TRANSILVANIA UNIVERSITY OF BRASOV, ROMANIA
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE
RESEARCH DEPARTMENT:
SYSTEMS FOR PROCESSES CONTROL
Dr. Ing. Catalin Bujdei
Prof. Dr. Ing. Sorin-Aurel Moraru
Ensuring comfort in office buildings
Designing a KNX monitoring and control system
The 7th International Conference on Intelligent Environments
25-28 July 2011, Nottingham, United Kingdom
Content
 City, University and Genius Campus
 The main research project
 Comfort demands
 Employee eficiency
 Comfort
 Thermal comfort
 Visual comfort
 Acustic comfort
 Air quality comfort
 Long term comfort
 KNX automation system
Page  2
 WSN network node
Brasov city
 core of the country
 old cultural city, hosting the first school in
Romanian
 multinational and multilingual area
(romanian, hungarian, german citizens)
Page  3
Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania
 State University, founded in 1948
 “Full Confidence” in the national evaluation
 Ranked among the first at national level for
Research of Excellence
 Extended cooperation with European
universities
Page  4
Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania
Page  5
Genius Campus – the new Institut
Phase 2
Phase 1
Phase 1
RTD Institute
(Structural Founds)
The Solar Park
(RTD Projects)
Page  6
Phase 2
Education Area
(Regional Founds)
Students Facilities
(Governmental
& Regional Founds)
Phase 3
Business Centre
( StructuralFounds)
Clusters
research providers +
+ research direct and
indirect beneficiaries
Technology Transfer
Genius Campus – the new Institut
September 2009
April 2010
May 2011
March 2011
Page  7
The main research project
 Main goals:
– implement a wireless sensor network (WSN)
for ambient conditions monitoring and control
– integrate building systems together (central
information storage, monitor and control)
– increase the energy efficiency
– increase the comfort of the occupants
at the end of the work a
comparison could be
made for determine the
efficiency of the
obtained results
Page  8
Comfort demands - evolution
present
(complex life style)
long time ago …
future
(simple life style)
(more complex life style)
Page  9
Employees efficiency
 a person could accomplish
successfully its activities as long
there are no external factors
which to disturb him (e.g. heat,
cold, noise, low air quality)
 if the comfort is satisfied also
the maximum efficiency of the
employees is ensured
 a low decrease in employees
efficiency for a big company
represents a huge lost of time
and money
Page  10
Employees efficiency
 At a new office building design
– the initial cost and energy efficiency are the first points analyzed
– the people’s comfort (with influence to their productivity) is less discussed
 As observations:
– people spend 80-90% of the time from their lives indoor
– the lighting, heating, air conditioning, ventilation systems ensure comfort to the occupants of
the building
– it is not possible to reach the highest level of comfort, since could not exist a maximum for it,
but we could make one step further into the future and create better conditions for our indoor
lives
Page  11
Comfort characteristics
 comfort = all existent conditions from a
space for which a person will not prefer a
different space with other conditions
 ISO 7730 defines the thermal comfort as
that condition of mind which express
satisfaction with the thermal environment
(thermal neutrality – when a person
doesn’t feel too warm, either too cold)
 comfort = a complex concept that depends
on a set of external and internal factors.
 Maybe it is easier to define what it means,
but it is more complicated to convert the
definition into physical parameters and
establish relations between them (create
equations that will permit a mathematical
analysis)
Page  12
Comfort types
 The indoor comfort could be described from multiple points of view:
– thermal: temperature, humidity and air velocity (very import type of comfort)
– visual: light intensity and other factors which could influence a person view
– acoustic: maximum level of noise or repeatable noise
– air quality: parameters which characterize the air conditions and are suitable for
respiration and human health (e.g. oxygen level, pollutions level)
– stability: without uncomfortable movements, vibrations or shocks;
– security comfort: feel safe at the working place;
– daily timetable: a constant daily timetable will not influence the life habit;
– economical factors: the fear of insufficient funds for proper living.
 A person could feel comfortable from some points of view but uncomfortable from
other points of view.
Page  13
Thermal comfort
 directly dependent on temperature, humidity and air velocity parameters
 Markus and Morris, would describe thermal comfort with the following parameters:
– physical parameters: air temperature, radiant temperature, relative humidity, air
velocity, atmospheric pressure and light intensity;
– organic parameters: age, sex, national characteristics;
– external parameters: activity type, clothing type, social conditions.
 many studies have been done on thermal comfort and how it is possible to define it into a
mathematical form
Page  14
Thermal comfort – mathematical form
 first mathematical model used for estimate the thermal comfort was proposed by Fanger,
1970. He started from the equilibrium equation (how the human body maintain the heat
balance).
