Energy savings and thermal comfort in a zero energy office building with fans in Singapore

Elevated air movement produced by fans can offset air-conditioning energy requirements by allowing temperature setpoints to be raised without compromising thermal comfort. These advantages are even greater in hot and humid climates that inherently have large and sustained indoor cooling requirements...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Building and environment Vol. 243; p. 110674
Main Authors:	Kent, Michael G., Huynh, Nam Khoa, Mishra, Asit Kumar, Tartarini, Federico, Lipczynska, Aleksandra, Li, Jiayu, Sultan, Zurami, Goh, Edwin, Karunagaran, Giridharan, Natarajan, Arulmani, Indrajith, Asiri, Hendri, Ivanna, Narendra, Komang I., Wu, Vicky, Chin, Noel, Gao, Chun Ping, Sapar, Majid, Seoh, Alvin, Shuhadah, Nur, Valliappan, Selvam, Jukes, Tim, Spanos, Costas, Schiavon, Stefano
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier Ltd 01-09-2023
Subjects:	Air movement Ceiling fan Cooling Energy savings Thermal comfort Tropics Air movement Thermal comfort Ceiling fan Cooling Energy savings Tropics
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Elevated air movement produced by fans can offset air-conditioning energy requirements by allowing temperature setpoints to be raised without compromising thermal comfort. These advantages are even greater in hot and humid climates that inherently have large and sustained indoor cooling requirements. Few studies have assessed the in-situ benefits of fans in actual buildings. We installed ceiling and desk fans into a Zero Energy office building (675 m2) in Singapore. Across an 11-week period, 35 occupants alternated between two conditions (no fan vs. fan): 24 °C setpoint with fans off, and 26.5 °C setpoint with fans on. When the temperature setpoint was raised and elevated air movement was provided, a 32% energy reduction was obtained. The energy savings accrued without any negative impacts occurring on thermal satisfaction. Overcooling caused by thermal preference to slightly warmer and warmer conditions was substantially reduced from 33 to 9%. No changes in perceived air-staleness or self-reported alertness and ability to concentrate occurred either, indicating parity across the no fan and fan conditions. Although occupants primarily relied on ceiling fans at the 26.5 °C setpoint, they were by default on at the beginning of each day, giving less incentive to use the desk fans. Our study took place in a high-performance Zero Energy building, whereby thermal dissatisfaction was already low (7%). Therefore, notable changes did not occur, but significant improvements to thermal comfort could still occur in buildings that are unable to maintain high levels of thermal satisfaction. [Display omitted] •We raised the setpoint from 24 to 26.5 °C and provided supplementary air movement.•Elevated air movement reduced cooling energy requirements by 32%.•No negative impacts to thermal preference or thermal satisfaction were found.•Overcooling was reduced from 33 to 9%.•Perceived air-staleness and self-reported productivity were unaffected.
ISSN:	0360-1323 1873-684X
DOI:	10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.110674