is focused on modern methods for design, control and operation of energy efficient heating systems in large spaces and industrial halls. The book deals with thermal comfort, light and dark gas radiant heaters, panel radiant heating, floor heating and industrial air heating systems. Various heating systems are illustrated with case studies. Design principles, methods and modeling tools are presented for various systems.

  13. Cognitive Simulation Driven Domestic Heating Energy Management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thilakarathne, D.J.; Treur, J.

    2016-01-01

    Energy management for domestic heating is a non trivial research challenge, especially given the dynamics associated to indoor and outdoor air temperatures, required comfortable temperature set points over time, parameters of the heating source and system, and energy loss rate and capacity of a

  14. Heat pump for comfort, with added energy savings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cauberg, H.; Van de Dobbelsteen, A.; Van der Spoel, W.; Van de Graaf, A.

    2005-01-01

    The high-efficiency central heating boiler is about to reach the limits of its potential, so innovative insulation and other energy efficiency solutions are required, even though energy consumption in the Netherlands per household has dropped by 70% since 1986. Now that houses and offices are being

  15. In-situ real time measurements of thermal comfort and comparison with the adaptive comfort theory in Dutch residential dwellings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ioannou, A.; Itard, L.C.M.; Agarwal, Tushar

    2018-01-01

    Indoor thermal comfort is generally assessed using the PMV or the adaptive model. This research presents the results obtained by in-situ real time measurements of thermal comfort and thermal comfort perception in 17 residential dwellings in the Netherlands. The study demonstrates the new

  16. Factors that affecting mothers’ postnatal comfort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gül Pınar

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The comfort is defined as; “an expected result of a complex conformation of providing peace and help about individual’s needs in a physical, psycho-spiritual, social and environmental entity to overcome the problems”. The aim of this study was to determine the mother’s postnatal comfort and the affecting factors of it.Materials and Methods: This is a sectional and descriptive study. The study was performed on the mothers (n=150 who applied to the delivery service of the Başkent University Ankara Hospital between the date of 30.07.2008 to 31.12.2008. A questionnaire was developed by the investigators to collect data and determine patients’ postnatal comfort scores. Results: The mean age of women was 26.4±3.5 years, the majority of patients had an educational level of high school (68.7% and were multipara (66.0%. It was determined that the mothers had problems and needed help with the fatigue, pain, in standing up, the adverse effect of anesthesia, personal and perineal hygiene that affect their postnatal comfort. The comfort score of the mothers who had spontaneous vaginal birth was higher than those of underwent cesarean delivery (p<0.05.Conclusion: The mothers’ needs and expectations about themselves and their babies were generally supplied by midwifes and the nurses in the postnatal period. Opinion of the mothers about their comfort were influenced to a positive view and the comfort scores increased while the mothers’ satisfaction were augmented (p<0.05.

  17. The Relationship between Thermal Comfort and Light Intensity with Sleep Quality and Eye Tiredness in Shift Work Nurses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azmoon, Hiva; Dehghan, Habibollah; Akbari, Jafar; Souri, Shiva

    2013-01-01

    Environmental conditions such as lighting and thermal comfort are influencing factors on sleep quality and visual tiredness. The purpose of this study was the determination of the relationship between thermal comfort and light intensity with the sleep quality and eye fatigue in shift nurses. Method. This cross-sectional research was conducted on 82 shift-work personnel of 18 nursing workstations in Isfahan Al-Zahra Hospital, Iran, in 2012. Heat stress monitoring (WBGT) and photometer (Hagner Model) were used for measuring the thermal conditions and illumination intensity, respectively. To measure the sleep quality, visual tiredness, and thermal comfort, Pittsburg sleep quality index, eye fatigue questionnaire, and thermal comfort questionnaire were used, respectively. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, and Pearson correlation. Results. Correlation between thermal comfort which was perceived from the self-reporting of people with eye tiredness was −0.38 (P = 0.002). Pearson correlation between thermal comfort and sleep quality showed a positive and direct relationship (r = 0.241, P = 0.33) but the correlation between thermal comfort, which was perceived from the self-reporting of shift nurses, and WBGT index was a weak relationship (r = 0.019). Conclusion. Based on the obtained findings, it can be concluded that a defect in environmental conditions such as thermal conditions and light intensity and also lack of appropriate managerial plan for night shift-work nurses are destructive and negative factors for the physical and mental health of this group of practitioners. PMID:23476674

  18. The relationship between thermal comfort and light intensity with sleep quality and eye tiredness in shift work nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azmoon, Hiva; Dehghan, Habibollah; Akbari, Jafar; Souri, Shiva

    2013-01-01

    Environmental conditions such as lighting and thermal comfort are influencing factors on sleep quality and visual tiredness. The purpose of this study was the determination of the relationship between thermal comfort and light intensity with the sleep quality and eye fatigue in shift nurses. This cross-sectional research was conducted on 82 shift-work personnel of 18 nursing workstations in Isfahan Al-Zahra Hospital, Iran, in 2012. Heat stress monitoring (WBGT) and photometer (Hagner Model) were used for measuring the thermal conditions and illumination intensity, respectively. To measure the sleep quality, visual tiredness, and thermal comfort, Pittsburg sleep quality index, eye fatigue questionnaire, and thermal comfort questionnaire were used, respectively. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, and Pearson correlation. Correlation between thermal comfort which was perceived from the self-reporting of people with eye tiredness was -0.38 (P = 0.002). Pearson correlation between thermal comfort and sleep quality showed a positive and direct relationship (r = 0.241, P = 0.33) but the correlation between thermal comfort, which was perceived from the self-reporting of shift nurses, and WBGT index was a weak relationship (r = 0.019). Based on the obtained findings, it can be concluded that a defect in environmental conditions such as thermal conditions and light intensity and also lack of appropriate managerial plan for night shift-work nurses are destructive and negative factors for the physical and mental health of this group of practitioners.

  19. Improving indoor air quality and thermal comfort in office building by using combination filters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kabrein, H.; Yusof, M. Z. M.; Hariri, A.; Leman, A. M.; Afandi, A.

    2017-09-01

    Poor indoor air quality and thermal comfort condition in the workspace affected the occupants’ health and work productivity, especially when adapting the recirculation of air in heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. The recirculation of air was implemented in this study by mixing the circulated returned indoor air with the outdoor fresh air. The aims of this study are to assess the indoor thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) in the office buildings, equipped with combination filters. The air filtration technique consisting minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) filter and activated carbon fiber (ACF) filter, located before the fan coil units. The findings of the study show that the technique of mixing recirculation air with the fresh air through the combination filters met the recommended thermal comfort condition in the workspace. Furthermore, the result of the post-occupancy evaluation (POE) and the environmental measurements comply with the ASHRAE 55 standard. In addition, the level of CO2 concentration continued to decrease during the period of the measurement.

  20. Thermal comfort and older adults

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoof, van J.; Hensen, J.L.M.

    2006-01-01

    The majority of the increasing number of older adults wishes to age-in-place. Appropriate and comfortable housing is of great importance to facilitate this desire. One of the aspects of concern is thermal comfort. This is normally assessed using the model of Fanger, however, one might ask if this

  1. Result of comparative experiment on environmental comfort in room using hot heat environment testing unit. Onnetsu kankyo shiken unit ni yoru shitsunai kankyo no kaitekisa no hikaku jikken kekka ni tsuite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fujiwara, T; Kawashima, K [The Hokkaido Electric Power Co. Inc., Sapporo (Japan)

    1991-11-20

    Measurements were carried out on three buildings having different heat insulation, airtightness and heat capacity for testing the hot heast enviroments (having a room size of about 4.6 m{times}3.7m{times}2.3 m) as to the temperature differences between the upper and lower parts of the room and the MRT (mean radiation temperature, representing the temperature of radiation from the wall face). These are compared according to types of heating appliance. The result is summarize as follows: The temperature difference in the upper and lower parts is affected largely by the airtightness of the building, the difference being capable of getting reduced by rasing the airtightness even in a buildings low in heat insulation. In a building with low airtightness, type of heating appliance and its installation location affect the temperature difference. The MRT is determined determined nearly completely by the heat insulation of the wall face in a room, but it tends to be affected easily by the specification and area of windows. A floor heating system increases the MRT and generates very little difference in temperatures in the upper and lower parts of the room. A comparison using a PMV (one of the indexes for enviromental comfort in a room) was also conducted. 12 figs., 7tabs.

  2. Radiant Heating and Cooling Systems. Part two

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kim, Kwan Woo; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    2015-01-01

    Control of the heating and cooling system needs to be able to maintain the indoor temperatures within the comfort range under the varying internal loads and external climates. To maintain a stable thermal environment, the control system needs to maintain the balance between the heat gain...

  3. Thermal comfort and safety of cotton blankets warmed at 130°F and 200°F.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Patricia A; Cooper, Susan K; Krogh, Mary L; Morse, Elizabeth C; Crandall, Craig G; Winslow, Elizabeth H; Balluck, Julie P

    2013-12-01

    In 2009, the ECRI Institute recommended warming cotton blankets in cabinets set at 130°F or less. However, there is limited research to support the use of this cabinet temperature. To measure skin temperatures and thermal comfort in healthy volunteers before and after application of blankets warmed in cabinets set at 130 and 200°F, respectively, and to determine the time-dependent cooling of cotton blankets after removal from warming cabinets set at the two temperatures. Prospective, comparative, descriptive. Participants (n = 20) received one or two blankets warmed in 130 or 200°F cabinets. First, skin temperatures were measured, and thermal comfort reports were obtained at fixed timed intervals. Second, blanket temperatures (n = 10) were measured at fixed intervals after removal from the cabinets. No skin temperatures approached levels reported in the literature that cause epidermal damage. Thermal comfort reports supported using blankets from the 200°F cabinet, and blankets lost heat quickly over time. We recommend warming cotton blankets in cabinets set at 200°F or less to improve thermal comfort without compromising patient safety. Copyright © 2013 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Evaluation of Thermal Comfort in an Iranian Educational Hospital Using PMV- PPD Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javad Sajedifar

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Background Considering the advancement of technology and application of various appliances in the workplace, one of the most significant current discussions in the industrial and nonindustrialized workplaces is thermal comfort. Hospital staff have a special status because of the diversity of people employed in hospitals and their crucial roles. Objectives The present study aimed at investigating the staffs’ thermal comfort in a hospital in Esfahan. Methods In this cross-sectional study, Al Zahra hospital staff working in the underground floor were recruited. The sampling method was census, and 161 staff participated in the study. Data were collected by mental assessment using a questionnaire and physical measurement using wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT machine in the summer of 2015. The predicted mean vote (PMV and predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD were determined based on mental assessment or individual feeling of the staff about thermal comfort. Data management and analyses were performed using SPSS 23. Results The results of the data analysis revealed that kitchen, laundry, and sterilization sectors had higher temperature than other units. Moreover, the results demonstrated that the offices of educational sectors and educational classes had a standard level of thermal comfort according to ASHRAE (American society of heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning engineers Standard 55. The investigations of physical and mental PMV in every unit showed that the total index of these 2 values was 1.2 and 1.39, respectively. Conclusions Based on the results, the units located at the underground floor needed proper design and access to natural ventilation and enough air flow to provide optimum thermal comfort based on international standards.

  5. Low-temperature heating systems and public administration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boerner, H

    1981-06-01

    The even temperature distribution and comfortable climate in rooms heated by low-temperature heating systems is mostly due to one of the preconditions of this type of heating system namely, efficient thermal insulation of the rooms. Thermal insulation is already required as part of the pertinent legal regulations but it is also in the interest of the builder-owner as it will, in the long run, greatly reduce the heating cost.

  6. Comfort-calculation programme for wood-fired storage ovens; Komfortberechnungsprogramm fuer Holz-Speicheroefen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaegauf, Ch.; Zumsteg, H. [Oekozentrum Langenbruck, Langenbruck (Switzerland); Huber, H.; Schuetz, B.; Friedlin, R. [Hochschule fuer Technik und Architektur (HTA), Horw (Switzerland); Chiquet, C. [Verband Schweizerischer Hafner- und Plattengeschaefte (VHP), Olten (Switzerland)

    2004-07-01

    This report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) describes a computer aided design (CAD) tool for the design of wood-fired heating appliances to meet optimal room comfort demands. The CAD-tool combines numeric simulation of the heat requirements of dwellings with the dynamic simulation of appliances with slow heat release characteristics. The software simulates the building, the heat output of the wood stove and the heat exchange between the floors. With the help of an Internet-based interface, the user can calculate the heat demand of his building. After this, the stove designer optimises the wood stove with the help of simulation software, which runs on a central server. As a result, the user gets the temperature profile for each room of the building and also the heat output profile of the wood stove for each room by E-mail. The validation of a simulation using a mock-up of a slow heat release appliance and its application to two dwellings equipped with slow heat release appliances is described. According to the authors, the room temperatures computed by the CAD-tool fitted the temperatures measured in situ well. The numerous results are presented in graphical form and commented on.

  7. Evaluation and optimization of footwear comfort parameters using finite element analysis and a discrete optimization algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papagiannis, P.; Azariadis, P.; Papanikos, P.

    2017-10-01

    Footwear is subject to bending and torsion deformations that affect comfort perception. Following review of Finite Element Analysis studies of sole rigidity and comfort, a three-dimensional, linear multi-material finite element sole model for quasi-static bending and torsion simulation, overcoming boundary and optimisation limitations, is described. Common footwear materials properties and boundary conditions from gait biomechanics are used. The use of normalised strain energy for product benchmarking is demonstrated along with comfort level determination through strain energy density stratification. Sensitivity of strain energy against material thickness is greater for bending than for torsion, with results of both deformations showing positive correlation. Optimization for a targeted performance level and given layer thickness is demonstrated with bending simulations sufficing for overall comfort assessment. An algorithm for comfort optimization w.r.t. bending is presented, based on a discrete approach with thickness values set in line with practical manufacturing accuracy. This work illustrates the potential of the developed finite element analysis applications to offer viable and proven aids to modern footwear sole design assessment and optimization.

  8. Residential Central Air Conditioning and Heat Pump Installation – Workshop Outcomes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goetzler, William [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Zogg, Robert [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Young, Jim [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States); Bargach, Youssef [Navigant Consulting, Burlington, MA (United States)

    2016-11-01

    DOE's Building Technologies Office works with researchers and industry partners to develop and deploy technologies that can substantially reduce energy consumption in residential and commercial buildings. This report aims to advance BTO’s energy savings, emissions reduction, and other program goals by identifying research and development (R&D), demonstration and deployment, and other non-regulatory initiatives for improving the design and installation of residential central air conditioners (CAC) and central heat pumps (CHP). Improving the adoption of CAC/CHP design and installation best practices has significant potential to reduce equipment costs, improve indoor air quality and comfort, improve system performance, and most importantly, reduce household energy consumption and costs for heating and cooling by addressing a variety of common installation issues.

  9. Ceramics and healthy heating and cooling systems: thermal ceramic panels in buildings. Conditions of comfort and energy demand versus convective systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Echarri Iribarren

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Porcelain stoneware is a widely used building material. In recent years, its range of uses has expanded to encompass a new spectrum of innovative and inventive applications in architecture. In this research, we analysed the patented Thermal Ceramic Panel. This consists of a thin porcelain stoneware panel that incorporates a capillary system of polypropylene tubes measuring 3.5 mm in diameter embedded in a conductive ceramic interface. The system works with hot or cold water, producing healthy heating and cooling by means of radiant surfaces. Following an initial prototype test in which panels were placed on the walls of an office, we conducted simulations at the University of Alicante Museum using wall, ceiling and baffle panels, having previously monitored the state of the building. Thermal behaviour parameters were analysed and compared with those of other standard finishing materials, obtaining results for thermal comfort and energy savings in comparison with all-air systems.

  10. WESBES: A Wireless Embedded Sensor for Improving Human Comfort Metrics using Temporospatially Correlated Data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joel Hewlett; Milos Manic; Craig Rieger

    2012-08-01

    When utilized properly, energy management systems (EMS) can offer significant energy savings by optimizing the efficiency of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. However, difficulty often arises due to the constraints imposed by the need to maintain an acceptable level of comfort for a building’s occupants. This challenge is compounded by the fact that human comfort is difficult to define in a measurable way. One way to address this problem is to provide a building manager with direct feedback from the building’s users. Still, this data is relative in nature, making it difficult to determine the actions that need to be taken, and while some useful comfort correlations have been devised, such as ASHRAE’s Predicted Mean Vote index, they are rules of thumb that do not connect individual feedback with direct, diverse feedback sensing. As they are a correlation, quantifying effects of climate, age of buildings and associated defects such as draftiness, are outside the realm of this correlation. Therefore, the contribution of this paper is the Wireless Embedded Smart Block for Environment Sensing (WESBES); an affordable wireless sensor platform that allows subjective human comfort data to be directly paired with temporospatially correlated objective sensor measurements for use in EMS. The described device offers a flexible research platform for analyzing the relationship between objective and subjective occupant feedback in order to formulate more meaningful measures of human comfort. It could also offer an affordable and expandable option for real world deployment in existing EMS.

  11. Dynamic thermal environment and thermal comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Y; Ouyang, Q; Cao, B; Zhou, X; Yu, J

    2016-02-01

    Research has shown that a stable thermal environment with tight temperature control cannot bring occupants more thermal comfort. Instead, such an environment will incur higher energy costs and produce greater CO2 emissions. Furthermore, this may lead to the degeneration of occupants' inherent ability to combat thermal stress, thereby weakening thermal adaptability. Measured data from many field investigations have shown that the human body has a higher acceptance to the thermal environment in free-running buildings than to that in air-conditioned buildings with similar average parameters. In naturally ventilated environments, occupants have reported superior thermal comfort votes and much greater thermal comfort temperature ranges compared to air-conditioned environments. This phenomenon is an integral part of the adaptive thermal comfort model. In addition, climate chamber experiments have proven that people prefer natural wind to mechanical wind in warm conditions; in other words, dynamic airflow can provide a superior cooling effect. However, these findings also indicate that significant questions related to thermal comfort remain unanswered. For example, what is the cause of these phenomena? How we can build a comfortable and healthy indoor environment for human beings? This article summarizes a series of research achievements in recent decades, tries to address some of these unanswered questions, and attempts to summarize certain problems for future research. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Debating the future of comfort: environmental sustainability, energy consumption and the indoor environment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chappells, H.; Shove, E.

    2005-02-01

    Vast quantities of energy are consumed in heating and cooling to provide what are now regarded as acceptable standards of thermal comfort. In the UK as in a number of other countries, there is a real danger that responses in anticipation of global warming and climate change - including growing reliance on air-conditioning - will increase energy demand and CO{sub 2} emissions even further. This is an appropriate moment to reflect on the history and future of comfort, both as an idea and as a material reality. Based on interviews and discussions with UK policy makers and building practitioners involved in specifying and constructing what will become the indoor environments of the future, four possible scenarios are identified each with different implications for energy and resource consumption. By actively promoting debate about the indoor environment and associated ways of life, it may yet be possible to avoid becoming locked into social and technical trajectories that are ultimately unsustainable. The aim of this paper is to inspire and initiate just such a discussion through demonstrating that comfort is a highly negotiable socio-cultural construct. (author)

  13. Thermal sensation and comfort models for non-uniform and transient environments, part III: Whole-body sensation and comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Hui; Arens, Edward; Huizenga, Charlie [Center for the Built Environment, UC Berkeley (United States); Han, Taeyoung [General Motors Company (United States)

    2010-02-15

    A three-part series presents the development of models for predicting the local thermal sensation (Part I) and local thermal comfort (Part II) of different parts of the human body, and also the whole-body sensation and comfort (Part III) that result from combinations of local sensation and comfort. The models apply to sedentary activities in a range of environments: uniform and non-uniform, stable and transient. They are based on diverse findings from the literature and from body-part-specific human subject tests in a climate chamber. They were validated against a test of automobile passengers. The series is intended to present the models' rationale, structure, and coefficients, so that others can test them and develop them further as additional empirical data becomes available. A) The whole-body (overall) sensation model has two forms, depending on whether all of the body's segments have sensations effectively in the same direction (e.g warm or cool), or whether some segments have sensations opposite to those of the rest of the body. For each, individual body parts have different weights for warm versus cool sensations, and strong local sensations dominate the overall sensation. If all sensations are near neutral, the overall sensation is close to the average of all body sensations. B) The overall comfort model also has two forms. Under stable conditions, people evaluate their overall comfort by a complaint-driven process, meaning that when two body parts are strongly uncomfortable, no matter how comfortable the other body parts might be, the overall comfort will be near the discomfort level of the two most uncomfortable parts. When the environmental conditions are transient, or people have control over their environments, overall comfort is better than that of the two most uncomfortable body parts. This can be accounted for by adding the most comfortable vote to the two most uncomfortable ones. (author)

  14. The thermal environment effect on the comfort of electronic factory worker

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurul Huda, Listiani

    2018-03-01

    In this paper, thermal comfort issues of the operators working on one of the electronics companies in the evaporator area are observed. The objective of this study is to reduce Percentage of Dissatisfied (PD) of operators in an effort to improve the work productivity. PD is predicted using CBE Thermal Comfort Tool by measuring the thermal variables around the evaporator area and by calculating the Heat Stress Index (HSI). The operator productivity is analyzed by Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer (WBGT) Work-Rest Chart. The PD of operators before and after improvement is compared. The results showed that the average temperature around the operators area at evaporator station is high with average WBGT of 33,6°C. HSI value is 51.95 indicating that the effect of 8-h exposure is severe strain with work impact is health threat for unit operators and acclimatization is necessary. The PD value is 96% indicating that almost all operators feel uncomfortable at work. These indicate that the thermal environment should be improved. The proposed improvement is by installing water cooled and sprayed into the evaporator area. This installation is able to reduce HSI and PD by more 70% and more 60%, respectively. These findings indicate that improving the thermal environment will be able to improve working comfort which will further affect the level of work productivity.

  15. Heat pipes and solid sorption transformations fundamentals and practical applications

    CERN Document Server

    Vasiliev, LL

    2013-01-01

    Developing clean energy and utilizing waste energy has become increasingly vital. Research targeting the advancement of thermally powered adsorption cooling technologies has progressed in the past few decades, and the awareness of fuel cells and thermally activated (heat pipe heat exchangers) adsorption systems using natural refrigerants and/or alternatives to hydrofluorocarbon-based refrigerants is becoming ever more important. Heat Pipes and Solid Sorption Transformations: Fundamentals and Practical Applications concentrates on state-of-the-art adsorption research and technologies for releva

  16. Human thermal physiological and psychological responses under different heating environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhaojun; Ning, Haoran; Ji, Yuchen; Hou, Juan; He, Yanan

    2015-08-01

    Anecdotal evidence suggests that many residents of severely cold areas of China who use floor heating (FH) systems feel warmer but drier compared to those using radiant heating (RH) systems. However, this phenomenon has not been verified experimentally. In order to validate the empirical hypothesis, and research the differences of human physiological and psychological responses in these two asymmetrical heating environments, an experiment was designed to mimic FH and RH systems. The subjects participating in the experiment were volunteer college-students. During the experiment, the indoor air temperature, air speed, relative humidity, globe temperature, and inner surface temperatures were measured, and subjects' heart rate, blood pressure and skin temperatures were recorded. The subjects were required to fill in questionnaires about their thermal responses during testing. The results showed that the subjects' skin temperatures, heart rate and blood pressure were significantly affected by the type of heating environment. Ankle temperature had greatest impact on overall thermal comfort relative to other body parts, and a slightly cool FH condition was the most pleasurable environment for sedentary subjects. The overall thermal sensation, comfort and acceptability of FH were higher than that of RH. However, the subjects of FH felt drier than that of RH, although the relative humidity in FH environments was higher than that of the RH environment. In future environmental design, the thermal comfort of the ankles should be scrutinized, and a FH cool condition is recommended as the most comfortable thermal environment for office workers. Consequently, large amounts of heating energy could be saved in this area in the winter. The results of this study may lead to more efficient energy use for office or home heating systems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The influence of the summer sea breeze on thermal comfort in Funchal (Madeira). A contribution to tourism and urban planning.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lopes, Antonio; Lopes, Sergio; Joao Alcoforado, Maria [Univ. de Lisboa (Portugal). Centro der Estudos Geograficos; Matzarakis, Andreas [Freiburg Univ. (Germany). Meteorological Inst.

    2011-10-15

    Tourism plays a crucial role for the development of coastal areas. Despite the mildness of Madeira's climate, very hot days can occur during summer, a situation to which most tourists from northern Europe (the majority of foreign tourists) are poorly adapted. As sea breezes strongly contribute to moderate heat stress in urban environments, their influence on the thermal comfort on the island has been studied. Sea breezes occurred on 84 % of the days during the period under study (May to October 2006). They usually start around 09:30 h and end after 22:00 h, with an average duration of about 12:50 hours and a mean velocity of 2.9 m/s. Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) was used to evaluate the thermal comfort of a sample of days during the summer of 2006. It was concluded that most of the sites in the city are ''slightly comfortable'' during normal days with sea breeze, but only shore sites and the highest green areas offer some comfort during hot days. Inside the city, the thermal perception is generally ''hot'' and strong heat stress can occur. As sea breezes are important to mitigate heat stress, some basic guidelines were presented: urban planners should take advantage of this wind system avoiding dense construction near the shoreline that would act as a barrier to the renewal of the air inside the city. In terms of tourism, planners and local authorities should provide solutions to mitigate the negative effects during hot periods, creating a system to warn and relocate more vulnerable tourists to places near the shore line, to the mountains, to gardens and air-conditioned buildings. In combination with other components (beauty of the island, gastronomy, cultural values and safety), climate information can be a factor of attractiveness to tourists. (orig.)

  18. Load Management in District Heating Operation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Hongwei; Wang, Stephen Jia

    2015-01-01

    Smooth operation of district heating system will avoid installation of expensive peak heat boilers, improve plant partial load performance, increase the system redundancy for further network expansion and improve its resilience to ensure security of supply during severe heating seasons. The peak...... heating load can be reduced through building demand side management. The building thermal mass can be used to shift the heating supply under the circumstance without jeopardizing the consumer thermal comfort. In this paper, the multi-agent framework is applied to a simplified building dynamic model...

  19. The Relationship between Thermal Comfort and Light Intensity with Sleep Quality and Eye Tiredness in Shift Work Nurses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hiva Azmoon

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Environmental conditions such as lighting and thermal comfort are influencing factors on sleep quality and visual tiredness. The purpose of this study was the determination of the relationship between thermal comfort and light intensity with the sleep quality and eye fatigue in shift nurses. Method. This cross-sectional research was conducted on 82 shift-work personnel of 18 nursing workstations in Isfahan Al-Zahra Hospital, Iran, in 2012. Heat stress monitoring (WBGT and photometer (Hagner Model were used for measuring the thermal conditions and illumination intensity, respectively. To measure the sleep quality, visual tiredness, and thermal comfort, Pittsburg sleep quality index, eye fatigue questionnaire, and thermal comfort questionnaire were used, respectively. The data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, and Pearson correlation. Results. Correlation between thermal comfort which was perceived from the self-reporting of people with eye tiredness was −0.38 (P=0.002. Pearson correlation between thermal comfort and sleep quality showed a positive and direct relationship (r=0.241, P=0.33 but the correlation between thermal comfort, which was perceived from the self-reporting of shift nurses, and WBGT index was a weak relationship (r=0.019. Conclusion. Based on the obtained findings, it can be concluded that a defect in environmental conditions such as thermal conditions and light intensity and also lack of appropriate managerial plan for night shift-work nurses are destructive and negative factors for the physical and mental health of this group of practitioners.

  20. Visual comfort evaluated by opponent colors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sagawa, Ken

    2002-06-01

    This study aimed to evaluate psychological impression of visual comfort when we see an image of ordinary colored scene presented in a color display. Effects of opponent colors, i.e. red, green, yellow and blue component, on the subjective judgement on visual comfort to the image were investigated. Three kinds of psychological experiment were designed to see the effects and the results indicated that the red/green opponent color component was more affecting than the yellow-blue one, and red color in particular was the most affecting factor on visual comfort.

  1. The effect of dynamic solar shading on energy, daylighting and thermal comfort in a nearly zero-energy loft room in Rome and Copenhagen

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skarning, Gunnlaug Cecilie Jensen; Hviid, Christian Anker; Svendsen, Svend

    2017-01-01

    alternatives in buildings with very low space-heating demand, this study mapped and compared energy, daylighting and thermal comfort for various combinations of window size and glazing properties, with and without dynamic shading. The study considered a loft room with sloped roof windows and moderate venting...... as defined by the Adaptive Thermal Comfort (ATC) model....... options in nearly zero-energy homes in Rome and Copenhagen. The more flexible solution space with dynamic shading made it possible to either reduce the time with operative temperatures exceeding the comfort limit by 40–50 h or increase daylighting by 750–1000 h more than could be achieved without shading...

  2. Assessment of daytime physiologic comfort, its perception and coping strategies among people in tertiary institutions in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oyenike Mary Eludoyin

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Adequate understanding of the extreme thermal condition is as important as that of the averages for planners and policy makers. A significant knowledge gap exists in the physiologic comfort in many developing countries, particularly in the tropical region where thermal stress can pose significant threat to life because of inadequate infrastructure. This study examines the hourly variations in the physiologic comfort of Nigeria using the effective temperature, temperature–humidity and relative strain indices (ETI, THI and RSI, respectively. It also examines the perceptions of a selected sample of Nigerians, and their coping strategies to extreme conditions of cold and heat stress. The results showed that physiologic comfort in Nigeria exhibits variations across the different latitudinal locations; shows seasonal variations and is affected by local geography. Perception of the comfortable climate exhibits variation based on the latitudinal location of the respondents but the coping strategies vary with the wealth of individuals. The study showed that physiologic discomfort is severe in many parts of Nigeria (especially in the climate regions outside the montane climate but the infrastructure to cope with the thermal stress is either poorly known or unaffordable for the majority of the people.

  3. Possibilities to improve the aircraft interior comfort experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vink, P; Bazley, C; Kamp, I; Blok, M

    2012-03-01

    Comfort plays an increasingly important role in the interior design of airplanes. Although ample research has been conducted on airplane design technology, only a small amount of public scientific information is available addressing the passenger's opinion. In this study, more than 10,000 internet trip reports and 153 passenger interviews were used to gather opinions about aspects which need to be improved in order to design a more comfortable aircraft interior. The results show clear relationships between comfort and legroom, hygiene, crew attention and seat/personal space. Passengers rate the newer planes significantly better than older ones, indicating that attention to design for comfort has proven effective. The study also shows that rude flight attendants and bad hygiene reduce the comfort experience drastically and that a high comfort rating is related to higher "fly again" values. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  4. Health care providers' comfort with and barriers to care of transgender youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vance, Stanley R; Halpern-Felsher, Bonnie L; Rosenthal, Stephen M

    2015-02-01

    To explore providers' clinical experiences, comfort, and confidence with and barriers to providing care to transgender youth. An online survey was administered to members of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine and the Pediatric Endocrine Society with items querying about clinical exposure to transgender youth, familiarity with and adherence to existing clinical practice guidelines, perceived barriers to providing transgender-related care, and comfort and confidence with providing transgender-related care. The response rate was 21.9% (n = 475). Of the respondents, 66.5% had provided care to transgender youth, 62.4% felt comfortable with providing transgender medical therapy, and 47.1% felt confident in doing so. Principal barriers to provision of transgender-related care were lack of the following: training, exposure to transgender patients, available qualified mental health providers, and insurance reimbursement. This study suggests that more training in transgender-related care, available qualified mental health providers, and insurance reimbursement for transgender-related care are needed. Copyright © 2015 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. The Effects of Set-Points and Dead-Bands of the HVAC System on the Energy Consumption and Occupant Thermal Comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kazanci, Ongun Berk; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    2013-01-01

    A building is a complex system where many components interact with each other therefore the control system plays a key role regarding the energy consumption and the occupant thermal comfort. This study is concerned with a detached, one-storey, single family, energy-plus house. It is equipped...... on the effects of the set-points and dead-bands of different components on the energy consumption together with the occupant thermal comfort. Evaluations are carried out with TRNSYS for Copenhagen and Madrid in order to compare climatic effects....... with a ground heat exchanger, a ground coupled heat pump, embedded pipes in the floor and in the ceiling, a ventilation system (mechanical and natural), a domestic hot water tank and photovoltaic/thermal panels on the roof. Preliminary evaluations showed that for Madrid, change of indoor set-point in cooling...

