Abstract

One of the key factors affecting both the energy consumption of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems and the indoor thermal comfort of inhabitants is the indoor air temperature in buildings. A primary parameter that significantly influences HVAC energy demand and thermal comfort is the clothing insulation of the users. Although clothing insulation is carefully selected according to well-known standards, its value depends on various factors: i) gender, as males tend to feel warmer than females in cool conditions; ii) metabolic heat production; and iii) the performed activity. Consequently, building occupants can adjust their thermal comfort by modifying clothing insulation values based on outdoor temperature variations. Additionally, the indoor set-point temperature values in a building also depend on its weather zone, which is influenced by outdoor air relative humidity and outdoor air temperature. This work presents a dynamic simulation model for analyzing comfort conditions and energy consumption for space cooling and heating, taking into account changes in clothing insulation values for a specific user. A particular office room was considered for the study. The space heating and cooling energy demand of the office was calculated using a suitable thermal zone modelled by Type 56 of TRNSYS, coupled with the Google SketchUp TRNSYS3d plug-in. The selected case study is an office room located at the University of Federico II in Naples, Southern Italy. To evaluate both comfort conditions and energy demands, several sensitivity analyses were conducted by varying the clothing insulation and office set-point temperature. A sensitivity analysis on the weather zone of the office building was also performed to assess the dependency of clothing insulation values on weather parameters. The presented model serves as a suitable and general tool to propose simple clothing variation behaviors, aiming to achieve a trade-off among dress code, energy saving, and thermal comfort.