For residential customers living in cold climates, energy savings during the heating season are often achieved through thermostat setbacks. The first goal of most studies on thermostat setbacks is to quantify these savings. However, occupants’ thermal comfort following the setbacks, during the set point temperature recovery, is less discussed. Furthermore, the studies on the evaluation of thermal comfort are mainly realized in hot climates.
In this study, thermal comfort is evaluated after a thermostat setback according to the ASHRAE 55-2013 standard and Fanger (1972) model using in-situ measurements and simulations. The in-situ measurements are collected at the maisons d’expérimentation en énergétique du bâtiment (MEEB) at the Laboratoire des Technologies de l'Énergie (LTE) of Hydro-Québec. Then the simulations are executed with the EnergyPlus program for the MEEB model.
The results of this study demonstrate that the thermal comfort is not reached after thermostat setback. The recovery time varied from one floor to another and from the cardinal orientation. At least 1h is required for the indoor conditions to reach steady state and not affect thermal comfort. The comparison between the calculated and simulated results demonstrated some variations of 0.5 or less in the average PMV (predicted mean vote).
The duration and amplitude of the thermostats setback could be modified to meet the thermal needs of occupants.
| Date | 28 May 2018 |
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| Original language | French |
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| Awarding Institution | - École de technologie supérieure
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| Supervisor | Danielle Monfet (Supervisor) |
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Noël, P. (Author),
Monfet (Supervisor),
28 May 2018Student thesis: Master's thesis › Master in Engineering: Engineering