  6. An Open Source "Smart Lamp" for the Optimization of Plant Systems and Thermal Comfort of Offices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salamone, Francesco; Belussi, Lorenzo; Danza, Ludovico; Ghellere, Matteo; Meroni, Italo

    2016-03-07

    The article describes the design phase, development and practical application of a smart object integrated in a desk lamp and called "Smart Lamp", useful to optimize the indoor thermal comfort and energy savings that are two important workplace issues where the comfort of the workers and the consumption of the building strongly affect the economic balance of a company. The Smart Lamp was built using a microcontroller, an integrated temperature and relative humidity sensor, some other modules and a 3D printer. This smart device is similar to the desk lamps that are usually found in offices but it allows one to adjust the indoor thermal comfort, by interacting directly with the air conditioner. After the construction phase, the Smart Lamp was installed in an office normally occupied by four workers to evaluate the indoor thermal comfort and the cooling consumption in summer. The results showed how the application of the Smart Lamp effectively reduced the energy consumption, optimizing the thermal comfort. The use of DIY approach combined with read-write functionality of websites, blog and social platforms, also allowed to customize, improve, share, reproduce and interconnect technologies so that anybody could use them in any occupied environment.

  7. Deliberate interventions in the availability and circulation of practice elements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Quitzau, Maj-Britt; Hoffmann, Birgitte

    competences in relation to the heating system. Otherwise, the circulating ideas about comfort and the daily practices performed in the house remained unchanged. On the basis of these findings, we highlight how the considerations done by the urban government prior to the project and the negotiations undertaken...... of practices can help to inform policy makers in this regard, there is a need for more detailed insight into how such deliberate interventions are performed in practice and intersect with the availability and circulation of practice elements, among others. The aim of this paper is to explore the considerations...... area by setting up very strict requirements to the energy performance of the new buildings. Through qualitative interviews with the urban government, the building companies and the involved families, we have studied how this intervention hindered the circulation of certain practice elements, while...

  8. Electrical energy use in different heating systems for early weaned piglets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarubbi, J. [Federal Univ. of Santa Maria, Palmeira das Missoes, RS (Brazil). Dept. of Animal Science; Campinas State Univ., Sao Paulo (Brazil). College of Agricultural Engineering; Rossi, L.A.; Moura, D.J.; Oliveira, R.A.; David, E. [Campinas State Univ., Sao Paulo (Brazil). College of Agricultural Engineering

    2010-07-01

    This study compared the electrical energy use and thermal comfort conditions associated with 3 heating technologies used in piglet farms. Heating systems for piglets in nursery and farrowing can be improved to conserve energy without affecting the welfare of the animals. The evaluation was conducted at a commercial farm in a subtropical climate area of Brazil. Each treatment involved 150 weaned piglets at 21 days-old. The systems were designed to keep the piglets at 28 to 30 degrees C for 14 days. Suspended electrical resistors, heated floors and convection heating were the 3 heating technologies examined during this study which evaluated the electrical energy consumption, maximum power demand requirements and dry-bulb temperature. The study also assessed the specific consumption in terms of kWh/kg of live produced body mass as well as the efficiency of heating system in terms of degrees C per cubic metre of air. In terms of electrical energy use, the best heating system was the heated floor. However, the electrical resistance heating system was the best in terms of thermal comfort.

  9. Applied acoustics concepts, absorbers, and silencers for acoustical comfort and noise control alternative solutions, innovative tools, practical examples

    CERN Document Server

    Fuchs, Helmut V

    2013-01-01

    The author gives a comprehensive overview of materials and components for noise control and acoustical comfort. Sound absorbers must meet acoustical and architectural requirements, which fibrous or porous material alone can meet. Basics and applications are demonstrated, with representative examples for spatial acoustics, free-field test facilities and canal linings. Acoustic engineers and construction professionals will find some new basic concepts and tools for developments in order to improve acoustical comfort. Interference absorbers, active resonators and micro-perforated absorbers of different materials and designs complete the list of applications.

  10. Thermal sensation and comfort models for non-uniform and transient environments: Part III: whole-body sensation and comfort

    OpenAIRE

    Zhang, Hui; Arens, Edward; Huizenga, Charlie; Han, Taeyoung

    2009-01-01

    A three-part series presents the development of models for predicting the local thermal sensation (Part I) and local thermal comfort (Part II) of different parts of the human body, and also the whole-body sensation and comfort (Part III) that result from combinations of local sensation and comfort. The models apply to sedentary activities in a range of environments: uniform and non-uniform, stable and transient. They are based on diverse findings from the literature and from body-part-specifi...

  11. A Human-Centered Approach to Enhance Urban Resilience, Implications and Application to Improve Outdoor Comfort in Dense Urban Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ata Chokhachian

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The concept of resilience in urban design and decision-making is principally focused on change instead of resistance over an adaptive process. For cities, this concept in a broader scale means how to withstand unforeseen events that will fundamentally amend the city’s wellbeing, rather than being stabilized and protected. The same concept is applicable for outdoor comfort as an adaptive approach to compensate extreme heat waves and health risk conditions. This chapter presents methods, tools, and applications to enhance urban resilience at a micro scale looking for correlations between environmental factors and human behavior in terms of outdoor comfort.

  12. Optimization of a dual-fuel heating system utilizing an EMS a maintain persistence of measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolpert, J.S.; Wolpert, S.B.; Martin, G.

    1993-01-01

    An older small office building was subjected to a program substituting gas for electric heat to reduce energy cost and improve comfort for approximately one year and was permanently instituted, with the installation of an energy management system (EMS) the following year. This paper will present a description of the facility, its usage patterns, and the measures taken to introduce the fuel-switching program. The impacts on energy usage and cost as well as comfort will also be reported. This program was initiated by a preliminary audit of the facility conducted by the service contractor in conjunction with the area gas wholesaler. During the audit it was observed that the heating set points for the gas-fired equipment was kept fairly low. This was the result of the desire to keep the cooling set point low and the use of auto-changeover thermostats. The result of this was that the system utilized the gas heat to come up to 68-70 degrees with the majority of the zones then relying on their electric heat to bring temperatures into the 73-75 degrees range. In addition to impacting energy costs, this approach generated numerous comfort complaints. As a further electric penalty, the low cooling set point resulted in a heavy reliance on electric heat (reheat) all summer. The basis of the proposed strategy was to reduce the heavy usage of electric heat by making the building comfortable through reliance more heavily on gas heat. This was tested by raising the heating set points for the RTUS. The success of this approach, along with the comfort considerations and the desire for further savings, led to the installation of an EMS. This allowed further refinements of the control strategy, which are briefly described. When completed, the fuel-switching led to an increase in annual gas costs of 125% with a corresponding decrease in electric cost of nearly 30% for an annual utility cost savings of over 19%

  13. Evaluating Different Green School Building Designs for Albania: Indoor Thermal Comfort, Energy Use Analysis with Solar Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalvi, Ambalika Rajendra

    Improving the conditions of schools in many parts of the world is gradually acquiring importance. The Green School movement is an integral part of this effort since it aims at improving indoor environmental conditions. This would in turn, enhance student- learning while minimizing adverse environmental impact through energy efficiency of comfort-related HVAC and lighting systems. This research, which is a part of a larger research project, aims at evaluating different school building designs in Albania in terms of energy use and indoor thermal comfort, and identify energy efficient options of existing schools. We start by identifying three different climate zones in Albania; Coastal (Durres), Hill/Pre-mountainous (Tirana), mountainous (Korca). Next, two prototypical school building designs are identified from the existing stock. Numerous scenarios are then identified for analysis which consists of combinations of climate zone, building type, building orientation, building upgrade levels, presence of renewable energy systems (solar photovoltaic and solar water heater). The existing building layouts, initially outlined in CAD software and then imported into a detailed building energy software program (eQuest) to perform annual simulations for all scenarios. The research also predicted indoor thermal comfort conditions of the various scenarios on the premise that windows could be opened to provide natural ventilation cooling when appropriate. This study also estimated the energy generated from solar photovoltaic systems and solar water heater systems when placed on the available roof area to determine the extent to which they are able to meet the required electric loads (plug and lights) and building heating loads respectively. The results showed that there is adequate indoor comfort without the need for mechanical cooling for the three climate zones, and that only heating is needed during the winter months.

  14. Robotic Comfort Zones

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Likhachev, Maxim; Arkin, Ronald C

    2006-01-01

    .... A review of the existing study of human comfort, especially regarding its presence in infants, is conducted with the goal being to determine the relevant characteristics for mapping it onto the robotics domain...

  15. Investigation of Thermal Comfort Conditions in Higher Education Facilities: A Case Study for Engineering Faculty in Edirne

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Mıhlayanlar

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a higher education institution in Edirne (Trakya University Engineering Faculty is investigated for indoor thermal comfort conditions of the classrooms (indoor temperature, relative humidity, average radiant temperature, “Satisfaction from thermal environment” (PMV and “Dissatisfaction from thermal environment” (PPD. The classrooms in the institution are heated by a central heating system and utilise natural ventilation system. Measurements were taken with the proper devices at the same time of the weekdays during lecture times in winter (heating season in December. The results obtained from measurements are given in graphics and compared with the values given in ASHRAE 55 and ISO 7730 standards.

  16. Study of a Two-Pipe Chilled Beam System for both Cooling and Heating of Office Buildings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gordnorouzi, Rouzbeh; Hultmark, Göran; Afshari, Alireza

    Active chilled beam systems are used to provide heating and cooling in order to achieve comfortable thermal indoor climate. For heating and cooling applications, an active chilled beam has two water circuits comprising four pipes that supply warm and cold water respectively to the beam coil...... according to the space demand. Lindab Comfort A/S has introduced an active chilled beam system which has just one water circuit (two pipes) that is used for both heating and cooling. The concept is based on high temperature cooling and low temperature heating. In this study the energy saving potential...

  17. Secular trends in monthly heating and cooling demands in Croatia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cvitan, Lidija; Sokol Jurković, Renata

    2016-08-01

    This paper analyzes long-term heating and cooling trends for five locations in Croatia from 1901 to 2008 to assist in the revision of Croatia's heating and cooling energy policy. Trends in monthly heating degree-days (HDD) and cooling degree-days (CDD) were determined for three related temperature threshold values each and analyzed to provide insight into the influence of desired thermal comfort on the extent of changes in energy consumption. Monthly trends in the corresponding number of heating days (HD) and cooling days (CD) were also analyzed. A basic investigation of HDD, HD, CDD, and CD trends proved to be essential to the development of a complete description of important climate-related conditions that impact energy demands associated with heating and cooling. In a few cases, the dependence of the trends on the implemented temperature thresholds was rather pronounced and was reflected in great spatial and temporal variations in monthly trends. The statistical significance of the detected monthly trends illustrated a diverse range of possible impacts of climate changes on heating and cooling energy consumption both across and within three main climate regions in Croatia (continental, mountainous, and maritime). It is confirmed that the applied monthly scale for analyses is suitable for assessing heating and cooling practices.

  18. Comfortably engaging: which approach to alcohol screening should we use?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinson, Daniel C; Galliher, James M; Reidinger, Carol; Kappus, Jennifer A

    2004-01-01

    We wanted to compare 2 screening instruments for problem drinking, the CAGE and a single question, assessing frequency of use, patient and clinician comfort, and patient engagement in change. The study was a crossover, cluster-randomized clinical trial with 31 clinicians in Missouri and 13 in the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Network for Family Practice and Primary Care Research; 2,800 patients provided data. The clinician was the unit of randomization. Clinicians decided whether to screen each patient; if they chose to screen, they used the screening approach assigned for that block of patients. The clinician and patient separately completed questionnaires immediately after the office visit to assess each one's comfort with screening (and any ensuing discussion) and the patient's engagement in change. Missouri clinicians screened more patients when assigned the single question (81%) than the CAGE (69%, P = .001 in weighted analysis). There was no difference among AAFP network clinicians (96% of patients screened with the CAGE, 97% with the single question). Eighty percent to 90% of clinicians and 70% of patients reported being comfortable with screening and the ensuing discussion, with no difference between approaches in either network. About one third of patients who were identified as problem drinkers reported thinking about or planning to change their drinking behavior, with no difference in engagement between screening approaches. Clinicians and patients reported similar comfort with the CAGE questions and the single-question screening tools for problem drinking, and the 2 instruments were equal in their ability to engage the patient. In Missouri, the single question was more likely to be used.

  19. The experience of critically ill children: A phenomenological study of discomfort and comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carnevale, Franco A; Gaudreault, Josée

    2013-01-01

    regarding the psychological impact of critical illness by highlighting how children regard specific phenomena as discomforting or comforting. This sheds light on future directions for practice and research development in pediatric critical care.

  20. Comfort Indicators for the Assessment of Indoor Environmental Building Performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brohus, Henrik; Bendtsen, A.; Sørensen, M.

    2006-01-01

    Indoor environmental building performance assessment requires efficient indicators of the indoor comfort. In order to be effective and useful the comfort indicators must be able to include the temporal variation of indoor comfort as well as the degree of discomfort perceived by the occupants....... This paper discusses and presents a number of comfort indicators that includes both the temporal variation and the degree of discomfort in the calculations. A test case comprising a ventilated office building is used to show the application of the various comfort indices. It is found that the new comfort...

  1. Thermal comfort assessment in civil aircraft cabins

    OpenAIRE

    Pang Liping; Qin Yue; Liu Dong; Liu Meng

    2014-01-01

    Aircraft passengers are more and demanding in terms of thermal comfort. But it is not yet easy for aircraft crew to control the environment control system (ECS) that satisfies the thermal comfort for most passengers due to a number of causes. This paper adopts a corrected predicted mean vote (PMV) model and an adaptive model to assess the thermal comfort conditions for 31 investigated flights and draws the conclusion that there does exist an uncomfortable thermal phenomenon in civil aircraft ...

  2. Development and validation of the scale of knowledge, comfort and attitudes of physiotherapy students towards human sexuality (SKCAPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priscilla Geraldine Wittkopf

    Full Text Available Introduction Recent studies with Physiotherapy students pointed out for attitudes and conflicting perceptions on their learning process during the phase that precedes the clinical practice. One of those aspects is the human sexuality that appears in the close physical contact that demands Physiotherapists professional practices. Objective To build up the first educational/research instrument that evaluates the knowledge, the comfort and the attitudes of Physiotherapy undergraduate students (SKCAPS. Materials and methods From the literature we extracted three dimensions: knowledge, comfort and attitudes. Initially 50 items were created distributed in the three dimensions that went under the content evaluation, 47 items survived from this process and integrate the first version of SKCAPS. In empiric terms the intern coherence and the reliability of the instrument were tested in 248 students. Results The exploratory factorial analysis carried 37 items in 4 factors that explain 68% of the total variance of the answers of the subjects and that confirmed the proposed dimensions. The dimension comfort became separated in comfort and discomfort. The SKCAPS presented good reliability in terms of intern consistence alpha 0.861. Finally, the instrument was administered to 30 Physiotherapy students for evaluation of clarity following the exclusion of two items that resulted in averages below 8.5. Conclusions With the aim of improve the teaching/learning process, we propose the SKCAPS as the first worth and reliable instrument to evaluate the knowledge, the comfort, the discomfort and the attitudes regard of human sexuality among Physiotherapy students.

  3. MONITORING OF LOWER LIMB COMFORT AND INJURY IN ELITE FOOTBALL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Kinchington

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study was to examine the relation between lower limb comfort scores and injury and to measure the responsiveness of a lower limb comfort index (LLCI to changes over time, in a cohort of professional footballers. Lower limb comfort was recorded for each individual using a comfort index which assessed the comfort status of five anatomical segments and footwear. Specifically we tested the extent to which comfort zones as measured by the LLCI were related to injury measured as time loss events. The hypothesis for the study was that poor lower limb comfort is related to time loss events (training or match day. A total of 3524 player weeks of data was collected from 182 professional athletes encompassing three codes of football (Australian Rules, Rugby league, Rugby Union. The study was conducted during football competition periods for the respective football leagues and included a period of pre- season training. The results of regression indicated that poor lower limb comfort was highly correlated to injury (R2 =0.77 and accounted for 43.5 time loss events/ 1000hrs football exposure. While poor comfort was predictive of injury 47% of all time loss events it was not statistically relevant (R2 =0.18. The results indicate lower limb comfort can be used to assess the well-being of the lower limb; poor comfort is associated with injury, and the LLCI has good face validity and high criterion-related validity for the relationship between comfort and injury

  4. Urban Soil: Assessing Ground Cover Impact on Surface Temperature and Thermal Comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandani, Giada; Napoli, Marco; Massetti, Luciano; Petralli, Martina; Orlandini, Simone

    2016-01-01

    The urban population growth, together with the contemporary deindustrialization of metropolitan areas, has resulted in a large amount of available land with new possible uses. It is well known that urban green areas provide several benefits in the surrounding environment, such as the improvement of thermal comfort conditions for the population during summer heat waves. The purpose of this study is to provide useful information on thermal regimes of urban soils to urban planners to be used during an urban transformation to mitigate surface temperatures and improve human thermal comfort. Field measurements of solar radiation, surface temperature (), air temperature (), relative humidity, and wind speed were collected on four types of urban soils and pavements in the city of Florence during summer 2014. Analysis of days under calm, clear-sky condition is reported. During daytime, sun-to-shadow differences for , apparent temperature index (ATI), and were significantly positive for all surfaces. Conversely, during nighttime, differences among all surfaces were significantly negative, whereas ATI showed significantly positive differences. Moreover, was significantly negative for grass and gravel. Relative to the shaded surfaces, was higher on white gravel and grass than gray sandstone and asphalt during nighttime, whereas gray sandstone was always the warmest surface during daytime. Conversely, no differences were found during nighttime for ATI and measured over surfaces that were exposed to sun during the day, whereas showed higher values on gravel than grass and asphalt during nighttime. An exposed surface warms less if its albedo is high, leading to a significant reduction of during daytime. These results underline the importance of considering the effects of surface characteristics on surface temperature and thermal comfort. This would be fundamental for addressing urban environment issues toward the heat island mitigation considering also the impact of urban

  5. A new test procedure to evaluate the performance of substations for collective heating systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baetens, Robin; Verhaert, Ivan

    2017-11-01

    The overall heat demand of a single dwelling, existing out of space heating and domestic hot water production, decreases due to higher insulation rates. Because of this, investing in efficient and renewable heat generation becomes less interesting. Therefore, to incorporate renewables or residual heat on a larger scale, district heating or collective heating systems grow in importance. Within this set-up, the substation is responsible for the interaction between local demand for comfort and overall energy performance of the collective heating system. Many different configurations of substations exist, which influence both local comfort and central system performance. Next to that, also hybrids exist with additional local energy input. To evaluate performance of such substations, a new experimental-based test procedure is developed in order to evaluate these different aspects, characterized by the two roles a substation has, namely as heat generator and as heat consumer. The advantage of this approach is that an objective comparison between individual and central systems regarding performance on delivering local comfort can be executed experimentally. The lab set-up consists out of three different subsystems, namely the central system, the domestic hot water consumption and the local space heating. The central system can work with different temperature regimes and control strategies, as these aspects have proven to have the largest influence on actual performance. The domestic hot water system is able to generate similar tap profiles according to eco-design regulation for domestic hot water generation. The space heating system is able to demand a modular heat load.

  6. A new test procedure to evaluate the performance of substations for collective heating systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baetens Robin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The overall heat demand of a single dwelling, existing out of space heating and domestic hot water production, decreases due to higher insulation rates. Because of this, investing in efficient and renewable heat generation becomes less interesting. Therefore, to incorporate renewables or residual heat on a larger scale, district heating or collective heating systems grow in importance. Within this set-up, the substation is responsible for the interaction between local demand for comfort and overall energy performance of the collective heating system. Many different configurations of substations exist, which influence both local comfort and central system performance. Next to that, also hybrids exist with additional local energy input. To evaluate performance of such substations, a new experimental-based test procedure is developed in order to evaluate these different aspects, characterized by the two roles a substation has, namely as heat generator and as heat consumer. The advantage of this approach is that an objective comparison between individual and central systems regarding performance on delivering local comfort can be executed experimentally. The lab set-up consists out of three different subsystems, namely the central system, the domestic hot water consumption and the local space heating. The central system can work with different temperature regimes and control strategies, as these aspects have proven to have the largest influence on actual performance. The domestic hot water system is able to generate similar tap profiles according to eco-design regulation for domestic hot water generation. The space heating system is able to demand a modular heat load.

  7. Thermal comfort and the integrated design of homes for older people with dementia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    van Hoof, J. [Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health Care, Research Centre for Innovation in Health Care, Bolognalaan 101, 3584 CJ Utrecht (Netherlands); Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Architecture, Building and Planning, Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ Eindhoven (Netherlands); Kort, H.S.M. [Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health Care, Research Centre for Innovation in Health Care, Bolognalaan 101, 3584 CJ Utrecht (Netherlands); Vilans, Catharijnesingel 47, 3511 GC Utrecht (Netherlands); Hensen, J.L.M.; Rutten, P.G.S. [Eindhoven University of Technology, Department of Architecture, Building and Planning, Den Dolech 2, 5612 AZ Eindhoven (Netherlands); Duijnstee, M.S.H. [Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences, Faculty of Health Care, Research Centre for Innovation in Health Care, Bolognalaan 101, 3584 CJ Utrecht (Netherlands); Academy of Health Sciences Utrecht, Universiteitsweg 98, 3584 CG Utrecht (Netherlands)

    2010-02-15

    People with dementia may have an altered sensitivity to indoor environmental conditions compared to other older adults and younger counterparts. This paper, based on literature review and qualitative research, provides an overview of needs regarding thermal comfort and the design and implementation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for people with dementia and other relevant stakeholders through the combined use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, and the Model of Integrated Building Design. In principle, older adults do not perceive thermal comfort differently from younger adults. Due to the pathology of people with dementia, as well as their altered thermoregulation, the perception of the thermal environment might be changed. Many people with dementia express their discomfort through certain behaviour that is considered a problem for both family and professional carers. Ethical concerns are raised as well in terms of who is in charge over the thermal conditions, and the protection against temperature extremes in hot summers or cold winters. When implementing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems one should consider aspects like user-technology interaction, diverging needs and preferences within group settings, safety issues, and minimising negative behavioural reactions and draught due to suboptimal positioning of outlets. At the same time, technology puts demands on installers who need to learn how to work with customers with dementia and their family carers. (author)

  8. Passive Solar Techniques to Improve Thermal Comfort and Reduce Energy Consumption of Domestic Use

    OpenAIRE

    Naci Kalkan; Ihsan Dagtekin

    2016-01-01

    Passive design responds to improve indoor thermal comfort and minimize the energy consumption. The present research analyzed the how efficiently passive solar technologies generate heating and cooling and provide the system integration for domestic applications. In addition to this, the aim of this study is to increase the efficiency of solar systems system with integration some innovation and optimization. As a result, outputs of the project might start a new sector to provide environmentall...

  9. Outdoor comfort study in Rio de Janeiro: site-related context effects on reported thermal sensation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krüger, E.; Drach, P.; Broede, P.

    2017-03-01

    Aimed at climate-responsive urban design for tropical areas, the paper attempts to answer the question whether the site-related context affects in some way the perceptual assessment of the microclimate by users of outdoor spaces. Our hypothesis was that visual cues resulting from urban design are important components of the outdoor thermal perception. Monitoring was carried out alongside the administration of standard comfort questionnaires throughout summer periods in 2012-2015 in pedestrian areas of downtown Rio de Janeiro (22° 54 10 S, 43° 12 27 W), Brazil. Campaigns took place at different points, pre-defined in respect of urban geometry attributes. For the measurements, a Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station was employed to which a gray globe thermometer was attached. Two thermal indices were used for assessing the overall meteorological conditions and comfort levels in the outdoor locations: physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and universal thermal climate index (UTCI). Our results suggest that thermal sensation in Rio depends to a large extent on the thermal environment as described by air temperature, PET, or UTCI, and that urban geometry (expressed by the sky-view factor (SVF)) may modify this relationship with increased building density associated to warmer sensation votes under moderate heat stress conditions. This relationship however reverses under strong heat stress with warmer sensations in less obstructed locations, and disappears completely under still higher heat stress, where meteorological conditions, and not the site's SVF, will drive thermal sensation.

  10. Outdoor comfort study in Rio de Janeiro: site-related context effects on reported thermal sensation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krüger, E; Drach, P; Broede, P

    2017-03-01

    Aimed at climate-responsive urban design for tropical areas, the paper attempts to answer the question whether the site-related context affects in some way the perceptual assessment of the microclimate by users of outdoor spaces. Our hypothesis was that visual cues resulting from urban design are important components of the outdoor thermal perception. Monitoring was carried out alongside the administration of standard comfort questionnaires throughout summer periods in 2012-2015 in pedestrian areas of downtown Rio de Janeiro (22° 54 10 S, 43° 12 27 W), Brazil. Campaigns took place at different points, pre-defined in respect of urban geometry attributes. For the measurements, a Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station was employed to which a gray globe thermometer was attached. Two thermal indices were used for assessing the overall meteorological conditions and comfort levels in the outdoor locations: physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and universal thermal climate index (UTCI). Our results suggest that thermal sensation in Rio depends to a large extent on the thermal environment as described by air temperature, PET, or UTCI, and that urban geometry (expressed by the sky-view factor (SVF)) may modify this relationship with increased building density associated to warmer sensation votes under moderate heat stress conditions. This relationship however reverses under strong heat stress with warmer sensations in less obstructed locations, and disappears completely under still higher heat stress, where meteorological conditions, and not the site's SVF, will drive thermal sensation.

  11. Microeconomics and the demand for space heating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fisk, D.J.

    1977-12-01

    The techniques of economic utility theory are combined with the technical equations for heat loss from a dwelling to give insight into the variation of consumer demand for space heating. A theoretical relationship is established between the performance of the occupied dwelling as the external temperature falls and the short-run income elasticity of energy demand. The analysis is applied to studies of UK heating practice in the 1950s and the implied indifference map for thermal comfort deduced. This indifference map is found to show a considerable economic propensity to absorb some of the potential savings from energy conservation measurements in higher internal temperatures. The effect found is sufficiently large to have consequences for future energy planning if it were still present in the UK domestic sector. The analysis highlights a number of points that should aid the interpretation of field experiments on domestic energy consumption. In particular, it is shown that unless great care is taken to separate out the technical and economic origins of internal temperature variation, the results of field studies on the effectiveness of conservation techniques may only be of shortlived value.

  12. Smart HVAC Control in IoT: Energy Consumption Minimization with User Comfort Constraints

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jordi Serra

    2014-01-01

    of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC systems in smart grids with variable energy price. To that end, first, we propose an energy scheduling method that minimizes the energy consumption cost for a particular time interval, taking into account the energy price and a set of comfort constraints, that is, a range of temperatures according to user’s preferences for a given room. Then, we propose an energy scheduler where the user may select to relax the temperature constraints to save more energy. Moreover, thanks to the IoT paradigm, the user may interact remotely with the HVAC control system. In particular, the user may decide remotely the temperature of comfort, while the temperature and energy consumption information is sent through Internet and displayed at the end user’s device. The proposed algorithms have been implemented in a real testbed, highlighting the potential gains that can be achieved in terms of both energy and cost.

  13. THERMAL COMFORT IN VERNACULAR COURTYARD HOUSES: CASE STUDY -CHHATTISGARH

    OpenAIRE

    Swasti Sthapak*1, Dr. Abir Bandyopadhyay2

    2017-01-01

    The paper firstly introduces vernacular architecture and defines thermal comfort. The second section of this paper gives an account of the way vernacular houses respond to climate and achieve thermal comfort. Vernacular houses of Chhattisgarh, a central state of India are selected for this study to find the evidence that vernacular architecture is likely to be passively comfortable. Courtyards play a vital role in creating thermal comfort along with other social and cultural roles. Vernacular...

  14. Short-term airing by natural ventilation - implication on IAQ and thermal comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heiselberg, P; Perino, M

    2010-04-01

    The need to improve the energy efficiency of buildings requires new and more efficient ventilation systems. It has been demonstrated that innovative operating concepts that make use of natural ventilation seem to be more appreciated by occupants. Among the available ventilation strategies that are currently available, buoyancy driven, single-sided natural ventilation has proved to be very effective and can provide high air change rates for temperature and Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) control. However, to promote a wider distribution of these systems an improvement in the knowledge of their working principles is necessary. The present study analyses and presents the results of an experimental evaluation of airing performance in terms of ventilation characteristics, IAQ and thermal comfort. It includes investigations of the consequences of opening time, opening frequency, opening area and expected airflow rate, ventilation efficiency, thermal comfort and dynamic temperature conditions. A suitable laboratory test rig was developed to perform extensive experimental analyses of the phenomenon under controlled and repeatable conditions. The results showed that short-term window airing is very effective and can provide both acceptable IAQ and thermal comfort conditions in buildings. Practical Implications This study gives the necessary background and in-depth knowledge of the performance of window airing by single-sided natural ventilation necessary for the development of control strategies for window airing (length of opening period and opening frequency) for optimum IAQ and thermal comfort in naturally ventilated buildings.

  15. Experimental research on thermal comfort in the university classroom of regular semesters in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Gun Joo; Oh, Geun Sug; Im, Young Bin; Song, Sung Ki; Ahn, Young Chull

    2011-01-01

    This research has investigated physical variables affecting indoor thermal comfort and subjective responses of thermal comfort of students in a university in Korea in which the weather is oceanic temperate climate, and has been performed to contribute to the research fields of Sustainable Thermal Standard and Adaptive Thermal Comfort (ATC). This research is based on the ISO 7730-2005 standard and the ATC theories and 4 main variables of PMV such as dry bulb temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), black bulb temperature (Tg), and air velocity (Va) are measured once a week during two regular semesters. A clothing insulation, a thermal sensation vote (TSV), an acceptability of thermal environment, and a preference for cooling and heating are investigated at the same time using a questionnaire. This study was carried out for 26 weeks during the spring season, from March to June 2009, and the autumn season, from September to December 2009. The main achievements of this study are as follows. Monthly Mean Outdoor Temperature (MMOT) and Operative Temperature (OT) in the classroom during research periods are 7.4∼23.3 .deg. C and 17.5∼29.0 .deg. C, respectively. The acceptability ratio of thermal environment shows over 80% when the range of OT in the classroom is 17∼25 .deg. C, and the range can be applicable to operative index of heating and cooling of classroom. The mean TSV of respondents is almost 'neutral (0)' when the PMV in the classroom moves to 'neutral (0)' and 'slightly cool (-1)', and the TSV is almost '+1.5' when the PMV moves to 'slightly warm (+1)'. The acceptability ratio of thermal environment is slightly different from ASHRAE Standard 55-2004. So it is necessary to more investigate standard range of acceptability of thermal environment in oceanic temperate climate region using much more databases

  16. Elevator ride comfort monitoring and evaluation using smartphones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yang; Sun, Xiaowei; Zhao, Xuefeng; Su, Wensheng

    2018-05-01

    With rapid urbanization, the demand for elevators is increasing, and their level of safety and ride comfort under vibrating conditions has also aroused interest. It is therefore essential to monitor the ride comfort level of elevators. The traditional method for such monitoring depends significantly on regular professional inspections, and requires expensive equipment and professional skill. With this regard, a new method for elevator ride comfort monitoring using a smartphone is demonstrated herein in detail. A variety of high-precision sensors are installed in a smartphone with strong data processing and telecommunication capabilities. A series of validation tests were designed and completed, and the international organization for standardization ISO2631-1997 was applied to evaluate the level of elevator ride comfort. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method is stable and reliable, its precision meets the engineering requirements, and the elevator ride comfort level can be accurately monitored under various situations. The method is very economical and convenient, and provides the possibility for the public to participate in elevator ride comfort monitoring. In addition, the method can both provide a wide range of data support and eliminate data errors to a certain extent.

