Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal Comfort
Thermostats are widely used in temperature regulation of indoor spaces and have a direct impact on energy use and occupant thermal comfort. Existing guidelines make recommendations for properly selecting set points to reduce energy use, but there is little or no information regarding the actual achi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2017-09-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/9/1368 |
| _version_ | 1818037983762186240 |
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| author | Georgios D. Kontes Georgios I. Giannakis Philip Horn Simone Steiger Dimitrios V. Rovas |
| author_facet | Georgios D. Kontes Georgios I. Giannakis Philip Horn Simone Steiger Dimitrios V. Rovas |
| author_sort | Georgios D. Kontes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Thermostats are widely used in temperature regulation of indoor spaces and have a direct impact on energy use and occupant thermal comfort. Existing guidelines make recommendations for properly selecting set points to reduce energy use, but there is little or no information regarding the actual achieved thermal comfort of the occupants. While dry-bulb air temperature measured at the thermostat location is sometimes a good proxy, there is less understanding of whether thermal comfort targets are actually met. In this direction, we have defined an experimental simulation protocol involving two office buildings; the buildings have contrasting geometrical and construction characteristics, as well as different building services systems for meeting heating and cooling demands. A parametric analysis is performed for combinations of controlled variables and boundary conditions. In all cases, occupant thermal comfort is estimated using the Fanger index, as defined in ISO 7730. The results of the parametric study suggest that simple bounds on the dry-bulb air temperature are not sufficient to ensure comfort, and in many cases, more detailed considerations taking into account building characteristics, as well as the types of building heating and cooling services are required. The implication is that the calculation or estimation of detailed comfort indices, or even the use of personalised comfort models, is key towards a more human-centric approach to building design and operation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:35:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa0733c1695543fba2acccd3dc48cef8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T07:35:31Z |
| publishDate | 2017-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa0733c1695543fba2acccd3dc48cef82022-12-22T01:57:26ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732017-09-01109136810.3390/en10091368en10091368Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal ComfortGeorgios D. Kontes0Georgios I. Giannakis1Philip Horn2Simone Steiger3Dimitrios V. Rovas4Department of Mechanical Engineering and Building Services Engineering, Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm, 90489 Nuremberg, GermanySchool of Production Engineering and Management, Technical University of Crete, Chania 73100, GreeceEnergy Department, Austrian Institute of Technology, 1220 Vienna, AustriaTechnical Building Systems Group, Nuremberg Branch, Department of Energy Efficiency and Indoor Climate, Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, 90429 Nuremberg, GermanyThe Bartlett School of Environment, Energy and Resources, Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UKThermostats are widely used in temperature regulation of indoor spaces and have a direct impact on energy use and occupant thermal comfort. Existing guidelines make recommendations for properly selecting set points to reduce energy use, but there is little or no information regarding the actual achieved thermal comfort of the occupants. While dry-bulb air temperature measured at the thermostat location is sometimes a good proxy, there is less understanding of whether thermal comfort targets are actually met. In this direction, we have defined an experimental simulation protocol involving two office buildings; the buildings have contrasting geometrical and construction characteristics, as well as different building services systems for meeting heating and cooling demands. A parametric analysis is performed for combinations of controlled variables and boundary conditions. In all cases, occupant thermal comfort is estimated using the Fanger index, as defined in ISO 7730. The results of the parametric study suggest that simple bounds on the dry-bulb air temperature are not sufficient to ensure comfort, and in many cases, more detailed considerations taking into account building characteristics, as well as the types of building heating and cooling services are required. The implication is that the calculation or estimation of detailed comfort indices, or even the use of personalised comfort models, is key towards a more human-centric approach to building design and operation.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/9/1368thermal comfortfangerbuilding energy performance simulationthermostatshuman-centred design and operation |
| spellingShingle | Georgios D. Kontes Georgios I. Giannakis Philip Horn Simone Steiger Dimitrios V. Rovas Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal Comfort Energies thermal comfort fanger building energy performance simulation thermostats human-centred design and operation |
| title | Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal Comfort |
| title_full | Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal Comfort |
| title_fullStr | Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal Comfort |
| title_full_unstemmed | Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal Comfort |
| title_short | Using Thermostats for Indoor Climate Control in Office Buildings: The Effect on Thermal Comfort |
| title_sort | using thermostats for indoor climate control in office buildings the effect on thermal comfort |
| topic | thermal comfort fanger building energy performance simulation thermostats human-centred design and operation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/10/9/1368 |
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