Local and individual demand-controlled ventilation in a passenger train

Abstract

Installing local, demand-controlled ventilation offers great potential in terms of improving the individual thermal comfort and the energy savings of the overall train air-conditioning system. In the experimental investigation, we set both reduced and increased mean temperatures in the compartment and measured the local equivalent temperature per body-segment on a selected seat which is equipped with an additional six-air-nozzle device attached to the backrest of the front seat. The single nozzles are oriented towards, e.g., the legs, the upper body and the head. First results revealed that at decreased mean temperatures in the compartment, the warm air jets are not capable to reach all body parts due to entrainment and mixing with the ambient air. Hence, in the current setup, individual heating seems more promising by, e.g., by infrared heating elements. In contrast, at increased mean temperatures the air vents provide a possibility to locally decrease the equivalent temperature.