Thermal Comfort and Indoor Air Quality of Task Ambient Air Conditioning in Modern Office Buildings

Energy and environmental sustainability is a major global trend for the 21st century. Thermal discomfort and poor air quality in office buildings can result in loss of productivity, absenteeism and medical problems. The most frequently identified causes are related to inadequate ventilation and contaminants from indoor sources. Task ambient air conditioning aims to provide each occupant with personalized clean air direct to the breathing zone. A typical modern office is selected to study the thermal comfort and indoor air quality of the working environment. The temperature distribution, draught rating, volume concentration of the contaminants and ventilation efficiencies for the contaminants are calculated. For fresh air is directly to sent to breathing zone of the occupants by the task air outlet, the temperature, the CO₂ concentration and benzene concentration around the occupants are lower than that of the other zones. And ventilation efficiencies for both the CO₂ and benzene around occupants are also higher. These show the effectiveness of the task ambient air conditioning system in forming energy-saving, comfort and clean environment.