  17. The creation of cooling degree (CDD) and heating degree day (HDD) climatic maps for South Africa

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Conradie, Dirk CU

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available that could better support adaptive building design decisions in creating comfortable thermal environments. Over the last 100 years, many different heat strain indices have been proposed to indicate comparative thermal comfort levels. After reviewing...

  18. Lifetime intimate partner violence exposure, attitudes and comfort among Canadian health professions students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerber Megan R

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Intimate partner violence (IPV is a widespread public health problem and training of health professions students has become common. Understanding students' prior knowledge, attitudes and personal exposure to IPV will aid educators in designing more effective curriculum. As interprofessional educational efforts proliferate, understanding differences across disciplines will be critical. Findings Students in the schools of Medicine, Nursing and Rehabilitation at a university in Ontario attend an annual daylong interprofessional IPV training. To measure perceived role and comfort with IPV and prior personal exposure, we administered a brief Likert scale survey to a convenience sample of students over three years. 552 students completed the survey; the overall response rate was 73%. The majority (82% agreed that it was their role to intervene in cases of IPV; however Rehabilitation students expressed lower overall comfort levels than did their peers in other schools (p Conclusion While the majority of professional students believe it is their role to address IPV in clinical practice, comfort level varied significantly by field of study. More than one fifth of the students reported some personal exposure to IPV. However this did not impact their level of comfort in addressing this issue. Educators need to take students' preexisting attitudes and personal exposure into account when planning curriculum initiatives in this area.

  19. From occupying to inhabiting - a change in conceptualising comfort

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaffari, Svenja D; Matthews, Ben

    2009-01-01

    The concept of 'comfort' has been influential in shaping aspects of our built environment. For the construction industry, comfort is predominantly understood in terms of the balance between an ideal human physiological state and a finite number of measurable environmental parameters that can be controlled (temperature, humidity, air quality, daylighting, noise). It is such a notion of comfort that has informed the establishment of universally applied comfort standards and guidelines for the built environment. When buildings rigidly conform to these standards, they consume vast quantities of energy and are responsible for higher levels of GHG emissions. Recent researchers have challenged such instrumental definitions of comfort on moral and environmental grounds. In this paper, we address this issue from two different standpoints: one empirical, one related to the design of technology. Empirically, we present an analysis of ethnographic field material that has examined how, in what circumstances, and at what times ordinary users employ energy-intensive indoor climate technologies in their daily lives. We argue that when comfort is viewed as an achievement, rather than as a reified and static ideal homeostasis between humans and their environmental conditions, it becomes easier to appreciate the extent to which comfort is, for ordinary people, personally idiosyncratic, culturally relative, socially influenced and highly dependent on temporality, sequence and activity. With respect to design, we introduce a set of provocative designed prototypes that embody alternative conceptions of 'comfort' than those to which the building industry typically subscribes. Our discussion has critical implications for the types of technologies that result from a 'comfort standards' conception. Firstly, we show that comfort is not simply a homeostatic equilibrium-such a view is overly narrow, inflexible and ultimately an inaccurate conception of what comfort is for ordinary people

  20. From occupying to inhabiting - a change in conceptualising comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaffari, Svenja D.; Matthews, Ben

    2009-11-01

    The concept of 'comfort' has been influential in shaping aspects of our built environment. For the construction industry, comfort is predominantly understood in terms of the balance between an ideal human physiological state and a finite number of measurable environmental parameters that can be controlled (temperature, humidity, air quality, daylighting, noise). It is such a notion of comfort that has informed the establishment of universally applied comfort standards and guidelines for the built environment. When buildings rigidly conform to these standards, they consume vast quantities of energy and are responsible for higher levels of GHG emissions. Recent researchers have challenged such instrumental definitions of comfort on moral and environmental grounds. In this paper, we address this issue from two different standpoints: one empirical, one related to the design of technology. Empirically, we present an analysis of ethnographic field material that has examined how, in what circumstances, and at what times ordinary users employ energy-intensive indoor climate technologies in their daily lives. We argue that when comfort is viewed as an achievement, rather than as a reified and static ideal homeostasis between humans and their environmental conditions, it becomes easier to appreciate the extent to which comfort is, for ordinary people, personally idiosyncratic, culturally relative, socially influenced and highly dependent on temporality, sequence and activity. With respect to design, we introduce a set of provocative designed prototypes that embody alternative conceptions of 'comfort' than those to which the building industry typically subscribes. Our discussion has critical implications for the types of technologies that result from a 'comfort standards' conception. Firstly, we show that comfort is not simply a homeostatic equilibrium-such a view is overly narrow, inflexible and ultimately an inaccurate conception of what comfort is for ordinary people

  1. Optimal bus temperature for thermal comfort during a cool day.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velt, K B; Daanen, H A M

    2017-07-01

    A challenge for electric buses is to minimize heating and cooling power to maximally extend the driving range, but still provide sufficient thermal comfort for the driver and passengers. Therefore, we investigated the thermal sensation (TS) and thermal comfort (TC) of passengers in buses during a cool day (temperature 13.4 ± 0.5 °C, relative humidity (RH) 60 ± 5.8%) typical for the Dutch temperate maritime climate. 28 Males and 72 females rated TS and TC and gave information on age, stature, body weight and worn garments. The temperature in the bus of 22.5 ± 1.1 °C and RH of 59.9 ± 5.8% corresponded to a slightly warm feeling (TS = 0.85 ± 1.06) and TC of 0.39 ± 0.65. TS related significantly to bus temperature, clothing insulation and age. Linear regression based on these parameters showed that the temperature in the bus corresponding to TC = 0 and TS = 0 would have been 20.9 ± 0.6 °C. In conclusion, a 1.6 °C lower bus temperature during the investigated cool day probably would have led to less thermal discomfort and energy savings of electrical busses. The methodology to relate climatic measurements to subjective assessments is currently employed in a wider climatic range and may prove to be useful to find a better balance between thermal comfort and energy savings of the bus. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. [Comfort and noise level in infants with helmet interface].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medina, A; Alvarez Fernández, P; Rey Galán, C; Álvarez Mendiola, P; Álvarez Blanco, S; Vivanco Allende, A

    2015-10-01

    To evaluate comfort and noise intensity using the COMFORT scale in infants who receive respiratory support with a helmet interface. An observational descriptive study was conducted on all infants (1 to 12 months of age) admitted to a PICU from November 1st 2013 to March 31st 2014 and who received non-invasive ventilation with a helmet interface. Tolerance to the interface was assessed by use of the COMFORT scale. The intensity of the noise to which the infants were exposed was measured with a TES1350A HIBOK 412 sound-level meter. Three measurements were made every day. Twenty seven patients with bronchiolitis (median age: 54 days; range: 10 to 256) were included. Median COMFORT score in the first day was 21 points (14 - 28). An increase in patient comfort was found with a gradual decrease in the scores, with a maximum reduction of 22% from the first hours (score of 22) to the fifth day (score of 18). The minimum sound intensity registered was 42dB, and the maximum was 78dB. Background noise intensity was associated with noise intensity in the helmet. No differences were observed in COMFORT score and noise intensity between ventilator devices. Helmet interface was well tolerated by infants. COMFORT score results are an indicator that infants were comfortable or very comfortable. The measured noise intensity was in the safe range permitted by World Health Organization. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  3. Thermal Comfort and Strategies for Energy Conservation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohles, Frederick H., Jr.

    1981-01-01

    Discusses studies in thermal comfort which served as the basis for the comfort standard. Examines seven variables in the human response to the thermal environment in terms of the ways in which they can be modified to conserve energy. (Author/MK)

  4. Thermal comfort of people in the hot and humid area of China-impacts of season, climate, and thermal history.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Y; Chen, H; Wang, J; Meng, Q

    2016-10-01

    We conducted a climate chamber study on the thermal comfort of people in the hot and humid area of China. Sixty subjects from naturally ventilated buildings and buildings with split air conditioners participated in the study, and identical experiments were conducted in a climate chamber in both summer and winter. Psychological and physiological responses were observed over a wide range of conditions, and the impacts of season, climate, and thermal history on human thermal comfort were analyzed. Seasonal and climatic heat acclimatization was confirmed, but they were found to have no significant impacts on human thermal sensation and comfort. The outdoor thermal history was much less important than the indoor thermal history in regard to human thermal sensation, and the indoor thermal history in all seasons of a year played a key role in shaping the subjects' sensations in a wide range of thermal conditions. A warmer indoor thermal history in warm seasons produced a higher neutral temperature, a lower thermal sensitivity, and lower thermal sensations in warm conditions. The comfort and acceptable conditions were identified for people in the hot and humid area of China. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Building Space Heating with a Solar-Assisted Heat Pump Using Roof-Integrated Solar Collectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiyong Yang

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available A solar assisted heat pump (SAHP system was designed by using a roof-integrated solar collector as the evaporator, and then it was demonstrated to provide space heating for a villa in Tianjin, China. A building energy simulation tool was used to predict the space heating load and a three dimensional theoretical model was established to analyze the heat collection performance of the solar roof collector. A floor radiant heating unit was used to decrease the energy demand. The measurement results during the winter test period show that the system can provide a comfortable living space in winter, when the room temperature averaged 18.9 °C. The average COP of the heat pump system is 2.97 and with a maximum around 4.16.

  6. [Evaluation of thermal comfort in a student population: predictive value of an integrated index (Fanger's predicted mean value].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catenacci, G; Terzi, R; Marcaletti, G; Tringali, S

    1989-01-01

    Practical applications and predictive values of a thermal comfort index (Fanger's PRV) were verified on a sample school population (1236 subjects) by studying the relationships between thermal sensations (subjective analysis), determined by means of an individual questionnaire, and the values of thermal comfort index (objective analysis) obtained by calculating the PMV index individually in the subjects under study. In homogeneous conditions of metabolic expenditure rate and thermal impedence from clothing, significant differences were found between the two kinds of analyses. At 22 degrees C mean radiant and operative temperature, the PMV values averaged 0 and the percentage of subjects who experienced thermal comfort did not exceed 60%. The high level of subjects who were dissatisfied with their environmental thermal conditions confirms the doubts regarding the use of the PMV index as a predictive indicator of thermal comfort, especially considering that the negative answers were not homogeneous nor attributable to the small thermal fluctuations (less than 0.5 degree C) measured in the classrooms.

  7. [Clothing and heat disorder].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satsumoto, Yayoi

    2012-06-01

    The influence of the clothing material properties(like water absorbency and rapid dryness, water vapor absorption, water vapor permeability and air permeability) and the design factor of the clothing(like opening condition and fitting of clothing), which contributed to prevent heat disorder, was outlined. WBGT(wet-bulb globe temperature) is used to show a guideline for environmental limitation of activities to prevent heat disorder. As the safety function is more important than thermal comfort for some sportswear and protective clothing with high cover area, clothing itself increases the risk of heat disorder. WBGT is corrected by CAF (clothing adjustment factor) in wearing such kind of protective clothing.

  8. Initial heating in cold cars

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Daanen, H.A.M.; Teunissen, L.P.J.; Hoogh, I.M. de

    2012-01-01

    During the initial minutes after entering a cold car, people feel uncomfortably cold. Six different warming systems were investigated in a small car in order to find out how to improve the feeling of comfort using 16 volunteers. The methods were: no additional warming next to a standard heating

  9. The thermal comfort and its changes in the 31 provincial capital cities of mainland China in the past 30 years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chi, Xiaoli; Li, Rui; Cubasch, Ulrich; Cao, Wenting

    2018-04-01

    The thermal comfort and its changes in the 31 provincial capital cities of mainland China in the past 30 years were comprehensively evaluated using the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) indicators. The PET and UTCI values were highly correlated with each other and presented similar thermal comfort pattern, although their sensitivities might differ slightly. The results showed that these cities covered, respectively, 4-8 and 6-8 thermal comfort classes of the PET and UTCI scale. On the whole, the annual cumulative number of pleasant days was more than 160 days/year. In terms of seasonal variations in thermal comfort conditions, the 31 provincial capital cities in mainland China can be classified into 5 types, which are, respectively, characterized by pleasant summer and severe cold winter (type-I); pleasant spring, autumn, winter, and severe hot summer (type-II); pleasant spring and autumn, slightly pleasant summer, and cold winter (type-III); pleasant spring and autumn, hot stress summer, and slightly cold winter (type-IV); and pleasant spring, summer, autumn, and cool winter (type-V). Type-II cities are rare winter resorts, while type-I cities are natural summer resorts. Type-V cities are the year round pleasant resorts. In the past three decades, the cities in mainland China had experienced increasing pleasant duration in late winter and early spring and intensifying heat stress in summer. The reduction in annual cumulative number of cold stress days in higher latitude/altitude cities outweighed the increase in duration of heat stress in subtropical cities. These may provide some references for urban planning and administration in mainland China.

  10. Potential energy savings and thermal comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Karsten Ingerslev; Rudbeck, Claus Christian; Schultz, Jørgen Munthe

    1996-01-01

    The simulation results on the energy saving potential and influence on indoor thermal comfort by replacement of common windows with aerogel windows as well as commercial low-energy windows are described and analysed.......The simulation results on the energy saving potential and influence on indoor thermal comfort by replacement of common windows with aerogel windows as well as commercial low-energy windows are described and analysed....

  11. Management of climatic heat stress risk in construction: a review of practices, methodologies, and future research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rowlinson, Steve; Yunyanjia, Andrea; Li, Baizhan; Chuanjingju, Carrie

    2014-05-01

    Climatic heat stress leads to accidents on construction sites brought about by a range of human factors emanating from heat induced illness, and fatigue leading to impaired capability, physical and mental. It is an occupational characteristic of construction work in many climates and the authors take the approach of re-engineering the whole safety management system rather than focusing on incremental improvement, which is current management practice in the construction industry. From a scientific viewpoint, climatic heat stress is determined by six key factors: (1) air temperature, (2) humidity, (3) radiant heat, and (4) wind speed indicating the environment, (5) metabolic heat generated by physical activities, and (6) "clothing effect" that moderates the heat exchange between the body and the environment. By making use of existing heat stress indices and heat stress management processes, heat stress risk on construction sites can be managed in three ways: (1) control of environmental heat stress exposure through use of an action-triggering threshold system, (2) control of continuous work time (CWT, referred by maximum allowable exposure duration) with mandatory work-rest regimens, and (3) enabling self-paced working through empowerment of employees. Existing heat stress practices and methodologies are critically reviewed and the authors propose a three-level methodology for an action-triggering, localized, simplified threshold system to facilitate effective decisions by frontline supervisors. The authors point out the need for "regional based" heat stress management practices that reflect unique climatic conditions, working practices and acclimatization propensity by local workers indifferent geographic regions. The authors set out the case for regional, rather than international, standards that account for this uniqueness and which are derived from site-based rather than laboratory-based research. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. The Importance of Thermal Heat Bridges in Civil Engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adriana Tokar

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Based on the heat transfer characteristics of a construction, the expected temperatures along interior surfaces must be evaluated in order to predict (and avoid areas of potential moisture condensation. Beyond preventing damage to building materials caused by mould growth, adequate surface temperatures are also a relevant factor in the thermal comfort of an interior environment. An agreable climate in a room can be obtained, when relative humidity is between 40 and 60%. As the air in a room is warmer, the more vapor can absorb (and vice versa, influencing the thermal comfort index. Heat losses are influenced largely by thermal bridges of construction. The importance of the thermal heat bridges is strongly increasing today. In new developments the thermal optimization of junctions in today common low energy constructions receives very special standing. The subject of avoiding thermal bridges in passive houses became predominant.

  13. Research on seasonal indoor thermal environment and residents' control behavior of cooling and heating systems in Korea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bae, Chihye; Chun, Chungyoon [Department of Housing and Interior Design, College of Human Ecology, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea)

    2009-11-15

    Indoor thermal environments and residents' control behavior of cooling and heating systems were investigated in Seoul, Korea and compared with the results of previous studies. Twenty-four houses in summer, six houses in autumn and 36 houses in winter were used in this study. The measurement of temperature, humidity and air conditioner usage behavior was carried out. The clo-value, thermal comfort, sensation and basic data of the houses were also investigated. The indoor thermal environment in the summer had a high temperature and a high humidity ratio compare to standard comfort zone. Most of the indoor thermal environments at the time of starting the air conditioner in the summer were out of the comfort zone. Some of the data recorded while the air conditioner was stopped were in the comfort zone, but in many cases the temperature was relatively higher than comfort zone. Most indoor climate distributions in the winter were in the comfort zone and the indoor climate in autumn coincided well with the criteria of the comfort zone. Compared with results of previous studies in these 25 years, indoor ambient average temperature in winter has increased and the comfort temperature has increased in the heating period and decreased in the cooling period. This result indicates that the development of an HVAC system has created an expectation of comfort for residents and has shifted their thermal comfort zone warmer in winter and cooler in summer. (author)

  14. From occupying to inhabiting - a change in conceptualising comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaffari, Svenja D; Matthews, Ben, E-mail: svenja@mci.sdu.d, E-mail: matthews@mci.sdu.d [SPIRE Center for Participatory Innovation Research, Mads Clausen Institute, University of Southern Denmark, Alsion 2, 6400 Soenderborg, DK (Denmark)

    2009-11-01

    The concept of 'comfort' has been influential in shaping aspects of our built environment. For the construction industry, comfort is predominantly understood in terms of the balance between an ideal human physiological state and a finite number of measurable environmental parameters that can be controlled (temperature, humidity, air quality, daylighting, noise). It is such a notion of comfort that has informed the establishment of universally applied comfort standards and guidelines for the built environment. When buildings rigidly conform to these standards, they consume vast quantities of energy and are responsible for higher levels of GHG emissions. Recent researchers have challenged such instrumental definitions of comfort on moral and environmental grounds. In this paper, we address this issue from two different standpoints: one empirical, one related to the design of technology. Empirically, we present an analysis of ethnographic field material that has examined how, in what circumstances, and at what times ordinary users employ energy-intensive indoor climate technologies in their daily lives. We argue that when comfort is viewed as an achievement, rather than as a reified and static ideal homeostasis between humans and their environmental conditions, it becomes easier to appreciate the extent to which comfort is, for ordinary people, personally idiosyncratic, culturally relative, socially influenced and highly dependent on temporality, sequence and activity. With respect to design, we introduce a set of provocative designed prototypes that embody alternative conceptions of 'comfort' than those to which the building industry typically subscribes. Our discussion has critical implications for the types of technologies that result from a 'comfort standards' conception. Firstly, we show that comfort is not simply a homeostatic equilibrium-such a view is overly narrow, inflexible and ultimately an inaccurate conception of what

  15. An Open Source “Smart Lamp” for the Optimization of Plant Systems and Thermal Comfort of Offices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salamone, Francesco; Belussi, Lorenzo; Danza, Ludovico; Ghellere, Matteo; Meroni, Italo

    2016-01-01

    The article describes the design phase, development and practical application of a smart object integrated in a desk lamp and called “Smart Lamp”, useful to optimize the indoor thermal comfort and energy savings that are two important workplace issues where the comfort of the workers and the consumption of the building strongly affect the economic balance of a company. The Smart Lamp was built using a microcontroller, an integrated temperature and relative humidity sensor, some other modules and a 3D printer. This smart device is similar to the desk lamps that are usually found in offices but it allows one to adjust the indoor thermal comfort, by interacting directly with the air conditioner. After the construction phase, the Smart Lamp was installed in an office normally occupied by four workers to evaluate the indoor thermal comfort and the cooling consumption in summer. The results showed how the application of the Smart Lamp effectively reduced the energy consumption, optimizing the thermal comfort. The use of DIY approach combined with read-write functionality of websites, blog and social platforms, also allowed to customize, improve, share, reproduce and interconnect technologies so that anybody could use them in any occupied environment. PMID:26959035

  16. An Open Source “Smart Lamp” for the Optimization of Plant Systems and Thermal Comfort of Offices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francesco Salamone

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the design phase, development and practical application of a smart object integrated in a desk lamp and called “Smart Lamp”, useful to optimize the indoor thermal comfort and energy savings that are two important workplace issues where the comfort of the workers and the consumption of the building strongly affect the economic balance of a company. The Smart Lamp was built using a microcontroller, an integrated temperature and relative humidity sensor, some other modules and a 3D printer. This smart device is similar to the desk lamps that are usually found in offices but it allows one to adjust the indoor thermal comfort, by interacting directly with the air conditioner. After the construction phase, the Smart Lamp was installed in an office normally occupied by four workers to evaluate the indoor thermal comfort and the cooling consumption in summer. The results showed how the application of the Smart Lamp effectively reduced the energy consumption, optimizing the thermal comfort. The use of DIY approach combined with read-write functionality of websites, blog and social platforms, also allowed to customize, improve, share, reproduce and interconnect technologies so that anybody could use them in any occupied environment.

  17. Progress in thermal comfort research over the last twenty years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Dear, R J; Akimoto, T; Arens, E A; Brager, G; Candido, C; Cheong, K W D; Li, B; Nishihara, N; Sekhar, S C; Tanabe, S; Toftum, J; Zhang, H; Zhu, Y

    2013-12-01

    Climate change and the urgency of decarbonizing the built environment are driving technological innovation in the way we deliver thermal comfort to occupants. These changes, in turn, seem to be setting the directions for contemporary thermal comfort research. This article presents a literature review of major changes, developments, and trends in the field of thermal comfort research over the last 20 years. One of the main paradigm shift was the fundamental conceptual reorientation that has taken place in thermal comfort thinking over the last 20 years; a shift away from the physically based determinism of Fanger's comfort model toward the mainstream and acceptance of the adaptive comfort model. Another noticeable shift has been from the undesirable toward the desirable qualities of air movement. Additionally, sophisticated models covering the physics and physiology of the human body were developed, driven by the continuous challenge to model thermal comfort at the same anatomical resolution and to combine these localized signals into a coherent, global thermal perception. Finally, the demand for ever increasing building energy efficiency is pushing technological innovation in the way we deliver comfortable indoor environments. These trends, in turn, continue setting the directions for contemporary thermal comfort research for the next decades. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Experimental investigation of thermal comfort and air quality in an automobile cabin during the cooling period

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kilic, M.; Akyol, S.M. [Uludag University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Bursa (Turkey)

    2012-08-15

    The air quality and thermal comfort strongly influenced by the heat and mass transfer take place together in an automobile cabin. In this study, it is aimed to investigate and assess the effects of air intake settings (recirculation and fresh air) on the thermal comfort, air quality satisfaction and energy usage during the cooling period of an automobile cabin. For this purpose, measurements (temperature, air velocity, CO{sub 2}) were performed at various locations inside the cabin. Furthermore, whole body and local responses of the human subjects were noted while skin temperatures were measured. A mathematical model was arranged in order to estimate CO{sub 2} concentration and energy usage inside the vehicle cabin and verified with experimental data. It is shown that CO{sub 2} level inside of the cabin can be greater than the threshold value recommended for the driving safety if two and more occupants exist in the car. It is also shown that an advanced climate control system may satisfy the requirements for the air quality and thermal comfort as well as to reduce the energy usage for the cooling of a vehicle cabin. (orig.)

  19. Experimental investigation of thermal comfort and air quality in an automobile cabin during the cooling period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilic, M.; Akyol, S. M.

    2012-08-01

    The air quality and thermal comfort strongly influenced by the heat and mass transfer take place together in an automobile cabin. In this study, it is aimed to investigate and assess the effects of air intake settings (recirculation and fresh air) on the thermal comfort, air quality satisfaction and energy usage during the cooling period of an automobile cabin. For this purpose, measurements (temperature, air velocity, CO2) were performed at various locations inside the cabin. Furthermore, whole body and local responses of the human subjects were noted while skin temperatures were measured. A mathematical model was arranged in order to estimate CO2 concentration and energy usage inside the vehicle cabin and verified with experimental data. It is shown that CO2 level inside of the cabin can be greater than the threshold value recommended for the driving safety if two and more occupants exist in the car. It is also shown that an advanced climate control system may satisfy the requirements for the air quality and thermal comfort as well as to reduce the energy usage for the cooling of a vehicle cabin.

  20. Thermal Comfort in a Naturally-Ventilated Educational Building

    OpenAIRE

    David Mwale Ogoli

    2012-01-01

    A comprehensive study of thermal comfort in a naturally ventilated education building (88,000 ft2) in a Chicago suburb will be conducted with 120 student subjects in 2007. This paper discusses some recent trends in worldwide thermal comfort studies and presents a proposal of research for this building through a series of questionnaire tables. Two research methods used inthermal comfort studies are field studies and laboratory experiments in climate-chambers. The various elements that constitu...

  1. Head office GELSENWASSER AG. Heating and cooling with geothermal energy; Hauptverwaltung GELSENWASSER AG. Heizen und Kuehlen mit Erdwaerme

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bockelmann, Franziska; Fisch, M. Norbert [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Gebaeude- und Solartechnik; Abendroth, Franz-Josef; Koring, Reinhold [Gelsenwasser AG, Gelsenkirchen (Germany)

    2011-10-24

    As part of the research project 'Heat and cold storage in the foundation area of energy-efficient office buildings' at the Institute for Building and Solar Technology of the Technical University Braunschweig (Federal Republic of Germany) the head office of Gelsenwasser AG (Gelsenkirchen, Federal Republic of Germany) in practice is studied. Optimization potentials for the energy efficiency and user comfort were developed. Detailed investigations on the operation and efficiency of the geothermal probe system for heating and cooling of the building were performed. By means of the consumption analysis, the success of the implemented optimization measures is derived and analyzed in order to develop further recommendations for the operation of buildings and facilities.

  2. Designing for an imagined user: Provision for thermal comfort in energy-efficient extra-care housing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, Alan

    2015-01-01

    Regarded as one solution to the problem of how to enable older people to retain their independence, extra-care housing, where each resident has their own self-contained dwelling and access to communal facilities and to care, has received extensive funding in recent years. Implicit in the concept of specialist housing is the notion of ‘special’ occupants, imagined older people. Adopting a socio-technical approach, this paper considers how ideas about ageing inform those aspects of extra-care-housing-design that relate to thermal comfort. The paper draws on semi-structured interviews with 13 people involved in the design, development and management of UK-based extra-care housing. Participants characterised imagined occupants as vulnerable to cold, at risk from fuel poverty and liable to be burned by hot surfaces or fall from high windows. These user representations were reportedly inscribed into the design of extra-care housing schemes through the inclusion of building features such as communal heating, under-floor heating, restricted window opening and heated corridors. The utilisation of stereotypical user representations of older people raises questions, given that older people's thermal comfort needs can be highly diverse. The paper explores the implications for energy demand. -- Highlights: •Explores the factors that condition energy demand in older people's housing. •Considers how user representations are scripted into building design. •Older occupants characterised as vulnerable to cold and having low incomes. •These user representations affect selection of thermal technologies. •Priority given to keeping occupants warm, leading to possible risk of overheating

  3. Distribution of projected area factors exhibited by occupants of a tertiary institutional building in the hot-humid tropics for thermal comfort evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ijhar Hidayat Rusli; Nor Mariah Adam; Nawal Aswan Abdul Jalil

    2009-01-01

    Full text: One of the factors that affect the thermal comfort levels of occupants of a built environment is the amount of heat exchange they engage in with the short-wave radiation originating from the sun. In quantifying this phenomenon, it is necessary to determine the projected area factors between an occupant and the geometrical location of the sun. This paper presents the projected area factors of an occupant of a tertiary institutional building exposed to short-wave radiation from the sun at different hours of a day throughout a year. It is seen that, for the current case studied, the months June and July show the highest projected area factors among all 12 months. This suggests that it is within these months that the interaction between an occupant and the radiant heat from the sun is greatest. An example of how the projected area factors can be used in thermal comfort evaluation is also presented incorporating actual measured irradiance values over a period of time. Such analysis and the information it provides allows for a more detailed investigation of the thermal comfort levels of a built environment in relation to fenestration design and can be coupled with day lighting analysis in virtue of a sustainable built environment. (author)

  4. A THEORETICAL HEAT ANALYSIS OF BUILDINGS IN SUMMER CONDITION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Tuğrul OĞULATA

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available It is possible to achive the bio-climatical comfort is buildings by setting the indoor temperature at certain level at which the people feels himself comfortable. The indoor temperature changing with the summer-winter climate conditions and with the building materials should always be around desirable level. Therefore, the variation of indoor temperature depending on the natural and artifical cooling and heating of building materials, within the range of design, is becoming so important. For this reason, in this investigation, the variation of indoor temperature has been analysed considering the variation of heat gain by convection, radiation and infiltration, the heat capacity of materials used in building including the outdoor and the temperature of outer ambient. In addition to this, the variation of indoor temperature with time has been computed under the condition that whether the cooling source exist or not. For this purpose, the heat gains, the indoor and outer temperature, the capacity of cooling system and solar radiation have been expressed analyticaly by transforming them into Fourier series.

  5. Regional thermal comfort zone in males and females.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciuha, Ursa; Mekjavic, Igor B

    2016-07-01

    Skin regions differ in their sensitivity to temperature stimuli. The present study examined whether such regional differences were also evident in the perception of thermal comfort. Regional thermal comfort was assessed in males (N=8) and females (N=8), by having them regulate the temperature of the water delivered to a water-perfused suit (WPS), within a temperature range considered thermally comfortable. In separate trials, subjects regulated the temperature of the WPS, or specific regions of the suit covering different skin areas (arms, legs, front torso and back torso). In the absence of subjective temperature regulation (TR), the temperature changed in a sinusoidal manner from 10°C to 50°C; by depressing a switch and reversing the direction of the temperature at the limits of the thermal comfort zone (TCZ), each subject defined TCZ for each body region investigated. The range of regulated temperatures did not differ between genders and skin regions. Local Tsk at the lower and upper limits of the TCZ was similar for both genders. Higher (pthermally comfortable conditions, the well-established regional differences in thermosensitivity are not reflected in the TCZ, with similar temperature preferences by both genders. Thermal comfort of different skin regions and overall body is not achieved at a single skin temperature, but at range of temperatures, defined as the TCZ. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Optimal scheduling strategy for enhancing IAQ, visual and thermal comfort using a genetic algorithm

    OpenAIRE

    Ahmad, Muhammad; Hippolyte, Jean-Laurent; Reynolds, Jonathan; Mourshed, Monjur; Rezgui, Yacine

    2016-01-01

    Buildings account for 40% of total global energy use and contribute towards 30% of total CO2 emissions. Heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are the major sources of energy consumption in buildings, and there has been extensive research focusing on efficiently control them. However, in most cases, this is achieved at the cost of sacrificing thermal, visual and/or IAQ comfort. High level of carbon dioxide – which is commonly used a metric for measuring air quality, can affec...

