Thermalcomfort

Thermalcomfortistheconditionofmindthatexpresses
satisfactionwiththethermalenvironment.

Maintainingthisstandardofthermalcomfortforoccupantsof
buildingsorotherenclosuresisoneoftheimportantgoalsof
HVAC(heating,ventilation,andairconditioning)design
engineers.
 Factorsaffectingthermalcomfort

Environmentalfactors:
Airtemperature
Radianttemperature
Airvelocity
Humidity
Personalfactors:
ClothingInsulation
Metabolicheat

Thesefactorsmaybeindependentofeachother,buttogethercontributetoaworkersthermalcomfort .
 Factorsaffectingthermalcomfort

Airtemperature
Thisisthetemperatureoftheairsurroundingthebody.Itisusuallygivenindegrees
Celsius(C)ordegreesFahrenheit(F).Airtemperatureismeasuredwithadry
bulbthermometerandforthisreasonitisalsoknownasdrybulbtemperature.
Radianttemperature

Theradianttemperatureisrelatedtotheamountofradiantheattransferredfroma
surface,anditdependsontheemissivityofthemateriali.e.theabilitytoabsorb
oremitheat.
Radianttemperaturehasagreaterinfluencethanairtemperatureonhowweloseor
gainheattotheenvironment.
 Factorsaffectingthermalcomfort
Airvelocity
Stillorstagnantairinindoorenvironmentsthatareartificiallyheatedmaycausepeopletofeel
stuffy.
Movingairinwarmorhumidconditionscanincreaseheatlossthroughconvectionwithoutany
changeinairtemperature.
Smallairmovementincoolorcoldenvironmentsmaybeperceivedasdraught.Iftheair
temperatureislessthanskintemperatureitwillsignificantlyincreaseconvectiveheatloss.
Physicalactivityalsoincreasesairmovement,soairvelocitymaybecorrectedtoaccount
foraperson'slevelofphysicalactivity.
 Factorsaffectingthermalcomfort
Humidity

Ifwaterisheatedanditevaporatestothesurroundingenvironment,theresultingamountofwaterintheair
willprovidehumidity.

Relativehumidityistheratiobetweentheactualamountofwatervapourintheairandthemaximumamount
ofwatervapourthattheaircanholdatthatairtemperature.

Highhumidityenvironmentshavealotofvapourintheair,whichpreventstheevaporationofsweatfromthe
skin.Inhotenvironments,humidityisimportantbecauselesssweatevaporateswhenhumidityishigh
(80%+).Theevaporationofsweatisthemainmethodofheatlossinhumans.

Awaytomeasuretheamountofrelativehumidityintheairistouseasystemofdrybulbandwetbulb
thermometers.Whiletheformermeasuresthetemperaturewithnoregardtomoisturesuchinweather
reportsthelatterhasasmallwetclothwrappedaroundthebulbatitsbase,sothemeasurementtakes
intoaccountwaterevaporationintheair.Thewetbulbreadingwillthusalwaysbeatleastslightlylower
thanthedrybulbone.Thedifferencebetweenthesetwotemperaturescanbeusedtocalculatethe
relativehumidity:thelargerthetemperaturedifferencebetweenthetwothermometers,thelowerthe
levelofrelativehumidity
 Factorsaffectingthermalcomfort
Personalfactors:
Clothinginsulation

Thermalcomfortisverymuchdependentontheinsulatingeffectofclothingonthewearer.

Wearingtoomuchclothingorpersonalprotectiveequipment(PPE)maybeaprimarycauseofheatstress
eveniftheenvironmentisnotconsideredwarmorhot.Ifclothingdoesnotprovideenoughinsulation,
thewearermaybeatriskfromcoldinjuriessuchasfrostbiteorhypothermiaincoldconditions.

Clothingisbothapotentialcauseofthermaldiscomfortaswellasacontrolforitasweadapttotheclimate
inwhichweliveandplay.
 Factorsaffectingthermalcomfort
Personalfactors
WorkRate/Metabolicheat

Theworkormetabolicrate,isessentialforathermalriskassessment.Itdescribestheheatthat
weproduceinsideourbodiesaswecarryoutphysicalactivity.

Themorephysicalworkwedo,themoreheatweproduce.Themoreheatweproduce,themore
heatneedstobelostsowedontoverheat.Theimpactofmetabolicrateonthermalcomfort
iscritical.

