Analysis of a Local Heating System for Thermal Comfort: the Numerical Approach

Achievement of thermal comfort can be improved if individual control of the environment is allowed,namely through a local heating system (LHS), consisting of individually controlled radiant heating panels, adapted to a common office desk to a seated person. The coupling with of a new radiative module enhances the simulating capabilities of an existing CFD numerical model. The added improvements are applied to the evaluation of the thermal performance o the LHS. A comparative analysis clearly demonstrates the relevance of a due consideration of radiative exchanges. This is in accordance with the main objectives of the present work.