Thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant-convective heating system in office cubicles

Open offices are preferred in office buildings due to cost advantages, space efficiency, and increased productivity. However, different thermal comfort perceptions among employees in such environments often lead to hindering satisfaction and productivity while reducing energy efficiency. Operative t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Fatih Evren
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25008822
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850089655233413120
author Fatih Evren
author_facet Fatih Evren
author_sort Fatih Evren
collection DOAJ
description Open offices are preferred in office buildings due to cost advantages, space efficiency, and increased productivity. However, different thermal comfort perceptions among employees in such environments often lead to hindering satisfaction and productivity while reducing energy efficiency. Operative temperature, the fundamental comfort temperature for the human body, depends on parameters like radiative and convective components, clothing, and activity levels. This study integrates a hybrid heating system into office cubicles to create individual comfort zones and experimentally investigates energy consumption. The hybrid system, featuring radiative panels with electric film heaters and electric convective components, allows independent control of the operative temperature's radiative and convective elements. Experiments were conducted in a typical office with two cubicles; one is active, and the other is passive. Operative temperature is measured over black globe temperature, air temperature, and airspeed measurements. Vertical air temperatures were measured at four points at three levels within the individual comfort zone. The hybrid system achieved a 1 °C operative temperature increase in the cubicle with a 0.5 kW consumption rate, corresponding to 40 % less energy consumption compared to the central convective system.
format Article
id doaj-art-cfaa2a5a5fa24cf98e4578db33562aa5
institution DOAJ
issn 2214-157X
language English
publishDate 2025-09-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
spelling doaj-art-cfaa2a5a5fa24cf98e4578db33562aa52025-08-20T02:42:42ZengElsevierCase Studies in Thermal Engineering2214-157X2025-09-017310662210.1016/j.csite.2025.106622Thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant-convective heating system in office cubiclesFatih Evren0Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Seattle, WA, USAOpen offices are preferred in office buildings due to cost advantages, space efficiency, and increased productivity. However, different thermal comfort perceptions among employees in such environments often lead to hindering satisfaction and productivity while reducing energy efficiency. Operative temperature, the fundamental comfort temperature for the human body, depends on parameters like radiative and convective components, clothing, and activity levels. This study integrates a hybrid heating system into office cubicles to create individual comfort zones and experimentally investigates energy consumption. The hybrid system, featuring radiative panels with electric film heaters and electric convective components, allows independent control of the operative temperature's radiative and convective elements. Experiments were conducted in a typical office with two cubicles; one is active, and the other is passive. Operative temperature is measured over black globe temperature, air temperature, and airspeed measurements. Vertical air temperatures were measured at four points at three levels within the individual comfort zone. The hybrid system achieved a 1 °C operative temperature increase in the cubicle with a 0.5 kW consumption rate, corresponding to 40 % less energy consumption compared to the central convective system.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25008822Personal comfort systemControlled microenvironmentThermally active office cubicleTask ambient systems
spellingShingle Fatih Evren
Thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant-convective heating system in office cubicles
Case Studies in Thermal Engineering
Personal comfort system
Controlled microenvironment
Thermally active office cubicle
Task ambient systems
title Thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant-convective heating system in office cubicles
title_full Thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant-convective heating system in office cubicles
title_fullStr Thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant-convective heating system in office cubicles
title_full_unstemmed Thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant-convective heating system in office cubicles
title_short Thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant-convective heating system in office cubicles
title_sort thermal and energy performance of an integrated hybrid radiant convective heating system in office cubicles
topic Personal comfort system
Controlled microenvironment
Thermally active office cubicle
Task ambient systems
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214157X25008822
work_keys_str_mv AT fatihevren thermalandenergyperformanceofanintegratedhybridradiantconvectiveheatingsysteminofficecubicles