A new thermal comfort approach comparing adaptive and PMV models

José A. Orosa and Armando C. Oliveira

Renewable Energy, 2011, vol. 36, issue 3, 951-956

Abstract: In buildings with heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC), the Predicted Mean Vote index (PMV) was successful at predicting comfort conditions, whereas in naturally ventilated buildings, only adaptive models provide accurate predictions. On the other hand, permeable coverings can be considered as a passive control method of indoor conditions and, consequently, have implications in the perception of indoor air quality, local thermal comfort, and energy savings. These energy savings were measured in terms of the set point temperature established in accordance with adaptive methods. Problems appear when the adaptive model suggests the same neutral temperature for ambiences with the same indoor temperature but different relative humidities. In this paper, a new design of the PMV model is described to compare the neutral temperature to real indoor conditions. Results showed that this new PMV model tends to overestimate thermal neutralities but with a lower value than Fanger’s PMV index. On the other hand, this new PMV model considers indoor relative humidity, showing a clear differentiation of indoor ambiences in terms of it, unlike adaptive models. Finally, spaces with permeable coverings present indoor conditions closer to thermal neutrality, with corresponding energy savings.

Keywords: Neutral temperature; Thermal comfort; Energy; Passive methods; New approach (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148110004258
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:36:y:2011:i:3:p:951-956

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2010.09.013

Access Statistics for this article

Renewable Energy is currently edited by Soteris A. Kalogirou and Paul Christodoulides

More articles in Renewable Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().