A qualitative evaluation of the resiliency of Personalized Environmental Control Systems (PECS)

A Personalized Environmental Control System (PECS) aims to condition the immediate surrounding of occupants. This approach is fundamentally different from typical HVAC systems, which aim to create uniform indoor environments, regardless of the occupant preferences. PECS has several advantages including allowing occupants to adjust their immediate surroundings according to their preferences, which could improve their satisfaction with the indoor environment, and may lead to higher productivity. PECS can also lead to noticeable energy savings, if implemented effectively in buildings and if coupled to building HVAC systems. PECS can also be an effective solution in combating pollutant and disease transmission in indoor spaces. An emerging type of personalized devices is wearable heating and cooling devices, which can be used in both indoor and outdoor settings. An international project “IEA EBC Annex 80 – Resilient Cooling of Buildings” is developing qualitative and quantitative key performance indicators (KPIs) for evaluating the resiliency of different cooling solutions under heat wave and power outage events. The present study evaluates the resiliency of PECS in terms of thermal comfort and indoor air quality, using and expanding the principles and KPIs developed by IEA EBC Annex 80. The results serve as the first step towards the quantification and guidance on the applicability and potential of PECS under future heatwaves, power outages, and indoor and outdoor air pollution.