Personal Comfort Systems Using Spot Heating and Cooling

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional HVAC systems fail to provide individualized thermal comfort to building occupants, leading to energy inefficiency and occupant dissatisfaction due to uniform temperature control methods that do not account for personal comfort preferences.

Innovation Solution

Personal comfort systems (PCS) that use discrete thermal elements and controllers to provide localized heating or cooling to specific body parts, leveraging psychophysiological effects to enhance thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption by allowing occupants to control their thermal environment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If conventional HVAC systems use uniform temperature control to condition building spaces, then the entire space is climate controlled, but energy consumption increases and individual occupant comfort requirements are not met

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveindividual thermal comfort controlVSAvoidHVAC energy consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The invention segments the building space into multiple thermal zones, each with its own thermostat and climate control. This allows different temperatures to be maintained in different areas, enabling individualized comfort control while reducing overall energy consumption by conditioning only occupied zones.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies local quality by providing customized thermal conditions to specific locations or occupants rather than uniform conditioning throughout the entire building. Each zone or personal comfort system can be tailored to meet specific thermal preferences, improving adaptability without proportionally increasing energy use.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Measurement precision

If a single thermostat is used to control temperature in a building zone, then the system is simple to operate, but it cannot accurately control temperature at different floors, zones or locations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetemperature control accuracyVSAvoidnumber of thermostats

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system divides the building into multiple independently controllable zones, each with its own thermostat. This segmentation enables precise temperature control in each zone while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular design and centralized management capabilities.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Adaptability or versatility

If conventional HVAC systems condition the entire building space, then uniform thermal conditions are achieved, but individual occupant thermal preferences are not satisfied

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveindividual thermal preference accommodationVSAvoidenergy waste from overcooling or overheating

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the building into controllable zones and further into personal comfort areas, the system can condition only the spaces where occupants are present and need thermal comfort. This eliminates energy waste from conditioning unoccupied or already comfortable areas.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables occupants to independently control their own thermal environment through personal comfort systems or zone controls, allowing them to self-adjust temperatures to their preferences without affecting other areas, thereby reducing energy waste from uniform over-conditioning.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

PCS systems achieve significant energy savings by allowing individualized thermal comfort, reducing HVAC energy usage by up to 10% per degree Celsius, while improving occupant satisfaction and comfort without altering existing HVAC hardware.

Implementation Method 1

heating or cooling a body part (e.g., hand, sole, bottom, back) via small spots rather than whole-area heating

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectConduction (thermal): Conduction (thermal)

Implementation Method 2

leveraging psychophysiological effects to enhance thermal comfort

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectPsychophysiological effects:

Data Source

PatentUS11730624B2Two-point and multiple-point spot heating and cooling

Publication Date: 2023.08.22 RGT UNIV OF CALIFORNIA

AI summary

Apparatus and methods for producing thermal comfort using two point or multipoint heating or cooling that is applied to portion of a human body part to produce a warm or cool sensation over a larger area than that where the heating or cooling is directly applied. The body is induced to heat or cool itself by adjusting its neutral temperature setpoints. Increased warming perception from two-point, multipoint, and switching point stimulation causes downward adaptation in the neutral skin temperature of the user. Because spot heating and cooling sources operate at higher temperature differences from the skin than do area sources, they create a stronger perceived thermal sensation for the same power consumption. Point heating or cooling, rather than whole-area heating, can result in power savings and cost savings while improving occupant comfort.