Thermal sensation and air movement perception with ceiling mounted personalized ventilation system

Abstract

Response of 32 subjects on their local and whole body thermal sensation and air movement perception and preference to ceiling mounted personalized ventilation (PV) system was studied. The experiments were performed in a field environmental chamber with controlled environment. The subjects (16 males and 16 females) were acclimatized to hot tropical conditions in the course of their day-to-day life. During the experiments, they performed normal office work and could choose to be exposed to one of four different PV airflow rates (4, 8, 12, and 16 L/s). Ambient temperatures of 26°C and 23.5°C and PV air temperatures of 26°C, 23.5°C and 21°C were utilized to conduct parametric variation studies. The subjects were exposed to each combination for 15 minutes during which time period they responded to computer-administered questionnaires. Relationships between facial/whole body thermal sensations, air movement perception/acceptability/preference were established.