Thermal comfort: advanced management of heating and cooling of buildings 02.11.2018

News, 02.11.2018

CTU UCEEB experts presented the results of a case study on the perception of temperature conditions inside the building. The study shows which heating system is the most comfortable for the user. The obtained data will be used to develop a system for regulating the temperature in the house. The benefit will be a reduction in energy consumption and an improvement in the quality of the indoor environment without significant financial costs.

A person's perception of a certain thermal environment is influenced by a number of factors, such as his activity in the room, clothing, age, gender and psychological state. The goal of the project was to design and verify the function of the so-called virtual air temperature, which captures well the properties of the heating or cooling surface, human habits and the parameters of the surrounding environment - both interior and exterior. Another benefit should be improved control of heating and cooling surfaces, improved thermal comfort in the room based on changes in the surrounding environment or changes in user requirements.

To research thermal comfort in the room, CTU UCEEB experts used four different heating systems: convector, ceramic panel, floor heating and ceiling film. Their temperature ranged from twenty to twenty-four degrees. The research included the participation of several test subjects, in which experts determined what temperature environment was most comfortable for them.
The project, in addition to testing and data analysis, includes the development of a system for regulating the temperature in the house. According to the obtained data, the controller should be adapted as much as possible to the thermal comfort of the person in the room. Unlike conventional temperature controllers on the market, the developed system will take into account not only the temperature of the external environment, but also the activity of a person in the building, his choice of clothing and even how much he is willing to spend on heating the house. This project will run until the end of August 2019.