Analysis of Thermal Comfort and Microclimatic Conditions in Special Workplaces

Abstract

Microclimatic conditions and thermal comfort are important factors in the design of high quality buildings and the quality of working conditions for people in different operations. The importance of thermal comfort in the indoor environment can not be underestimated. A vast majority of complaints about indoor climate relate to poor thermal comfort. This paper presents an analysis of subjective thermal comfort measurement. The experiments were conducted to collect the data in the real conditions. ComfortSense system was used in these experiments. A Humidity and an Operative probe are available together with application software with graphical presentation of results including the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD). The operating conditions are regulated by law in our country. The aim of the legislation is to protect people in the working environment and create appropriate health conditions for them. The goal of a thermal comfort analysis is finding an appropriate function of the physical parameters (background radiant temperature, air temperature, air humidity, wind speed, clothing, metabolic rate, and core temperature), which would yield the corresponding comfort/discomfort level.