Use of neurobehavioral tests to evaluate the effects of indoor environment quality on productivity

The effects of indoor environment quality on productivity were reviewed. It could be concluded that there was a need to systematically and quantitatively measure the effect of indoor environment quality on office worker's productivity. An experiment was carried out in field laboratory to investigate the effect of indoor air temperature (17 °C, 21 °C, and 28 °C) on productivity with 21 participants (6 females and 15 males). Participants' performance was evaluated with 13 computerized neurobehavioral tests, which assessed different neurobehavioral functions including visual perception, working memory, reasoning, executive functions etc. Participants' emotion was assessed with the Profile of Mood States (POMS), which consisted of six identifiable mood states: tension, depression, anger, vigor, fatigue, and confusion. Effort exerted on each neurobehavioral test was tapped with subjective questionnaires. The results revealed that more information could be provided when the subjective questionnaires were utilized together with the neurobehavioral performance measures. The POMS showed high reliability to investigate the relationship between thermal environment and occupant productivity. The performance of neurobehavioral tests decreased when the thermal environment deviated from neutral condition. Participants experienced more negative emotions and had to exert more effort to maintain their performance under moderately adverse (slightly warm or slightly cool) environmental conditions.     

Room air temperature affects occupants’ physiology,perceptions and mental alertness

Thermal environment that causes thermal discomfort may affect office work performance. However, the mechanisms through which occupants are affected are not well understood. This study explores the plausible mechanism linking room air temperature and mental alertness through perceptual and physiological responses in the tropics. Ninety-six young adults participated as voluntary subjects in a series of experiment conducted in the simulated office settings. Three room air temperatures, i.e. 20.0, 23.0 and 26.0 °C were selected as the experimental conditions. Both thermal comfort and thermal sensation changed significantly with time under all exposures (P < 0.0001). Longer exposure at 20.0 °C led to cooling sensations due to lower skin temperatures (P < 0.0001) and was perceived as the least comfortable. Nevertheless, this moderate cold exposure induced nervous system activation as demonstrated by the increase of α-Amylase level (P < 0.0001) and the Tsai–partington test (P < 0.0001). A mechanism linking thermal environment, occupants' responses and performance is proposed.     

Thermal comfort and productivity - Evaluation of workplace environment in a task conditioned office

The environment of workplace in an office involved in creative work was evaluated in 2005 and 2006. The M Company has installed partition based task/ambient conditioning systems (TAC) and several environment-friendly systems, such as double-skin and thermal-storage structures. It was intended to investigate the influence of the worker's behavior and task conditioning on worker's thermal comfort and productivity. In this survey, immediate thermal environment and worker's behavior were measured, and occupants' surveys of thermal comfort and feeling of fatigue were conducted. We found that both activity level of occupant and exposed thermal environment is greatly different one by one. It is suggested that an increase in metabolic rate according to worker's behavior influenced on their thermal comfort. Based on the knowledge obtained from this investigation, needs for TAC are discussed.     

Performance of temperature and humidity independent control air-conditioning system in an office building

The temperature and humidity independent control (THIC) system, which controls indoor temperature and moisture separately, may be an attractive alternative to existing conventional HVAC systems for its prominent improvement on the overall system performance and utilization of low grade energy resources. In order to verify the effectiveness of THIC system, a pilot project has been implemented in an office building in Shenzhen, China. In the system, liquid desiccant fresh air handling units driven by heat pumps are utilized to remove the entire latent load of outdoor air supplied for the whole building, and chilled water at the temperature of 17.5 °C from chiller is pumped and distributed into dry fan coil units and radiant panels to control indoor temperature. This paper presents the results of field test of the system, which shows that the system can provide a comfortable indoor environment even in very hot and humid weather. The COP of the entire THIC system can reach 4.0. According to the energy usage data recorded from the year 2009, the energy consumption of the THIC system in the tested office building was 32.2 kWh/(m² yr), which demonstrates magnificent energy-saving potential compared with the conventional air-conditioning system (around 49 kWh/(m² yr)).     

