Thermal sensation based humidity controls for improving indoor thermal comfort and energy efficiency in summer

Abstract

This study aims at investigating the benefit of actively controlling humidity to improve thermal comfort and energy efficiency in climate zones other than hot-dry. For this research purpose, three thermal control strategies, which adopted different initiative degrees in humidity control, were developed-i) temperature controls, ii) temperature and humidity controls, and iii) thermal sensation controls. Performance of the developed strategies were experimentally tested in a full scale mock up of an office environment. The study revealed that air temperature was better controlled in the occupied zone under the first two strategies than the thermal sensation based strategy. On the other hand, the thermal sensation-based strategy maintained thermal sensation levels more comfortably. In addition, energy consumption was significantly reduced when humidity was actively controlled for thermal comfort. The thermal sensation-based control strategy consumed significantly less electricity than the first two strategies. From these findings, this study indicated that adoption of an active humidity control system based on thermal sensation can provide increased thermal comfort as well as energy savings for summer seasons in climatic zones other than hot-dry.