Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office
In this study, a thermal chair prototype was developed that allowed personal control over the temperature settings of the back-rest and the seat. Limited research focuses on different methods to provide individual user control over the thermal environment. This is particularly difficult to achieve i...
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| Format: | Article |
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Elsevier
2017
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44930/ |
| _version_ | 1848797030423461888 |
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| author | Shahzad, Sally Hughes, Ben Calautit, John Kaiser Nasir, Diana S.N.M. |
| author_facet | Shahzad, Sally Hughes, Ben Calautit, John Kaiser Nasir, Diana S.N.M. |
| author_sort | Shahzad, Sally |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | In this study, a thermal chair prototype was developed that allowed personal control over the temperature settings of the back-rest and the seat. Limited research focuses on different methods to provide individual user control over the thermal environment. This is particularly difficult to achieve in an open plan office setting, where changing the temperature in one area directly influences the comfort and satisfaction of other occupants seated nearby. In this study, the application of the thermal chair was analysed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and field-test analysis in an open plan office in Leeds, UK during winter. The results of the CFD model indicated an improvement in the local thermal comfort of the user. The CFD analysis provided detailed analysis of the thermal distribution around a siting manikin and was used to design and construct the thermal chair. The results of the field data survey indicated a great improvement in users' comfort (20%) and satisfaction (35%). This study concludes that local thermal control of the occupant improves their overall thermal comfort. It recommends further work to optimise the design of the thermal chair and to improve the modelling for better predictions. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:57:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-44930 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:57:24Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-449302020-05-04T18:48:35Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44930/ Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office Shahzad, Sally Hughes, Ben Calautit, John Kaiser Nasir, Diana S.N.M. In this study, a thermal chair prototype was developed that allowed personal control over the temperature settings of the back-rest and the seat. Limited research focuses on different methods to provide individual user control over the thermal environment. This is particularly difficult to achieve in an open plan office setting, where changing the temperature in one area directly influences the comfort and satisfaction of other occupants seated nearby. In this study, the application of the thermal chair was analysed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and field-test analysis in an open plan office in Leeds, UK during winter. The results of the CFD model indicated an improvement in the local thermal comfort of the user. The CFD analysis provided detailed analysis of the thermal distribution around a siting manikin and was used to design and construct the thermal chair. The results of the field data survey indicated a great improvement in users' comfort (20%) and satisfaction (35%). This study concludes that local thermal control of the occupant improves their overall thermal comfort. It recommends further work to optimise the design of the thermal chair and to improve the modelling for better predictions. Elsevier 2017-05-31 Article PeerReviewed Shahzad, Sally, Hughes, Ben, Calautit, John Kaiser and Nasir, Diana S.N.M. (2017) Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office. Energy Procedia, 105 . 2635 - 2640. ISSN 1876-6102 Thermal Chair; comfort; open plan office; thermal control; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S187661021730824X doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.761 doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2017.03.761 |
| spellingShingle | Thermal Chair; comfort; open plan office; thermal control; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Shahzad, Sally Hughes, Ben Calautit, John Kaiser Nasir, Diana S.N.M. Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office |
| title | Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office |
| title_full | Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office |
| title_fullStr | Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office |
| title_full_unstemmed | Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office |
| title_short | Computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office |
| title_sort | computational and field test analysis of thermal comfort performance of user-controlled thermal chair in an open plan office |
| topic | Thermal Chair; comfort; open plan office; thermal control; Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44930/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44930/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/44930/ |