Heat produced by the body = Heat lost by the body
Page  15
Thermal comfort – mathematical form
 Seppanen made a study to determine the influence of temperature to the health and
productivity. The analyze concluded that exists about 2% decrement in work
performance per 1 °C increment when the temperature is above 25 °C
 the 21 to 25°C temperature range is considered to be the range of temperatures
comfortable according to the thermal comfort standards.
 from the experiments analyzed it resulted that the range should be 22 to 25°C, and that
the lower values have better impact to the thermal comfort. The quality of the air could be
better preserved at lower values of temperature. For this reason we will consider an initial
value of 23.5 °C for our experiments and calculations.
Page  16
Thermal comfort – ISO 7730 standard, PMV
 The ISO 7730 standard proposed to use 2 parameters for estimating the thermal comfort
level:
– PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) – defined from Fanger balance equation
•
[-3, 3]; the negative values presume that it is discomfort caused by a cold
sensation, and the positive values suggest discomfort caused by a hot sensation.
Parameters: metabolic rate (M, met), effective mechanical power (W, W/m2) ,
clothing area factor (fcl ), clothing surface temperature (tcl, °C), heat convective
transfer coefficient (hc, W/m2/°C) , partial water vapor pressure in the air (pa,Pa), air
temperature (ta, °C), thermal resistance of clothing (Icl, clo), mean radiant temperature
(tmr, °C) .
Page  17
Thermal comfort – ISO 7730 standard, PMV
– PMV (Predicted Mean Vote)
•
seven-point ASHRAE thermal sensation scale – Fig. 2): hot (+3), warm (+2), slightly warm (+1),
neutral – thermal comfort (0), slightly cold (-1), cool (-2), cold (-3)
– It is recommended that the value of the PMV parameter to be somewhere into the
interval between -0.5 and 0.5.
– usually into a closed space (room) it is not a constant value of the PMV parameters in
all the subareas, but distinct values according to different factors, since the
characteristic parameters don’t have constant values.
Page  18
Thermal comfort – ISO 7730 standard, PPD
– PPD (Predicted Percent of Dissatisfaction)
•
the percent of people which feel the sensation of discomfort
•
when PMV has a 0 value, PPD will have a value of 5%. it is impossible to ensure
thermal comfort for all the people, because of the existing differences between
them (e.g. activities, clothing and metabolism).
– The goal is to ensure thermal
comfort for as many people as
possible.
Page  19
Thermal comfort
Page  20
Thermal comfort – local discomfort
Page  21
Thermal comfort – ISO 7730 standard, PMV, PPD
– The studies realized by ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Airconditioning Engineers Inc.) have concluded that the PMV parameter could be used to
determine the neutral (comfort) temperature with a margin of error of 1.4 °C.
– As many other studies presented, there could be a difference between the comfort
established using the PMV and PPD indices and real life felt comfort.
– For this reason we consider that the thermal comfort should be establish in 2 distinct
steps (solution which to be used together with the KNX system and WSN):
•
computing using the models - determination of ambient parameters which should
ensure the minimum PPD value;
•
calibration - the variation of the ambient parameters according to the occupancies
opinion until a point of equilibrium could be found (where the most of people feel
comfortable in that ambient conditions).
Page  22
Thermal comfort – PMV, PPD indices calculation
 Matlab application:
– M =1.2 met = 69.78 W/m2;
– W= 0 W/m2;
– fcl = 1.15;
– hc = 6.0 W/m2/°C;
– Icl = 1.0 clo = 0.155 m2°C/W;
– φa = 45% (relative humidity; it permits to calculate the pa parameter value);
– ta = 23.5 °C;
– we approximate tmr = ta + 2 °C = 25.5°C.
 PMV = 0.0403
 PPD = 5.0336
 thermal comfort could be ensured into the office space with these
parameters values (at least from mathematical equations).
Page  23
Visual comfort
– it is necessary to ensure a normal level of light intensity.
– inside an office space most activities involve the use of a computer. From this point of
view it is necessary to ensure an equilibrate contrast between the screen light and the
light from the ambient.
– It is also important to not have flashing lights which could distract the attention and
which could produce rapidly tiredness.
Since most of the activities from an office
suppose a short distance focus of the eye,
it is important to have the possibility to change
this distance – very important for the health
of the human eye.
Page  24
Acoustic comfort
 Noise is represented as a negative sound and it’s always unwanted.
