Environment friendliness and energy efficiency are the mantra of today’s world in each and every sector of development. The automotive industry is also now switching to zero emission car concepts to be in congruence with this concept. During this transformation, however, consumer satisfaction should not be hampered. The consumer is satisfied if he feels comfortable using a given commodity. Comf...

The choice of the appropriate material for the construction of ski-boot liners is of fundamental importance in order to achieve ergonomic comfort and high thermal insulation. In this work the effect on thermal comfort of different materials used for commercial ski-boot liners has been analysed. The thermal insulation and the moisture management of liners made of different materials have been te...

Traditional vehicle air conditioning systems condition the entire cabin to a comfortable range of temperature and humidity regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle. The A/C system is designed to have enough capacity to provide comfort for transient periods when cooling down a soaked car. Similarly for heating, the entire cabin is typically warmed up to achieve comfort. Localized he...

We present a novel, personalised thermal comfort model and a heating agent using this model to reduce energy consumption with minimal comfort loss. At present, heating agents typically use simple models of user comfort when deciding on a set point temperature for the heating or cooling system. These models however generally fail to adapt to an individual user’s preferences, resulting in poor pe...

Subjective wear trials have been carried out to determine thermal comfort performance of knitted sports garments whose objective thermal comfort parameters are determined in a preceding study in fabric form. Physiological measurements (skin and microclimate temperature, microclimate relative humidity, heart rate and sweat amount) and psychological rating results (coolness, dampness and comfort)...

preparing thermal comfort conditions in outdoor public spaces is one of the considerations of architectural design. if the constructed area does not support comfortable conditions in outdoor spaces, it will cause microclimatic problems for pedestrians and adjacent buildings. regarding the different thermal comfort conditions in outdoor spaces in comparison with indoor, several indices have been...

This case study investigated office occupant thermal comfort in Lawrence Hall. More specifically, it focused on the winter heating season thermal comfort in these office spaces. In a building that is composed of approximately seven major additions and/or renovations spanning nearly a century, the variety of heating and ventilation systems varies greatly. The combination of qualitative and quant...

For human-centered automation, this study presents a wireless sensor network using predicted mean vote (PMV) as a thermal comfort index around occupants in buildings. The network automatically controls air conditioning by means of changing temperature settings in air conditioners. Interior devices of air con-ditioners thus do not have to be replaced. An adaptive neurofuzzy inference system and ...

Infrared-reflective (IRR) treatment of automotive glass has been shown to reduce air temperature in vehicle cabins, thereby increasing fuel economy and occupant comfort. Its effect on radiant heat, however, may augment these benefits. In this study, the hypothesis that radiant heat affects subjective comfort ratings in a vehicle was tested. IRR films were systematically applied to the driver-si...

Resource depletion and global warming dictate needs to reduce energy consumption, however energy used for the environmental space conditioning of buildings remains substantial; even in well-designed examples. Therefore the ways in which buildings are utilized, and occupant expectations of comfort in building environments should be researched to determine alternative means for optimizing perform...