Energy & Comfort

摘要

In "Managing Energy and Comfort" in the June issue, Steve Tom, Ph.D., P.E., correctly emphasizes "Don't Sacrifice Comfort When Managing Energy." However, we also need to consider two other factors. We need to consider the effect of air velocity on comfort. Effective temperature is greatly influenced by air velocity, and a decades-old chart (American Society of Heating and Ventilation) shows effective temperature of 73℉ with air at 82℉ db, 69℉ wb and 300 fpm air velocity. The attempts in Japan to maintain 82℉ for summer cooling (and also more extensively in China) were not only popular socially, but visitors reported that the use of small fans made all the difference in comfort perception. Using such strategically placed fans should be studied for a more authentic comfort index since considerable energy could be saved if such fans were used with higher design db/wb temperatures.