Thermal comfort during heating and cooling periods in an automobile

Abstract

Most vehicles have a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) device to control the thermal environments of interior of the vehicle. But, under hot summer season or cold winter conditions, it is difficult to achieve and maintain thermal comfort in an automobile from the start up to the steady-state conditions. During these transition periods, an understanding of human thermoregulatory processes facilitates the design and development of improved heating and cooling systems. This study presents a model of thermal interactions between a human body and the interior environment of an automobile. The model is based on the heat balance equation for human body, combined with empirical equations defining the sweat rate and mean skin temperature. Simulation has been performed by the use of transient conditions. The effects of both heating and cooling processes on the thermal comfort inside the automobile are investigated. Results are compared with the present measurements and available experimental data in the literature. It is shown that the agreement between the experimental data and the model is very good.