Modeling decentralized systems for energy savings based on detailed local thermal comfort calculations

Local thermal comfort plays a growing role not only for occupant satisfaction but also in the energy performance of a building. Decentralized heating and cooling systems can be used to enhance thermal comfort for building occupants at low energy cost. This paper presents a newly developed controller for combined, central and decentralized systems inside the building simulation software ESP-r. It controls decentralized systems and the central HVAC system based on local and overall thermal sensation and comfort values, the output of a 65-node thermophysiology, sensation and comfort model (PhySCo). The decentralized system modelled is a movable partition for local cooling or heating called Thecla. This study shows that using the combined, central and decentralized, systems could reduce the total energy consumption from cooling and heating systems by 15% over a year, while maintaining thermal comfort at an acceptable level.