Comparison of temperature measurement methods for the evaluation of the thermal environment in vehicles

A new standard, ISO/DIS 14505 is under preparation, dealing with the assessment of the thermal environment in vehicles, based on the equivalent temperature. The scope of this paper is to demonstrate the different results obtained when evaluating the thermal environment inside a vehicle, using the three well known parameters, air temperature, operative temperature and equivalent temperature. The tests were carried out in the winter season during heat-up of the vehicle cabin. Six identical transducers were placed on a body-shaped aluminium rig to ensure comparable positioning of the transducers during each test. Based on the measurement results, the time used to reach the level of thermal comfort is evaluated and compared.