Index to quantify thermal comfort in homes

Conference · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1980 · Proc. Annu. Meet. - Am. Sect. Int. Sol. Energy Soc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6370530

Carroll, J A

The discomfort index presented here quantifies the thermal discomfort associated with the design and operation of residential buildings during the heating season. Discomfort under steady-state conditions is estimated from the squared difference between the actual and a preferred temperature (which is assumed to vary with clothing and activity levels). The difference is found using a simple linear approximation to the ASHRAE ET that treats humidity effects only implicity. A penalty is also assessed for transient discomfort effects. The index allows calibration for individual preferences. The proposed index is similar to the currently used Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied, but is simpler and better suited to simulations of residential environments. Simulations can integrate the index over a heating season along with energy use to estimate the overall thermal performance of a building. These two complementary aspects of performance can be combined into one overall index, by using thermostat settings as an indicator of the relative weights that people assign to comfort and energy use.

• Research Organization: Univ. of California, San Diego, La Jolla
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-79AL10891
• OSTI ID: 6370530
• Report Number(s): CONF-801016-(Vol.2)
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Proc. Annu. Meet. - Am. Sect. Int. Sol. Energy Soc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 5.2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140901 -- Solar Thermal Utilization-- Space Heating & Cooling
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
320100* -- Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization-- Buildings
AMBIENT TEMPERATURE
BUILDINGS
CONTROL
HOUSES
MEASURING METHODS
RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS
SIMULATION
TEMPERATURE CONTROL
TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION
THERMAL COMFORT