Thermal evaluation of a chair with fans as an individually controlled system

It is difficult for a total air-conditioning system to satisfy the thermal comfort of all workers in an office. Therefore, an individually controlled system that can create a comfortable thermal environment for each worker is needed. In the present study, two chairs incorporating two fans each, one under the seat and one behind the backrest, were developed to provide isothermal forced airflow to the chair occupant. The chairs differed in the size of the fans. Experiments were conducted in a climate chamber during the summer. Seven subjects, who were healthy male college students, were allowed to freely control the two built-in fans by adjusting dials on the accompanying desk. The room air temperatures were set at 26 °C, 28 °C, 30 °C and 32 °C. The following findings were obtained. At a room air temperature of 28 °C, the whole-body thermal sensations were almost thermally neutral, regardless of the type of chair. At a room air temperature of 30 °C, the occupants were able to create acceptable thermal environments from the viewpoints of whole-body thermal sensation and comfort by using the chairs with fans. Their local discomfort rates at the back and lower back, which were affected by the isothermal airflows, were greatly improved at this room air temperature. However, at a room air temperature of 32 °C, the chairs tested in the present study were not able to provide acceptable thermal environments. In order to provide a more comfortable environment to the chair occupants, additional local systems to cool the head, arms, and hands are needed.     

Modeling solar-driven ejector refrigeration system offering air conditioning for office buildings

A lumped method combined with dynamic model is proposed for use in investigating the performance and solar fraction of a solar-driven ejector refrigeration system (SERS) using R134a, for office air conditioning application for buildings in Shanghai, China. Classical hourly outdoor temperature and solar radiation model were used to provide basic data for accurate analysis of the system performance. Results indicate that during the office working-time, i.e., from 9:00 to 17:00, the average COP and the average solar fraction of the system were 0.48 and 0.82 respectively when the operating conditions were: generator temperature (85 °C), evaporator temperature (8 °C) and condenser temperature varying with ambient temperature. Compared with traditional compressor based air conditioner, the system can save upto 80% electric energy when providing the same cooling capacity for office buildings. Hence, the system offers a good energy conservation method for office buildings.     

Low-temperature baseboard heaters with integrated air supply – An analytical and numerical investigation

The functioning of a hydronic baseboard heating system with integrated air supply was analyzed. The aim was to investigate thermal performance of the system when cold outdoor (ventilation) airflow was forced through the baseboard heater. The performance of the system was evaluated for different ventilation rates at typical outdoor temperatures during the Swedish winter season. Three different analytical models and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) were used to predict the temperature rise of the airflow inside the baseboard heater. Good agreement between numerical (CFD) and analytical calculations was obtained. Calculations showed that it was fully possible to pre-heat the incoming airflow to the indoor temperature and to cover transmission losses, using 45 °C supply water flow. The analytical calculations also showed that the airflow per supply opening in the baseboard heater needed to be limited to 7.0 l/s due to pressure losses inside the channel. At this ventilation rate, the integrated system with one air supply gave about 2.1 more heat output than a conventional baseboard heating system. CFD simulations also showed that the integrated system was capable of countering downdraught created by 2.0 m high glazed areas and a cold outdoor environment. Draught discomfort in the case with the conventional system was slightly above the recommended upper limit, but heat distribution across whole analyzed office space was uniform for both heating systems. It was concluded that low-temperature baseboard heating systems with integrated air supply can meet both international comfort requirements, and lead to energy savings in cold climates.     

Thermal effect of temperature gradient in a field environment chamber served by displacement ventilation system in the tropics

The effect of vertical air temperature gradient on overall and local thermal comfort at different overall thermal sensations and room air temperatures (at 0.6 m height) was investigated in a room served by displacement ventilation system. Sixty tropically acclimatized subjects performed sedentary office work for a period of 3 h during each session of the experiment. Nominal vertical air temperature gradients between 0.1 and 1.1 m heights were 1, 3 and 5 K/m while nominal room air temperatures at 0.6 m height were 20, 23 and 26 °C. Air velocity in the space near the subjects was kept at below 0.2 m/s. Relative humidity at 0.6 m height was maintained at 50%. It was found that temperature gradient had different influences on thermal comfort at different overall thermal sensations. At overall thermal sensation close to neutral, only when room air temperature was substantially low, such as 20 °C, percentage dissatisfied of overall body increased with the increase of temperature gradient. At overall cold and slightly warm sensations, percentage dissatisfied of overall body was non-significantly affected by temperature gradient. Overall thermal sensation had significant impact on overall thermal comfort. Local thermal comfort of body segment was affected by both overall and local thermal sensations.     