  7. Effects of forefoot bending stiffness of badminton shoes on agility, comfort perception and lower leg kinematics during typical badminton movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Sang-Kyoon; Lam, Wing-Kai; Yoon, Sukhoon; Lee, Ki-Kwang; Ryu, Jiseon

    2017-09-01

    This study investigated whether an increase in the forefoot bending stiffness of a badminton shoe would positively affect agility, comfort and biomechanical variables during badminton-specific movements. Three shoe conditions with identical shoe upper and sole designs with different bending stiffness (Flexible, Regular and Stiff) were used. Elite male badminton players completed an agility test on a standard badminton court involving consecutive lunges in six directions, a comfort test performed by a pair of participants conducting a game-like practice trial and a biomechanics test involving a random assignment of consecutive right forward lunges. No significant differences were found in agility time and biomechanical variables among the three shoes. The players wearing the shoe with a flexible forefoot outsole demonstrated a decreased perception of comfort in the forefoot cushion compared to regular and stiffer conditions during the comfort test (p badminton-specific tasks. It was concluded that an optimisation of forefoot structure and materials in badminton shoes should consider the individual's perception to maximise footwear comfort in performance.

  8. Radiation doses to paediatric patients and comforters undergoing chest x rays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sulieman, A.; Vlychou, M.; Tsougos, I.; Theodorou, K.

    2011-01-01

    Pneumonia is an important cause of hospital admission among children in the developed world and it is estimated to be responsible for 3-18 % of all paediatric admissions. Chest X ray is an important examination for pneumonia diagnosis and for evaluation of complications. This study aims to determine the entrance surface dose (ESD), organ, effective doses and propose a local diagnostic reference level. The study was carried out at the university hospital of Larissa (Greece). Patients were divided into three groups: organ and effective doses were estimated using National Radiological Protection Board software. The ESD was determined by thermoluminescent dosemeters for 132 children and 76 comforters. The average ESD value was 55±8 μGy. The effective dose for patients was 11.2±5 μSv. The mean radiation dose for comforter is 22±3 mGy. The radiation dose to the patients is well within dose constraint, in the light of the current practice. (authors)

  9. Assessing Primary Care Trainee Comfort in the Diagnosis and Management of Thermal Injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrouwe, Sebastian Q; Shahrokhi, Shahriar

    Thermal injuries are common and the majority will initially present to primary care physicians. Despite being a part of the objectives of training in family medicine (FM) and emergency medicine (EM), previous study has shown that in practice, gaps exist in the delivery of care. An electronic survey was sent to all FM/EM trainees at our university for the 2014 to 2015 academic year. Plastic Surgery trainees were included as a control group. Demographics and educational/clinical experience were assessed. Trainee comfort was measured on a five-point Likert scale across 15 domains related to thermal injuries. Preferences for educational interventions were also ranked. Descriptive statistics and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used (P comfort levels across all 15 domains when compared with plastic surgery trainees. Preferences for educational interventions were ranked, with clinical rotations and traditional lecture scoring the highest. Primary care trainees are not comfortable in the diagnosis and management of thermal injuries. This may be attributed to limited clinical exposure and teaching during their postgraduate training. There exists an opportunity for specialists in burn care to collaborate with primary care training programs and deliver an educational intervention with the aim of long-lasting quality improvement.

  10. Braking Control for Improving Ride Comfort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee Jonghyup

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available While many vehicle control systems focus on vehicle safety and vehicle performance at high speeds, most driving conditions are very low risk situations. In such a driving situation, the ride comfort of the vehicle is the most important performance index of the vehicle. Electro mechanical brake (EMB and other brake-by-wire (BBW systems have been actively researched. As a result, braking actuators in vehicles are more freely controllable, and research on improving ride comfort is also possible. In this study, we develop a control algorithm that dramatically improves ride comfort in low risk braking situations. A method for minimizing the inconvenience of a passenger due to a suddenly changing acceleration at the moment when the vehicle is stopped is presented. For this purpose, an acceleration trajectory is generated that minimizes the discomfort index defined by the change in acceleration, jerk. A controller is also designed to track this trajectory. The algorithm that updates the trajectory is designed considering the error due to the phase lag occurring in the controller and the plant. In order to verify the performance of this controller, simulation verification is completed using a car simulator, Carsim. As a result, it is confirmed that the ride comfort is dramatically improved.

  11. Evaluating of air flow movements and thermal comfort in a model room with Euler equation: Two dimensional study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chafi, Fatima Zohra; Halle, Stephane [Mechanical engineering department, Ecole de technologie superieure, Quebec university, 1100 rue Notre-Dame Ouest, Montreal, Quebec H3C 1K3 (Canada)

    2011-02-15

    This paper presents the results of a study that consists of estimating the temperature distribution and air flow movement in a model room with a numerical model based on the Euler equations. Numerical results obtained for two scenarios of ventilation and heating are compared with the predictions of a Navier-Stokes model, as well as with experimental results. A comparison of the local thermal comfort indices PMV and PPD obtained experimentally and numerically is also presented. Results show that the Euler model is capable of properly estimating the temperature distribution, the air movement and the comfort indices in the room. Furthermore, the use of Euler equations allows a reduction of computational time in the order of 30% compared to the Navier-Stokes modeling. (author)

  12. Environmental Comfort Indicators for School Buildings in Sustainability Assessment Tools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Santos Saraiva

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Decades ago, the only requirement to construct a building was to give men the right conditions for the execution of their work or leisure activities. With the development of knowledge about the internal and external environments of buildings, other requirements have been added such as the issue of user comfort. New construction techniques have been incorporated and new products have been created to improve internal environment comfort. This research addressed the importance of using indicators related to environmental comfort in sustainability assessment tools applied to school buildings. It also considered the importance of environmental issues for the good performance of human beings, and the harmonious coexistence of the comfort indicators indoor air quality, thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort and ergonomic comfort based on data gathered in research carried out with users of high schools (only students. This research was carried out in two different cities of different countries, Guimarães (Portugal and Juiz de Fora (Brazil, that have similar characteristics of teaching standards and climate conditions (temperature and air humidity. In this study, interviews were made through questionnaires and, later, the information collected was analyzed. This study demonstrates the need to include an ergonomic indicator for school buildings in sustainability assessment tools.

  13. Effect of fee-for-service air-conditioning management in balancing thermal comfort and energy usage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chen-Peng; Hwang, Ruey-Lung; Shih, Wen-Mei

    2014-11-01

    Balancing thermal comfort with the requirement of energy conservation presents a challenge in hot and humid areas where air-conditioning (AC) is frequently used in cooling indoor air. A field survey was conducted in Taiwan to demonstrate the adaptive behaviors of occupants in relation to the use of fans and AC in a school building employing mixed-mode ventilation where AC use was managed under a fee-for-service mechanism. The patterns of using windows, fans, and AC as well as the perceptions of students toward the thermal environment were examined. The results of thermal perception evaluation in relation to the indoor thermal conditions were compared to the levels of thermal comfort predicted by the adaptive models described in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers Standard 55 and EN 15251 and to that of a local model for evaluating thermal adaption in naturally ventilated buildings. A thermal comfort-driven adaptive behavior model was established to illustrate the probability of fans/AC use at specific temperature and compared to the temperature threshold approach to illustrate the potential energy saving the fee-for-service mechanism provided. The findings of this study may be applied as a reference for regulating the operation of AC in school buildings of subtropical regions.

  14. Effect of Set-point Variation on Thermal Comfort and Energy Use in a Plus-energy Dwelling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toftum, Jørn; Kazanci, Ongun Berk; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    2016-01-01

    When designing buildings and space conditioning systems, the occupant thermal comfort, health, and productivity are the main criteria to satisfy. However, this should be achieved with the most energy-efficient space conditioning systems (heating, cooling, and ventilation). Control strategy, set......-points, and control dead-bands have a direct effect on the thermal environment in and the energy use of a building. The thermal environment in and the energy use of a building are associated with the thermal mass of the building and the control strategy, including set-points and control dead-bands. With thermally...... active building systems (TABS), temperatures are allowed to drift within the comfort zone, while in spaces with air-conditioning, temperatures in a narrower interval typically are aimed at. This behavior of radiant systems provides certain advantages regarding energy use, since the temperatures...

  15. A Comfort-Aware Energy Efficient HVAC System Based on the Subspace Identification Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Tsakiridis

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available A proactive heating method is presented aiming at reducing the energy consumption in a HVAC system while maintaining the thermal comfort of the occupants. The proposed technique fuses time predictions for the zones’ temperatures, based on a deterministic subspace identification method, and zones’ occupancy predictions, based on a mobility model, in a decision scheme that is capable of regulating the balance between the total energy consumed and the total discomfort cost. Simulation results for various occupation-mobility models demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed technique.

  16. Recommendations to Improve Employee Thermal Comfort When Working in 40°F Refrigerated Cold Rooms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ceballos, Diana; Mead, Kenneth; Ramsey, Jessica

    2015-01-01

    Cold rooms are commonly used for food storage and preparation, and are usually kept around 40°F following food safety guidelines. Some food preparation employees may spend 8 or more hours inside cold rooms. These employees may not be aware of the risks associated with mildly cold temperatures, dampness, and limited ventilation. We performed an evaluation of cold rooms at an airline catering facility because of concerns with exposure to cold temperatures. We spoke with and observed employees in two cold rooms, reviewed daily temperature logs, evaluated employee's physical activity, work/rest schedule, and protective clothing. We measured temperature, percent relative humidity, and air velocities at different work stations inside the cold rooms. We concluded that thermal comfort concerns perceived by cold room employees may have been the result of air drafts at their workstations, insufficient use of personal protective equipment due to dexterity concerns, work practices, and lack of knowledge about good health and safety practices in cold rooms. These moderately cold work conditions with low air velocities are not well covered in current occupational health and safety guidelines, and wind chill calculations do not apply. We provide practical recommendations to improve thermal comfort of cold room employees. Engineering control recommendations include the redesigning of air deflectors and installing of suspended baffles. Administrative controls include the changing out of wet clothing, providing hand warmers outside of cold rooms, and educating employees on cold stress. We also recommended providing more options on personal protective equipment. However, there is a need for guidelines and educational materials tailored to employees in moderately cold environments to improve thermal comfort and minimize health and safety problems.

  17. Domotics. Comfortable and energy efficient?; Domotica. Comfortabel en energiezuinig?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Wolferen, H.; Hendriksen, L.; Traversari, R. [TNO Milieu, Energie en Procesinnovatie TNO-MEP, Apeldoorn (Netherlands)

    2003-02-01

    Insight is given into the added value of domotics (home automation) in the handling and control of comfort installations, focusing on comfort and energy consumption. Costs are indicated. [Dutch] Een overzicht wordt gegeven van de toegevoegde waarde van domotica bij de bediening en regeling van comfortinstallaties. Hierbij wordt de meeste aandacht gegeven aan comfort en energiegebruik. De kosten worden alleen indicatief besproken.

  18. Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1991-01-01

    This book covers: Comfort air conditioning and heating of residences: Space HVAC systems; Industrial and special air conditioning and ventilation for nuclear facilities, and for mines; Energy sources, such as Geothermal energy, solar utilization, and energy resources; Building operation and maintenance; energy management, and Thermal storage

  19. Impact of Demand-Side Management on Thermal Comfort and Energy Costs in a Residential nZEB

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thibault Q. Péan

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In this study, simulation work has been carried out to investigate the impact of a demand-side management control strategy in a residential nZEB. A refurbished apartment within a multi-family dwelling representative of Mediterranean building habits was chosen as a study case and modelled within a simulation framework. A flexibility strategy based on set-point modulation depending on the energy price was applied to the building. The impact of the control strategy on thermal comfort was studied in detail with several methods retrieved from the standards or other literature, differentiating the effects on day and night living zones. It revealed a slight decrease of comfort when implementing flexibility, although this was not prejudicial. In addition, the applied strategy caused a simultaneous increase of the electricity used for heating by up to 7% and a reduction of the corresponding energy costs by up to around 20%. The proposed control thereby constitutes a promising solution for shifting heating loads towards periods of lower prices and is able to provide benefits for both the user and the grid sides. Beyond that, the activation of energy flexibility in buildings (nZEB in the present case will participate in a more successful integration of renewable energy sources (RES in the energy mix.

  20. Smart HVAC control in IoT: energy consumption minimization with user comfort constraints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serra, Jordi; Pubill, David; Antonopoulos, Angelos; Verikoukis, Christos

    2014-01-01

    Smart grid is one of the main applications of the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm. Within this context, this paper addresses the efficient energy consumption management of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in smart grids with variable energy price. To that end, first, we propose an energy scheduling method that minimizes the energy consumption cost for a particular time interval, taking into account the energy price and a set of comfort constraints, that is, a range of temperatures according to user's preferences for a given room. Then, we propose an energy scheduler where the user may select to relax the temperature constraints to save more energy. Moreover, thanks to the IoT paradigm, the user may interact remotely with the HVAC control system. In particular, the user may decide remotely the temperature of comfort, while the temperature and energy consumption information is sent through Internet and displayed at the end user's device. The proposed algorithms have been implemented in a real testbed, highlighting the potential gains that can be achieved in terms of both energy and cost.

  1. Comparison of thermal comfort and sensation scales : a case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vesely, Michal; Zeiler, Wim; Li, Rongling; Loomans, M.G.L.C.; te Kulve, M.

    2015-01-01

    Thermal sensation is a conscious feeling that grades the thermal environment, while thermal comfort expresses satisfaction with this feeling. Multiple scales to quantify thermal sensation and comfort have been developed throughout the history of research on thermal comfort. In this paper, the most

  2. Margins in Swedish district heating systems; Marginaler i Fjaerrvaermesystem

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Selinder, Patrik; Zinko, Heimo [ZW Energiteknik AB, Nykoeping (Sweden)

    2003-03-01

    occasions with power deficiency will occur more often. The lower limit for the reduction of connection power is depending on the level of comfort the customers are prepared to accept. These questions have been discussed with selected customer representatives. The mentioned practice of oversizing of the heating power deliverable to the buildings presents a relatively large margin for reduction of consumable power without decreasing the level of heating comfort too much. In the report this method is recommended under the name 'stingy' (= adequate) dimensioning; it is still according to the recommendation of the Swedish building code based on DUT20 and following the regulations of the Swedish District Heating Association for the domestic hot water dimensioning. The result will be a decrease of about 30% of the connected power in most buildings, and somewhat more in the heaviest buildings. Further reduction of the connecting power will implicate a more strong impact on the heating comfort. We call this 'deficiency dimensioning' and we cannot really recommend it apart from some special customer groups who might accept this heating quality by receiving some kind of economic compensation.

  3. Physical Environment Comfort Impacts on Office Employee’s Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chua Shirley Jin Lin

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Office workplaces today is now no longer only consisting of passive and fixed activity but also towards a more flexible environment activity. The number of office workplaces is hiking from day to day which leads to the increase of the office workers. The productivity will be improved by providing optimum physical environment. The physical environment comfort in a workplace is claimed to be vital as it will encourages healthier, more productive and lower absenteeism rate among employees. The physical environment comfort encompassed optimum room temperature, relative humidity and illuminance level. This research intend to investigate the importance of physical environment comfort by evaluating the comfort based on the existing workplace and determine its effect on employee’s performance. Evaluation between the selected case studies are made in the aspects of employee’s comfort perceive health and absenteeism rate by wielding the elements of physical comfort consisting room temperature, relative humidity and illuminance level. Field study was carried out for 3 institutional building particularly management department. High correlations are found between room temperature, lighting and relative humidity with health related issue such as stuffy, easily tired and difficulty in concentration which affect employees’ productivity and work performances.

  4. Intelligent multi-objective optimization for building energy and comfort management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pervez Hameed Shaikh

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The rapid economic and population growth in developing countries, effective and efficient energy usage has turned out to be crucial due to the rising concern of depleting fossil fuels, of which, one-third of primary energy is consumed in buildings and expected to rise by 53% up to 2030. This roaring sector posing a challenge, due to 90% of people spend most of their time in buildings, requires enhanced well-being of indoor environment and living standards. Therefore, building operations require more energy because most of the energy is consumed to make the indoor environment comfortable. Consequently, there is the need of improved energy efficiency to decrease energy consumption in buildings. In relation to this, the primary challenge of building control systems is the energy consumption and comfort level are generally conflicting to each other. Therefore, an important problem of sustainable smart buildings is to effectively manage the energy consumption and comfort and attain the trade-off between the two. Thus, smart buildings are becoming a trend of future construction that facilitates intelligent control in buildings for the fulfillment of occupant’s comfort level. In this study, an intelligent multi-objective system has been developed with evolutionary multi-objective genetic algorithm (MOGA optimization method. The corresponding case study simulation results for the effective management of users’ comfort and energy efficiency have been carried out. The case study results show the management of energy supply for each comfort parameter and maintain high comfort index achieving balance between the energy consumption and comfort level. Keywords: Energy, Buildings, Comfort, Management, Optimization, Trade-off

  5. the comfort, measured by means of a sweating manikin (waltertm)

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    user

    With the growing importance of clothing comfort in South African and overseas markets for locally produced clothing, the Council for. Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) acquired an advanced sweating fabric manikin for measuring clothing comfort. This preliminary investigation covers the comfort related properties, as ...

  6. Thermal Comfort in a Naturally-Ventilated Educational Building

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Mwale Ogoli

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available A comprehensive study of thermal comfort in a naturally ventilated education building (88,000 ft2 in a Chicago suburb will be conducted with 120 student subjects in 2007. This paper discusses some recent trends in worldwide thermal comfort studies and presents a proposal of research for this building through a series of questionnaire tables. Two research methods used inthermal comfort studies are field studies and laboratory experiments in climate-chambers. The various elements that constitute a “comfortable” thermal environment include physical factors (ambient air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air movement and humidity, personal factors(activity and clothing, classifications (gender, age, education, etc. and psychological expectations (knowledge, experience, psychological effect of visual warmth by, say, a fireplace. Comparisons are made using data gathered from Nairobi, Kenya.Keywords: Comfort, temperature, humidity and ventilation

  7. North–South debate on district heating: Evidence from a household survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo, Jin; Huang, Ying; Wei, Chu

    2015-01-01

    There has been a long debate on whether South China should supply district heating for the residential sector, a system that is widely used in North China. The major concern is that it may further accelerate China's energy demand. Using a unique urban household level dataset, the China Residential Energy Consumption Survey (CRECS), we investigate residential energy consumption for heating and examine the energy intensity and energy cost of distributed heating in South China and district heating in North China during the 2012 heating season. Our results show that the total energy consumption for distributed heating system users in southern cities is significantly lower than for users of district heating systems in northern cities. However, when accounting for the heating area and heating season, the distributed heating households in the South consumed 32% more energy and paid 189% higher cost per unit area and per hour, but had lower comfort than district heating users in the North. These findings suggest promoting the district heating market in appropriate areas in South China. This not only can improve residential welfare, but also can indirectly reduce energy consumption and financial burdens. - Highlights: • The debate on whether Southern China apply district heating is present. • The household data in 2012 is used to compare the energy efficient and cost. • South resident use more energy and higher cost but less comfort than North. • Government should not prevent the district heating market.

  8. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy based inferential sensor model for estimating the average air temperature in space heating systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jassar, S.; Zhao, L. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON (Canada); Liao, Z. [Department of Architectural Science, Ryerson University (Canada)

    2009-08-15

    The heating systems are conventionally controlled by open-loop control systems because of the absence of practical methods for estimating average air temperature in the built environment. An inferential sensor model, based on adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system modeling, for estimating the average air temperature in multi-zone space heating systems is developed. This modeling technique has the advantage of expert knowledge of fuzzy inference systems (FISs) and learning capability of artificial neural networks (ANNs). A hybrid learning algorithm, which combines the least-square method and the back-propagation algorithm, is used to identify the parameters of the network. This paper describes an adaptive network based inferential sensor that can be used to design closed-loop control for space heating systems. The research aims to improve the overall performance of heating systems, in terms of energy efficiency and thermal comfort. The average air temperature results estimated by using the developed model are strongly in agreement with the experimental results. (author)

  9. Inpatient Nursing and Parental Comfort in Managing Pediatric Tracheostomy Care and Emergencies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pritchett, Cedric V; Foster Rietz, Melissa; Ray, Amrita; Brenner, Michael J; Brown, David

    2016-02-01

    Tracheostomy is a critical and often life-saving intervention, but associated risks are not negligible. The vulnerability of the pediatric population underlies the importance of caregiver comfort and competence in tracheostomy care. To assess inpatient nursing staff and parental perspectives in managing tracheostomy care. Cross-sectional analysis of survey data from (1) a volunteer sample of inpatient nurses in a tertiary care, freestanding pediatric hospital in the Midwest, assigned to clinical wards that provide care for children with tracheostomy tubes and (2) a consecutive sample of families whose child underwent tracheostomy tube placement at the same institution between March 1 and December 31, 2013. Nurse and parental comfort in managing acute and established tracheostomy tubes. Nursing data were analyzed with attention to years' experience and primary unit of practice. Respondents included 129 of 820 nurses (16% response rate) and family members of 19 of 38 children (50% response rate). When queried about changing established tracheostomies, 59 of 128 nurses (46%) reported being "totally comfortable," including 46 of 82 intensive care unit (ICU) nurses (56%) vs 13 of 46 floor nurses (28%) (P = .002) and 48 of 80 nurses with at least 5 years' experience (60%) vs 12 of 49 less experienced nurses (24%) (P tracheostomy, 61 nurses (47%) described being completely uncomfortable, including 27 of 83 ICU nurses (33%) vs 34 of 46 floor nurses (73%) (P = .006), and 33 of 80 nurses with at least 5 years' experience (41% ) vs 28 of 49 less experienced nurses (57%) (P = .03). Most families felt prepared for discharge (16 of 17 [94%]) and found the health care team accessible (16 of 17 [94%]), although only 5 of 18 families (28%) indicated that tracheostomy teaching was consistent. Nurses' comfort with tracheostomy was higher among nurses with at least 5 years' experience and primary ICU location. Whereas parental comfort with tracheostomy care was high

  10. Individual thermal profiles as a basis for comfort improvement in space and other environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koscheyev, V. S.; Coca, A.; Leon, G. R.; Dancisak, M. J.

    2002-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The development of individualized countermeasures to address problems in thermoregulation is of considerable importance for humans in space and other extreme environments. A methodology is presented for evaluating minimal/maximal heat flux from the total human body and specific body zones, and for assessing individual differences in the efficiency of heat exchange from these body areas. The goal is to apply this information to the design of individualized protective equipment. METHODS: A multi-compartment conductive plastic tubing liquid cooling/warming garment (LCWG) was developed. Inlet water temperatures of 8-45 degrees C were imposed sequentially to specific body areas while the remainder of the garment was maintained at 33 degrees C. RESULTS: There were significant differences in heat exchange level among body zones in both the 8 degrees and 45 degrees C temperature conditions (p thermal profiles is feasible for better comfort of astronauts on long-duration missions and personnel in other extreme environments.

  11. Ektor discovers again the make-up heating; Ektor reinvente le chauffage d'appoint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anon.

    2003-03-01

    Butagaz perfected a ground breaking make-up heating which answer the consumers demand, hopeful its esthetic, comfort use and safety. The technical characteristic and design advantages of this liquefied petroleum gas heating, are presented. (A.L.B.)

  12. Are you sitting comfortably? Perspectives of the researchers and the researched on "being comfortable".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Norma; Balmer, Brian

    2006-01-01

    In a study of volunteers in medical research, we found contrasting readings of "being comfortable" by the volunteer research subjects and the researchers. Although the experimental process (testing a new kind of diagnostic technology) involved some physical discomfort--and the researchers focused on this--the volunteers' concerns centred on feeling socially comfortable and managing feelings of embarrassment or isolation, and they generally made light of the physical aspects. The bias of volunteer concerns, which is understandable in terms of the different situations of researchers and volunteers and the different tensions they create, has potential implications for the engagement of researchers with their research subjects and prevailing standards for the ethical and accountable conduct of research.

  13. Electricity Market Optimization of Heat Pump Portfolio

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biegel, Benjamin; Andersen, Palle; Pedersen, Tom S.

    2013-01-01

    We consider a portfolio of domestic heat pumps controlled by an aggregator. The aggregator is able to adjust the consumption of the heat pumps without affecting the comfort in the houses and uses this ability to shift the main consumption to hours with low electricity prices. Further......, the aggregator is able to place upward and downward regulating bids in the regulating power market based on the consumption flexibility. A simulation is carried out based on data from a Danish domestic heat pump project, historical spot prices, regulating power prices, and spot price predictions. The simulations...

  14. Visitors' perception of thermal comfort during extreme heat events at the Royal Botanic Garden Melbourne

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Cho Kwong Charlie; Loughnan, Margaret; Tapper, Nigel

    2018-01-01

    Outdoor thermal comfort studies have mainly examined the perception of local residents, and there has been little work on how those conditions are perceived differently by tourists, especially tourists of diverse origins. This issue is important because it will improve the application of thermal indices in predicting the thermal perception of tourists. This study aims to compare the differences in thermal perception and preferences between local and overseas visitors to the Royal Botanic Garden (RBG) in Melbourne during summer. An 8-day survey was conducted in February 2014 at four sites in the garden ( n = 2198), including 2 days with maximum temperature exceeding 40 °C. The survey results were compared with data from four weather stations adjacent to the survey locations. One survey location, `Fern Gully', has a misting system and visitors perceived the Fern Gully to be cooler than other survey locations. As the apparent temperature exceeded 32.4 °C, visitors perceived the environment as being `warm' or `hot'. At `hot' conditions, 36.8 % of European visitors voted for no change to the thermal conditions, which is considerably higher than the response from Australian visitors (12.2 %) and Chinese visitors (7.5 %). Study results suggest that overseas tourists have different comfort perception and preferences compared to local Australians in hot weather based at least in part on expectations. Understanding the differences in visitors' thermal perception is important to improve the garden design. It can also lead to better tour planning and marketing to potential visitors from different countries.

  15. Experimental research on thermal comfort in the university classroom of regular semesters in Korea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jung, Gun Joo; Oh, Geun Sug; Im, Young Bin [Pukyong National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Song, Sung Ki [Hiroshima Institute of Technology, Hiroshima (Japan); Ahn, Young Chull [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-02-15

    This research has investigated physical variables affecting indoor thermal comfort and subjective responses of thermal comfort of students in a university in Korea in which the weather is oceanic temperate climate, and has been performed to contribute to the research fields of Sustainable Thermal Standard and Adaptive Thermal Comfort (ATC). This research is based on the ISO 7730-2005 standard and the ATC theories and 4 main variables of PMV such as dry bulb temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), black bulb temperature (Tg), and air velocity (Va) are measured once a week during two regular semesters. A clothing insulation, a thermal sensation vote (TSV), an acceptability of thermal environment, and a preference for cooling and heating are investigated at the same time using a questionnaire. This study was carried out for 26 weeks during the spring season, from March to June 2009, and the autumn season, from September to December 2009. The main achievements of this study are as follows. Monthly Mean Outdoor Temperature (MMOT) and Operative Temperature (OT) in the classroom during research periods are 7.4{approx}23.3 .deg. C and 17.5{approx}29.0 .deg. C, respectively. The acceptability ratio of thermal environment shows over 80% when the range of OT in the classroom is 17{approx}25 .deg. C, and the range can be applicable to operative index of heating and cooling of classroom. The mean TSV of respondents is almost 'neutral (0)' when the PMV in the classroom moves to 'neutral (0)' and 'slightly cool (-1)', and the TSV is almost '+1.5' when the PMV moves to 'slightly warm (+1)'. The acceptability ratio of thermal environment is slightly different from ASHRAE Standard 55-2004. So it is necessary to more investigate standard range of acceptability of thermal environment in oceanic temperate climate region using much more databases.

  16. Does Targeted Education of Emergency Physicians Improve Their Comfort Level in Treating Psychiatric Patients?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brenda J Walker

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: We determined if targeted education of emergency physicians (EPsregarding the treatment of mental illness will improve their comfort level in treatingpsychiatric patients boarding in the emergency department (ED awaiting admission.Methods: We performed a pilot study examining whether an educational interventionwould change an EP’s comfort level in treating psychiatric boarder patients (PBPs. Weidentified a set of psychiatric emergencies that typically require admission or treatmentbeyond the scope of practice of emergency medicine. Diagnoses included majordepression, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar affective disorder, generalanxiety disorder, suicidal ideation, and criminal behavior. We designed equivalentsurveys to be used before and after an educational intervention. Each survey consistedof 10 scenarios of typical psychiatric patients. EPs were asked to rate their comfort levelsin treating the described patients on a visual analogue scale. We calculated summaryscores for the non intervention survey group (NINT and intervention survey group (INTand compared them using Student’s t-test.Results: Seventy-nine percent (33/42 of eligible participants completed the preinterventionsurvey (21 attendings, 12 residents and comprised the NINT group. Fiftyfivepercent (23/42 completed the post-intervention survey (16 attendings, 7 residentscomprising the INT group. A comparison of summary scores between ‘NINT’ and ‘INT’groups showed a highly significant improvement in comfort levels with treating thepatients described in the scenarios (P = 0.003. Improvements were noted on separateanalysis for faculty (P = 0.039 and for residents (P = 0.012. Results of a sensitivityanalysis excluding one highly significant scenario showed decreased, but still importantdifferences between the NINT and INT groups for all participants and for residents, butnot for faculty (all: P = 0.05; faculty: P = 0.25; residents: P = 0

  17. Evaluation and optimisation of office buildings with near-surface geothermal energy for heating and cooling; Evaluierung und Optimierung von Buerogebaeuden mit oberflaechennaher Geothermie zum Heizen und Kuehlen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bockelmann, Franziska; Kipry, Herdis; Fisch, M. Norbert [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany). Inst. fuer Gebaeude- und Solartechnik

    2012-10-16

    In line with the research project WKSP - Heat and cold storage in the foundation area of office buildings (FKZ 0327364A), the Institute of Building Services and Energy Design of the Technical University Braunschweig (Braunschweig, Federal Republic of Germany) investigated the energy efficiency and thermal comfort of trend-setting office buildings in the practice. The objective was to gain validated knowledge on and to document the real performance of buildings with respect to energy consumption, user comfort and operation. In the majority of investigated plants, first of all mistakes were analysed and remedied so that a regular operation could be implemented. Subsequently, optimisation measures with respect to an efficient mode of operation of the geothermal energy storage system in the heating and cooling method were implemented. If the geothermal reservoir is laid out appropriately and operated correctly, the possible energy cost savings as well as the reductions of the CO{sub 2} emissions are significant due to the utilization of geothermal energy storage systems in comparison to heating and cooling systems. Increasing energy prices will further enhance the economic profitability of the application of the geothermal probe plants and energy pile plants.

