Presenting LOBSTER, an innovative climate chamber, and the analysis of the effect of a ceiling fan on the thermal sensation and performance under summer conditions in an office-like setting

Thermal comfort studies have been performed so far either in closed climate chambers with controlled conditions or non-controlled conditions during field studies. Detailed analyses of mechanisms behind the adaptive comfort models are therefore hardly possible. This paper presents a newly constructed climate chamber in Karlsruhe (Germany) along with the complete chain from subjective experiments, via data analyses, model development and implementation into dynamic building energy simulation until the formation of a decision base for or against a renovation measure for a confined case. The objective of this experimental series conducted in summer 2013 was the analysis of the effect of a ceiling fan on the perceived thermal comfort and performance. The results suggest that it is not the control itself, which leads to a higher acceptance of increased indoor temperatures in summer, but the effectiveness of the control. For the analysis of the performance tests, only minor differences in the performance under the distinctive conditions were observed.