Investigation of Thermal Comfort in the Intelligent Building in Winter Conditions

Abstract

The paper analyses thermal sensations, preferences and acceptability as well as humidity sensations of students in the intelligent building "Energis" of the Kielce University of Technology (Poland). The tests were performed in 8 lecture rooms, during which the volunteers filled in the anonymous questionnaires (with 3 to 7 possible answers for each question) and – simultaneously – physical air parameters were measured with Testo 400 microclimate meter. The study aimed to determine if the intelligent building provides proper indoor environment conditions during the heating season and to assess the accuracy of the standard methodology for thermal comfort determination. Experimental analysis of thermal and humidity sensations revealed that a share of the respondents critically assessed the indoor environment: 17% regarding temperature and 30% regarding humidity. Moreover, the standard methodology for thermal comfort calculations proved overwhelmingly inaccurate compared to the experimental data (with the results for 6 rooms being beyond the 50% error range). Since smart buildings are still not very common in Central Europe, the experimental data obtained in the study can be valuable both from the scientific but also practical point of view – providing useful data for building engineers and designers.