A Review of Recent Literature on Systems and Methods for the Control of Thermal Comfort in Buildings

Abstract

Thermal comfort in indoor environments is perceived as an important factor for the well-being and productivity of the occupants. To practically create a comfortable environment, a combination of models, systems, and procedures must be applied. This systematic review collects recent studies proposing complete thermal-comfort-based control strategies, extracted from a scientific database for the period 2017–2021. The study consists of this paper and of a spreadsheet recording all the 166 reviewed works. After a general introduction, the content of the papers is analyzed in terms of thermal comfort models, indoor environment control strategies, and correlation between these two aspects. Practical considerations on scope, required inputs, level of readiness, and, where available, estimated cost are also given. It was found that the predicted mean vote is the preferred thermal comfort modeling approach, followed by data-driven and adaptive methods. Thermal comfort is controlled mainly through indoor temperature, although a wide range of options are explored, including the comfort-based design of building elements. The most popular field of application of advanced control strategies is office/commercial buildings with air conditioning systems, which can be explained by budget and impact considerations. The analysis showed that few works envisaging practical implementations exist that address the needs of vulnerable people. A section is, therefore, dedicated to this issue.

Thermal Environment and Energy Performance of a Typical Classroom Building in a Hot-Humid Region: A Case Study in Guangzhou, China

“…Another finding was that, throughout the summer, the average temperatures in the classroom were mostly above 29.5 °C, clustering in the range from 30 °C to 35 °C. The highest 4 Geofluids temperature was close to 37.5 °C, whereas the lowest was above 22.5 °C. Furthermore, the indoor temperatures were generally higher than outdoor ones.…”

“…More specifically, building energy consumption represented 20-40% [2] of the total energy use for developed countries and 20.7% [3] in 2004 for China. The energy demand by buildings has been projected to continue its upward trajectory in future [4][5][6][7][8]. Additionally, it is noteworthy that energy-related CO 2 emissions from buildings have escalated in recent years.…”

Energy-Saving Occupant-Feedback Control Method Under Preferred Air-Conditioner Settings of Occupants

“…(Some papers have studied occupant-feedback control meth-ods only for improving the comfort of occupants, without considering energy-savings [26]- [30].) Occupant-feedback control methods have become actively studied [31], as smart devices have become widespread. However, [31] pointed out that most occupant-feedback control methods published after 2017 have been at a preliminary stage only.…”

“…Occupant-feedback control methods have become actively studied [31], as smart devices have become widespread. However, [31] pointed out that most occupant-feedback control methods published after 2017 have been at a preliminary stage only. Reference [7] noted that energy-saving occupant-feedback control methods need to be studied under various conditions.…”

Porous Ceramic Roof Insulation in Malaysia’s Construction Industry: A Review

“…The function of buildings themselves is to provide a comfortable indoor environment for occupants (Hamzah et al, 2018). When the objectives cannot be achieved, thermal discomfort happens and results in reducing the occupants' performance and reducing their emotions (Grassi et al, 2022).…”