Thermal Response of Different Body Parts: The Fingertip as Control Sensor for Personalized Heating

Abstract

The need for individual comfort led to the development of personalized HVAC systems. These systems have positive impact on human thermal comfort and allow to achieve energy reductions due to more effective localized energy use. However, the process control of these personalized conditionings systems is still rather traditional and not really optimal. A novel approach to process control of the personalized HVAC systems by using the human body as a sensor in the control loop. The skin temperature of specific body parts play a prominent role in thermal comfort, particularly in cool environments. A proof-of-the-concept study showed the potential of such a process control concept. In this paper the results of several experiments, focussing on the behaviour of especially the fingers are compared and discussed. This showed the fingers to be most suited to monitor and to use as an indicator for the thermal comfort control of personalized heating systems.