“The inclusion of radiation, along with standard conduction and convection analyses, is a key ingredient to accurately predicting how placement of HVAC components such as outlets, air conditioning units or heaters will affect the temperatures and airflow felt by occupants,” said Jon Wilde, Vice President of Customer Success at SimScale. “Accurate thermal comfort analysis means better wellness and productivity for occupants and the avoidance of expensive HVAC configuration changes later.”
SimScale users can simulate the effects of radiation to optimize a comfortable environment within a room or an entire building, including office spaces, residential dwellings, or theaters. According to a University of Chicago study, hot weather can cause people’s regular productivity rate to drop by 4 percent per degree. Conversely, if an employee is too cold they may become distracted from work or even type more slowly. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) developed the standard ASHRAE 55, which is used for specifying the combinations of factors that produce thermally comfortable environmental conditions that will be acceptable to a majority of the occupants.
To learn more about SimScale’s new inclusion of radiation within a heat transfer analysis, which is available immediately, visit the SimScale blog.