Study of fluctuating period and airflow distance on human thermal response in a sinusoidal airflow personalized ventilation system

摘要

Personalized ventilation provides fresh air and cooling effect in a localized region and is one of the effective ways to reduce the energy use for air conditioning. Characterizing the airflow, especially the fluctuating period, has been believed to be the key to balance the thermal comfort and the energy saving. The objective of this research is to study the influence of fluctuating period and a parameter drawn less attention in previous researches - the airflow distance between the subject and the air duct nozzle, on thermal response with a participation of volunteers. It is found that the airflow distance plays a significant role in thermal sensation, but not in thermal comfort. For the fluctuating period, the thermal sensation difference is not significant, but the effect on the thermal comfort is correlated to the airflow speed. Thus the search for an optimum fluctuating period should be in together with other factors.