Buildings account for nearly 40% of the US annual energy consumption, much of which is for HVAC equipment. Research by the Center for the Built Environment at the University of California, Berkeley indicates that over ~20% of the US energy used for HVAC could be saved if the thermostat set-point range is widened by ±4°F in the summer and winter respectively. However, doing so will result in increased thermal dissatisfaction among the building occupants and a possible loss of productivity. To realize the energy saving potential of widening the thermostat set point range, local thermal management systems (LTMS) must be employed to provide comfortable thermal conditions in the occupant’s personal micro environment. The US DOE ARPA-E estimates that if such LTMS are used widely across the US, nearly 15% of the energy used for building HVAC could be saved, which is equivalent to an annual US savings of 1.8 quads (1015 Btu),This presentation covers the analytical and experimental research associated with the development of a novel,micro environmental control systems (μX) that is designed to provide ~60W of cooling efficiently to a seated office occupant, and highlight its design and performance attributes.
