Research on Thermal Comfort and Productivity and Design Method of Task/Ambient Conditioning System

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The authors investigated the characteristics of the thermal environment created in an office by a partition-based TAC system, in which pressurized air is blown from the floor through outlets at the floor and near desks, and the effects of the TAC system on the thermal comfort and productivity of workers by monitoring the temperature and air current and conducting experiments including questionnaire surveys.In addition, the field measurement was conducted in a new office building of N Company which was designed as creative workplace which promotes communication between workers and encourages their creativity. Moreover, questionnaire based on SAP and work-simulated task, "Sudoku" and "Mind Map", was used to evaluate productivity in the office.In M Company, at the on and control conditions, using TAC, many workers declared "neutral" and "comfortable" to "slightly uncomfortable". At the control condition, the thermal sensation was neutral, and the percentage of people who felt uncomfortable was small. The scores were "comfortable" even at SET* values of 29 to 30℃, showing that the cool feeling of the subjects was enhanced by the TAC system. The ventilation experiment showed that fresh air could be efficiently supplied to workers by appropriately adjusting the direction of TAC outlets. Just little amounts of air from the floor outlets reached the respiration zone, little affecting the air in the respiration zone.In N Company, opening roller blinds changed light and thermal environment in "step workplace" which is one of the creative spaces. Desktop illuminance was above 800 lx in most points when roller blinds were opened. The research on workers' behavior showed the rate of seating time, staying time and walking time was about 50%, 40%, and 10% in the office. Therefore, not only working space but also other spaces such as "step workplace" can effect on workers' performance.