 Inside an office space, it is important to have a low level of noise. In this way the
occupancies will be able to achieve their activities more easily without being distracted.
 It has been determined, from our own observations or studied papers, that into the office
spaces could be presented the next types of noise sources:
external noise: refers to the noise
raised from outside building sources.
This type of noise could be determined
by the road traffic, industrial machines,
community activities, etc.
Page  25
inside noise: refers to the noise produced by the installations
.
(systems) or equipment from inside the building.
.
Acoustic comfort - NPD
 Clausen defined a mathematical equation for the acoustic discomfort.
 NPD (Noise Percentage Dissatisfied)
– x, class of noise [dB]
 when NPD < 20% -> comfortable.
Page  26
Air quality comfort - QPD
 The quality of the air ensures that the human body performs properly and a person is
able to accomplish its activities in normal conditions. If the quality of the air is low it could
appear health affections, but also fatigue and decrease of concentration.
 QPD – Air Quality Percentage Dissatisfied
– CO is the perceived value of outdoor air quality [decipol];
– G is intensity of indoor air pollution [olf];
– Q is the flow rate of fresh air [l/s].
Page  27
Air quality comfort - QPD
 Ilinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) created guidelines to be followed for ensuring
indoor air quality (these are not mandatory but recommended).
 A part of guidelines have been defined also by the ASHRAE Organization.
Page  28
Air quality comfort - parameters
 Humidity and Temperature:
The humidity is considered to be acceptable somewhere in the interval of values of 30-60 percent
indifferent of the season time. For summer it is recommended a temperature of the air of 23-26 °C
and in the winter of 20-24 °C.
 Carbon dioxide:
Carbon dioxide is a constituent of the exhaled breath and it is normal that in closed spaces with low
ventilation and many occupancies the value of the carbon dioxide to increase. Into the outdoor
environment the normal value is somewhere between 300-400 ppm (parts per million).
 Carbon monoxide:
Carbon monoxide is produced usually during the incomplete combustion
And its property of being colorless and odorless makes it hard to detect
by a person. Into an office area the normal values of this parameter are
considered to be between 0-5 ppm.
 Hydrogen Sulfide
Its normal value, into a building, is under 0.01 ppm. A higher value
can be detected by the people inside the building (it has an easy detectable odor).
 Ozone
The normal level of ozone is under 0.08 ppm.
 Particles (dust)
Page  29
Long term comfort
 Long term comfort refers to all the factors that could affect a person after a longer period
of time.
 Into an office space the long term discomfort could be determined by electromagnetic
radiation produced by different equipment (wireless communication), continuous
repeatable noise, pollutants presence (even they are not perceptible by smell), the
continuous presence of cold, toxic behavior of the building construction materials, etc.
Page  30
CPD index
 CPD (Comprehensive Percentage Dissatisfied)
– for comfort evaluation, according to thermal factor, noise and indoor air quality
 TPD – Thermal Percentage Dissatisfied (same as PPD)
 NPD – Noise Percentage Dissatisfied
 QPD – Air Quality Percentage Dissatisfied
 α1 = 0.6738, α2 = 0.1007, and α3 = 0.2255 (determined by gradation analyze)
 The CPD index varies in the interval of values 3.37 and 100:
•
< 20, comfortable;
•
20 – 40, little uncomfortable;
•
40 – 60, some uncomfortable;
•
60 – 80, uncomfortable;
•
80 – 100, very uncomfortable
Page  31
KNX automation system
 KNX system, a small part of a BMS (Building Management System)
 integrate the KNX system with a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) - both of them could
monitor parameters and control different systems.
 the sensor nodes of the WSN network are still under developing. They should be able to
compute aproximatively the comfort indices PMV, PPD, NPD, QPD and CPD.
Page  32
KNX automation system
– configurable classroom
– the cost of the KNX system is
quite high but after installation it
should produce an increase of
the comfort and decrease of the
energy consumption.
– another advantage of this type
of system is that it could be
easily reconfigured. It is
possible to save different
configuration (scenes) into the
system memory and load them
for specific usage situations.
Page  33
KNX automation system
 the main components of the KNX system:
– 24V Voltage Source;
– USB Interface;
– KNX acting devices;
– KNX access panel;
– movable partition wall;
– Blinds;
– lighting;
– light intensity and movement detection sensors;
– heating.
Page  34
WSN node (end device)
 based on Arduino and Xbee
 modular, easy reconfigurable, low cost
 could be used with sensors or actuators auxiliary boards (monitoring and control)
Page  35
Thank you for your attention!
questions
Page  36
sugestions