Thermal characteristics of a partition air supply system at a personal task area

A partition integrated air supply system can provide highly personalized environmentalcontrol. The supply air is brought up through raised floors and supplied to outlets located onthe partition panels. The purpose of this paper is to find the best design of outlets for optimaloccupant comfort within a personal task area.Real-scale experiments were conducted to allow for comparisons of outlet designs within apersonal task area. Experimental results indicate that the location of an outlet is the mostcritical factor in improving the efficiency of supply air distribution of a personal task area.Thermal characteristic comparisons were made between the under-floor and the partitionsupply systems. Experimental results suggest that the partition supply system is more efficientthan the under-floor supply system in terms of cooling. Such a system allows occupants topersonally control their immediate environment, resulting in higher productivity.