Humanbodyheatproductioninmeasuredinwatts
Humanbodyheatlosstomaintainbodytempat37degrees.

Ofallenergyproducedinbodyonly20percentareusedandrest80percentneedtobedissipate
PsychrometricChart
TypicalPsychrometricchart
PsychrometricVariables
 AdvantagesoftheChart

1)Ifallthevaluesarecalculatedmanuallyusingtheformulae,ittakeslotsof
time,butwithapsychrometricchartthesevaluescanbefoundwithinseconds
orminutes.

2)Withapsychrometricchartwecaneasilyfindoutthepresentandthefinal
conditionoftheair.Sayiftheairiscooledfrom100oFto75oF,allwehaveto
doisdrawthehorizontallinetolocatetheinitialandfinalconditionoftheair.

3)Apsychrometricchartisveryusefulincarryingoutheatloadorcooling
loadcalculations.Withthischart,itispossibletooverlayhumancomfort
zonesontothechart,seehowmuchthesedifferentpassivestrategieshelp
expandthatcomfortzone,andhowmuchenergyitispossibletosaveby
avoidingactiveheatingandcooling.
PsychrometricChart
 Sensibleheatistheenergyrequiredtochangethe
temperatureofasubstancewithnophasechange.

Sensibleheatistheenergyrequiredtochangethetemperatureofasubstancewith

.
nophasechange Latentheatistheenergyabsorbedbyorreleasedfroma
substanceduringaphasechangefromagastoaliquidorasolidorviceversa.
 Relativehumidity(RH)

Thisistheratioofthefractionofwatervaporintheairtothefractionof
saturatedmoistairatthesametemperatureandpressure.100%RHindicates
theairissaturatedandcannotholdanymoremoisture.Preferredvaluesof
comfortforpeoplearebetween35%and60%.

Linesofconstantrelativehumidityareshownasexponentiallinesonthe
psychrometricchart.Thelineat100%isreferredtoasthesaturationline.
Saturationline
 Enthalpy(totalheat)

Enthalpy(usuallydesignatedash)isthetotalamountofheatenergyofthemoistairand
thereforeincludestheamountofheatofthedryairandthewatervaporintheair.Inthe
approximationofidealgases,linesofconstantenthalpyareparalleltolinesofconstant
WBtemperature.Thustheenthalpyisindicatedbydiagonallinesonthechart.

IntheUS,enthalpyismeasuredinBTUperpoundofdryair;elsewhereitismeasuredin
Joulesperkilogramofair.
 SpecificVolumeoftheAir
Thespecificvolumeofairisanimportantparametersinceonehastoconsiderthe
amountofairtobehandledbythecoolingcoil,coolingfan,etcandaccordinglythe
ratingofcoolingcoilandfanhastobefoundout.Fromthepsychrometricchartwecan
findoutthespecificvolumeoftherequiredairandfindthetotalvolumeoftherequired
airbymultiplyingitwiththetotalweightoftheairrequired.Thespecificlinesstartfrom
thesaturationcurveanddropdownwiththeslightangletotheverticallines.They
indicatethevalueineitherm3/kgorft3/lb.

IfanyofthetwovaluesfromDB,WB,DPtemperatureandtherelativehumidityare
known,allothervaluescanbeeasilyfoundfromthepsychrometricchart,without
havingtocarryoutanycalculations.
 Specifichumidity
Therearethreemainmeasurementsofhumidity:absolute,relativeandspecific.
Absolutehumidityisthewatercontentofair.

Relativehumidity,expressedasapercent,measuresthecurrentabsolutehumidity
relativetothemaximumforthatairpressureandtemperature.

Specifichumidityisaratioofthewatervaporcontentofthemixturetothetotalair
contentonamassbasis.Itissometimesreferredtoasmoisturecontentorhumidity
ratio.

 WetBulbtemperature

Thewetbulbtemperatureisalwaysidenticalwith100%relativehumidity
(theairisatthesaturationline).
PsychrometricChart
 DewPoint
Thisisthetemperatureoftheairatwhichamoistairsamplereacheswatervapor
saturation.Itisequivalenttoawetbulbtemperatureat100%relativehumidity.Atthis
combinationoftemperatureandhumidity,furtherremovalofheatresultsinwatervapor
condensingintoliquid.