Local thermal sensation and comfort study in a field environment chamber served by displacement ventilation system in the tropics

This paper presents a study of local thermal sensation (LTS) and comfort in a field environmental chamber (FEC) served by displacement ventilation (DV) system. The FEC, 11.12 m (L)×7.53 m (W)×2.60 m (H), simulates a typical office layout. A total of 60 tropically acclimatized subjects, 30 male and 30 female, were engaged in sedentary office work for 3 h. Subjects were exposed to three vertical air temperature gradients, nominally 1, 3 and 5 K/m, between 0.1 and 1.1 m heights and three room air temperatures of 20, 23 and 26 °C at 0.6 m height. The objective of this study is to investigate the mutual effect of local and overall thermal sensation (OTS) and comfort in DV environment. The results show that in a space served by DV system, at OTS close to neutral, local thermal discomfort decreased with the increase of room air temperature. The OTS of occupants was mainly affected by LTS at the arm, calf, foot, back and hand. Local thermal discomfort was affected by both LTS and OTS. At overall cold thermal sensation, all body segments prefer slightly warm sensation. At overall slightly warm thermal sensation, all body segments prefer slightly cool sensation.     

Heat emission from thermal skirting boards

The performance of three hydronic skirting heating systems was investigated. The main focus of the study was to ascertain whether thermal skirting boards served by low-temperature supply flow were able to suppress strong downdraught. The evaluation was made for a two-person office room with mechanical ventilation. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and three different draught rating models were employed to predict the level of thermal discomfort inside the room. CFD results were validated against several analytical calculations and four sets of experimental data presented in previous studies. Numerical simulations showed that all three skirting heating arrangements were able to cover transmission and ventilation thermal losses of the office room. Horizontal and vertical heat distribution inside the room was uniform for all heating systems. CFD simulations also showed that thermal skirting boards served by 40 and 45 °C supply flow had difficulty in reducing the velocity of the downdraught at ankle level. Consequently the draught rating in this region was around or slightly above 15% for these cases. In contrast, heat-emitting skirting boards supplied by 55 °C hot water showed a better ability to suppress downdraught, and the proportion of people sensing draught at 0.1 m above the floor was low. The conclusion of this study was that thermal performance of hydronic skirting heaters with low-temperature water supply must be improved in order to counter strong downdraughts, in particular where such systems may be combined with heat pumps of other low-valued sustainable energy sources.     

Development and experimental validation of a high-temperature heat pump for heat recovery and building heating

The performance of a high-temperature heat pump unit using geothermal water for heat recovery in buildings is experimentally evaluated. The unit consists of a twin-screw refrigeration compressor, a condenser, an evaporator and an oil cooling system. The effect of the cooled oil temperature on the performance of the heat pump unit is experimentally investigated. Results show that the unit stably produces outlet hot water at a constant temperature of 85 °C and performs well in a wide range of high-temperature conditions with a high energy efficiency ratio. The results also indicate that the key to improving the performance of a high-temperature heat pump unit often depend on the selection of proper cooled oil temperature. The optimum cooled oil temperature is 50-65 °C when the condensing temperature is above 70 °C. At these temperatures, the oil cooling system can increase the energy efficiency ratio of the heat pump by 6.3%.     

Automated task-level activity analysis through fusion of real time location sensors and worker's thoracic posture data

Knowledge of workforce productivity and activity is crucial for determining whether a construction project can be accomplished on time and within budget. Significant work has been done on improving and assessing productivity and activity at task, project, or industry levels. Task level productivity and activity analysis are used extensively within the construction industry for various purposes, including cost estimating, claim evaluation, and day-to-day project management. The assessment is mostly performed through visual observations and after-the-fact analyses even though previous studies show automatic translation of operations data into productivity information and provide spatial information of resources for specific construction operations. An original approach is presented that automatically assesses labor activity. Using data fusion of spatio-temporal and workers' thoracic posture data, a framework was developed for identifying and understanding the worker's activity type over time. This information is used to perform automatic work sampling that is expected to facilitate real-time productivity assessment.     

Design considerations with ventilation-radiators: Comparisons to traditional two-panel radiators

Performance of heat emitters in a room is affected by their interaction with the ventilation system. A radiator gives more heat output with increased air flow along its heat transferring surface, and with increased thermal difference to surrounding air. Radiator heat output and comfort temperatures in a small one-person office were studied using different positions for the ventilation air inlet. In two of the four test cases the air inlet was placed between radiator panels to form ventilation-radiator systems. Investigations were made by CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations, and included visualisation of thermal comfort conditions, as well as radiator heat output comparisons. The room model was exhaust-ventilated, with an air exchange rate equal to what is recommended for Swedish offices (7 l s⁻¹ per person) and cold infiltration air (−5 °C) typical of a winter day in Stockholm.Results showed that under these conditions ventilation-radiators were able to create a more stable thermal climate than the traditional radiator ventilation arrangements. In addition, when using ventilation-radiators the desired thermal climate could be achieved with a radiator surface temperature as much as 7.8 °C lower. It was concluded that in exhaust-ventilated office rooms, ventilation-radiators can provide energy and environmental savings.     

