Enhancing Indoor Thermal Comfort in Educational Settings through Adaptive HVAC Control and Seating Recommendations

Traditional HVAC systems in educational buildings often fail to meet the diverse thermal comfort needs of students due to their reliance on generalized standards such as ASHRAE guidelines. This lack of adaptability could lead to reduced comfort and productivity of students , as well as limited options for them to adjust to their environments. Changing clothing insulation levels seems to be the most practical solution for them. Consequently, the goal of this research is to enhance thermal comfort in the educational indoor environment, specifically focusing on classrooms, by developing a method to create individual thermal profiles for students and apply these profiles to adaptive HVAC control and seating arrangement suggestions. Using data from the ASHRAE Global Thermal Comfort Database II, we constructed individual thermal profiles based on key occupant parameters such as age, gender, metabolic rate, and clothing insulation levels. By utilizing the provided empirical thermal sensation votes under diverse environmental conditions, an adaptive HVAC control strategy which dynamically adjusts setpoint temperatures based on occupants’ thermal profiles is developed. Rather than relying solely on generalized ASHRAE 55 standards, this approach integrates predictive modeling and user-centric control, ensuring a more tailored thermal environment which aligns with individual needs. Besides, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations in Rhino Grasshopper were employed to analyze and compare thermal conditions in a classroom under baseline and adaptive HVAC scenarios, as well as with optimized seat arrangements. The findings indicate that adaptive HVAC control significantly reduces discomfort and increases occupant satisfaction by lowering the percentage of dissatisfied individuals and making thermal comfort votes closer to a neutral and agreeable level. This research introduces a novel framework for integrating adaptive thermal management into educational settings, offering a pathway to personalized and energy-efficient environmental controls.