  18. Viewing Race in the Comfort Zone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brenda L. Hughes

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Carter suggests the concept of a “comfort zone” to explain the inability of dramatic African American programs to be successful on television. He argues that a workable formula has been developed for successful African American series, “portray black people in a way that would be acceptable to the millions of potential purchasers (whites of advertised products. That is, non-threatening and willing to ‘stay in their place.’”. Using a data set constructed from television ratings and shares, this study examines “black-centeredness” within the context of program success and failure. The comfort zone concept argues Black-centered television series are only successful in a comedic genre because White audiences, who have the majority of the ratings power, will only watch Black-centered series with which they are comfortable. The findings suggest that, in general, race, that is Black-centeredness, did not negatively influence program ratings or shares.

  19. Comfort and hope in the preanesthesia stage in patients undergoing surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seyedfatemi, Naima; Rafii, Forough; Rezaei, Mahboubeh; Kolcaba, Katharine

    2014-06-01

    Comfort and hope have been identified as important components in the care of perianesthesia patients. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between comfort and hope in the preanesthesia stage in patients undergoing surgery. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted with 191 surgical patients. Data were collected using the Perianesthesia Comfort Questionnaire and Herth Hope Index. Direct and significant relationships were observed between comfort and hope (P≤.001, r=0.65). Also, significant relationships were observed between educational level and marital status with comfort (P≤.01). The relationship between educational level and hope was significant (P≤.001). Significant relationships were also observed between gender and marital status with hope (P≤.01). Overall, this study showed that a significant relationship exists between comfort and hope. Additionally, some demographic characteristics influenced comfort and hope in these patients. Health care providers should arrange the environment in a way that allows the surgical patients to experience comfort and hope and recognize the impact of personal characteristics when caring for surgical patients, particularly in the preanesthesia stage. Copyright © 2014 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Exploring Holistic Comfort in Children Who Experience a Clinical Venipuncture Procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bice, April A; Hall, Joanne; Devereaux, Matthew J

    2018-06-01

    Children often experience the uncomfortable effects of invasive procedures as a part of primary care and during times of illness. Holistic comfort has been well documented in adult literature but little research exists on the understanding of holistic procedural comfort from the child's perspective. In this study, holistic comfort related to an invasive venipuncture procedure was explored in children age 5 to 7 years and their caregivers of all ages. A qualitative descriptive design described by Sandelowski was used. The philosophical underpinnings of naturalistic inquiry of Guba and Lincoln were used. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 13 child and 15 caregiver participants. Children also drew pictures to help describe their perceptions. Traditional thematic content analysis described by Hsieh and Shannon yielded four overarching themes of holistic comfort related to venipuncture procedures in children: Body Comfort, Cognitive and Emotional Comfort, Comfort in the Procedure Surroundings, and Comfort Play. Numerous recommendations for future research are included. Implications for nursing and related health sciences, organizational and administrative policy, invasive procedures, theory, and methods were found and are discussed. Findings from this study will assist nurses in providing procedure management for children from a holistic care perspective.

  1. Application of a Heat- and Steam-Generating Sheet Increases Peripheral Blood Flow and Induces Parasympathetic Predominance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshinao Nagashima

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available To promote the practical application of a Japanese traditional medical treatment, such as hot compresses, we developed a plaster-type warming device consisting of a heat- and steam-generating sheet (HSG sheet. First, we tested its effects when applied to the anterior abdominal wall or lumbar region of women complaining of a tendency towards constipation. Application of the sheet to either region produced a feeling of comfort in the abdomen, as assessed by a survey of the subjects. The significant increases in the total hemoglobin observed in these regions suggested an increase in peripheral blood flow, and significant increases in the HF component on ECG and in the amplitude of gastric motility suggested parasympathetic predominance. We concluded that application of the HSG sheet improves the peripheral hemodynamics and autonomic regulation, induces a feeling of comfort in the abdomen, and provides a beneficial environment for the improvement of gastrointestinal movements.

  2. Dwelling on Courtyards. Exploring the energy efficiency and comfort potential of courtyards for dwellings in the Netherlands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Taleghani

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The urban heat island (UHI phenomenon and the dependency of buildings on
fossil fuels were the two main issues that formed this dissertation. UHI results in higher air temperatures in dense urban areas compared with their suburbs and rural surroundings. This phenomenon affects human health through thermal discomfort. Furthermore, in the Netherlands, it is estimated that by 2050 the air temperature could be up to 2.3°C warmer as compared to the period of 1981-2010. Besides, the energy consumption of buildings is responsible for 30 to 45% of CO2 emissions. 31% of this consumption belongs to residential buildings. Residential buildings can play a major role in reducing the CO2 emissions caused by fossil fuel consumption. One of the passive architectural design solutions is the courtyard building form. Courtyards have been used for thousands of years in different climates in the world. In hot climates they provide shading, in humid climates they cause a stack effect helping ventilation, in cold climates they break cold winds and protect their microclimate. In temperate climates (such as of the Netherlands, the thermal behaviour of courtyards has been studied less. In this dissertation, low-rise residential courtyard buildings were therefore studied among (and along different urban block types in the Netherlands. As the first step, computer simulations were done as a parametric study for indoor and outdoor thermal comfort. Field measurements were done in actual urban courtyards and in dwellings alongside urban courtyards in the Netherlands (and in a similar temperate climate in the US. A scale model experiment later followed the simulations. Some of these field measurements were used to validate the simulation models. These efforts answered the two main research questions: 1 To what extent is a dwelling alongside an urban courtyard more efficient and thermally comfortable than other dwellings? 2 To what extent do people have a more comfortable

  3. Ten questions about radiant heating and cooling systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rhee, Kyu-Nam; Olesen, Bjarne W.; Kim, Kwang Woo

    2017-01-01

    studies on RHC systems in terms of comfort, heat transfer analysis, energy simulation, control strategy, system configurations and so on. Many studies have demonstrated that the RHC system is a good solution to improve indoor environmental quality while reducing building energy consumption for heating......Radiant heating and cooling (RHC) systems are being increasingly applied not only in residential but also in non-residential buildings such as commercial buildings, education facilities, and even large scale buildings such as airport terminals. Furthermore, with the combined ventilation system used...

  4. Physiological and subjective responses in the elderly when using floor heating and air conditioning systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashiguchi, Nobuko; Tochihara, Yutaka; Ohnaka, Tadakatsu; Tsuchida, Chiaki; Otsuki, Tamio

    2004-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a floor heating and air conditioning system on thermal responses of the elderly. Eight elderly men and eight university students sat for 90 minutes in a chair under the following 3 conditions: air conditioning system (A), floor heating system (F) and no heating system (C). The air temperature of sitting head height for condition A was 25 degrees C, and the maximum difference in vertical air temperature was 4 degrees C. The air and floor temperature for condition F were 21 and 29 degrees C, respectively. The air temperature for condition C was 15 degrees C. There were no significant differences in rectal temperature and mean skin temperature between condition A and F. Systolic blood pressure of the elderly men in condition C significantly increased compared to those in condition A and F. No significant differences in systolic blood pressure between condition A and F were found. The percentage of subjects who felt comfortable under condition F was higher than that of those under condition A in both age groups, though the differences between condition F and A was not significant. Relationships between thermal comfort and peripheral (e.g., instep, calf, hand) skin temperature, and the relationship between thermal comfort and leg thermal sensation were significant for both age groups. However, the back and chest skin temperature and back thermal sensation for the elderly, in contrast to that for the young, was not significantly related to thermal comfort. These findings suggested that thermal responses and physiological strain using the floor heating system did not significantly differ from that using the air conditioning system, regardless of the subject age and despite the fact that the air temperature with the floor heating system was lower. An increase in BP for elderly was observed under the condition in which the air temperature was 15 degrees C, and it was suggested that it was necessary for the elderly

  5. Radiators in hydronic heating installations structure, selection and thermal characteristics

    CERN Document Server

    Muniak, Damian Piotr

    2017-01-01

    This book addresses key design and computational issues related to radiators in hydronic heating installations. A historical outline is included to highlight the evolution of radiators and heating technologies. Further, the book includes a chapter on thermal comfort, which is the decisive factor in selecting the ideal heating system and radiator type. The majority of the book is devoted to an extensive discussion of the types and kinds of radiators currently in use, and to identifying the reasons for the remarkable diversity of design solutions. The differences between the solutions are also addressed, both in terms of the effects of operation and of the thermal comfort that needs to be ensured. The book then compares the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, as well as its potential applications. A detailed discussion, supported by an extensive theoretical and mathematical analysis, is presented of the computational relations that are used in selecting the radiator type. The dynamics of radiator hea...

  6. Thermal comfort optimisation of vernacular rural buildings: passive solutions to retrofit a typical farmhouse in central Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Elena Menconi

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available An adequate retrofitting of traditional rural buildings requires to preserve their formal characteristics and to understand the constructive elements that compose them and which are different in different geographical areas. This paper analyses the typical farmhouses in central Italy. Starting from the definition of a vernacular building model, the paper analyses its performance in terms of thermal comfort and energy efficiency. The methodology involves the use of energy dynamic simulations coupled with optimisation techniques aimed to identify the best combinations of insulating materials in terms of choice of material and its optimal location in the envelope. The paper demonstrates the good thermal and energy performance of farmhouses in central Italy. The results of the optimisation process showed that in these buildings, with the addition of insulation materials with low conductivity the perceived discomfort in the inhabited areas of the building can be reduced by 79% and the energy consumption related to heating can be reduced by 77%. The level of insulation of the pavement that separates the ground and first floor needs to be more moderate to promote the heat flow between floors during summer. The sensitivity analysis shows that the most influential component for thermal comfort is the roof insulation.

  7. Assessment of human thermal comfort and mitigation measures in different urban climatotopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, N.; Kuttler, W.

    2012-04-01

    This study analyses thermal comfort in the model city of Oberhausen as an example for the densely populated metropolitan region Ruhr, Germany. As thermal loads increase due to climate change negative impacts especially for city dwellers will arise. Therefore mitigation strategies should be developed and considered in urban planning today to prevent future thermal stress. The method consists of the combination of in-situ measurements and numerical model simulations. So in a first step the actual thermal situation is determined and then possible mitigation strategies are derived. A measuring network was installed in eight climatotopes for a one year period recording air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction. Based on these parameters the human thermal comfort in terms of physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was calculated by RayMan Pro software. Thus the human comfort of different climatotopes was determined. Heat stress in different land uses varies, so excess thermal loads in urban areas could be detected. Based on the measuring results mitigation strategies were developed, such as increasing areas with high evaporation capacity (green areas and water bodies). These strategies were implemented as different plan scenarios in the microscale urban climate model ENVI-met. The best measure should be identified by comparing the range and effect of these scenarios. Simulations were run in three of the eight climatotopes (city center, suburban and open land site) to analyse the effectiveness of the mitigation strategies in several land use structures. These cover the range of values of all eight climatotopes and therefore provide representative results. In the model area of 21 ha total, the modified section in the different plan scenarios was 1 ha. Thus the effect of small-scale changes could be analysed. Such areas can arise due to population decline and structural changes and hold conversion potential. Emphasis was also laid on analysing the

  8. Domestic heat pumps in the UK. User behaviour, satisfaction and performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caird, S.; Roy, R.; Potter, S. [Design Innovation Group, Dept. Design, Development, Environment and Materials, Faculty of Mathematics, Computing and Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA (United Kingdom)

    2012-08-15

    Consumer adoption of microgeneration technologies is part of the UK strategy to reduce carbon emissions from buildings. Domestic heat pumps are viewed as a potentially important carbon saving technology, given the ongoing decarbonisation of the electricity supply system. To address the lack of independent evaluation of heat pump performance, the Energy Saving Trust undertook the UK's first large-scale heat pump field trial, which monitored 83 systems in real installations. As part of the trial, the Open University studied the consumers' experience of using a domestic heat pump. An in-depth user survey investigated the characteristics, behaviour, and satisfactions of private householders and social housing residents using ground source and air source heat pumps for space and/or water heating, and examined the influence of user-related factors on measured heat pump system efficiency. The surveys found that most users were satisfied with the reliability, heating, hot water, warmth and comfort provided by their system. Analysis of user characteristics showed that higher system efficiencies were associated with greater user understanding of their heat pump system, and more continuous heat pump operation, although larger samples are needed for robust statistical confirmation. The analysis also found that the more efficient systems in the sample were more frequently located in the private dwellings than at the social housing sites and this difference was significant. This is explained by the interaction between differences in the systems, dwellings and users at the private and social housing sites. The implications for heat pump research, practice and policy are discussed.

  9. Thermal comfort assessment of a surgical room through computational fluid dynamics using local PMV index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Nelson J O; Oliveira, Ricardo F; Teixeira, Senhorinha F C F; Miguel, Alberto Sérgio; Teixeira, José Carlos; Baptista, João S

    2015-01-01

    Studies concerning indoor thermal conditions are very important in defining the satisfactory comfort range in health care facilities. This study focuses on the evaluation of the thermal comfort sensation felt by surgeons and nurses, in an orthopaedic surgical room of a Portuguese hospital. Two cases are assessed, with and without the presence of a person. Computational fluid dynamic (CFD) tools were applied for evaluating the predicted mean vote (PMV) index locally. Using average ventilation values to calculate the PMV index does not provide a correct and enough descriptive evaluation of the surgical room thermal environment. As studied for both cases, surgeons feel the environment slightly hotter than nurses. The nurses feel a slightly cold sensation under the air supply diffuser and their neutral comfort zone is located in the air stagnation zones close to the walls, while the surgeons feel the opposite. It was observed that the presence of a person in the room leads to an increase of the PMV index for surgeons and nurses. That goes in line with the empirical knowledge that more persons in a room lead to an increased heat sensation. The clothing used by both classes, as well as the ventilation conditions, should be revised accordingly to the amount of persons in the room and the type of activity performed.

  10. The influence of indoor microclimate on thermal comfort and conservation of artworks: the case study of the cathedral of Matera (South Italy)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardinale, Tiziana; Rospi, Gianluca; Cardinale, Nicola; Paterino, Lucia; Persia, Ivan

    2014-05-01

    The Matera Cathedral was built in Apulian-Romanesque style in the thirteenth century on the highest spur of the "Civita" that divides "Sassi" district in two parts. The constructive material is the calcareous stone of the Vaglia, extracted from quarries in the area of Matera. The interior is Baroque and presents several artworks, including: mortars covered with a golden patina, a wooden ceiling, painted canvas and painting frescoes, three minor altars and a major altar of precious white marble, a nativity scene made of local painted limestone. The research had to evaluate the indoor microclimate during and after the restoration works, that also concern the installation of floor heating system to heat the indoor environments. Specifically, we have analyzed the thermal comfort and the effect that the artwork and construction materials inside the Cathedral of Matera have undergone. This evaluation was carried out in two different phases: in the first one we have investigated the state of the art (history of the site, constructive typology and artworks); in the second one we have done a systematic diagnosis and an instrumental one. The analysis were carried out in a qualitative and quantitative way and have allowed us to test indoor microclimatic parameters (air temperature, relative humidity and indoor air velocity), surface temperatures of the envelope and also Fanger's comfort indices (PMV and PPD) according to the UNI EN ISO 7730. The thermal mapping of the wall surface and of the artworks, carried out through thermal imaging camera, and the instrumental measurement campaigns were made both before restoration and after installation of the heating system; in addition measurements were taken with system on and off. The analysis thus made possible to verify that the thermo-hygrometric parameters found, as a result of the recovery operations, meet the limits indicated by the regulations and international studies. In this way, we can affirm that the indoor environment

  11. Enthalpy estimation for thermal comfort and energy saving in air conditioning system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, C.-M.; Jong, T.-L.

    2008-01-01

    The thermal comfort control of a room must consider not only the thermal comfort level but also energy saving. This paper proposes an enthalpy estimation that is conducive for thermal comfort control and energy saving. The least enthalpy estimator (LEE) combines the concept of human thermal comfort with the theory of enthalpy to predict the load for a suitable setting pair in order to maintain more precisely the thermal comfort level and save energy in the air conditioning system

  12. Progress in thermal comfort research over the last twenty years

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dear, R. J. de; Akimoto, T.; Arens, E. A.

    2013-01-01

    Climate change and the urgency of decarbonizing the built environment are driving technological innovation in the way we deliver thermal comfort to occupants. These changes, in turn, seem to be setting the directions for contemporary thermal comfort research. This article presents a literature...... review of major changes, developments, and trends in the field of thermal comfort research over the last 20 years. One of the main paradigm shift was the fundamental conceptual reorientation that has taken place in thermal comfort thinking over the last 20 years; a shift away from the physically based...... developed, driven by the continuous challenge to model thermal comfort at the same anatomical resolution and to combine these localized signals into a coherent, global thermal perception. Finally, the demand for ever increasing building energy efficiency is pushing technological innovation in the way we...

  13. Adaptive heating, ventilation and solar shading for dwellings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alders, E.E.

    2017-01-01

    Calculation of various strategies for the heating of, and the prevention of overheating in, a Dutch standard dwelling that includes (automated) adaptive ventilation systems and solar shading to maintain indoor temperatures at acceptably comfortable temperatures informs this analysis of the costs,

  14. Aggregated Control of Domestic Heat Pumps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Kirsten M.; Andersen, Palle; Pedersen, Tom S.

    2013-01-01

    A challenge in Denmark in the near future is to balance the electrical grid due to a large increase in the renewable energy production mainly from wind turbines. In this work an aggregated control system using heat pumps in single family houses to help balancing the grid is investigated....... The control system is able to adjust the consumptions of the heat pump without affecting the comfort in the houses and uses this ability to shift the total consumption to hours with high wind energy production....

  15. Evaluations of different domestic hot water preparing methods with ultra-low-temperature district heating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Xiaochen; Li, Hongwei; Svendsen, Svend

    2016-01-01

    of Legionella in the DHW (domestic hot water) and assure the comfortable temperature, all substations were installed with supplementary heating devices. Detailed measurements were taken in the substations, including the electricity demand of the supplementary heating devices. To compare the energy and economic...

  16. Research on application of carbon fiber heating material in clothing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Huanhong

    2017-08-01

    With the development of society, the way of keeping warm clothing is also developing. Carbon fiber has the advantages of high efficiency, safety, mobility and comfort. As a heating element, it has good application prospect. In this paper, the main technology, application issues and design method of carbon fiber heating garment are analyzed, and the key problems in industrialization are also put forward.

  17. Lubricant effects on low Dk and silicone hydrogel lens comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozkan, Jerome; Papas, Eric

    2008-08-01

    To investigate the influence of three lubricants of varying viscosity, on postinsertion and 6 h comfort with contact lens wear. Comfort and associated symptoms of dryness were assessed in 15 experienced contact lens wearers. Subjects wore a low Dk lens in one eye and a silicone hydrogel in the other and participated in four separate trials involving no lubricant (baseline), saline, and two commercially available lubricants of differing viscosity. The in-eye lubricants were used immediately following lens insertion and every 2 h postinsertion for a 6 h wear period. Postlens insertion comfort was significantly better for both lens types when lubricants or saline were used compared with no lubricant use. After 6 h lens wear, comfort was influenced by lens type and not by in-eye lubricant or saline use. Also after 6 h lens wear, less dryness sensation was reported for silicone hydrogel lenses when using lubricants but not saline. Although lubricant use does help reduce dryness symptoms with silicone hydrogel lens wear, there appears to be minimal longer-term benefit to comfort. Furthermore, increased lubricant viscosity did not lead to improved longer-term comfort.

  18. Exploring sustainable practices with trigger-products : A case of staying warm at home

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuijer, S.C.; De Jong, A.M.

    2010-01-01

    Heating of dwellings forms a significant portion of societies energy use and is increasing. One way of approaching the problem from a sustainable design point of view is to offer thermal comfort in a more energy efficient way. However, the idea of offering comfort to passive receptors (i.e. people)

  19. Exploring the relationship between structurally defined geometrical parameters of reinforced concrete beams and the thermal comfort on indoor environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lee, Daniel Sang-Hoon; Naboni, Emanuele

    2017-01-01

    mass effect (and the implication on thermal comfort) and the given geometrical parameters of exposed soffit reinforced concrete beams are explored. The geometrical parameters of the beams are initially defined in means of structural optimisation. The beams consist of flange and web in likeness of T...... the resultant heat exchange behaviour, and the implication on thermal comfort indoor environment. However, the current paper presents the thermal mass characteristics of one geometrical type. The study is based on results derived from computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis, where Rhino 3D is used......The paper presents a research exploring the thermal mass effect of reinforced concrete beams with structurally optimised geometrical forms. Fully exposed concrete soffits in architectural contexts create more than just visual impacts on the indoor climate through their possible interferences...

  20. Thermal comfort assessment in a Dutch hospital setting – model applicability

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ottenheijm, E.M.M.; Loomans, M.G.L.C.; Kort, H.S.M.; Trip, A.

    2016-01-01

    SUMMARY Limited information is available on thermal comfort performance of the indoor environment in health care facilities both for staff and patients. Thermal comfort models such as Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Adaptive Thermal Comfort (ATC), have not been applied extensively for this setting. In

  1. A literature review of comfort in the paediatric critical care patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosch-Alcaraz, Alejandro; Falcó-Pegueroles, Anna; Jordan, Iolanda

    2018-03-08

    To investigate the meaning of comfort and to contextualise it within the framework of paediatric critical care. The concept of comfort is closely linked to care in all health contexts. However, in specific settings such as the paediatric critical care unit, it takes on particular importance. A literature review was conducted. A literature search was performed of articles in English and Spanish in international health science databases, from 1992-March 2017, applying the quality standards established by the PRISMA methodology and the Joanna Briggs Institute. A total of 1,203 publications were identified in the databases. Finally, 59 articles which met the inclusion criteria were entered in this literature review. Almost all were descriptive studies written in English and published in Europe. The concept of comfort was defined as the immediate condition of being strengthened through having the three types of needs (relief, ease and transcendence) addressed in the four contexts of experience (physical, psychospiritual, social and environmental). Only two valid and reliable tools for assessing comfort were found: the Comfort Scale and the Comfort Behavior Scale. Comfort is subjective and difficult to assess. It has four facets: physical, emotional, social and environmental. High levels of noise and light are the inputs that cause the most discomfort. Comfort is a holistic, universal concept and an important component of quality nursing care. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Co-bedding as a Comfort measure For Twins undergoing painful procedures (CComForT Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feeley Nancy L

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Co-bedding, a developmental care strategy, is the practice of caring for diaper clad twins in one incubator (versus separating and caring for each infant in separate incubators, thus creating the opportunity for skin-to-skin contact and touch between the twins. In studies of mothers and their infants, maternal skin-to-skin contact has been shown to decrease procedural pain response according to both behavioral and physiological indicators in very preterm neonates. It is uncertain if this comfort is derived solely from maternal presence or from stabilization of regulatory processes from direct skin contact. The intent of this study is to compare the comfort effect of co-bedding (between twin infants who are co-bedding and those who are not on infant pain response and physiologic stability during a tissue breaking procedure (heelstick. Methods/Design Medically stable preterm twin infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will be randomly assigned to a co-bedding group or a standard care group. Pain response will be measured by physiological and videotaped facial reaction using the Premature Infant Pain Profile scale (PIPP. Recovery from the tissue breaking procedure will be determined by the length of time for heart rate and oxygen saturation to return to baseline. Sixty four sets of twins (n = 128 will be recruited into the study. Analysis and inference will be based on the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion If twin contact while co-bedding is determined to have a comforting effect for painful procedures, then changes in current neonatal care practices to include co-bedding may be an inexpensive, non invasive method to help maintain physiologic stability and decrease the long term psychological impact of procedural pain in this high risk population. Knowledge obtained from this study will also add to existing theoretical models with respect to the exact mechanism of comfort through touch. Trial registration

  3. Thermal comfort and indoor air quality in rooms with integrated personalized ventilation and under-floor air distribution systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Ruixin; Sekhar ., S. C.; Melikov, Arsen Krikor

    2011-01-01

    A comprehensive study comprising physical measurements and human subject experiments was conducted to explore the potential for improving occupants' thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) using a personalized ventilation (PV) system combined with an under-floor air distribution(UFAD) system....... The integrated PV-UFAD system, when operated at relatively high temperature of the air supplied from the UFAD system, provided comfortable cooling of the facial region, improved inhaled air quality, and decreased the risk of "cold feet," which is often reported in rooms with UFAD alone. This article explores...... and a secondary AHU for 100% recirculated air that is supplied through UFAD outlets. Velocity and temperature distribution in the chamber were measured. A breathing thermal manikin was used to measure the heat loss from 26 body segments and to determine the equivalent temperature. The responses of 30 human...

  4. In search of the comfortable indoor environment: A comparison of the utility of objective and subjective indicators of indoor comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fransson, Niklas; Skoog, Jennie [Building Services Engineering, Department of Energy and Environment, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg (Sweden); Vaestfjaell, Daniel [Department of Psychology, Goeteborg University (Sweden)

    2007-05-15

    Today, many procedures for assessing the indoor environment rely on both subjective and objective indicators (e.g. ANSI/ASHRAE 55-2004; ISO 10551). It is however unclear how these two types of measurements are related to perceived comfort. This article aims at assessing the relative utility of subjective (rating scale measures) and objective indicators of perceived comfort of indoor environments. In a hospital setting, physical environmental variables (e.g. temperature, relative humidity and noise level) were simultaneously measured as respondents (both patients and staff) rated their perception of the indoor environment. Regression analyses indicated that the subjective sensory ratings were significantly better than objective indicators at predicting overall rated indoor comfort. These results are discussed in relation to existing measurement procedures and standards. (author)

  5. Improving comfort while hiking in a sailing boat

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jansen, A.J.; Van Abbema, A.; Howe, C.

    2012-01-01

    The paper presents the changes in perceived comfort while hiking in a sailing boat (in this case the Laser, a single-handed Olympic dinghy) due to a new design of hiking pads. The project used a ‘research by design method’. The aim was to improve sailing comfort which leads to lower fatigue and

  6. Heart rate variation and electroencephalograph--the potential physiological factors for thermal comfort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Y; Lian, Z; Liu, W; Jiang, C; Liu, Y; Lu, H

    2009-04-01

    Human thermal comfort researches mainly focus on the relation between the environmental factors (e.g. ambient temperature, air humidity, and air velocity, etc.) and the thermal comfort sensation based on a large amount of subjective field investigations. Although some physiological factors, such as skin temperature and metabolism were used in many thermal comfort models,they are not enough to establish a perfect thermal comfort model. In this paper,another two physiological factors, i.e. heart rate variation (HRV) and electroencephalograph (EEG), are explored for the thermal comfort study. Experiments were performed to investigate how these physiological factors respond to the environmental temperatures, and what is the relationship between HRV and EEG and thermal comfort. The experimental results indicate that HRV and EEG may be related to thermal comfort, and they may be useful to understand the mechanism of thermal comfort.

  7. Environmental and comfort upgrading through lean technologies in informal settlements: Case study in Nairobi, Kenia and New Delhi, India

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Angelis, Enrico; Tagliabue, Lavinia Chiara; Zecchini, Paolo; Milanesi, Mattia

    2016-07-01

    Informal settlements, namely slums (or bidonville or favelas) are one of the stronger challenge for urban context in developing countries. The increase of urban population leads to a widespread poverty and critical life conditions for a large segment of population, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa, where a high percentage of people lives in informal settlements. The problems in slums are multiple: people suffer malnutrition and poor sanitation, flooding or drought, and live in shelters providing no thermal comfort in many days of the year, furthermore scarce and highly polluting energy sources are available. Climate change and an unavoidable heat island effect make these living conditions nearly catastrophic. This paper focuses on the main characters of these slums and on how to what promote the improvement of living conditions with a lean, low cost, low impact, feasible upgrading of the housing or more properly shelters. The subject of the analysis is the Mathare 4A Upgrading Programme in the city of Nairobi, Kenya, one of the highest slum-dwellers growing rate. The technological solutions applied in this context have been verified in a different climate condition such as the city of New Delhi, India where the phenomenon of the slums is significantly burdensome. The analysis of the comfort conditions inside a type housing has been carried out using hourly weather data and dynamic heat transfer simulation, without any HVAC system and striving only natural ventilation. Data about internal temperature and relative humidity conditions have been applied to evaluate the comfort hours using the Predicted Mean Vote method, the adaptive thermal comfort principles and the bioclimatic charts for the two climates in Nairobi and New Delhi. The percentage of hours within the comfort range and the amount of degree-hours exceeding comfort values showed for different upgrading strategies, how it is possible to deeply influence the living conditions by technological and

  8. Effect of comfort pads and incubator design on neonatal radiography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Xia; Baad, Michael; Reiser, Ingrid; Feinstein, Kate A.; Lu, Zhengfeng [University of Chicago Medicine, Department of Radiology, Chicago, IL (United States)

    2016-01-15

    There has been increasing interest in patient dose reduction in neonatal intensive care units. Removing comfort pads for radiography has been identified as a potential means to decrease patient dose. To assess the effect of comfort pads and support trays on detector entrance exposure (DEE) and image quality for neonatal radiography, and its implication for patient dose. Comfort pads and support trays from three incubator and warmer systems were examined. The attenuation of the primary beam by these structures was measured using a narrow beam geometry. Their effect on DEE and image quality was then assessed using typical neonatal chest radiography techniques with three configurations: (1) both the comfort pad and support included in the beam, (2) only the support tray included and (3) both the comfort pad and support tray removed. Comfort pads and support trays were found to attenuate the primary beam by 6-15%. Eliminating these structures from the X-ray beam's path was found to increase the detector entrance exposure by 28-36% and increase contrast-to-noise ratio by more than 21%, suggesting room for patient dose reduction when the same image quality is maintained. Comfort pads and tray support devices can have a considerable effect on DEE and image quality, with large variations among different incubator designs. Positioning the image detector directly underneath neonatal patients for radiography is a potential means for patient dose reduction. However, such benefit should be weighed against the risks of moving the patient. (orig.)

  9. Effect of comfort pads and incubator design on neonatal radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Xia; Baad, Michael; Reiser, Ingrid; Feinstein, Kate A.; Lu, Zhengfeng

    2016-01-01

    There has been increasing interest in patient dose reduction in neonatal intensive care units. Removing comfort pads for radiography has been identified as a potential means to decrease patient dose. To assess the effect of comfort pads and support trays on detector entrance exposure (DEE) and image quality for neonatal radiography, and its implication for patient dose. Comfort pads and support trays from three incubator and warmer systems were examined. The attenuation of the primary beam by these structures was measured using a narrow beam geometry. Their effect on DEE and image quality was then assessed using typical neonatal chest radiography techniques with three configurations: (1) both the comfort pad and support included in the beam, (2) only the support tray included and (3) both the comfort pad and support tray removed. Comfort pads and support trays were found to attenuate the primary beam by 6-15%. Eliminating these structures from the X-ray beam's path was found to increase the detector entrance exposure by 28-36% and increase contrast-to-noise ratio by more than 21%, suggesting room for patient dose reduction when the same image quality is maintained. Comfort pads and tray support devices can have a considerable effect on DEE and image quality, with large variations among different incubator designs. Positioning the image detector directly underneath neonatal patients for radiography is a potential means for patient dose reduction. However, such benefit should be weighed against the risks of moving the patient. (orig.)

  10. Smart grid voor comfort

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Vissers, D.R.; Maaijen, H.N.; Kling, W.L.; Velden, van der J.A.J.; Larsen, J.P.

