In this study, a new air conditioning system combining PAC and a membrane ceiling is proposed. In this report, a full-scale cooling experiment was carried out on a ceiling cassette system two patterns of a membrane ceiling air conditioning system based on the presence or absence of nonwoven fabric. It was found that a membrane ceiling with nonwoven fabric has a thermal environment profile with less temperature change, the cooling radiation effect by a membrane ceiling is high, and the air conditioning performance is suitable for heat loads.

Natural ventilation is one method of utilizing natural energy for a high-rise office building, contributing to energy conservation and a decrease in the operational costs. However, methods for determining the performance of natural ventilation remain insufficient. This study focuses on the performance of a hybrid air-conditioning system using natural ventilation in a high-rise office building with flow control inlets and outlets. This paper reports the annual data on the natural ventilation rate using an opening area at the outer walls and ventilation shaft.

The purpose of this study is to verify the possibility of using indoor positioning systems for various purposes such as equipment control and determining the status in an office. There is currently a need to pursue a rational approach to building operations, for which new technologies are being pursued. In particular, the need to focus on human behavior is increasing. In recent years, indoor positioning systems have become widely diffused as a technology for capturing human behavior and bringing about a paradigm shift to conventional building operations, such as advanced equipment control, positional information visualization, traffic line analysis, and an evaluation of the space utilization rate. A human sensor with a thermopile array is a thermopile that used to be a single pixel, but has been miniaturized and made into multiple arrays through micro-electro mechanical systems technology. Indoor positioning systems are becoming more wide-spread, and commercial products such as sensors, lighting, and automatic control are available on the market. They are also being applied to lighting and air conditioning control. The accuracy (time resolution, spatial resolution, and human detection accuracy) required for indoor positioning systems differ depending on the intended use. Such systems are being used for many purposes without verification and there have been no quantitative comparisons of the accuracy required for each intended use. In this study, the evaluation criteria are examined for each type of utilization of office indoor positioning systems. Next, an overview of indoor positioning systems and an outline of such a system using a thermopile human sensor will be described. Furthermore, after verifying the accuracy of the system in an actual environment, such criteria were applied and the possibility of use in an office was verified. Although the accuracy of indoor positioning systems has been verified the accuracy required according to the specific pursue of utilization must be determined. In the future, this study will be an important guideline for designing buildings that utilize indoor positioning. ・Lighting Control: There are still issues regarding detection accuracy when use for lighting control. Because there are few false positives in which the light does not turn on despite the presence of people and a required 100% detection accuracy for desk work. ・Air Conditioning Control: The detection accuracy is irrelevant because air conditioning is often applied regardless of the presence/absence of people owing to the spatial equilibrium characteristics and slow response. ・Positional Information: The system cannot be used for positional information because it cannot be personally identified despite meeting the spatial resolution, temporal resolution, and accuracy requirements. The evaluation criteria were examined for each type of utilization on an office utilization of the indoor positioning system. Furthermore, in an actual environment, after verifying the accuracy of the indoor positioning system using a thermopile human sensor, these criteria were applied and the possibility of utilization in an office was verified. It will be necessary to devise the conditions for the use of such systems based on the following factors: 1) Blind spots may occur in the sensor detection area. 2) People may be integrated within thermal image. 3) The surface temperature might decrease from the clothing worn. 4) The sensor detection areas can overlap at low heights. 5) Parts of the body are far from the trunk such as the arms. 6) A refrigerator or compound heat generator such as a machine or personal computer might be present. 7) A temperature increase at the floor surface by direct sunlight might occur. 8) The relative error and its variation owing to the environment at the sensor installation position might be significant.

In recent years, the inferior thermal environment of gymnasiums when used as an evacuation center has become a problem, and there is an urgent need to improve the thermal environment and air conditioning facilities. Furthermore, when installing a cooling/heating system in a gymnasium, used as both an athletic facility and an evacuation center, it is necessary to consider both the long-term residents and the athletes. However, an independent radiant heating/cooling system does not generate airflow, and thus it is highly comfortable and its effect on sports competitions is low. As stated above, an independent radiant heating/cooling system is considered suitable for a gymnasium heating/cooling system, its installation in gymnasiums has been increasing in recent years. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the basic performance of an independent radiant cooling system. In this paper, as the first step, a basic study on independent radiant panels to be installed in existing buildings is presented. We carried out cooling performance tests in a laboratory to reveal the basic performance of independent radiant cooling. Performance tests were conducted on two different types of panels, A and B, with different fin shapes to compare the difference in performance. As a result, a temperature stratification occurs within the range of 0.7 m or less from the floor during the independent radiant cooling. However, at above 0.7 m, a generally uniform temperature field is formed in the vertical and horizontal directions. The cooling capacity in this experiment was 422.9 W/m² for Panel A and 545.5 W/m² for Panel B, with Panel B showing an approximately 25.4% higher cooling capacity than Panel A.