SharePartial body cooling as a means to save energy?
Cooling parts of the body could be an energy efficient way of providing personal thermal comfort and is currently being studied by researchers, in particular in Japan and in the United States.
Cooling parts of the body could be an energy efficient way of providing personal thermal comfort and is currently being studied by researchers, in particular in Japan and in the United States.
. In a paper* presented during the IIR-co-sponsored CLIMA2013 conference held in Prague in June 2013, a team from Kyushu Sangyo University assessed the effect of partial thermal sensations on the overall thermal sensation.
Previous research had already established that visual sensations could slightly affect thermal sensation, but here subjects were required to place their feet on a cooled copper board in two different temperature settings of 28 and 30 degrees. Even though the thermal impression of the subjects was unaltered at 28 degrees, at 30 degrees, the copper board affected the overall sensation when it was lowered by 2-3°C.
For that reason, the authors estimate that although their experimentation work is still under progress, spot cooling focusing human foot – for example a small “Peltier device installed into the shoes or slippers – could replace a general air-conditioning system.
* The effect of partial body cooling on entire body thermal sensation in summer, Kurazumi et al.
This article can be downloaded via the IIR’s Fridoc database (free for IIR members within the framework of their quota of free downloads):http://www.iifiir.org/clientBookline/service/reference.asp?INSTANCE=exploitation&OUTPUT=PORTAL&DOCID=IFD_REFDOC_0008768&DOCBASE=IFD_REFDOC_EN&SETLANGUAGE=EN
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. Researchers from UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment (CBE) received a USD 1.6 million grant from the California Energy Commission to test and promote Personal Comfort Systems (PCS), which use low-wattage devices embedded into a system of chairs, foot warmers and fans that can quickly warm or cool individual users, by targeting the most thermally sensitive parts of the body such as the face, head, torso and feet.
The PCS’s heating and cooling tools will also interface with remote phone applications, software and sensors to relay building temperatures or turn off systems when a space is not occupied.
CBE estimates that these new tools could cut natural-gas use by 39% and electricity use by 30% for HVAC in typical Californian commercial office spaces
http://dailyfusion.net/2013/08
. In a paper* presented during the IIR-co-sponsored CLIMA2013 conference held in Prague in June 2013, a team from Kyushu Sangyo University assessed the effect of partial thermal sensations on the overall thermal sensation.
Previous research had already established that visual sensations could slightly affect thermal sensation, but here subjects were required to place their feet on a cooled copper board in two different temperature settings of 28 and 30 degrees. Even though the thermal impression of the subjects was unaltered at 28 degrees, at 30 degrees, the copper board affected the overall sensation when it was lowered by 2-3°C.
For that reason, the authors estimate that although their experimentation work is still under progress, spot cooling focusing human foot – for example a small “Peltier device installed into the shoes or slippers – could replace a general air-conditioning system.
* The effect of partial body cooling on entire body thermal sensation in summer, Kurazumi et al.
This article can be downloaded via the IIR’s Fridoc database (free for IIR members within the framework of their quota of free downloads):http://www.iifiir.org/clientBookline/service/reference.asp?INSTANCE=exploitation&OUTPUT=PORTAL&DOCID=IFD_REFDOC_0008768&DOCBASE=IFD_REFDOC_EN&SETLANGUAGE=EN
Remember to log in or register first!
. Researchers from UC Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment (CBE) received a USD 1.6 million grant from the California Energy Commission to test and promote Personal Comfort Systems (PCS), which use low-wattage devices embedded into a system of chairs, foot warmers and fans that can quickly warm or cool individual users, by targeting the most thermally sensitive parts of the body such as the face, head, torso and feet.
The PCS’s heating and cooling tools will also interface with remote phone applications, software and sensors to relay building temperatures or turn off systems when a space is not occupied.
CBE estimates that these new tools could cut natural-gas use by 39% and electricity use by 30% for HVAC in typical Californian commercial office spaces
http://dailyfusion.net/2013/08