    2012-01-01

    Er vindt onderzoek plaats naar een nieuwe regelstrategie gebaseerd op de toepassing van een draadloos sensor netwerk dat is gekoppeld aan het smart grid. Doel van deze regelstrategie is om op gebruikersniveau energie te kunnen besparen met behoud of zelfs verbetering van het individueel comfort. Er

  11. Crafting emotional comfort: interpreting the painful past at living history museums in the new economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy M. Tyson

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available This essay offers ethnographic accounts of two living history museums, Historic Fort Snelling in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Conner Prairie, in Fishers, Indiana. While Snelling’s programming worked to erase the history of slavery at the site, Conner Prairie fore-grounded the trauma of slavery in a special after-hours event wherein customers paid to role-play for 90 minutes as fugitive slaves on Indiana’s underground railroad in 1836. As different as the sites were with regards to how they dealt with slavery, both shared a common goal of ‘keeping the customer satisfied’. The author argues that in practice, this service economy directive translated into a preoccupation with keeping the customer comfortable, and that this preoccupation with comfort ultimately shaped the delivery of interpretation at both sites.

  12. Heating with wood. An advisor for a correct and clean heating; Heizen mit Holz. Ein Ratgeber zum richtigen und sauberen Heizen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Behnke, Anja [Umweltbundesamt, Dessau (Germany); Kemper, Bernd-Michael [Landesanstalt fuer Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Wuerttemberg (LUBW), Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2010-02-15

    Correctly used, wood is an environmental-friendly fuel. With well prepared wood, the wood furnace or wood boiler provides for comfortable warmth and does not load the environment too much. The brochure under consideration gives hints, how a wood heating is to be operated correctly.

  13. Influences of Carbody Vertical Flexibility on Ride Comfort of Railway Vehicles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dumitriu Mădălina

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the influence of the carbody vertical flexibility on the ride comfort of the railway vehicles. The ride comfort is evaluated via the comfort index calculated in three reference points of the carbody. The results of the numerical simulations bring attention to the importance of the carbody symmetrical vertical bending upon the dynamic response of the vehicle, mainly at high velocities. Another conclusion is that the ride comfort can be significantly affected as a function of the symmetrical bending frequency of the carbody. Similarly, there are improvement possibilities for the ride comfort when the best selection of the stiffness in the longitudinal traction system between the carbody and bogie and the vertical suspension damping is made.

  14. Perceived health and comfort in relation to energy use and building characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roulet, C.-A.; Johner, N. [Ecole Polytechnique Federale, Lausanne (Switzerland); Foradini, F. [E4Tech S., Lausanne (Switzerland); Bluyssen, P.; Cox, C. [TNO Built Environment and Geosciences, Delft (Netherlands); Oliveira Fernandes, E. De [IDMEC-FUEP, Porto (Portugal); Mueller, B. [Technical University of Berlin, Berlin (Germany); Aizlewood, C. [Building Research Establishment, Watford (United Kingdom)

    2006-09-15

    Within the European research project Health Optimisation Protocol for Energy-efficient Building (HOPE), 96 apartment buildings and 64 office buildings (of which approximately 75% have been designed to be energy-efficient) were investigated. The building characteristics were assessed according to a checklist during a walk-through survey. Occupant questionnaires were used to determine satisfaction about comfort (thermal visual, acoustical and indoor air quality (IAQ)) and their health (Sick Building Syndrome and allergies). Building-averaged collected data are compared, looking for correlations between building characteristics on one hand, and perceived comfort and health on the other hand. Strong correlations are found between perceived IAQ, thermal, acoustic and lighting comfort, confirming results from other studies. Significant correlations between the perceived comfort and building related symptoms were also found, comfortable and healthier buildings being well distinct from uncomfortable ones. Differences of perceived comfort or health between low- and high-energy buildings show that it is possible to design buildings that are healthy, comfortable and energy efficient. (author)

  15. Evolution of perceived footwear comfort over a prolonged running session.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hintzy, F; Cavagna, J; Horvais, N

    2015-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the subjective perception of overall footwear comfort over a prolonged running session. Ten runners performed two similar sessions consisting of a 13-km trail run (5 laps of 2.6 km) as fast as possible. The overall footwear comfort was evaluated before running and at the end of each lap with a 150-mm visual analogic scale, as well as speed, heart rate and rate of perceived exertion. The results showed that both overall footwear comfort and speed decreased consistently during the run session, and significantly after 44 min of running (i.e. the 3rd lap). It could be hypothesized that the deterioration of overall footwear comfort was explained by mechanical and energetical parameter changes with time and/or fatigue occurring at the whole body, foot and footwear levels. These results justify the use of a prolonged running test for running footwear comfort evaluation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Passivhaus: indoor comfort and energy dynamic analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guida, Antonella; Pagliuca, Antonello; Cardinale, Nicola; Rospi, Gianluca

    2013-04-01

    The research aims to verify the energy performance as well as the indoor comfort of an energy class A+ building, built so that the sum of the heat passive contributions of solar radiation, transmitted through the windows, and the heat generated inside the building, are adeguate to compensate for the envelope loss during the cold season. The building, located in Emilia Romagna (Italy), was built using a wooden structure, an envelope realized using a pinewood sandwich panels (transmittance U = 0.250 W/m2K) and, inside, a wool flax insulation layer and thermal window frame with low-emissivity glass (U = 0524 W/m2K). The building design and construction process has followed the guidelines set by "CasaClima". The building has been modeled in the code of dynamic calculation "Energy Plus" by the Design Builder application and divided it into homogenous thermal zones, characterized by winter indoor temperature set at 20 ° (+ / - 1 °) and summer indoor temperature set at 26 ° (+ / - 1 °). It has modeled: the envelope, as described above, the "free" heat contributions, the air conditioning system, the Mechanical Ventilation system as well as home automation solutions. The air conditioning system is an heat pump, able to guarantee an optimization of energy consumption (in fact, it uses the "free" heat offered by the external environment for conditioning indoor environment). As regards the air recirculation system, it has been used a mechanical ventilation system with internal heat cross-flow exchanger, with an efficiency equal to 50%. The domotic solutions, instead, regard a system for the control of windows external screening using reeds, adjustable as a function of incident solar radiation and a lighting management system adjusted automatically using a dimmer. A so realized building meets the requirement imposed from Italian standard UNI/TS 11300 1, UNI/TS 11300 2 and UNI/TS 11300 3. The analysis was performed according to two different configurations: in "spontaneous

  17. Diffusion of renewable heating technologies in households. Experiences from the Norwegian Household Subsidy Programme

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bjørnstad, Even

    2012-01-01

    A sample of 896 Norwegian households participating in a subsidy programme was surveyed in order to evaluate the success of the programme. The programme subsidised investments in new heating technologies, including heat pumps and pellet stoves. The success of the programme was measured by the degree of overall satisfaction with the investment by the sampled households. Theories on diffusion of innovations and planned behaviour motivate the empirical modelling of the investment satisfaction. The economic return on the investment varied substantially both within and between the two heating technologies, with heat pumps outperforming pellet stoves in this respect. Still, the economic return showed no explanatory power toward the investment satisfaction of the household. Among the economic variables, only the electricity price had any influence on investment satisfaction. Technical quality, indoor climate and heat comfort, and the availability of the supplier of the heating equipment were the most important explanatory variables. - Highlights: ► Investments in heat pumps and pellet stoves were subsidized over a public programme. ► Heat pumps showed a strong economic return, pellet stoves performed much more poorly. ► This difference in economic return does not influence the investment satisfaction. ► Technical quality, indoor climate and heat comfort are important benefits. ► Service availability and electricity price also influence satisfaction.

  18. Determination of thermal and acoustic comfort inside a vehicle's cabin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ene, Alexandra; Catalina, Tiberiu; Vartires, Andreea

    2018-02-01

    Thermal and acoustic comfort, inside a vehicle's cabin, are highly interconnected and can greatly influence the health of the passengers. On one hand, the H.V.A.C. system brings the interior air parameters to a comfortable value while on the other hand, it is the main source of noise. It is an intriguing task to find a balance between the two. In this paper, several types of air diffusers were used in order to optimize the ratio between thermal and acoustic interior comfort. Using complex measurements of noise and thermal comfort parameters we have determined for each type of air diffuser the sound pressure level and its impact on air temperature and air velocity.

  19. Effects of Drains on Pain, Comfort and Anxiety in Patients Undergone Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ummu Yildiz Findik

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Backround: Surgical drains negatively affect patients’ comfort, cause anxiety along with pain, as they are used to promote healing after surgery.Purpose: This study aimed to determine pain, comfort and anxiety levels of patients with drains postoperatively.Methodology: Research was performed with 192 patients undergone abdominal, neck, breast and open heart surgery and had surgical and underwater chest drains at the postoperative period. Patient Information Form, Numerical Pain Scale, General Comfort Questionnaire and Trait Anxiety Scale was used for collection of data. In evaluating the data, we used the t-test, variance and correlation analysis, mean, percentage and frequency.Results: The patients’ mean score of pain was 4.67±2.93, comfort was 2.75±0.29 and anxiety was 39.31±9.21. It was found statistically significant that the comfort level decreases as the pain level increases and that the patients undergone open heart surgery and with underwater chest drains have higher pain levels. It was found statistically significant that, comfort level in patients undergone abdominal or cardiac surgery is lower than patients undergone breast or neck surgery, and that the comfort level decreases as the duration of drains increases. The increasing state anxiety while pain increases and comfort decreases was found statistically significant.Conclusions: Surgeries and drains applied after these procedures decrease the comfort level of the patients as increases the pain level. Also, pain and discomfort increase the patients’ anxiety. Nurses who providing care to these patients are suggested to improve measures about pain and anxiety reduction for maintaining of comfort.

  20. Effect of warm air supplied facially on occupants' comfort

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaczmarczyk, J. [Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 20, PL-44-101 Gliwice (Poland); Melikov, A.; Sliva, D. [Department of Civil Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, International Centre for Indoor Environment and Energy, Nils Koppels Alle, DTU, Building 402, 2800 Lyngby (Denmark)

    2010-04-15

    Human response to air movement supplied locally towards the face was studied in a room with an air temperature of 20 C and a relative humidity of 30%. Thirty-two human subjects were exposed to three conditions: calm environment and facially supplied airflow at 21 C and at 26 C. The air was supplied with a constant velocity of 0.4 m/s by means of personalized ventilation towards the face of the subjects. The airflow at 21 C decreased the subjects' thermal sensation and increased draught discomfort, but improved slightly the perceived air quality. Heating of the supplied air by 6 K (temperature increase by 4 K at the target area) above the room air temperature decreased the draught discomfort, improved subjects' thermal comfort and only slightly decreased the perceived air quality. Elevated velocity and temperature of the localized airflow caused an increase of nose dryness intensity and number of eye irritation reports. Results suggest that increasing the temperature of the air locally supplied to the breathing zone by only a few degrees above the room air temperature will improve occupants' thermal comfort and will diminish draught discomfort. This strategy will extend the applicability of personalized ventilation aiming to supply clean air for breathing at the lower end of the temperature range recommended in the standards. Providing individual control is essential in order to avoid discomfort for the most sensitive occupants. (author)

  1. Parametric Modelling and Traditional Architecture: Improving the thermal comfort of the traditional courtyard house in Morocco

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    El Harrouni Khalid

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The traditional courtyard house of the Mediterranean Basin has been viewed as a complex regulating system that creates a microclimate which historically worked, and still works, in a passive way to provide acceptable thermal comfort in summer. The internal courtyard is generally described as a positive factor that can moderate extreme outdoor climatic conditions. However, some researches have shown that the courtyard could become a negative factor from the energy efficiency point of view. For this purpose, this paper is based on a research study exploring sustainable characteristics of Moroccan traditional housing and its climatic adaptation, delving into the Rabat-Salé case study. A traditional courtyard model is used as a case study to analyze the indoor thermal comfort without using mechanical heating and cooling systems. The thermal behavior of the rooms surrounding the courtyard is analyzed under a temperate and humid climate of Rabat-Salé medina. The simulation modelling is carried out to analyze the effectiveness of different parameters to improve the indoor climate during summer and winter, including the façade orientation, the air infiltration, the surroundings, the ceiling height, the walls and roof/ceiling insulation and the shading devices. Tools for climatic design, Mahoney’s tables, Givoni and Szokolay bio climatic diagrams have been also used to improve design strategies in terms of thermal comfort.

  2. Heating and Domestic Hot Water Systems in Buildings Supplied by Low-Temperature District Heating

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brand, Marek

    solutions simply redirect the bypassed water back to the DH network without additional cooling, but bypassed water can instead be redirected to floor heating in the bathroom to be further cooled and thus reduce heat loss from the DH network while improving comfort for occupants and still ensure fast DHW...... increased risk of Legionella if the DH substation and DHW system are designed for the low-temperature supply conditions. To ensure the fast provision of DHW during non-heating periods, the supply service pipe should be kept warm, preferably with the bypass solution redirecting the bypass flow to bathroom...... temperature. To accord with the literature, the modelling of internal heat gains reflected the improved efficiency of equipment by reduction of value from 5W/m2 to 4.2W/m2, also modelled as intermittent heat gains based on a realistic week schedule. Furthermore, the indoor set-point temperature was increased...

  3. An analysis of influential factors on outdoor thermal comfort in summer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, JiFu; Zheng, YouFei; Wu, RongJun; Tan, JianGuo; Ye, DianXiu; Wang, Wei

    2012-09-01

    A variety of research has linked high temperature to outdoor thermal comfort in summer, but it remains unclear how outdoor meteorological environments influence people's thermal sensation in subtropical monsoon climate areas, especially in China. In order to explain the process, and to better understand the related influential factors, we conducted an extensive survey of thermally comfortable conditions in open outdoor spaces. The goal of this study was to gain an insight into the subjects' perspectives on weather variables and comfort levels, and determine the factors responsible for the varying human thermal comfort response in summer. These perceptions were then compared to actual ambient conditions. The database consists of surveys rated by 205 students trained from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm outdoors from 21 to 25 August 2009, at Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST), Nanjing, China. The multiple regression approach and simple factor analysis of variance were used to investigate the relationships between thermal comfort and meteorological environment, taking into consideration individual mood, gender, level of regular exercise, and previous environmental experiences. It was found that males and females have similar perceptions of maximum temperature; in the most comfortable environment, mood appears to have a significant influence on thermal comfort, but the influence of mood diminishes as the meteorological environment becomes increasingly uncomfortable. In addition, the study confirms the strong relationship between thermal comfort and microclimatic conditions, including solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, maximum temperature, wind speed and relative humidity, ranked by importance. There are also strong effects of illness, clothing and exercise, all of which influence thermal comfort. We also find that their former place of residence influences people's thermal comfort substantially by setting expectations. Finally, some relationships

  4. An analysis of influential factors on outdoor thermal comfort in summer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, JiFu; Zheng, YouFei; Wu, RongJun; Tan, JianGuo; Ye, DianXiu; Wang, Wei

    2012-09-01

    A variety of research has linked high temperature to outdoor thermal comfort in summer, but it remains unclear how outdoor meteorological environments influence people's thermal sensation in subtropical monsoon climate areas, especially in China. In order to explain the process, and to better understand the related influential factors, we conducted an extensive survey of thermally comfortable conditions in open outdoor spaces. The goal of this study was to gain an insight into the subjects' perspectives on weather variables and comfort levels, and determine the factors responsible for the varying human thermal comfort response in summer. These perceptions were then compared to actual ambient conditions. The database consists of surveys rated by 205 students trained from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm outdoors from 21 to 25 August 2009, at Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology (NUIST), Nanjing, China. The multiple regression approach and simple factor analysis of variance were used to investigate the relationships between thermal comfort and meteorological environment, taking into consideration individual mood, gender, level of regular exercise, and previous environmental experiences. It was found that males and females have similar perceptions of maximum temperature; in the most comfortable environment, mood appears to have a significant influence on thermal comfort, but the influence of mood diminishes as the meteorological environment becomes increasingly uncomfortable. In addition, the study confirms the strong relationship between thermal comfort and microclimatic conditions, including solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, maximum temperature, wind speed and relative humidity, ranked by importance. There are also strong effects of illness, clothing and exercise, all of which influence thermal comfort. We also find that their former place of residence influences people's thermal comfort substantially by setting expectations. Finally, some relationships

  5. Children undergoing cancer treatment describe their experiences of comfort in interviews and drawings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ångström-Brännström, Charlotte; Norberg, Astrid

    2014-01-01

    Children with cancer often undergo a long course of treatment, described as painful, and associated with feelings of discomfort and need of comfort. The aim of this descriptive interview study was to investigate how children, aged 3 to 9 years, undergoing cancer treatment describe their experience of comfort. The children were interviewed and asked to make drawings. Data were content analyzed and four themes were constructed--enduring discomfort, expressing discomfort, finding comfort, and comforting others. The findings show that the children endured discomfort during treatment, and were sometimes able to express it. They found comfort especially from their family and from hospital staff. The children also described that they comforted family members. The findings are in accordance with previous research about children's and adults' accounts of comfort. An incidental finding is that parents were surprised when they listened to the children's accounts of their experience of discomfort and comfort and achieved a better understanding of their children.

  6. The role of respondents’ comfort for variance in stated choice surveys

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Emang, Diana; Lundhede, Thomas; Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark

    2017-01-01

    they complete surveys correlates with the error variance in stated choice models of their responses. Comfort-related variables are included in the scale functions of the scaled multinomial logit models. The hypothesis was that higher comfort reduces error variance in answers, as revealed by a higher scale...... parameter and vice versa. Information on, e.g., sleep and time since eating (higher comfort) correlated with scale heterogeneity, and produced lower error variance when controlled for in the model. That respondents’ comfort may influence choice behavior suggests that knowledge of the respondents’ activity......Preference elicitation among outdoor recreational users is subject to measurement errors that depend, in part, on survey planning. This study uses data from a choice experiment survey on recreational SCUBA diving to investigate whether self-reported information on respondents’ comfort when...

  7. Does a one-day workshop improve clinical faculty's comfort and behaviour in practising and teaching evidence-based medicine? A Canadian mixed methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, David; Abourbih, Jacques; Maar, Marion; Boesch, Lisa; Goertzen, James; Cervin, Catherine

    2017-07-13

    The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of a 1-day evidence-based medicine (EBM) workshop on physician attitudes and behaviours around teaching and practicing EBM. A mixed methods study using a before/after cohort. A medical school delivering continuing professional development to 1250 clinical faculty over a large geographic area in Canada. 105 physician clinical faculty members. A 1-day workshop presented at 11 different sites over an 18-month period focusing on EBM skills for teaching and clinical practice. (1) A quantitative survey administered immediately before and after the workshop, and 3-6 months later, to assess the hypothesis that comfort with teaching and practising EBM can be improved.(2) A qualitative survey of the expectations for, and impact of the workshop on, participant behaviours and attitudes using a combination of pre, post and 3 to 6-month follow-up questionnaires, and telephone interviews completed 10-14 months after the workshop. Physician comfort with their EBM clinical skills improved on average by 0.93 points on a 5-point Likert scale, and comfort with EBM teaching skills by 0.97 points (p values 0.001). Most of this improvement was sustained 3-6 months later. Three to fourteen months after the workshop, half of responding participants reported that they were using the Population Intervention Comparator Outcome (PICO) methodology of question framing for teaching, clinical practice or both. Comfort in teaching and practicing EBM can be improved by a 1-day workshop, with most of this improvement sustained 3-6 months later. PICO question framing can be learnt at a 1-day workshop, and is associated with a self-reported change in clinical and teaching practice 3-14 months later. This represents both level 2 (attitudes) and level 3 (behaviours) change using the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial

  8. Quality and satisfaction of thermal comfort in Dutch offices

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brink, Henk Willem; Mobach, Mark P.; Balslev Nielsen, S.; Jensen, P.A.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This field study analyses the quality of the actual thermal comfort and indoor air quality in Dutch office buildings. A linear regression analysis was used to determine how much these variables and demographic variables influenced the perceived thermal comfort of office workers. Approach:

  9. Linear Parks along Urban Rivers: Perceptions of Thermal Comfort and Climate Change Adaptation in Cyprus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elias Giannakis

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The development of green space along urban rivers could mitigate urban heat island effects, enhance the physical and mental well-being of city dwellers, and improve flood resilience. A linear park has been recently created along the ephemeral Pedieos River in the urban area of Nicosia, Cyprus. Questionnaire surveys and micrometeorological measurements were conducted to explore people’s perceptions and satisfaction regarding the services of the urban park. People’s main reasons to visit the park were physical activity and exercise (67%, nature (13%, and cooling (4%. The micrometeorological measurements in and near the park revealed a relatively low cooling effect (0.5 °C of the park. However, the majority of the visitors (84% were satisfied or very satisfied with the cooling effect of the park. Logistic regression analysis indicated that the odds of individuals feeling very comfortable under a projected 3 °C future increase in temperature would be 0.34 times lower than the odds of feeling less comfortable. The discrepancies between the observed thermal comfort index and people’s perceptions revealed that people in semi-arid environments are adapted to the hot climatic conditions; 63% of the park visitors did not feel uncomfortable at temperatures between 27 °C and 37 °C. Further research is needed to assess other key ecosystems services of this urban green river corridor, such as flood protection, air quality regulation, and biodiversity conservation, to contribute to integrated climate change adaptation planning.

  10. Thermal comfort in low energy buildings. Pt. 2. summery conditions. Planning guides for architects and specialist planners; Thermische Behaglichkeit im Niedrigenergiehaus. T. 2. Sommerliche Verhaeltnisse. Planungsleitfaden fuer Architekten und Fachplaner

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richter, Wolfgang; Felsmann, Clemens; Gritzki, Ralf; Perschk, Alf; Roesler, Markus; Abdel Fattah, Annina [Technische Univ. Dresden (Germany). Inst. fuer Energietechnik; Hartmann, Thomas [ITG Institut fuer Technische Gebaeudeausruestung Dresden - Forschung und Anwendung GmbH, Dresden (Germany)

    2011-11-15

    Within the contribution under consideration, the German Energy Agency GmbH (Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany) reports on the thermal comfort in low energy buildings under special consideration of summary conditions. After the presentation of an overview of variants, the chapter 'Fundamentals' consists of contributions to thermal comfort, methodical remarks, boundary conditions, uncooled rooms, precooling and full cooling. Other chapters of this contribution are concerned to heat protection and masses in building materials; shading and proportion of windows area; systems engineering.

  11. Ride comfort analysis with physiological parameters for an e-health train.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Youngbum; Shin, Kwangsoo; Lee, Sangjoon; Song, Yongsoo; Han, Sungho; Lee, Myoungho

    2009-12-01

    Transportation by train has numerous advantages over road transportation, especially with regard to energy efficiency, ecological features, safety, and punctuality. However, the contrast in ride comfort between standard road transportation and train travel has become a competitive issue. The ride comfort enhancement technology of tilting trains (TTX) is a particularly important issue in the development of the Korean high-speed railroad business. Ride comfort is now defined in international standards such as UIC13 and ISO2631. The Korean standards such as KSR9216 mainly address physical parameters such as vibration and noise. In the area of ride comfort, living quality parameter techniques have recently been considered in Korea, Japan, and Europe. This study introduces biological parameters, particularly variations in heart rate, as a more direct measure of comfort. Biological parameters are based on physiological responses rather than on purely external mechanical parameters. Variability of heart rate and other physiological parameters of passengers are measured in a simulation involving changes in the tilting angle of the TTX. This research is a preliminary study for the implementation of an e-health train, which would provide passengers with optimized ride comfort. The e-health train would also provide feedback on altered ride comfort situations that can improve a passenger's experience and provide a healthcare service on the train. The aim of this research was to develop a ride comfort evaluation system for the railway industry, the automobile industry, and the air industry. The degree of tilt correlated with heart rate, fatigue, and unrelieved alertness.

  12. Outdoor thermal comfort and behaviour in urban area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inavonna, I.; Hardiman, G.; Purnomo, A. B.

    2018-01-01

    Outdoor comfort is important due to the public spaces functions. Open spaces provide thermal comfort and a pleasant experience to improve the city life quality effectively. The influence of thermal comfort in outdoor activities is a complex problem. This paper presents a literature review and discussion of aspects of physical, psychology, and social behaviour toward outdoor thermal comfort. The valuation is determined not only by the “physical state” but also by the “state of mind”. The assessment is static and objective (i.e., physical and physiological characteristics) that it should be measured. Furthermore, an effective model to provide the knowledge of climatic conditions, as well as the dynamic and subjective aspects (i.e., psychological and social characteristics and behaviour), requires a comprehensive interview and observation. The model will be examined to describe the behaviour that is a reflection of perception and behaviour toward the environment. The adaptation process will constantly evolve so that it becomes a continuous cause between human behaviour and the spatial setting of the formation, which is eventually known as places and not just spaces. This evolutionary process is a civic art form.

  13. Progress in thermal comfort research over the last twenty years

    OpenAIRE

    de Dear, R; Akimoto, T; Arens, E; Brager, G; Candido, C; Cheong, K.W.; Li, B; Nishihara, N; Sekhar, S.C.; Tanabe, S; Toftum, J; Zhang, H; Zhu, Y

    2013-01-01

    Climate change and the urgency of decarbonizing the built environment are driving technological innovation in the way we deliver thermal comfort to occupants. These changes, in turn, seem to be setting the directions for contemporary thermal comfort research. This article presents a literature review of major changes, developments, and trends in the field of thermal comfort research over the last 20 years. One of the main paradigm shift was the fundamental conceptual reorientation that has ta...

  14. The aircraft interior comfort experience of 10,032 passengers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vink, P.; Mastrigt, S. van

    2011-01-01

    One airline strategy aimed at selling more tickets is to provide a superior comfort experience. However, only a small amount of public scientific information is available addressing the passenger’s opinion on comfort. In this study, 10,032 internet trip reports were used to gather opinions about

  15. The evaluation of (social-)psychological comfort in clothing, a possible approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matté, L. L.; Broega, A. C.

    2017-10-01

    This paper presents the first results of a PhD research on psychological comfort of clothing. In order to understand and conceptualize the psychological aspects of clothing comfort, a variation of the Delphi Method was used to seek opinions from experts. This method was chosen because of its consensus-building features. The results were obtained from a qualitative text analysis, conducted over the experts’ responses to the first round of questions. The analytic process shed some light on the formation of the psychological comfort concept as well as the potential attributes to be evaluated when assessing this comfort dimension.

  16. Relationship between comfort and attenuation measurements for two types of earplugs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David C Byrne

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Noise-induced hearing loss is almost always preventable if properly fitted hearing protectors are worn to reduce exposure. Many individuals choose not to wear hearing protection because it may interfere with effective communication in the workplace or it may be uncomfortable. Hearing protector comfort has not received the same amount of attention as noise reduction capability. The present study was conducted to evaluate the comfort level of two different types of insert earplugs as well as the attenuation levels achieved by the earplugs. Attenuation levels were obtained with a commercially available earplug fit-test system, and the comfort ratings were obtained by questionnaire. The primary research objective was to determine whether hearing protector comfort was related to measured attenuation values. A linear mixed effects model provided evidence for an inverse relationship between comfort and attenuation.

  17. The role of clothing in thermal comfort: how people dress in a temperate and humid climate in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata De Vecchi

    Full Text Available Abstract Thermal insulation from clothing is one of the most important input variables used to predict the thermal comfort of a building's occupants. This paper investigates the clothing pattern in buildings with different configurations located in a temperate and humid climate in Brazil. Occupants of two kinds of buildings (three offices and two university classrooms assessed their thermal environment through 'right-here-right-now' questionnaires, while at the same time indoor climatic measurements were carried out in situ (air temperature and radiant temperature, air speed and humidity. A total of 5,036 votes from 1,161 occupants were collected. Results suggest that the clothing values adopted by occupants inside buildings were influenced by: 1 climate and seasons of the year; 2 different configurations and indoor thermal conditions; and 3 occupants' age and gender. Significant intergenerational and gender differences were found, which might be explained by differences in metabolic rates and fashion. The results also indicate that there is a great opportunity to exceed the clothing interval of the thermal comfort zones proposed by international standards such as ASHRAE 55 (2013 - 0.5 to 1.0 clo - and thereby save energy from cooling and heating systems, without compromising the occupants' indoor thermal comfort.

  18. Modernizing residential heating in Russia: End-use practices, legal developments, and future prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korppoo, Anna; Korobova, Nina

    2012-01-01

    This article explores the significance of modernization policies concerning Russia’s technically obsolete but socially important residential heating sector, focusing on the 2009 energy efficiency framework law and its prospects for implementation. Ownership and control structures are in flux throughout the heating sector chain. Inefficiencies, causing low service quality and rising prices, have already started eroding the market share of district heating, despite its potential benefits. End-use management practices – such as lack of metering, communal billing, and low prices that do not cover production costs – reduce consumer incentives to cut consumption. The diversity of end-users adds to the complexity of focused measures like energy-saving contracts. However, end-use sector reforms such as mandatory meter installation and increasing prices – even if socially acceptable and fully implemented – cannot alone provide the massive investments required. More appropriate is sector-wide reform with the government’s financial participation – especially if consumer efforts can yield better service quality. - Highlights: ► We analyze Russia’s energy efficiency policy on residential heating sector. ► Institutional structures and practices reduce incentives to cut consumption. ► Meter installation and increasing prices cannot deliver investments required. ► Government led sector-wide reform is required, linked to better service quality.

  19. Potential of HVAC and solar technologies for hospital retrofit to reduce heating energy consumption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pop, Octavian G.; Abrudan, Ancuta C.; Adace, Dan S.; Pocola, Adrian G.; Balan, Mugur C.

    2018-02-01

    The study presents a combination of several energy efficient technologies together with their potential to reduce the energy consumption and to increase the comfort through the retrofit of a hospital building. The existing situation is characterized by an old and inefficient heating system, by the complete missing of any ventilation and by no cooling. The retrofit proposal includes thermal insulation and a distributed HVAC system consisting of several units that includes air to air heat exchangers and air to air heat pumps. A condensing boiler was also considered for heating. A solar thermal system for preparing domestic hot water and a solar photovoltaic system to assist the HVAC units are also proposed. Heat transfer principles are used for modelling the thermal response of the building to the environmental parameters and thermodynamic principles are used for modelling the behaviour of HVAC, solar thermal system and photovoltaic system. All the components of the heating loads were determined for one year period. The study reveals the capacity of the proposed systems to provide ventilation and thermal comfort with a global reduction of energy consumption of 71.6 %.

  20. Historical changes and recent energy saving potential of residential heating in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yeo, M.-S.; Yang, I.-H.; Kim, K.-W.

    2003-01-01

    The residential heating method in Korea underwent various phases of development to reach the current system. The first phase was the traditional Ondol (the traditional under-floor heating system in Korea), where the floor was heated by the circulation of hot gas produced by a fire furnace (before the 1950s). The second phase involved the use of the modified anthracite coal Ondol, for which the fire furnace was modified for briquette use (from the early 1950s to the late 1970s). The third phase involved the use of hot water radiant floor heating with embedded tubes (from the late 1970s). This paper presents insights into the problem of current residential heating in Korea and the general aspects of heating energy savings by tracing the history of residential heating in Korea and analyzing related data. The results show that modern apartment buildings with hot water radiant floor heating (the third phase) yield less heat loss due to the tighter envelope, but also yield higher energy consumption than the traditional Ondol heating housing (the first phase). Because of an inefficient system and lack of thermal insulation of the traditional Ondol heating housing, Ondol heating was used to heat occupants sitting directly on the floor, keeping lower room temperature and higher floor surface temperature. So the range of comfortable floor temperature for Korean people is higher and this unique comfort sense is related to energy consumption in modern apartment housing. As a result, several energy saving methods were found such as reducing the total floor heating area or zoning the floor area, receiving continuous heat supply, and installing a delicate control system and metering devices. (author)

  1. Solar air heating system: design and dynamic simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bououd, M.; Hachchadi, O.; Janusevicius, K.; Martinaitis, V.; Mechaqrane, A.

