The Impact of Air Exchange Effectiveness on Thermal Comfort in an Air-Conditioned Office

Abstract

Problem statement: Impact of air exchange effectiveness on thermal comfort has not been investigated and, therefore, not well understood .Therefore, the influence of air exchange effectiveness on thermal comfort is investigated in this study. Approach: The main objective of this research is to investigate the thermal comfort level of an air-conditioned office room under 14 windows-door opening arrangements as a function of maximum, minimum and mean Air Exchange Effectiveness (AEE), as has not been inquired into already. The tracer gas decay method has been applied during the experimental procedures to estimate air exchange effectiveness, on the basis of room average and local mean age of air. Simultaneously, thermal comfort variables were measured and through these data, the thermal comforts Fanger's indices (PMV and PPD) were calculated. Staff answered a survey on their sensation of the indoor climate. Results: Results of 60 survey responses to thermal comfort questions in office and indoor air quality are presented. This study has shown that there are relationship between AEE and thermal comfort and three linear regression equations of PMV versus AEE can be derived for this air-conditioned office. Conclusion: Studies on the effect of air exchange effectiveness on thermal comfort in an office have shown that Thermal comfort is influenced by AEE, which go beyond the six factors which have been taken into account in PMV modeling.