Application of passive cooling systems in the hot and humid climate: The case study of solar chimney and wetted roof in Thailand

The thermal performance of two passive cooling systems under hot and humid climate condition is experimentally investigated. The experimental results were obtained from a test cell and a controlled cell with identical walls but different roof configurations. The passive cooling systems applied to the test cell are solar chimney and water spraying on roof. The experimental results obtained from the test cell are compared with the closed and no passive cooling controlled cell. In addition, the significant of solar-induced ventilation by using a solar chimney is realized by utilizing a wind shield to reduce the effect of wind-induced ventilation resulting in low measured air velocities to the solar chimney and low computed value of coefficient of discharge. The derived coefficient of discharge of 0.4 is used to compute Air Changes rates per Hour (ACH). The ACHs with application of solar chimney solely are found to be in the range of 0.16–1.98. The studies of air temperature differences between the room and the solar chimney suggest amount of air flow rates for different periods in a year. The derived relationships show that the air flow rate during February–March is higher than during June–October by 16.7–53.7%. The experimental results show that application of the solar chimney in the test cell could maintain the room temperature at 31.0–36.5 °C, accounting for 1.0–3.5 °C lower than the ambient air and 1.0–1.3 °C lower than the controlled cell. However, to make the test cell's room temperature much lower than the ambient temperature and increase the flow rate of air due to the buoyancy, the application of water spraying on roof is recommended together with solar chimney. The application of the two systems in the hot and humid climate are discovered to sustain the room temperature of the test cell to be lower than the ambient air by 2.0–6.2 °C and lower than the controlled cell by 1.4–3.0 °C.     

Cooling characteristics of hot oil pool by water mist during fire suppression

Generally water is not favored for use in suppressing hot liquid fuel fires due to concerns of vapor explosion and boil-over, which could present potential danger to nearby personnel or firefighters. This paper reports on a series of full-scale fire experiments in which water mist was used in extinguishing large hot cooking oil fires. It was shown that water mist not only extinguished large fires effectively but also cooled hot oil from its ignition point (up to 360 °C) to below its flash point (200 °C) in a short period of time and prevented the fire from re-igniting. No vapor explosion was observed in the experiments when water droplets touched the hot oil whose temperature was higher than the superheat-limited temperature of water. A boiling layer of mixed bubbles, water droplets and oil was formed in the hot oil after all flames were extinguished, as water droplets boiled, bubbled and expanded in the hot oil. No boil-over or spillage of the oil over the container was observed in the experiments when water mist was discharged into the oil at high temperature (>300 °C) but boil-over did occur in experiments when the water mist was discharged into oil at a relatively moderate temperature (∼200 °C). In this paper, the mechanisms of cooling of hot oil by water mist are investigated, and the formation and development of the boiling layer during cooling are analyzed both experimentally and theoretically.     

Effect of warm air supplied facially on occupants’ comfort

Human response to air movement supplied locally towards the face was studied in a room with an air temperature of 20 °C and a relative humidity of 30%. Thirty-two human subjects were exposed to three conditions: calm environment and facially supplied airflow at 21 °C and at 26 °C. The air was supplied with a constant velocity of 0.4 m/s by means of personalized ventilation towards the face of the subjects. The airflow at 21 °C decreased the subjects' thermal sensation and increased draught discomfort, but improved slightly the perceived air quality. Heating of the supplied air by 6 K (temperature increase by 4 K at the target area) above the room air temperature decreased the draught discomfort, improved subjects' thermal comfort and only slightly decreased the perceived air quality. Elevated velocity and temperature of the localized airflow caused an increase of nose dryness intensity and number of eye irritation reports. Results suggest that increasing the temperature of the air locally supplied to the breathing zone by only a few degrees above the room air temperature will improve occupants' thermal comfort and will diminish draught discomfort. This strategy will extend the applicability of personalized ventilation aiming to supply clean air for breathing at the lower end of the temperature range recommended in the standards. Providing individual control is essential in order to avoid discomfort for the most sensitive occupants.     