    2018-05-01

    The building sector is one of the big energy consumers in Morocco, accounting for about 23% of the country’s total energy consumption. Regarding the population growth, the modern lifestyle requiring more comfort and the increase of the use rate of electronic devices, the energy consumption will continue to increase in the future. In this context, the introduction of renewable energy systems, along with energy efficiency, is becoming a key factor in reducing the energy bill of buildings. This study focuses on the design and dynamic simulation of an air heating system for the mean categories of the tertiary sector where the area exceeds 750 m3. Heating system has been designed via a dynamic simulation environment (TRNSYS) to estimate the produced temperature and airflow rate by one system consisting of three essential components: vacuum tube solar collector, storage tank and water-to-air finned heat exchanger. The performances estimation of this system allows us to evaluate its capacity to meet the heating requirements in Ifrane city based on the prescriptive approach according to the Moroccan Thermal Regulation. The simulation results show that in order to maintain a comfort temperature of 20°C in a building of 750m3, the places requires a thermal powers of approximately 21 kW, 29 kW and 32 kW, respectively, for hotels, hospitals, administrative and public-school. The heat generation is ensured by a solar collector areas of 5 m², 7 m² and 10 m², respectively, for hotels, hospitals, administrative and public-school spaces, a storage tank of 2 m3 and a finned heat exchanger with 24 tubes. The finned tube bundles have been modelled and integrated into the system design via a Matlab code. The heating temperature is adjusted via two controllers to ensure a constant air temperature of 20°C during the heating periods.

  2. Analyzing Design Heating Loads in Superinsulated Buildings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arena, Lois [Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings, Norwalk, CT (United States)

    2015-06-01

    Super-insulated homes offer many benefits including improved comfort, reduced exterior noise penetration, lower energy bills, and the ability to withstand power and fuel outages under much more comfortable conditions than a typical home. While these homes aren't necessarily constructed with excessive mass in the form of concrete floors and walls, the amount of insulation and the increase in the thickness of the building envelope can lead to a mass effect, resulting in the structures ability to store much more heat than a code built home. This results in a very low thermal inertia making the building much less sensitive to drastic temperature swings thereby decreasing the peak heating load demand. During the winter of 2013/2014, CARB monitored the energy use of three homes in climate zone 6 in an attempt to evaluate the accuracy of two different mechanical system sizing methods for low load homes. Based on the results, it is recommended that internal and solar gains be included and some credit for thermal inertia be used in sizing calculations for super insulated homes.

  3. Importance of thermal comfort for library building in Kuching, Sarawak

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ibrahim, S.H.; Baharun, A.; Abdul Mannan, M.D.; Abang Adenan, D.A. [Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS), 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak (Malaysia)

    2013-07-01

    Malaysian Government takes an initiative to provide library in housing areas to improve the quality of human capital. However, the government has to evaluate every aspect of their provision to ensure the services provided meet the demands of the users, including the aspect of thermal comfort in the building. For this study, a library constructed using Industrialised Building System (IBS) are selected for thermal comfort evaluation. The data were analyzed using Corrected Effective Temperature (CET) index. From the data analysis, it shows that thermal comfort in the library could not be achieved most of the time unless when the mechanical cooling is used. A series of technical design improvements are then recommended to improve the thermal comfort inside the library by incorporating construction details without increasing the cost.

  4. Operating Comfort Prediction Model of Human-Machine Interface Layout for Cabin Based on GEP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Deng

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In view of the evaluation and decision-making problem of human-machine interface layout design for cabin, the operating comfort prediction model is proposed based on GEP (Gene Expression Programming, using operating comfort to evaluate layout scheme. Through joint angles to describe operating posture of upper limb, the joint angles are taken as independent variables to establish the comfort model of operating posture. Factor analysis is adopted to decrease the variable dimension; the model’s input variables are reduced from 16 joint angles to 4 comfort impact factors, and the output variable is operating comfort score. The Chinese virtual human body model is built by CATIA software, which will be used to simulate and evaluate the operators’ operating comfort. With 22 groups of evaluation data as training sample and validation sample, GEP algorithm is used to obtain the best fitting function between the joint angles and the operating comfort; then, operating comfort can be predicted quantitatively. The operating comfort prediction result of human-machine interface layout of driller control room shows that operating comfort prediction model based on GEP is fast and efficient, it has good prediction effect, and it can improve the design efficiency.

  5. Operating Comfort Prediction Model of Human-Machine Interface Layout for Cabin Based on GEP.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Li; Wang, Guohua; Chen, Bo

    2015-01-01

    In view of the evaluation and decision-making problem of human-machine interface layout design for cabin, the operating comfort prediction model is proposed based on GEP (Gene Expression Programming), using operating comfort to evaluate layout scheme. Through joint angles to describe operating posture of upper limb, the joint angles are taken as independent variables to establish the comfort model of operating posture. Factor analysis is adopted to decrease the variable dimension; the model's input variables are reduced from 16 joint angles to 4 comfort impact factors, and the output variable is operating comfort score. The Chinese virtual human body model is built by CATIA software, which will be used to simulate and evaluate the operators' operating comfort. With 22 groups of evaluation data as training sample and validation sample, GEP algorithm is used to obtain the best fitting function between the joint angles and the operating comfort; then, operating comfort can be predicted quantitatively. The operating comfort prediction result of human-machine interface layout of driller control room shows that operating comfort prediction model based on GEP is fast and efficient, it has good prediction effect, and it can improve the design efficiency.

  6. Risk Assessment of Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning Strategies in Low-Load Homes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poerschke, Andrew [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

    2016-02-17

    "Modern, energy efficient homes conforming to the Zero Energy Ready Home standard face the challenge of meeting high customer expectations for comfort. Traditional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) sizing and control strategies may be insufficient to adequately condition each zone due to unique load patterns in each room caused by a number of factors. These factors include solar heat gains, occupant-related gains, and gains associated with appliances and electronics. Because of shrinking shell loads, these intermittent factors are having an increasingly significant impact on the thermal load in each zone. Consequently, occupant comfort can be compromised. To evaluate the impact of climate and house geometry, as well as HVAC system and control strategies on comfort conditions, IBACOS analyzed the results of 99 TRNSYS multiple-zone simulations. The results of this analysis indicate that for simple-geometry and single-story plans, a single zone and thermostat can adequately condition the entire house. Demanding house geometry and houses with multiple stories require the consideration of multiple thermostats and multiple zones.

  7. Gender and heat stress effects on hypothalamic gene expression and feed intake in broilers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khatlab, A.S.; Vesco, A.P. DEL; Goes, E.R.; Neto, A.R.O.; Soares, M.A.M.; Gasparino, E.

    2018-01-01

    Our study aims to evaluate gender and heat stress effects on animal performance and on the expression of five hypothalamic genes related to feed consumption: neuropeptide Y (NPY), ghrelin (GHRL), pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPKα-1), and liver kinase B1 (LKB1). To assay these effects, 42-day-old male and female broilers were maintained in thermal comfort or were subjected to heat stress (HS, 38°C for 24 hours). All animals were fed with diets formulated to meet their nutritional requirements. Broilers subjected to HS showed lower weight gain (p=0.0065) and tended to have lower feed intake (p=0.0687) than broilers kept in comfortable conditions. We observed gender and heat stress interaction effects on NPY (p=0.0225), AMPKα-1 (p=0.0398), and POMC expression (p=0.0072). The highest NPY gene expression was observed in male broilers from the thermal comfort group. Male broilers exposed to HS showed the highest AMPKα-1 gene expression levels. Comparing POMC expression between males and females at the comfortable temperature, we observed that females showed higher POMC expression levels than male broilers. A gender effect was also observed on LKB1 and AMPKα-1 gene expression (p=0.0256 and p=0.0001, respectively); increased expression was observed in male broilers. Our results indicate that the expression of some hypothalamic genes related to food consumption may contribute to the observed differences in voluntary feed intake between animals of different gender exposed to different environmental conditions.

  8. Challenges in Selecting an Appropriate Heat Stress Index to Protect Workers in Hot and Humid Underground Mines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedram Roghanchi

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: A detailed evaluation of the underground mine climate requires extensive measurements to be performed coupled to climatic modeling work. This can be labor-intensive and time-consuming, and consequently impractical for daily work comfort assessments. Therefore, a simple indicator like a heat stress index is needed to enable a quick, valid, and acceptable evaluation of underground climatic conditions on a regular basis. This can be explained by the unending quest to develop a “universal index,” which has led to the proliferation of many proposed heat stress indices. Methods: The aim of this research study is to discuss the challenges in identifying and selecting an appropriate heat stress index for thermal planning and management purposes in underground mines. A method is proposed coupled to a defined strategy for selecting and recommending heat stress indices to be used in underground metal mines in the United States and worldwide based on a thermal comfort model. Results: The performance of current heat stress indices used in underground mines varies based on the climatic conditions and the level of activities. Therefore, carefully selecting or establishing an appropriate heat stress index is of paramount importance to ensure the safety, health, and increasing productivity of the underground workers. Conclusion: This method presents an important tool to assess and select the most appropriate index for certain climatic conditions to protect the underground workers from heat-related illnesses. Although complex, the method presents results that are easy to interpret and understand than any of the currently available evaluation methods. Keywords: climatic conditions, heat stress index, thermal comfort, underground mining

  9. Military Healthcare Providers' Knowledge and Comfort Regarding the Medical Care of Active Duty Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rerucha, Caitlyn M; Runser, Lloyd A; Ee, Juliana S; Hersey, Elizabeth G

    2018-01-01

    This study assessed military healthcare providers' knowledge, clinical practice, and comfort in caring for active duty (AD) lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) patients. Primary care providers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina were surveyed anonymously. The response rate was 28% (n = 40). Almost two-thirds of the respondents felt comfortable discussing sexual health with AD patients, but only 5% inquired about same-sex sexual activity. Slightly less than one-third reported prior training in LGB healthcare topics and nearly four-fifths desired clear guidance from the Department of Defense regarding the process for screening and documentation of AD same-sex sexual activity. The findings highlight providers' need and desire for training in LGB patient care.

  10. Hot sanitary water production with CO_2 heat pumps: Effect of control strategy on system performance and stratification inside the storage tank

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tammaro, M.; Mauro, A.W.; Montagud, C.; Corberán, J.M.; Mastrullo, R.

    2016-01-01

    In this work three different control strategies for the production of sanitary hot water by means of an electric heat pump working with CO_2 are investigated. The heat pump is a prototype, here modelled in the vapour-compression software package IMST-ART. By simulating this model, the performance of the heat pump is correlated to the boundary conditions and is scaled to different sizes, namely 1, 1.5, and 2 times larger than the reference system. After having chosen an application for which the load profile of sanitary hot water during the year is known, these heat pumps are simulated in a TRNSYS16 model where the production of sanitary hot water and the consumption are buffered by the presence of a tank. Key parameter in guaranteeing comfort and good performance of the system is the stratification inside the storage tank. The size of the tank necessary to keep a certain level of comfort at the user is then determined through a parametric analysis for each size of the heat pump. The energetic performance is also evaluated for each system in terms of seasonal performance factor. Then, the results obtained are compared with a different system where the heat pump is equipped with an inverter and the circulation pump follows a different control logic. The size of the tank and the seasonal performance factor are therefore determined in this case too. Moreover, a “night&day” control logic is compared to these first two options to have a baseline of comparison in terms of volume of storage needed to guarantee a same level of comfort and performance. To provide information also on the running costs, a parametric analysis was run varying the type of control, the heat pump and the tank sizes for different load profiles. The results show that the size of the heat pump has a significant effect on the comfort of the user, which usually leads to oversizing of the storage tank when the load profile is unknown. With regard to this, the results obtained for the alternative

  11. Tolerence for work-induced heat stress in men wearing liquidcooled garments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blockley, W. V.; Roth, H. P.

    1971-01-01

    An investigation of the heat tolerance in men unable to dispose of metabolic heat as fast as it is produced within the body is discussed. Examinations were made of (a) the effect of work rate (metabolic rate) on tolerance time when body heat storage rate is a fixed quantity, and (b) tolerance time as a function of metabolic rate when heat loss is terminated after a thermal quasi-equilibrium was attained under comfortable conditions of heat transfer. The nature of the physiological mechanisms involved in such heat stress situations, and the possibility of using prediction techniques to establish standard procedures in emergencies involving cooling system failures are also discussed.

  12. Heat management of electric-powered vehicles; Thermomanagement von Elektro-Fahrzeugen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Renner, Markus; Koppe, Theresia [Webasto AG, Stockdorf (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    In contrast to a driving operation with combustion engine has in the purely electrical driving conditions only a fraction of the heat losses available from the power train components required for interior heating. Already at an ambient temperature of +10 C additional heating action is needed to prevent condensation on the vehicle windscreen and for a comfortable interior climate. An additional electrical heater strains the resource Battery and thus reduces the driving range for the electric drive depending on the driving cycle and environmental conditions up to 50%. A solution to this dilemma is a burner heating system with a neutral emission combustion process, uses the highest efficiency to direct the required heat energy to heat the vehicle. (orig.)

  13. Practical versus theoretical domestic energy consumption for space heating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Audenaert, A.; Briffaerts, K.; Engels, L.

    2011-01-01

    Methods to calculate the theoretical energy consumption consider several things: the number of degree days per year that need to be compensated by heating, the characteristics of the dwelling, the number of occupants and the characteristics of the installation for space heating and sanitary hot water. However, these methods do not take into account consumer behaviour, which may affect the actual consumption. The theoretical calculation methods are based on assumptions and use a number of standardized parameters. The difference between the actual and the theoretical energy consumption, and the impact of the residents' behaviour on energy consumption, is analysed by means of a literature study and a practical research. An energy advice procedure (EAP) audit is executed in five dwellings, as well as a survey regarding the energy related behaviour of the households. The theoretically calculated consumption is compared with the billed actual energy consumption of the families. The results show some problems with the current procedure and give some options to improve it. Some research needs are identified to gain more insights in the influence of different behavioural factors on the actual energy use for heating. - Highlights: → The energy advice procedure (EAP) calculates the energy use for heating in dwellings. → Calculations are compared with the real energy use for 5 dwellings. → A survey on the occupants' behaviour is used to interpret the observed differences. → Default values used in the EAP can be very different from the observed behaviour.

  14. Practical versus theoretical domestic energy consumption for space heating

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Audenaert, A., E-mail: amaryllis.audenaert@artesis.be [Department of Applied Engineering: Construction, Artesis University College of Antwerp, Paardenmarkt 92, B-2000 Antwerp (Belgium); Department of Environment, Technology and Technology Management, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, B-2000 Antwerp (Belgium); Briffaerts, K. [Unit Transition Energy and Environment, VITO NV, Boeretang 200, B-2400 Mol (Belgium); Engels, L. [Department of Applied Engineering: Construction, Artesis University College of Antwerp, Paardenmarkt 92, B-2000 Antwerp (Belgium)

    2011-09-15

    Methods to calculate the theoretical energy consumption consider several things: the number of degree days per year that need to be compensated by heating, the characteristics of the dwelling, the number of occupants and the characteristics of the installation for space heating and sanitary hot water. However, these methods do not take into account consumer behaviour, which may affect the actual consumption. The theoretical calculation methods are based on assumptions and use a number of standardized parameters. The difference between the actual and the theoretical energy consumption, and the impact of the residents' behaviour on energy consumption, is analysed by means of a literature study and a practical research. An energy advice procedure (EAP) audit is executed in five dwellings, as well as a survey regarding the energy related behaviour of the households. The theoretically calculated consumption is compared with the billed actual energy consumption of the families. The results show some problems with the current procedure and give some options to improve it. Some research needs are identified to gain more insights in the influence of different behavioural factors on the actual energy use for heating. - Highlights: > The energy advice procedure (EAP) calculates the energy use for heating in dwellings. > Calculations are compared with the real energy use for 5 dwellings. > A survey on the occupants' behaviour is used to interpret the observed differences. > Default values used in the EAP can be very different from the observed behaviour.

  15. Geothermal Heat Pumps Score High Marks in Schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Renewable Energy Lab (DOE).

    Geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) are showing their value in providing lower operating and maintenance costs, energy efficiency, and superior classroom comfort. This document describes what GHPs are and the benefits a school can garner after installing a GHP system. Three case studies are provided that illustrate these benefits. Finally, the Department…

  16. Laboratory study of subjective perceptions to low temperature heating systems with exhaust ventilation in Nordic countries

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jin, Quan; Simone, Angela; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    2017-01-01

    Given the global trends of rising energy demand and the increasing utilization of low-grade renewable energy, low-temperature heating systems can play key roles in improving building energy efficiency while providing a comfortable indoor environment. To meet the need to retrofit existing buildings...... in Nordic countries for greater energy efficiency, this study focused on human subjects’ thermal sensation, thermal comfort, thermal acceptability, draft acceptability, and perceived air quality when three low-temperature heating systems were used: conventional radiator, ventilation radiator, or floor...... heating with exhaust ventilation. Human subject tests were carried out in the climate chamber at the Technical University of Denmark. In total, 24 human subjects, 12 females and 12 males, participated in the tests during the winter season. The results show that no significant differences in thermal...

  17. THERMAL COMFORT STUDY OF TEACHERS' ROOM AT SEKOLAH BINA MULIA PONTIANAK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Albert Suryajaya

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Thermal comfort is one of the important aspects to ensure the comfort of a building. School building, e.g. Sekolah Bina Mulia, Pontianak is used for education activities for about eight hours a day. The teachersfourth floor and still applies the natural air ventilation system while other rooms use mechanical ventilation system. It is interesting to see thermal comfort condition in the ort of the room depends on the environment. Because of its position on the fourth floor, the wind circulation can flow freely and the application of air ventilation is possible. The average temperature is 29.599ºC, 71.216% for relative humidity and 0.143 m/s for wind speed, and 29.482ºC for MRT. The average value of PMV is 1.615. The thermal comfort value, based on the average of PPS*(PMV calculation for three days observation is 0.130 and it is the neutral condition. This means the room is comfort for the users and it is mainly because  of the windows, sun shading, and the building materials which support the natural air ventilation of the school   Kenyamanan termal merupakan salah satu aspek penting untuk memastikan suatu bangunan dapat memberikan kenyamanan bagi penggunanya. Bangunan sekolah, seperti Sekolah Bina Mulia Pontianak merupakan bangunan pendidikan yang digunakan kurang lebih delapan jam dalam satu hari. Ruang guru pada sekolah Bina Mulia, yang terletak pada lantai empat masih menggunakan sistem ventilasi udara alami sementara ruangan lain menggunakan sistem penghawaan mekanikal. Kenyamanan termal pada ruangan tentu sangat tergantung pada Keadaan lingkungan. Karena posisinya yang cukup tinggi, pergerakan udara pada ruangan juga lebih bebas. Artinya, aplikasi ventilasi udara alami sangat memungkinkan. Nilai temperatur udara rata-rata pada ruangan adalah 29,599 ºC, kelembaban 71,216%, kecepatan udara 0,143 m/det dan nilai temperatur radiasi 29,482ºC. Nilai PMV rata-rata pada ruangan adalah 1,615. Nilai PPS*(PMV rata-rata pada ruangan

  18. Assessment of Medical Student and Resident/Fellow Knowledge, Comfort, and Training With Sexual History Taking in LGBTQ Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, Victoria; Blondeau, Whitney; Bing-You, Robert G

    2015-05-01

    Sexual health is an important aspect of overall health. Barriers to taking an adequate patient sexual history exist. Few studies have explored medical learners' comfort, knowledge, and training surrounding taking sexual histories with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning/queer (LGBTQ) patients specifically. A 10-question survey was offered to medical students and resident/fellows at one US institution. Survey questions reflected participants' knowledge, comfort, and training related to sexual history taking with attention to LGBTQ care. A total of 159 surveys were returned (rate of 42%). A significantly lower level of comfort existed with taking sexual histories and managing sexual health issues in the LGBTQ segment of the patient population versus all patients, especially in the advanced training group. Participants recognized the importance of understanding their patients' overall sexual health, though medical students rated this as more important than the resident/fellow group did. A correlation existed between both comfort with taking sexual histories and discussing safe sexual practices and management of sexual issues, suggesting that further training would be helpful in this area. Twenty percent of the respondents reported receiving no training at all in eliciting sexual histories in LGBTQ patients. The most preferred format in this study for future training was interviewing standardized patients. Medical students and resident/fellows reported a significantly lower level of comfort with sexual history-taking and management of sexual issues in the LGBTQ population. A comprehensive training format that not only views sexual health as an integral part of overall patient health, but also integrates LGBTQ care, is needed in medical education.

  19. The evaluation of the overall thermal comfort inside a vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neacsu, Catalin; Tabacu, Ion; Ivanescu, Mariana; Vieru, Ionel

    2017-10-01

    The thermal comfort is one of the most important aspects of the modern vehicles that can influence the safety, the fuel consumption and the pollutions regulation. The objective of this paper is to compare the global and absolute thermal comfort indexes for two vehicles with different distribution air systems inside the car cockpit, one using only front air vents, and the other using both front and rear air vents. The methodology of calculus consists in using the 3D model of the interior vehicle, generally in a CAD format. Then, using a meshing software to create the finite element model of the interior surfaces inside the cockpit and the volume of internal air. Using the obtained finite element geometry, there will be conducted a Theseus FE calculus using the given boundary conditions. The results of the numerical simulation are presented in terms of graphs and figures and also PMV, PPD and DTS thermal comfort indexes. With the obtained results, we will then create the graphs that allows us to evaluate the global and absolute thermal comfort indexes. The results of the evaluation show us that the use of the method allow us to evaluate with a greater accuracy the thermal comfort for the whole vehicle, not only for each passenger, like the standard methods. This shows us that in terms of general and absolute thermal comfort, the vehicle that use front and rear systems is better than the version that use only a front system. The thermal comfort is an important aspect to be taken into account from the beginning of the design stage of a vehicle, by choosing the right air conditioning system. In addition, by using the numerical simulation, we are able to reduce the time needed for preliminary tests and be able to provide the vehicle to the market earlier, at a lower development cost.

  20. Predicting Comfort Temperature in Indonesia, an Initial Step to Reduce Cooling Energy Consumption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tri Harso Karyono

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia has no reliable thermal comfort standard that is based on research works. The current national standard (SNI 6390:2011 states only a single range of comfort temperature that is 25.5 °C Ta, with a range of +1.5 °C Ta. Previous thermal studies in a number of different buildings in Indonesia showed that the neutral (comfort temperatures of subjects were about 27 to 28 °C, which is higher than the values stated in the standard. As a big country with various ambient temperatures, Indonesian needs a better and more reliable thermal comfort predictor which can be applied properly across the country. This study is an attempt to propose an initial Indonesian thermal predictor, in the form of a simple equation, which could predict comfort temperatures properly across the country. Reanalysing the previous comfort studies in Indonesia, a simple regression equation is constructed as to be used as the initial Indonesian comfort predictor. Using this predictor, the comfort temperatures in a lowland or coastal cities like Jakarta is found to be higher than the current comfort standard. It is expected that this predictor would help to provide a better indoor thermal environment and at the same reduce the cooling energy in air conditioning (AC building, thus reducing a building’s carbon emissions.

  1. Replacing critical radiators to increase the potential to use low-temperature district heating – A case study of 4 Danish single-family houses from the 1930s

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Østergaard, Dorte Skaarup; Svendsen, Svend

    2016-01-01

    Low-temperature district heating is a promising technology for providing homes with energy-efficient heating in the future. However, it is of great importance to maintain thermal comfort in existing buildings when district heating temperatures are lowered. This case study evaluated the actual radiator sizes and heating demands in 4 existing Danish single-family houses from the 1930s. A year-long dynamic simulation was performed for each of the houses to evaluate the potential to lower the heating system temperatures. The results indicate that there is a large potential to use low-temperature district heating in existing single-family houses. In order to obtain the full potential of low-temperature district heating, critical radiators must be replaced. Based on a novel method, a total of nine radiators were identified to be critical to ensure thermal comfort and low return temperatures in two of the case-houses. If these radiators were replaced it would be possible to lower the average heating system temperatures to 50 °C/27 °C in all four houses. - Highlights: • Comparison of dynamically calculated heat demands and radiator sizes. • Method for identification and evaluation of critical radiators was tested. • Existing houses can be heated with low-temperature heating for most of the year. • Replacing critical radiators helps ensure comfort and low return temperatures.

  2. Influence of heat cost allocation on occupants' control of indoor environment in 56 apartments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Søren; Andersen, Rune Korsholm; Olesen, Bjarne W.

    2016-01-01

    -structured interviews showed a strong influence of the heat cost allocation plan on the occupants' control strategies. Occupants whose heating bills were based on floor area focused on a healthy and comfortable indoor environment. Occupants whose heating bills were based on meter readings focused on energy conservation...... of this paper was to study the indoor environment in buildings with collective and individual heat cost allocation plans, to investigate how the heat cost allocation influenced occupant behaviour and how occupants controlled the indoor environment. The effects of the heat cost allocation type were studied...

  3. Thermal comfort in Quebec City, Canada: sensitivity analysis of the UTCI and other popular thermal comfort indices in a mid-latitude continental city.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provençal, Simon; Bergeron, Onil; Leduc, Richard; Barrette, Nathalie

    2016-04-01

    The newly developed Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), along with the physiological equivalent temperature (PET), the humidex (HX) and the wind chill index (WC), was calculated in Quebec City, Canada, a city with a strong seasonal climatic variability, over a 1-year period. The objective of this study is twofold: evaluate the operational benefits of implementing the UTCI for a climate monitoring program of public comfort and health awareness as opposed to relying on traditional and simple indices, and determine whether thermal comfort monitoring specific to dense urban neighborhoods is necessary to adequately fulfill the goals of the program. In order to do so, an analysis is performed to evaluate each of these indices' sensitivity to the meteorological variables that regulate them in different environments. Overall, the UTCI was found to be slightly more sensitive to mean radiant temperature, moderately more sensitive to humidity and much more sensitive to wind speed than the PET. This dynamic changed slightly depending on the environment and the season. In hot weather, the PET was found to be more sensitive to mean radiant temperature and therefore reached high values that could potentially be hazardous more frequently than the UTCI and the HX. In turn, the UTCI's stronger sensitivity to wind speed makes it a superior index to identify potentially hazardous weather in winter compared to the PET and the WC. Adopting the UTCI broadly would be an improvement over the traditionally popular HX and WC indices. The urban environment produced favorable conditions to sustain heat stress conditions, where the indices reached high values more frequently there than in suburban locations, which advocates for weather monitoring specific to denser urban areas.

  4. Thermal comfort in Quebec City, Canada: sensitivity analysis of the UTCI and other popular thermal comfort indices in a mid-latitude continental city

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provençal, Simon; Bergeron, Onil; Leduc, Richard; Barrette, Nathalie

    2016-04-01

    The newly developed Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), along with the physiological equivalent temperature (PET), the humidex (HX) and the wind chill index (WC), was calculated in Quebec City, Canada, a city with a strong seasonal climatic variability, over a 1-year period. The objective of this study is twofold: evaluate the operational benefits of implementing the UTCI for a climate monitoring program of public comfort and health awareness as opposed to relying on traditional and simple indices, and determine whether thermal comfort monitoring specific to dense urban neighborhoods is necessary to adequately fulfill the goals of the program. In order to do so, an analysis is performed to evaluate each of these indices' sensitivity to the meteorological variables that regulate them in different environments. Overall, the UTCI was found to be slightly more sensitive to mean radiant temperature, moderately more sensitive to humidity and much more sensitive to wind speed than the PET. This dynamic changed slightly depending on the environment and the season. In hot weather, the PET was found to be more sensitive to mean radiant temperature and therefore reached high values that could potentially be hazardous more frequently than the UTCI and the HX. In turn, the UTCI's stronger sensitivity to wind speed makes it a superior index to identify potentially hazardous weather in winter compared to the PET and the WC. Adopting the UTCI broadly would be an improvement over the traditionally popular HX and WC indices. The urban environment produced favorable conditions to sustain heat stress conditions, where the indices reached high values more frequently there than in suburban locations, which advocates for weather monitoring specific to denser urban areas.

  5. Thermal comfort of seats as visualized by infrared thermography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sales, Rosemary Bom Conselho; Pereira, Romeu Rodrigues; Aguilar, Maria Teresa Paulino; Cardoso, Antônio Valadão

    2017-07-01

    Published studies that deal with the question of how the temperature of chair seats influences human activities are few, but the studies considering such a factor, a function of the type of material, could contribute to improvements in the design of chairs. This study evaluates seat temperatures of 8 types of chairs made of different materials. The parts of the furniture that people come into contact with, and the thermal response of the material to heating and cooling have been evaluated. Infrared thermography was used for this, as it is a non-contact technique that does not present any type of risk in the measurement of temperatures. Seats made of synthetic leather (leatherette), wood and polyester fabric were found to have the highest temperatures, and the plywood seat showed the lowest. The study has also revealed that thermography can contribute to studies of thermal comfort of chair seats in addition to determining the most suitable material. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Testing thermal comfort of trekking boots: an objective and subjective evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arezes, P M; Neves, M M; Teixeira, S F; Leão, C P; Cunha, J L

    2013-07-01

    The study of the thermal comfort of the feet when using a specific type of shoe is of paramount importance, in particular if the main goal of the study is to attend to the needs of users. The main aim of this study was to propose a test battery for thermal comfort analysis and to apply it to the analysis of trekking boots. Methodologically, the project involves both objective and subjective evaluations. An objective evaluation of the thermal properties of the fabrics used in the boots was developed and applied. In addition, the thermal comfort provided when using the boots was also assessed both subjective and objectively. The evaluation of the thermal comfort during use, which was simulated in a laboratory environment, included the measurement of the temperature and moisture of the feet. The subjective assessment was performed using a questionnaire. From the results obtained, it was possible to define an optimal combination of fabrics to apply to trekking boots by considering the provided thermal insulation, air permeability and wicking. The results also revealed that the subjective perception of thermal comfort appears to be more related to the increase in temperature of the feet than to the moisture retention inside the boot. Although the evaluation of knits used in the boots indicated that a particular combination of fibres was optimal for use in the inner layer, the subjective and objective evaluation of thermal comfort revealed that the evaluation provided by users did not necessarily match the technical assessment data. No correlation was observed between the general comfort and specific thermal comfort assessments. Finally, the identification of thermal discomfort by specific foot areas would be useful in the process of designing and developing boots. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  7. Thermal comfort in naturally ventilated buildings in Maceio, Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Djamila, Harimi

    2017-11-01

    This article presents the results from thermal comfort survey carried out in classrooms over two different seasons in Maceio, Brazil. The secondary data were collected from thermal comfort field study conducted in naturally ventilated classrooms. Objective and subjective parameters were explored to evaluate thermal comfort conditions. The potential effect of air movement on subjects' vote under neutrality was evaluated. Overall, the indoor climate of the surveyed location was classified warm and humid. Conflicting results were depicted when analyzing the effect of air movements on subjects' vote. The mean air temperature for subjects feeling hot was found to be lower than those feeling warm. A reasonable approach to tackle these two unpredictable results was suggested. Correlation matrix between selected thermal comfort variables was developed. Globe temperature recorded the highest correlation with subjects' response on ASHRAE seven-point scale. The correlation was significant at the 0.01 level. On the other hand, the correlation between air movement and subjects' response on ASHRAE seven-point scale was weak but significant. Further field studies on the current topic were recommended.

