In recent years, fuel economy in a vehicle has become an important issue due to environmental concerns and high oil price. An air conditioning system in a vehicle is one of main causes to decrease fuel economy. Therefore, efforts to increase energy ef...
In recent years, fuel economy in a vehicle has become an important issue due to environmental concerns and high oil price. An air conditioning system in a vehicle is one of main causes to decrease fuel economy. Therefore, efforts to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption are required. A conventional air conditioning system maintains comfort level temperature for a whole cabin which causes unnecessary energy consumption, while a local air conditioning system cools an occupant zone and the other zones would be maintained at relatively higher temperature. In this study, the performance of the local air conditioning system was evaluated numerically and compared with the conventional air conditioning system. Thermal/fluid analysis using CFD was carried out to visualize temperature and velocity fields. PMV and equivalent temperature based on air temperature, mean radiant temperature, and air velocity were calculated to represent thermal comfort. The results showed comfort variations with different vent air conditions, such as air temperature, total flow rate, and air flow distribution for each vent. In addition, the combined comfort with system performance results showed energy saving for the same comfort.