Design of an individually controlled system for an optimal thermal microenvironment

Individually controlled microenvironment has potential to satisfy more occupants in a space compared to a total volume uniform environment typically used at present. The performance of an individually controlled system comprising a convection-heated chair, an under-desk radiant heating panel, a floor radiant heating panel, an under-desk air terminal device supplying cool air, and a desk-mounted personalized ventilation as used and identified by 48 human subjects was studied using a thermal manikin at room temperatures of 20 °C, 22 °C and 26 °C. At a room air temperature of 20 °C, the maximum whole-body heating effect of the heating chair, the under-desk heating panel, and the floor heating panel corresponded to the effect of a room temperature increase of 5.2 °C, 2.8 °C, and 2.1 °C, respectively. The effect was 5.9 °C for the combination of the three heating options. The higher the room air temperature, the lower the heating effect of each heating option or heating combination. The maximum whole-body cooling effect of the tested system was only −0.8 °C at a room air temperature of 26 °C. The heating and cooling capacity of the individually controlled system were identified. These results, analyzed together with results obtained from human subject experiments, reveal that both the heating and the cooling capacity of the individually controlled system need to be increased in order to satisfy most occupants in practice.     

Estimating the effects of ambient conditions on the performance of UVGI air cleaners

Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) uses UVC radiation produced by low pressure mercury vapor lamps to control biological air contaminants. Ambient air velocity and temperature have a strong effect on lamp output by influencing the lamp surface cold spot temperature. In-duct UVGI systems are particularly susceptible to ambient effects due to the range of velocity and temperature conditions they may experience. An analytical model of the effect of ambient conditions on lamp surface temperature was developed for three common lamp types in cross flow from a convective–radiative energy balance assuming constant surface temperature. For one lamp type, a single tube standard output lamp, UVC output and cold spot temperature data were obtained under typical in-duct operating conditions. Over an ambient temperature range of 10–32.2 °C and an air velocity range of 0–3.25 m/s, measured cold spot temperature varied from 12.7 to 41.9 °C and measured lamp output varied by 68% of maximum. Surface temperatures predicted by the heat transfer model were 6–17 °C higher than corresponding measured cold spot temperatures, but were found to correlate well with cold spot temperature via a two-variable linear regression. When corrected using this relationship, the simple model predicted the cold spot temperature within 1 °C and lamp UVC output within ±5%. To illustrate its practical use, the calibrated lamp model was employed in a simulation of the control of a contaminant in a single-zone ventilation system by an in-duct UVGI device. In this example, failure to account for the impact of ambient condition effects resulted in under-prediction of average space concentration by approximately 20% relative to a constant output system operating at maximum UVC output.     

Effect of post-digestion temperature on serial CSTR biogas reactor performance

The effect of post-digestion temperature on a lab-scale serial continuous-flow stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system performance was investigated. The system consisted of a main reactor operated at 55 °C with hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 15 days followed by post-digestion reactors with HRT of 5.3 days. Three post-digestion temperatures (55 °C, 37 °C and 15 °C) were compared in terms of biogas production, process stability, microbial community and methanogenic activity. The results showed that the post-digesters operated at 55 °C, 37 °C and 15 °C gave extra biogas production of 11.7%, 8.4% and 1.2%, respectively. The post-digester operated at 55 °C had the highest biogas production and was the most stable in terms of low VFA concentrations. The specific methanogenic activity tests revealed that the main reactor and the post-digester operated at 55 °C and 37 °C had very active acidogens and methanogens. In contrast, very low methanogenic activity was observed at 15 °C.     

Neutral temperature in subtropical climates—A field survey in air-conditioned offices

The thermal environment for air-conditioned offices in subtropical climates is examined from the prospect of maintaining an optimum operative temperature for the occupants. In this study, the optimum neutral temperature is evaluated from 422 occupants’ responses towards the perceiving thermal environment in 61 air-conditioned offices and 186 complaints of thermal discomfort in an air-conditioned office building on an electronic questionnaire, using a semantic differential evaluation scale and a dichotomous assessment scale. In particular, physical parameters for the thermal comfort study were measured by an indoor environmental quality (IEQ) logger, and the operative temperature was correlated with the occupants’ thermal responses. The probability of accepting an operative temperature for the thermal comfort of the occupants was correlated with logistic regression curves; the optimum operative temperature was derived in order to maximize the probability of thermal comfort expressed by the occupants. The results showed that the thermal neutral temperatures for air-conditioned offices in subtropical climates were 23.6 and 21.4 °C in summer and winter, respectively. The preferred thermal environment in Hong Kong should be slightly cool, corresponding to about 1 °C below the neutral temperature, in order to satisfy most of the occupants in the office space.