NREL Seeks to Optimize Individual Comfort in Buildings
Localized comfort could bring big HVAC energy savings
On a typical early fall morning in Golden, Colorado, the temperature outside was about 70°F. Tucked inside a unique structure at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), two volunteers felt considerably cooler than that, but would soon be pushed past the outdoor conditions. The volunteers were participating in an experiment inside NREL’s newly constructed Comfort Suite (C-Suite) designed to reveal the connection between human comfort and energy systems.
The C-Suite is an experimental environmental chamber capable of making its occupants shiver or sweat. Standing 10 feet tall and 16 feet wide by 16 feet deep and located in NREL’S Thermal Test Facility, the C-Suite is designed to rapidly adopt a wide range of environmental conditions. The interior is teeming with banks of sensors that provide data about everything from the current concentration of carbon dioxide within the room, to a real-time three-dimensional map of all occupants’ body positions. The C-Suite is designed to allow the rapid development of efficient energy systems that increase human comfort and performance. The space is able to simulate a range of environments that will allow different technologies to be evaluated and optimized.