Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Thermal comfort
Summary
Thermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation (ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55). The human body can be viewed as a heat engine where food is the input energy. The human body will release excess heat into the environment, so the body can continue to operate. The heat transfer is proportional to temperature difference. In cold environments, the body loses more heat to the environment and in hot environments the body does not release enough heat. Both the hot and cold scenarios lead to discomfort. Maintaining this standard of thermal comfort for occupants of buildings or other enclosures is one of the important goals of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) design engineers.
Thermal neutrality is maintained when the heat generated by human metabolism is allowed to dissipate, thus maintaining thermal equilibrium with the surroundings. The main factors that influence thermal comfort are those that determine heat gain and loss, namely metabolic rate, clothing insulation, air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air speed and relative humidity. Psychological parameters, such as individual expectations, also affect thermal comfort. The thermal comfort temperature may vary greatly between individuals and depending on factors such as activity level, clothing, and humidity.
The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) model stands among the most recognized thermal comfort models. It was developed using principles of heat balance and experimental data collected in a controlled climate chamber under steady state conditions. The adaptive model, on the other hand, was developed based on hundreds of field studies with the idea that occupants dynamically interact with their environment. Occupants control their thermal environment by means of clothing, operable windows, fans, personal heaters, and sun shades. The PMV model can be applied to air-conditioned buildings, while the adaptive model can be applied only to buildings where no mechanical systems have been installed.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Ontological neighbourhood
Related courses (15)
AR-440: UE K : Architecture and Sustainability : performance studies
Ce cours s'articule autour de la conception en équipe d'un théâtre temporaire, mobile et durable. La démarche pédagogique s'appuiera sur une approche de design intégré, appliquée à la conception et l'
AR-442: Comfort and architecture: sustainable strategies
This class offers an overview about comfort evaluations in architectural design and suggests passive and low-energy strategies suited to ensure the highest possible indoor environment quality for buil
CIVIL-450: Thermodynamics of comfort in buildings
This course provides an integrated approach to analyzing human indoor thermal comfort by examining the correlation between the thermodynamic processes in buildings, human thermoregulation, local therm
Related lectures (36)
Thermal Comfort Analysis
Covers human thermal comfort assessment, models, surveys, and standards, emphasizing the importance of adaptive models for naturally ventilated buildings.
Building Physics: Glazing Technologies
Delves into building envelope physics, emphasizing glazing technologies and their impact on thermal performance.
Building Physics: Transparent Parts and Thermal Comfort
Explores building physics, emphasizing transparent parts and thermal comfort through glazing technologies and sun shading systems.
Related publications (330)
Related people (57)
Related units (8)
Related concepts (15)
Passive ventilation
Passive ventilation is the process of supplying air to and removing air from an indoor space without using mechanical systems. It refers to the flow of external air to an indoor space as a result of pressure differences arising from natural forces. There are two types of natural ventilation occurring in buildings: wind driven ventilation and buoyancy-driven ventilation. Wind driven ventilation arises from the different pressures created by wind around a building or structure, and openings being formed on the perimeter which then permit flow through the building.
Ventilation (architecture)
Ventilation is the intentional introduction of outdoor air into a space. Ventilation is mainly used to control indoor air quality by diluting and displacing indoor pollutants; it can also be used to control indoor temperature, humidity, and air motion to benefit thermal comfort, satisfaction with other aspects of the indoor environment, or other objectives. The intentional introduction of outdoor air is usually categorized as either mechanical ventilation, natural ventilation, or mixed-mode ventilation (hybrid ventilation).
Cross ventilation
Cross ventilation is a natural phenomena where wind, fresh air or a breeze enters upon an opening, such as a window, and flows directly through the space and exits through an opening on the opposite side of the building (where the air pressure is lower). This produces a cool stream of air and as well as a current across the room from the exposed area to the sheltered area. Other terms used for the effect include, cross-breeze, cross-draft, wind effect ventilation and cross-flow ventilation.
Related MOOCs (2)
SES Swiss-Energyscope
La transition énergique suisse / Energiewende in der Schweiz
SES Swiss-Energyscope
La transition énergique suisse / Energiewende in der Schweiz