This paper reports the summertime measurement results of the indoor thermal environment at the head office of S Company. On the subject of air conditioning system, the perimeter zone supplies cold water to a perimeter chilled beam and it processes the perimeter cooling load. The interior zone adopts a task and ambient air conditioning system. Ambient air conditioning supplies cold water to an interior radiation ceiling panel and processes the internal heat generated by human bodies, lighting, OA equipment, and so on. In addition, the air carried out during latent heat processing with the desiccant air conditioning system is supplied from the personal floor outlet installed under the desk. The current from a personal floor air outlet provides air conditioning and it can be adjusted to an individual’s preference.
This study aims to evaluate the thermal comfort of an indoor environment in office from physical quantity and psychological state. Moreover, this study aims to assess the thermal conditions of an indoor environment deemed unacceptable by workers that it is impossibility to evaluate from conventional method. For this purpose, the acceptability voting device “Ostracon” was developed, which can record the physical environment when workers express a complaint. Workers can push a button on Ostracon to vote when they feel that the thermal environment is unacceptable. In this study, Ostracon was used to measure whether 25 workers felt that the thermal environment was acceptable in the office S during the summer.
The results showed that the mean radiant temperature was lower than room temperature. Moreover, up-and-down temperature distribution was very small. In addition, the temperature difference to every time is smaller during the up-and-down temperature distribution. Distribution stability throughout the day should be confirmed. For this reason, it was determined that the radiation ceiling panel was effective. Regarding questionnaire about satisfaction with the room environment, the many of respondents said they were "comfort" overall. The result showed a very high level of satisfaction. Regarding the survey of Ostracon, subjects expressed that the environment was unacceptable even when the temperature and humidity were within an acceptable range. Therefore, the authors consider that thermal environmental acceptability is not determined simply by temperature and humidity. However, it was observed that the workers' complaints were often expressed moments after returning from tasks performed outside the office, suggesting that their complaints were influenced by factors other than the office environment, such as changes in metabolic rate and the individual's thermal history.
