Human Response to an Individually Controlled Microenvironment

The response of 48 subjects to an individually controlled microenvironment was studied at room air temperatures of 20°C, 22°C, and 26°C. An individually controlled system (ICS) comprising personalized ventilation, an under-desk air terminal device supplying cool air, a chair with convectively heated backrest, an under-desk radiant heating panel, and a floor-heating panel were used. The temperature of the air supplied from the personalized ventilation and the under-desk device was 20°C. The subjects were provided with control of the flow rate and direction of the personalized air, the under-desk airflow rate, the temperature of the convection flow from the chair, and the surface temperature of the heating panels. The results reveal that the thermal and air quality acceptability was significantly higher with the ICS at all room temperatures compared to the reference condition at a room temperature of 22°C without ICS. Thus, ICS will increase the number of satisfied occupants when applied in practice. The design and control of the ICS, as well as the background air distribution in a room, should be carefully considered in order to obtain the maximum number of occupants who are comfortable with their microenvironment.