Analyzing indoor comfort conditions through simulation and on-site measurements

ASHRAE standard 55-2013 defines thermal comfort of occupants as a mental state of satisfaction with regard to the thermal environment. Mechanical designers design HVAC systems to condition an occupied space so as to provide thermal comfort to at least 80% of the occupants. Thermal comfort is dependent on various physiological and psychological aspects of the occupants and it is defined by ASHRAE standard 55 based on -- 1. Metabolic rate, 2. Clothing insulation, 3. Air temperature, 4. Radiant temperature, 5. Air speed, 6. Humidity. This paper presents the thermal comfort study of five conference rooms in the ground level of a 16 story office building in Frankfurt. The conference rooms are conditioned by a direct outdoor air system (DOAS) and radiant ceiling panels for cooling and heating. This paper discusses the modeling approach and the simulation results that were used by the project team to determine the additional cooling capacity needed by the conference rooms. The simulation results were used to make informed decisions about the number of chilled beams required in the conference rooms. Further, the measurements recorded on the site during the commissioning process were used to compare against the simulation results.