Non-Uniform Thermal Environment Management for Thermal Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, and Energy Efficiency

This book introduces non-uniform thermal environment management methods. Vertically, the non-uniform thermal environment management methods focus on improving the supply efficiency of conditioned air into the occupied zone rather than the unoccupied zone for energy saving while maintaining thermal comfort and indoor air quality. Horizontally, the non-uniform thermal environment management methods focus on differentiating subzone thermal conditions in the occupied zone according to the individual thermal demands for improved thermal preference satisfaction. The book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and engineers who are interested in cutting-edge technologies for sustainable and healthy built environments.

Occupants’ thermal demands are spatially non-uniform, which is ignored by the traditional thermal environment management. Managing indoor thermal environment with an air conditioning system according to the spatially non-uniform occupants’ thermal demands not only reduces the energy consumption by avoiding unnecessarily conditioning the unoccupied zone, but also improves thermal comfort by avoiding insufficient or excessive conditioning of the occupied zone.