Environmental Protection and Energy Savings in HVAC Systems from the Higrothermal and Air Quality Standpoints

For indoor environments, thermal discomfort must be clearly distinguished from the air pollution caused by outdoor air as well as by inside polluting agents. Full air conditioning of a room requires the introduction of a minimum ventilation air flow whose characteristics depend on the expected thermal room conditions, the cooling and heating loads and the estimated concentration of pollutants. In addition, it must make possible that users carry out their activities with comfort, safety and pleasure. This research seeks to know the minimum air flow to enter the premises so that the percentage of dissatisfied people would be within certain limits. Since this air flow requires significant energy consumption, the developed method helps to preserve the environment, because it minimizes the percentage of people dissatisfied for a given energy consumption.