In Search of Indoor Comfort: Engs 44 Sustainable Design
In Search of Indoor Comfort: Engs 44 Sustainable Design
In Search of Indoor Comfort: Engs 44 Sustainable Design
ENGS 44
SUSTAINABLE DESIGN
In Search of Indoor Comfort
Benoit Cushman‐Roisin
4 April 2019
Fact: People spend 90% of their time being indoors.
Questions:
What is comfort?
How do you define it?
or or
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Elements of the answer
‐ Fresh air (as opposed to stale)
→ Good level of oxygen → Sufficient air exchange with outside
‐ Not too hot and not too cold
→ Control of temperature
‐ Not too dry and not too humid
→ Control of rela ve humidity
‐ Good amount of light, but no excess and no glare
→ Enough light, preferably diffuse
‐ Human dimension to the context
→ Appropriate geometric dimensions, pleasing shapes and colors
There are many more intangible aspects to comfort.
Formal definition of thermal comfort
(ASHRAE* Standard 55‐2013 Thermal Environmental
Conditions for Human Occupancy)
Thermal comfort is that condition of mind which
expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment.
A definition of comfort in general (not just thermal)
may then be:
Comfort is that condition of mind which
expresses satisfaction with one’s environment.
* ASHRAE = American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air‐Conditioning Engineers
(Only engineers could come up with such a name!)
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Let’s first focus on the thermal part because it is not only essential but also
most easily comprehended.
Our body’s thermostat is set at 98.6oF (37oC), and we generate heat by our
metabolism and muscular activities:
To remain at its constant temperature, the Constant
body has to eliminate the heat generated, temperature
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
somehow and at a rate equal to its Heat
production, in average. generated
Thermal Comfort
The human body has ways to adjust (increase or decrease) its heat loss,
for example by bringing more or less blood to vessels right under the skin or
by changing the total amount of blood in the body, with more blood
produced under warmer conditions to expel heat more effectively.
Sweating and the resulting evaporation
is another physiological mechanism to
expel heat, but it is not one that we
would call comfortable.
Thus, we can feel thermally comfortable within a range of temperatures,
but that this range is limited.
Experience reveals that the comfort range for most people extends
from 68oF (20oC) to 78oF (25oC).
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Humidity Comfort
Likewise with humidity. Experience reveals that comfort is best achieved
within a range of relative humidity.
Relative humidity (RH) is the fraction of water vapor that the air actually
contains to the amount that it would contain at the point of condensation,
expressed as a percentage. Thus, 0% corresponds to dry air, and 100% to
maximally humid air for its temperature. Neither extreme is comfortable.
The minimum comfortable level of relative humidity is 20%.
Below this, people complaint of dry nose, mouth, eyes,
and skin, and there is an increase in respiratory illnesses.
Furthermore, static electricity and shrinkage of wood are
also problems cause by excessively low humidity.
The maximum comfortable level varies with the season.
‐ In summer, when the need to expel heat is more important,
cooling by evaporation of body moisture is necessary, and
RH is best kept below 60%.
‐ In winter, when getting rid of excess heat is hardly the case,
a higher level of humidity can be tolerated, and the
maximum RH level is 80%.
Humidity Limit as a Function of Temperature
When water is exposed to air, some water
evaporates and contributes to a certain level of
humidity in the air. An equilibrium is eventually
reached, and the amount of humidity (= mass of
water vapor per mass of air) remains a constant.
This level of humidity is the maximum possible
level. Any higher level would cause
condensation of water vapor back into liquid
water.
At equilibrium, the water vapor is said to be
saturated, and relative humidity is said to be at
100%.
This level of saturation varies with temperature. For example,
at 40oF, it is 0.006 pound of water vapor per pound of dry air,
at 80oF, it is 0.023 pound of water vapor per pound of dry air.
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In most common indoor situations, there is no significant amount of water exposed.
(Typical exceptions are kitchens and bathrooms when in use and, of course, indoor
swimming pools.)
If the amount of humidity exceeds the saturation level, vapor condenses and forms
droplets of water on surfaces. Surfaces get wet, and we call that moisture.
Moisture in buildings is not good because persistent moisture leads to mold.
If the amount of humidity is lower
than the saturation level, and if
there is no exposed water to
bring water vapor to the
saturated state, the level of
humidity lies somewhere
between zero and saturation.
This amount is measured as a
% of the saturation value.
Dew point
When the temperature is gradually
lowered, the point at which humidity
becomes saturated and at which
condensation begins is called the
dew point.
dew
point
dew point temperature
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The psychrometric chart and
Defining the comfort zone on it
68F to 78F
Moving across
the psychrometric chart
hard to lower easy to raise the
temperature humidity level
easy to warm the air
hard to lower humidity
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Typical way of
lowering humidity
1. Cooling to point of saturation
2. Further cooling
while condensing water to remove it
3. Re‐heating the now drier air starting point
Thus, three steps are necessary.
desired point
Various methods and technologies
to bring indoor air conditions into the comfort zone
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Reaching dew point inside of a wall: Danger of condensation within the wall!
Cold warm 70F
7F 40% RH
dew point
at 44F
Energy Considerations
It takes energy to change the temperature of the air:
‐ Input for heating called sensible heat
‐ Removal for cooling.
Likewise, it takes energy to vary the humidity of the air:
‐ Input to vaporize liquid water into vapor
‐ Removal to condense vapor into liquid. called latent heat
Addition of latent heat
Removal of sensible heat
Addition of sensible heat
Removal of latent heat
Line of no energy change
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Psychrometric chart
with enthalpy lines
An important side note: Notion of ENTHALPY
When a manipulation of air is done at constant pressure (here, atmospheric pressure),
it is accompanied by a change of volume. The pressure force times a displacement
creates mechanical work. Work is expanded by the air during dilation, and work is
taken by the air during contraction.
Mechanical work is a form of energy, and this must be added to the sensible and
latent heat forms of energy.
When mechanical work is added to heat, the total energy quantity is called enthalpy.
The concept of enthalpy is often misunderstood, and it is very common to hear
HVAC* engineers speak about energy when they mean only heating/cooling and
enthalpy when they include humidity. The latent heat associated with humidity is
NOT what makes energy become enthalpy. What makes energy become enthalpy is
the fact that the change occurs at constant pressure rather than at constant volume.
(* HVAC = Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning)
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The enthalpy wheel
The slowly turning wheel
absorbs and rejects heat.
It is also covered by a
desiccant that absorbs and
rejects humidity.
In the case of indoor heating, the exhausting air is
warmer and more humid than the outside air. The
lower part of the wheel absorbs both heat and
humidity. When this half of the wheel has rotated to
become the upper part, it imparts its heat and
humidity to the cold and dry air entering from the
outside. The net effect: The air has been changed,
but about 85% of its heat and humidity has been
recycled.
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