Apracticalviewofthedewpointisthetemperaturetowhichairmustbecooledbefore
condensationwillbegin.Anexampleiswhenyoutakeabottleofwateroutofthe
refrigerator.Watercondensesontheoutsideofthebottleonlyiftheoriginaltemperature
ofthebottlewasbelowthedewpoint.Theinstantaneoustemperatureofthewateristhe
dewpointtemperature.

Asasampleofairiscooled,itsRHclimbsuntilitreaches100%RH(saturatedair).This
isthedewpointtemperature.Atsaturation,thedewpointtemperatureequalsthewet
bulbtemperature,andtheRHis100%.Thistemperatureisshownashorizontallineson
thechart.
 DewPoint
Whenthedewpointremainsconstantandtemperatureincreases,relativehumidity
decreases.

Thecurrentdewpointwillneverbehigherthenthecurrenttemperature.
Higherthedewpointtemperaturemoremoisturethatisintheair.Example:Death
Valley(desert)Californiahaslowdewpoints,thusfeelsdry.

HowitisMeasured
Weatherstationshaveadevicethatcapturesairandholdsitin.Itthendecreasedthe
temperaturesuntildewformsonitssensormirror.Whenthathappensitrecordsthe
temperatureandthatisthedewpointtemperature.
 Dewpoint
Relationshiptohumancomfort
 Relationshiptohumancomfort
Discomfortexistswhenthedewpointislow(belowaround30C(22F)).Thedrier
aircancauseskintocrackandbecomeirritatedmoreeasily.Itwillalsodryoutthe
respiratorypaths.
Lowerdewpoints,lessthan10C(50F),correlatewithlowerambienttemperatures
andthebodyrequireslesscooling.Alowerdewpointcangoalongwithahigh
temperatureonlyatextremelylowrelativehumidity,allowingforrelativeeffective
cooling.
Thoseaccustomedtocontinentalclimatesoftenbegintofeeluncomfortablewhenthe
dewpointreachesbetween15and20C(59and68F).Mostinhabitantsoftheseareas
willconsiderdewpointsabove21C(70F)oppressive.
 CalculatingDewPoint

Thereisalsoaverysimpleapproximationthatallowsconversionbetweenthedewpoint,
temperatureandrelativehumidity.

Thisapproachisaccuratetowithinabout1Caslongastherelativehumidityisabove50%:

 The100percentrelativehumidity
(saturation)linecorrespondstothewetbulb
andthedewpointtemperaturescaleline.
Thelineforzeropercentrelativehumidity
fallsalongthedrybulbtemperaturescale
line.
 PsychrometricCharts

Understandingtemperatureandhumiditycanhelpyoudetermineifyoushoulduse
passivestrategieslikeevaporativecooling,naturalventilation,directsolargainplus
thermalmass.

Psychometricchartsarethemostcommonlyusedtoolforanalyzingtheseaspectsofthe
climate.Withthischart,itispossibletooverlayhumancomfortzonesontothechart,see
howmuchthesedifferentpassivestrategieshelpexpandthatcomfortzone,andhow
muchenergyyoullbeabletosavebyavoidingactiveheatingandcooling.
 PsychrometricChart
OneofthemajorapplicationsofthePsychometricChart
isinairconditioning.
Mosthumansfeelcomfortablewhenthetemperatureis
between22Cand27C,andtherelativehumidityis
between40%and60%.Thisdefinesthe"comfortzone"
whichisportrayedonthePsychrometricChart.
Withtheaidofthechartweeitherheatorcool,add
moistureordehumidifyasrequiredinordertobringthe
airintothecomfortzone.
 Plottingonthepsychrometricchart

Sensibleandlatentheatingandcooling

Sensibleheatisheatthatisaddedorsubtractedwithoutachangeinthestateofthesubstance.Latentheat
iswheretheadditionorsubtractionofheatresultsina
changeofstateofthesubstance.Therefore,lookingatthe,weseethatwhenthereisaheatingorcooling
oftheair,movementonthecharttakesplaceasfollows:

1.sensibleheatisremoved(nomoisturecondenses)
2.sensibleheatisadded(thehumidityratioanddewpointareconstant)
3.latentheatisremoved(moistureisremovedfromtheair)
4.latentheatisadded(moistureisaddedtotheair,butthedrybulbtemperatureisconstant)
Standardheaterandhumidifier