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Providing thermal comfort and saving energy inside the buildings using a ceiling fan in heating systems

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Abstract

In the present work, a numerical study was conducted to analyze the thermal comfort parameters and energy saving inside the room with specified dimensions using a ceiling fan with central heating systems during the winter. The flow was turbulent in all models and k-ε model was used to simulate turbulence. Rayleigh and Reynolds numbers were in the range of 1.15 × 1011 ≤ Ra ≤ 1.55 × 1011 and 6480 ≤ Re ≤ 19,440, respectively. The finite volume method and SIMPLE algorithm were used to solve the governing equations. Based on the results, using the ceiling fan during the winter had a considerable effect on improving the thermal comfort and energy saving inside buildings. Using the ceiling fan, the effective room temperature increased by 0.35 °C that can be used to reduce the radiators temperature, thereby reducing energy consumption. In addition, the study results indicated that the location of ceiling fan did not have any effect on room effective temperature and residents’ thermal comfort. Furthermore, based on the results, by turning the ceiling fan on and increasing the vertical velocity, the predicted mean vote (PMV) and the predicted percentage dissatisfied (PPD) indexes improved. However, after a certain velocity, the fan application changed to cooling, which was not appropriate for the heating system. The study results showed that PMV and PPD were only necessary conditions for providing thermal comfort. In this regard, to provide residents’ thermal comfort, each of the five factors composing thermal comfort indexes (PMV and PPD) should have been analyzed separately and place within its own permissible range (sufficient condition). Finally, the case CF.C with radiator temperature of 51 °C, and fan normal air velocity of 0.20 m/s was the optimal model by providing the complete thermal comfort conditions and 37% energy consumption reduction.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area (m2)

b :

Wall thickness (m)

C μ :

Turbulence model constant

C P :

Specific heat capacity (J/kg·K)

f cl :

Ratio of clothed surface area to nude surface area

F i−k :

Radiation view factor for surface i seeing surface k

g :

Gravitational acceleration (m/s2)

h :

Convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2K)

Icl :

Thermal resistance of clothing in clo units (clo)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W/m·K)

k :

Turbulent kinetic energy (J/kg)

M :

Metabolic heat generation flux (W/m2) of naked body area

Nu:

Nusselt number

p w :

Partial pressure of water vapor in moist air (Pa)

PMV:

Predicted mean vote

PPD:

Predicted percentage dissatisfied

q :

Heat flux (W/m2)

Q :

Heat transfer rate (W)

Ra:

Rayleigh number

R cl :

Thermal resistance of clothing (m2K/W)

Re:

Reynolds number

RH:

Relative humidity

T i :

Inner wall temperature (°C)

T out :

Outside air temperature (°C)

T air :

Inside air temperature (°C)

u :

Velocity component (m/s)

V :

Fan normal air velocity (m/s)

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2·K)

v :

Mean air speed relative to the body (m/s)

w :

Concentration of water vapor (kg/kg) of moist air

W :

External work (W/m2) of naked body area

α:

Thermal diffusivity (m2/s)

β:

Thermal expansion coefficient (K−1)

ɛ :

Turbulent dissipation rate (m2/s3)

ε :

Emissivity

μ:

Dynamic viscosity (N∙s/m2)

ρ:

Density (kg/m3)

σ:

Stefan–Boltzmann constant

eff:

Effective

i, j :

Components

m :

Mean, operating

r :

Radiant

t :

Turbulent

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the Deputy of Research Center of University of Kashan for their support regarding this research (Grant No. 65473).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan, Iran

    Soroush Sadripour, Mahdi Mollamahdi, Ghanbar Ali Sheikhzadeh & Mohammad Adibi

Authors
  1. Soroush Sadripour
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  2. Mahdi Mollamahdi
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  3. Ghanbar Ali Sheikhzadeh
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  4. Mohammad Adibi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mahdi Mollamahdi.

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Technical Editor: Jose A. dos Reis Parise.

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Sadripour, S., Mollamahdi, M., Sheikhzadeh, G.A. et al. Providing thermal comfort and saving energy inside the buildings using a ceiling fan in heating systems. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 39, 4219–4230 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-017-0859-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-017-0859-9

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