  8. The spatial comfort study of shophouse at Kampung Madras

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ginting, Y. U. U.; Ginting, N.; Zahrah, W.

    2018-03-01

    This Research comes from the increasing quantity of shophouse in downtown Medan and the suburban area. The condition of shophouse tend to have narrowly spaced rooms, the middle area of the house are poorly lighted, and lots of space left unused. This research is supported by many spatial issues from previous studies. This study is conducted to determine the level of comfort of shophouse as a function of living space and focused on the spatial aspect namely anthropometry, indoor space circulation, space requirement and function, spatial design and indoor visual. This study uses the descriptive method with the qualitative and quantitative approach. Data collection technique is done by field observation, questionnaire method is also used to get the respondent perception of the spatial comfort of a shophouse. The result indicates that the level of spatial comfort of the shophouse is an uncomfort. So the improvements in the circulation of access to the building, spatial design, lighting, and aeration are needed to improve the spatial comfort of a shophouse.

  9. Perceived Competence and Comfort in Respiratory Protection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgel, Barbara J.; Novak, Debra; Burns, Candace M.; Byrd, Annette; Carpenter, Holly; Gruden, MaryAnn; Lachat, Ann; Taormina, Deborah

    2015-01-01

    In response to the Institute of Medicine (2011) report Occupational Health Nurses and Respiratory Protection: Improving Education and Training, a nationwide survey was conducted in May 2012 to assess occupational health nurses’ educational preparation, roles, responsibilities, and training needs in respiratory protection. More than 2,000 occupational health nurses responded; 83% perceived themselves as competent, proficient, or expert in respiratory protection, reporting moderate comfort with 12 respiratory program elements. If occupational health nurses had primary responsibility for the respiratory protection program, they were more likely to perceive higher competence and more comfort in respiratory protection, after controlling for occupational health nursing experience, highest education, occupational health nursing certification, industry sector, Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare membership, taking a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health spirometry course in the prior 5 years, and perceiving a positive safety culture at work. These survey results document high perceived competence and comfort in respiratory protection. These findings support the development of targeted educational programs and interprofessional competencies for respiratory protection. PMID:23429638

  10. Pairing Learners by Companionship: Effects on Motor Skill Performance and Comfort Levels in the Reciprocal Style of Teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chatoupis, Constantine

    2015-01-01

    Mosston and Ashworth's (2008) reciprocal style of teaching gives learners the opportunity to work in pairs to support each other's learning (one practices a task and the other gives feedback). The effects of pairing learners by companionship (friend and nonacquaintance) on 8-year-old children's motor skill performance and comfort levels were…

  11. Determination of thermal and acoustic comfort inside a vehicle’s cabin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Thermal and acoustic comfort, inside a vehicle’s cabin, are highly interconnected and can greatly influence the health of the passengers. On one hand, the H.V.A.C. system brings the interior air parameters to a comfortable value while on the other hand, it is the main source of noise. It is an intriguing task to find a balance between the two. In this paper, several types of air diffusers were used in order to optimize the ratio between thermal and acoustic interior comfort. Using complex measurements of noise and thermal comfort parameters we have determined for each type of air diffuser the sound pressure level and its impact on air temperature and air velocity.

  12. A decision-tree-based model for evaluating the thermal comfort of horses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula de Assis Maia

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Thermal comfort is of great importance in preserving body temperature homeostasis during thermal stress conditions. Although the thermal comfort of horses has been widely studied, there is no report of its relationship with surface temperature (T S. This study aimed to assess the potential of data mining techniques as a tool to associate surface temperature with thermal comfort of horses. T S was obtained using infrared thermography image processing. Physiological and environmental variables were used to define the predicted class, which classified thermal comfort as "comfort" and "discomfort". The variables of armpit, croup, breast and groin T S of horses and the predicted classes were then subjected to a machine learning process. All variables in the dataset were considered relevant for the classification problem and the decision-tree model yielded an accuracy rate of 74 %. The feature selection methods used to reduce computational cost and simplify predictive learning decreased model accuracy to 70 %; however, the model became simpler with easily interpretable rules. For both these selection methods and for the classification using all attributes, armpit and breast T S had a higher power rating for predicting thermal comfort. Data mining techniques show promise in the discovery of new variables associated with the thermal comfort of horses.

  13. Heat management in motor vehicles 3. Development methods and innovations in heat management in passenger cars and industrial vehicles; Waermemanagement des Kraftfahrzeugs 3. Entwicklungsmethoden und Innovationen der Kfz- und Nfz-Waermetechnik

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deussen, N. (ed.) [Fachhochschule Koeln (Germany). Labor fuer Verbrennungsmotoren und Applikation

    2002-07-01

    The proceedings volume outlines problem solutions, development strategies and design methods relating to heat management in motor vehicles. The focus is on utilisation, supply, transmission and release of heat in passenger cars and industrial vehicles. The complete state of the art is reviewed, with the focus on the following subjects: The potential of heat management in terms of performance and comfort; Future strategies for optimisation of thermal processes; Expert knowledge in component and system innovations; Status and perspectives of user software; Engine cooling, vehicle air conditioning, heat protection; Methodology; Numeric fluid mechanics; Heat transfer; Practical applications of thermal engineering, Heat management in engines; Thermal system optimisation; CFD; Future numeric methods in heat transfer and fluid mechanics; Methods of measurement and instrumentation. [German] Der Tagungsband informiert in einem aktuellen Ueberblick ueber Problemloesungen, Entwicklungsstrategien und Auslegungsmethoden im Umfeld des Kraftfahrzeug-Waermemanagements. Dabei wird insbesondere auf die Optimierung der Nutzung, Bereitstellung, Uebertragung und Abgabe von Waerme fokussiert. Der Inhalt umfasst dabei Anwendungen bei Automobilen und Nutzfahrzeugen. Der Leser erhaelt einen konkreten Ueberblick ueber die Trends auf neuestem Stand der Technik. Besondere Schwerpunkte sind: Potenzial des Waermemanagements bezueglich Leistung und Kundennutzen - Zukunftsweisende Strategien zur Optimierung waermetechnischer Prozesse - Kompaktes Fachwissen bei Bauteil- und System-Innovationen - Stand der Technik und Zukunftsperspektive bei Anwendersoftware. Inhalt: Motorkuehlung - Fahrzeugklimatisierung - Hitzeschutz - Methoden der Waermetechnik - Numerische Stroemungsmechanik - Waermeuebertragung - Anwendungsbeispiele der Waermetechnik - Motor-Thermomanagement - Waermetechnische Systemoptimierung - CFD - Zukuenftige numerische Methoden der Waermeuebertragung und Stroemungsmechanik - Messtechnik

  14. Eye cosmetic usage and associated ocular comfort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Alison; Evans, Katharine; North, Rachel; Purslow, Christine

    2012-11-01

    Eye cosmetics usage is commonplace and whilst some products such as eyeliner are applied with close proximity to the ocular surface, there is little knowledge of the short- and long-term ocular effects of eye cosmetic formulations. This study aimed to investigate the use of eye cosmetics and identify any relationships between ocular comfort and cosmetic usage. Results were collated from an online survey comprising 23 questions that recorded demographics, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) score, extent and range of eye cosmetic use and perceived comfort differences with and without eye cosmetics. The 1360 female respondents (median age 25, interquartile range 20-34 years) completed the survey; 83% reported using eye cosmetics regularly (≥ 3 times per week) with mascara being most commonly used. Fifty three per cent used at least three different eye cosmetics products regularly. OSDI scores of cosmetics users were similar to non-users (p = 0.083), but perceived comfort was greater when cosmetics were not used (p cosmetics users (use of products cosmetics were used. Median OSDI scores suggested a trend towards reduced comfort amongst eyeliner users (p = 0.07) although frequency and type of cosmetic products used did not appear to influence OSDI scores. This study shows the use of multiple eye cosmetics is extensive and associated with the perception of ocular discomfort. With such widespread use of these products, more research is required to assess the effect on the ocular surface and tear film, which may be underestimated. Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2012 The College of Optometrists.

  15. Literature survey on how different factors influence human comfort in indoor environments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frontczak, Monika Joanna; Wargocki, Pawel

    2011-01-01

    examined the extent to which other factors unrelated to the indoor environment, such as individual characteristics of building occupants, building-related factors and outdoor climate including seasonal changes, influence whether the indoor environment is evaluated as comfortable or not. The results suggest...... environmental conditions influencing comfort in the built environment were surveyed: thermal, visual and acoustic, as well as air quality. The literature was surveyed to determine which of these conditions were ranked by building users as being the most important determinants of comfort. The survey also...... quality. Thermal comfort is ranked by building occupants to be of greater importance compared with visual and acoustic comfort and good air quality. It also seems to influence to a higher degree the overall satisfaction with indoor environmental quality compared with the impact of other indoor...

  16. Reliability of an instrument to determine lower limb comfort in professional football

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Kinchington

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Michael Kinchington1, Kevin Ball1, Geraldine Naughton21School of Human Movement, Recreation and Performance, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia; 2The Centre of Physical Activity Across the Lifespan (COPAAL, Australian Catholic University, Victoria, AustraliaAims and Objectives: This study extends previous work in the field of injury awareness using a novel lower limb comfort index (LLCI, which was developed to assess comfort in professional football. Participants rated comfort for designated anatomical segments of the lower limb utilizing a seven point Likert scale. The aims of the study were (i to assess the reliability of the LLCI in a competitive football environment (Australian Rules and Rugby League, and (ii to assess whether LLCI measurements were responsive to changes in lower limb comfort over time.Methods and Results: The reliability of the LLCI was observed in two professional football environments: Training Week (mean difference 0.1 point, intra-class correlation coefficient, ICC 0.99 for n = 41 participants; and Match Day (mean difference 0.2 points, ICC 0.97 for n = 22 players. Measurements of lower limb comfort were responsive to changes in comfort over time. Within-player differences were not significant for periods 0–8 hrs (P > 0.05 but, generally, significant for time periods 0–24 hrs (P < 0.05, and significant between 24–96 hrs (P < 0.01. The results indicate that the LLCI was reliable when tested for repeated measures and indicated how the index measures lower limb comfort changes over time.Conclusion: This study shows that the use of a lower limb comfort index, when used in a competitive football environment, is both reliable and responsive to change during both a training week and under match day conditions.Keywords: lower limb comfort, musculoskeletal, football, injury

  17. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery in cold climates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kragh, Jesper; Rose, Jørgen; Svendsen, Svend

    2005-01-01

    Building ventilation is necessary to achieve a healthy and comfortable indoor environment, but as energy prices continue to rise it is necessary to reduce the energy consumption. Using mechanical ventilation with heat recovery reduces the ventilation heat loss significantly, but in cold climates...... freezes to ice. The analysis of measurements from existing ventilation systems with heat recovery used in single-family houses in Denmark and a test of a standard heat recovery unit in the laboratory have clearly shown that this problem occurs when the outdoor temperature gets below approximately –5º......C. Due to the ice problem mechanical ventilation systems with heat recovery are often installed with an extra preheating system reducing the energy saving potential significantly. New designs of high efficient heat recovery units capable of continuously defrosting the ice without using extra energy...

  18. Comfort of workers in office buildings: The European HOPE project

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bluyssen, P.M.; Aries, M.; Dommelen, P. van

    2011-01-01

    Previous studies have shown that building, social and personal factors can influence one's perceived health and comfort. The aim of the underlying study was to get a better understanding of the relationships between these factors and perceived comfort. Self-administered questionnaires from 5732

  19. Renewable building energy systems and passive human comfort solutions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Omer, Abdeen Mustafa [17 Juniper Court, Forest Road West, Nottingham NG7 4EU (United Kingdom)

    2008-08-15

    With environmental protection posing as the number one global problem, man has no choice but to reduce his energy consumption. One way to accomplish this is to resort to passive and low-energy systems to maintain thermal comfort in buildings. The conventional and modern designs of wind towers can successfully be used in hot arid regions to maintain thermal comfort (with or without the use of ceiling fans) during all hours of the cooling season, or a fraction of it. Climatic design is one of the best approaches to reduce the energy cost in buildings. Proper design is the first step of defence against the stress of the climate. Buildings should be designed according to the climate of the site, reducing the need for mechanical heating or cooling. Hence maximum natural energy can be used for creating a pleasant environment inside the built envelope. Technology and industry progress in the last decade diffused electronic and informatics' devices in many human activities, and also in building construction. The utilisation and operating opportunities components, increase the reduction of heat losses by varying the thermal insulation, optimise the lighting distribution with louver screens and operate mechanical ventilation for coolness in indoor spaces. In addition to these parameters the intelligent envelope can act for security control and became an important part of the building domotic revolution. Application of simple passive cooling measure is effective in reducing the cooling load of buildings in hot and humid climates. Fourty-three percent reductions can be achieved using a combination of well-established technologies such as glazing, shading, insulation, and natural ventilation. More advanced passive cooling techniques such as roof pond, dynamic insulation, and evaporative water jacket need to be considered more closely. The building sector is a major consumer of both energy and materials worldwide, and that consumption is increasing. Most industrialised

  20. Stress-induced endocrine response and anxiety: the effects of comfort food in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortolani, Daniela; Garcia, Márcia Carvalho; Melo-Thomas, Liana; Spadari-Bratfisch, Regina Celia

    2014-05-01

    The long-term effects of comfort food in an anxiogenic model of stress have yet to be analyzed. Here, we evaluated behavioral, endocrine and metabolic parameters in rats submitted or not to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), with access to commercial chow alone or to commercial chow and comfort food. Stress did not alter the preference for comfort food but decreased food intake. In the elevated plus-maze (EPM) test, stressed rats were less likely to enter/remain in the open arms, as well as being more likely to enter/remain in the closed arms, than were control rats, both conditions being more pronounced in the rats given access to comfort food. In the open field test, stress decreased the time spent in the centre, independent of diet; neither stress nor diet affected the number of crossing, rearing or grooming episodes. The stress-induced increase in serum corticosterone was attenuated in rats given access to comfort food. Serum concentration of triglycerides were unaffected by stress or diet, although access to comfort food increased total cholesterol and glucose. It is concluded that CUMS has an anorexigenic effect. Chronic stress and comfort food ingestion induced an anxiogenic profile although comfort food attenuated the endocrine stress response. The present data indicate that the combination of stress and access to comfort food, common aspects of modern life, may constitute a link among stress, feeding behavior and anxiety.

  1. Outdoor thermal comfort in public space in warm-humid Guayaquil, Ecuador

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johansson, Erik; Yahia, Moohammed Wasim; Arroyo, Ivette; Bengs, Christer

    2018-03-01

    The thermal environment outdoors affects human comfort and health. Mental and physical performance is reduced at high levels of air temperature being a problem especially in tropical climates. This paper deals with human comfort in the warm-humid city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The main aim was to examine the influence of urban micrometeorological conditions on people's subjective thermal perception and to compare it with two thermal comfort indices: the physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) and the standard effective temperature (SET*). The outdoor thermal comfort was assessed through micrometeorological measurements of air temperature, humidity, mean radiant temperature and wind speed together with a questionnaire survey consisting of 544 interviews conducted in five public places of the city during both the dry and rainy seasons. The neutral and preferred values as well as the upper comfort limits of PET and SET* were determined. For both indices, the neutral values and upper thermal comfort limits were lower during the rainy season, whereas the preferred values were higher during the rainy season. Regardless of season, the neutral values of PET and SET* are above the theoretical neutral value of each index. The results show that local people accept thermal conditions which are above acceptable comfort limits in temperate climates and that the subjective thermal perception varies within a wide range. It is clear, however, that the majority of the people in Guayaquil experience the outdoor thermal environment during daytime as too warm, and therefore, it is important to promote an urban design which creates shade and ventilation.

  2. Research on optimization of test cycles for comfort to the special vehicles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitroi, Marian; Chiru, Anghel

    2017-10-01

    The comfort of vehicles, regardless of their type is represent a requirement to by fulfilled in the context of current technological developments special vehicles generally move under different soil, time, or season conditions, and the land in which the vehicles move is complex and varied in the physical structure. Due to the high level of involvement in the driveability, safety and comfort of automotive, suspension system is a key factor with major implications for vibration and noise, affecting the human body. The objective of the research is related to determining the test cycles of special vehicles that are approaching real situations, to determine the level of comfort. The evaluate of the degree of comfort will be realized on acceleration values recorded, especially the vertical ones that have the highest influence on the human body. Thus, in this way the tests can be established needed to determine the level of comfort required for each particular type of special vehicle. The utility of the test cycles to optimize comfort is given to the accurate identification of the specific test needs, depending on the each vehicle.

  3. Active charge, passive discharge floor space heating system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salt, H.; Mahoney, K.J.

    1987-01-01

    This space heating system has a rockbed beneath and in contact with the floor of a dwelling, which is heated by radiation and convection from the floor. The ability of the heating system to maintain comfort conditions with no additional energy input is discussed and it is shown that the system is more suitable for use in mild climates than severe ones. Experimental work on horizontal air flow rockbeds is reported and shows that shallow beds can be designed in the same way as vertical air flow beds. The influence of natural convection on the effective thermal conductivity of the experimental rockbeds is reported.

  4. Thermal comfort in commercial kitchens (RP-1469)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simone, Angela; Olesen, Bjarne W.; Stoops, John L.

    2013-01-01

    The indoor climate in commercial kitchens is often unsatisfactory, and working conditions can have a significant effect on employees’ comfort and productivity. The type of establishment (fast food, casual, etc.) and climatic zone can influence thermal conditions in the kitchens. Moreover, the size...... and arrangement of the kitchen zones, appliances, etc., further complicate an evaluation of the indoor thermal environment in commercial kitchens. In general, comfort criteria are stipulated in international standards (e.g., ASHRAE 55 or ISO EN 7730), but are these standardized methods applicable...... dissatisfied (PMV/PPD) index is not directly appropriate for all thermal conditions in commercial kitchens....

  5. The effects of vegetation on indoor thermal comfort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pastore, Luisa; Corrao, Rossella; Heiselberg, Per Kvols

    2017-01-01

    Highlights •A multi-scale simulation methodology to assess the effects of vegetation on thermal comfort is used. •It application is shown on a case of urban and building retrofit intervention. •The effect of plants on the microclimate and indoor environment is assessed. •A decrease of up to 4.8 °C...... in indoor temperature is registered. •The final impact on the indoor thermal comfort based on the adaptive model is determined....

  6. Health and thermal comfort: From WHO guidance to housing strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ormandy, David; Ezratty, Véronique

    2012-01-01

    There are many references to the WHO guidance on thermal comfort in housing, but not to the original source material. Based on archive material, this paper gives the evidential basis for the WHO guidance. It then reports on evidence that some groups may be more susceptible to high or low indoor temperatures than others. It examines different methods for measuring thermal comfort, such as air temperature measurement, assessing residents' perception, and predicting satisfaction. Resident's perception was used effectively in the WHO LARES project, showing that self-reported poor health was significantly associated with poor thermal comfort. Tools to inform strategies directed at dealing with cold homes and fuel poverty are considered, including Energy Performance Certificates, Fuel Poverty Indicators, and the English Housing Health and Safety Rating System. Conclusions from a WHO Workshop on Housing, Energy and Thermal Comfort are also summarised. The WHO view of thermal comfort, which is driven by protecting health from both high and low indoor temperatures, should be recognised in energy efficiency, fuel poverty and climate change strategies. While this is a major challenge, it could provide both health gains for individuals, and economic benefits for society. - Highlights: ► WHO guidance on thermal comfort is directed to protecting health in the home environment. ► In particular, the WHO guidance aims to protect the health of the most susceptible and fragile. ► Housing energy efficiency strategies protect health, and attack inequities. ► Housing energy efficiency strategies also have economic benefits for society.

  7. Field evaluation of performance of radiant heating/cooling ceiling panel system

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Rongling; Yoshidomi, Togo; Ooka, Ryozo

    2015-01-01

    heating/coolingceiling panel system is used. However, no standard exists for the in situ performance evaluation of radiantheating/cooling ceiling systems; furthermore, no published database is available for comparison. Thus,this study aims to not only clarify the system performance but also to share our...... experience and our resultsfor them to serve as a reference for other similar projects. Here, the system performance in relation toits heating/cooling capacity and thermal comfort has been evaluated. The heat transfer coefficient fromwater to room was 3.7 W/(m2K) and 4.8 W/(m2K) for heating and cooling cases...

  8. Possibilities of using thermal mass in buildings to save energy, cut power consumption peaks and increase the thermal comfort

    OpenAIRE

    Karlsson, Jonathan

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this project was to generate knowledge to enable us to take advantage of heat storage in heavy building structures with regard to as energy savings, better thermal indoor climate, and reduced peak powers. This could include buildings that can function without energy input during cold periods, buildings that give a robust indoor climate without installed cooling, and buildings with good thermal comfort also in case of higher outdoor temperatures resulting from global warming. To rea...

  9. Data-driven public transport ridership prediction approach including comfort aspects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Oort, N.; Drost, M.; Brands, T.; Yap, M.

    2015-01-01

    The most important aspects on which passengers base their choice whether to travel by public transport are the perceived travel time, costs, reliability and comfort. Despite its importance, comfort is often not explicitly considered when predicting demand for public transport. In this paper, we

  10. Comfort in High-Performance Homes in a Hot-Humid Climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Poerschke, A. [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Beach, R. [IBACOS, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

    2016-01-22

    "9IBACOS monitored 37 homes during the late summer and early fall of 2014 in a hot and humid climate to better understand indoor comfort conditions. These homes were constructed in the last several years by four home builders that offered a comfort and performance guarantee for the homes. The homes were located in one of four cities: Tampa, Florida; Orlando, Florida; Houston, Texas; and San Antonio, Texas. Temperature and humidity data were collected from the thermostat and each room of the house using small, battery-powered data loggers. To understand system runtime and its impact on comfort, supply air temperature also was measured on a 1-minute interval. Overall, the group of homes only exceeded a room-to-room temperature difference of 6 degrees F for 5% of the time. For 80% of the time, the rooms in each house were within 4 degrees F of each other. Additionally, the impact of system runtime on comfort is discussed. Finally, measurements made at the thermostat were used to better understand the occupant operation of each cooling system's thermostat setpoint. Builders were questioned on their perceived impact of offering a comfort and performance guarantee. Their feedback, which generally indicates a positive perception, has been summarized in the report.

  11. Coupling of the Models of Human Physiology and Thermal Comfort

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pokorny, J.; Jicha, M.

    2013-04-01

    A coupled model of human physiology and thermal comfort was developed in Dymola/Modelica. A coupling combines a modified Tanabe model of human physiology and thermal comfort model developed by Zhang. The Coupled model allows predicting the thermal sensation and comfort of both local and overall from local boundary conditions representing ambient and personal factors. The aim of this study was to compare prediction of the Coupled model with the Fiala model prediction and experimental data. Validation data were taken from the literature, mainly from the validation manual of software Theseus-FE [1]. In the paper validation of the model for very light physical activities (1 met) indoor environment with temperatures from 12 °C up to 48 °C is presented. The Coupled model predicts mean skin temperature for cold, neutral and warm environment well. However prediction of core temperature in cold environment is inaccurate and very affected by ambient temperature. Evaluation of thermal comfort in warm environment is supplemented by skin wettedness prediction. The Coupled model is designed for non-uniform and transient environmental conditions; it is also suitable simulation of thermal comfort in vehicles cabins. The usage of the model is limited for very light physical activities up to 1.2 met only.

  12. Coupling of the Models of Human Physiology and Thermal Comfort

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jicha M.

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available A coupled model of human physiology and thermal comfort was developed in Dymola/Modelica. A coupling combines a modified Tanabe model of human physiology and thermal comfort model developed by Zhang. The Coupled model allows predicting the thermal sensation and comfort of both local and overall from local boundary conditions representing ambient and personal factors. The aim of this study was to compare prediction of the Coupled model with the Fiala model prediction and experimental data. Validation data were taken from the literature, mainly from the validation manual of software Theseus–FE [1]. In the paper validation of the model for very light physical activities (1 met indoor environment with temperatures from 12 °C up to 48 °C is presented. The Coupled model predicts mean skin temperature for cold, neutral and warm environment well. However prediction of core temperature in cold environment is inaccurate and very affected by ambient temperature. Evaluation of thermal comfort in warm environment is supplemented by skin wettedness prediction. The Coupled model is designed for non-uniform and transient environmental conditions; it is also suitable simulation of thermal comfort in vehicles cabins. The usage of the model is limited for very light physical activities up to 1.2 met only.

  13. FACT : forgiving agent comfort technology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zeiler, W.; Wortel, W.; Kamphuis, I.G.; Akkermans, Hans; Jelsma, J.; Bakker, L.

    2005-01-01

    To further reduce energy consumption of office buildings, a new control technology is needed in which the end-user behaviour is integrated. Improvement of the energy consumption is offered by agent-based systems for energy management in buildings, as well as possibilities for enhancing the comfort

  14. Standard Practice for Installation and Service of Solar Domestic Water Heating Systems for One- and Two-Family Dwellings

    CERN Document Server

    American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

    1985-01-01

    1.1 This practice provides descriptions of solar domestic water heating systems and sets forth installation and service practices in new and existing one- and two-family dwellings to help ensure adequate operation and safety., 1.2 This practice applies regardless of the fraction of heating requirement supplied by solar energy, the type of conventional fuel used in conjunction with solar, or the heat transfer fluid (or fluids) used as the energy transport medium. However, where more stringent requirements are recommended by the manufacturer, these manufacturer requirements shall prevail. 1.3 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as the standard. 1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. For specific precautionary statements, see Sections 6 and 7.

  15. Thermal comfort assessment of buildings

    CERN Document Server

    Carlucci, Salvatore

    2013-01-01

    A number of metrics for assessing human thermal response to climatic conditions have been proposed in scientific literature over the last decades. They aim at describing human thermal perception of the thermal environment to which an individual or a group of people is exposed. More recently, a new type of “discomfort index” has been proposed for describing, in a synthetic way, long-term phenomena. Starting from a systematic review of a number of long-term global discomfort indices, they are then contrasted and compared on a reference case study in order to identify their similarities and differences and strengths and weaknesses. Based on this analysis, a new short-term local discomfort index is proposed for the American Adaptive comfort model. Finally, a new and reliable long-term general discomfort index is presented. It is delivered in three versions and each of them is suitable to be respectively coupled with the Fanger, the European Adaptive and the American Adaptive comfort models.

  16. Energy and indoor temperature consequences of adative thermal comfort standards

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Centnerova, L.; Hensen, J.L.M.

    2001-01-01

    The intent of the presented study was to quantify the implications for energy demand of indoor temperature requirements based on a proposed adaptive thermal comfort standard (7) relative to a more traditional thermal comfort approach. The study focuses on a typical office situation in a moderate

  17. Thermal comfort in hospital and healthcare facilities : a literature review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sadrizadeh, S.; Loomans, M.G.L.C.

    2016-01-01

    Hospital and healthcare facilities need to provide a variety of indoor environments due to the diverse comfort and health needs of their patients and staff. Thermal comfort is an essential part of indoor environmental quality in the hospital work environment that affects both the patient’s own

  18. A Series of Computational Neuroscience Labs Increases Comfort with MATLAB.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, David F

    2015-01-01

    Computational simulations allow for a low-cost, reliable means to demonstrate complex and often times inaccessible concepts to undergraduates. However, students without prior computer programming training may find working with code-based simulations to be intimidating and distracting. A series of computational neuroscience labs involving the Hodgkin-Huxley equations, an Integrate-and-Fire model, and a Hopfield Memory network were used in an undergraduate neuroscience laboratory component of an introductory level course. Using short focused surveys before and after each lab, student comfort levels were shown to increase drastically from a majority of students being uncomfortable or with neutral feelings about working in the MATLAB environment to a vast majority of students being comfortable working in the environment. Though change was reported within each lab, a series of labs was necessary in order to establish a lasting high level of comfort. Comfort working with code is important as a first step in acquiring computational skills that are required to address many questions within neuroscience.

  19. Thermoregulation and thermal perception in the cold and heat before and after intermittent heat adaptation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Issing, K.; Fuhr, E.

    1986-09-01

    Students wearing swim suits were exposed for 30 min to neutral room temperature (TR=28‡C). During the following 60 min they were subjected to gradual decreases or increases of room temperature reaching 12‡C or 45‡C, respectively. Static thermal stimuli were applied to the palms of the right (38‡C) and left (25‡C) hands. Hands and feet of all subjects were thermally isolated at 22‡C ambient temperature. General thermal comfort (GTC), local thermal comfort (LTC), skin blood flow (which is proportional to heat transport index λ) several body temperatures, oxygen-consumption(dot V_{O_2 } ), and sweat rate (S), were measured. After moderate intermittent heat exposures (7 times for 1h at TR=42.5‡C) the experiments started again. From GTC, LTC, or λ as functions of TR, no new knowledge about thermoregulatory or adaptive mechanisms was available. The high λ in the cold stimulated left hand, however, and the oscillatory thresholds (λOSC) for rhythmic vasomotion indicated the peripheral influence of skin temperature, as well as local, mean skin temperature (¯Ts) and core temperature. When exposed to moderate temperature decreases or increases the body seems to react only with increasing thermal resistance by vasoconstriction or an increase of sweat rate, respectively. Moderate heat adaptation is only able to raise sweat rate, but not the thresholds and gain of the S-function. We assume that functional studies of adaptive modifications in humans must be conducted at temperatures greatly beyond those used in these experiments.

  20. Reducing urban heat island effects to improve urban comfort and balance energy consumption in Bucharest (Romania)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Constantinescu, Dan; Ochinciuc, Cristina Victoria; Cheval, Sorin; Comşa, Ionuţ; Sîrodoev, Igor; Andone, Radu; Caracaş, Gabriela; Crăciun, Cerasella; Dumitrescu, Alexandru; Georgescu, Mihaela; Ianoş, Ioan; Merciu, Cristina; Moraru, Dan; Opriş, Ana; Paraschiv, Mirela; Raeţchi, Sonia; Saghin, Irina; Schvab, Andrei; Tătui-Văidianu, Nataşa

    2017-04-01

    In the recent decades, extreme temperature events and derived hazards are frequent and trigger noteworthy impacts in Romania, especially over the large urban areas. The cities produce significant disturbances of many elements of the regional climate, and generates adverse effects such as Urban Heat Islands (UHI). This presentation condenses the outputs of an ongoing research project (REDBHI) developed through (2013-2017) focused on developing a methodology for monitoring and forecasting indoor climate and energy challenges related to the intensity of UHI of Bucharest (Romania), based on relevant urban climate zones (UCZs). Multi-criteria correlations between the UHI and architectural, urban and landscape variables were determined, and the vulnerability of buildings expressed in the form of transfer function between indoor micro-climate and outdoor urban environment. The vulnerability of civil buildings was determined in relation with the potential for amplifying the thermal hazards intensity through the anthropogenic influence. The project REDBHI aims at developing innovative and original products, with direct applicability, which can be used in any urban settlement and have market potential with regards to energy design and consulting. The concrete innovative outcomes consist of a) localization of the Bucharest UCZs according to the UHI intensity, identifying reference buildings and sub-zones according to urban anthropic factors and landscape pattern; b) typology of representative buildings with regards to energy consumption and CO2 emitted as a result of building exploitation; c) 3D modelling of the reference buildings and of the thermal/energy reaction to severe climatic conditions d) empirical validation of the dynamic thermal/energy analysis; d) development of an pilot virtual studio capable to simulate climate alerts, analyse scenarios and suggest measures to mitigate the UHI effects, and disseminate the outcomes for educational purposes; e) compendium of