How to achieve thermal comfort in a home

Thermal comfort can be defined as the sensation that expresses the degree of satisfaction of the users of a building regarding the thermal environment found inside. It depends on external parameters, such as air temperature, air velocity, and relative humidity, as well as other internal parameters like physical activity performed, clothing, or each person's metabolism. To achieve the sensation of comfort, the overall balance of heat losses and gains must be zero, thus maintaining our normal temperature, that is to say the temperature that is reached with thermal comfort.

Regarding internal parameters, it should be pointed out that metabolism is a thermal factor related to the human body's ability to produce heat in a way similar to how a mechanical system, such as an engine, would do. Metabolism is therefore a continuous production of energy. Through the metabolic process, energy is converted into heat, and the body does this in a sufficient amount for our organism to continue functioning. This energy is also designated for the execution of external mechanical work, such as lifting weights, moving around, moving objects, etc.

Ventilation systems to ensure thermal comfort in a home

In terms of external parameters, it is particularly important to have an efficient ventilation system in the building, whether it is a home or an office building, that also ensures a stable temperature inside. This latter aspect is very important as heating and cooling systems account for the highest energy consumption of a building. Controlled mechanical ventilation with double flow incorporates a heat recovery system that facilitates the fulfillment of these two requirements. For this, this system has mechanical equipment both in the air admission process and in the extraction, as well as a series of components detailed below:

• Heat recovery unit
• Distribution box
• Supply ducts
• Extraction ducts

Through the heat recovery unit, the energy from the air extracted from the interior is used to heat the cold air introduced from the outside. This heat transfer occurs without the two air flows mixing, guaranteeing that the introduced air is clean air. This process is reversed in summer: the heat recovery unit has a bypass that prevents overheating of the home during summer. The bypass allows the air coming from the outside not to be pre-heated by exchanging heat with the indoor air, thus preventing the temperature inside from rising during the summer period. This process allows for a significant energy saving compared to other types of ventilation installation such as simple flow systems, as the air renewal is considerably lower during much of the year. Therefore, the amount of air that needs to be conditioned is reduced, also decreasing the consumption of fans.